Tag Archives: Star Wars

#3096: Luke Skywalker’s Desert Sport Skiff

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

LUKE SKYWALKER’S DESERT SPORT SKIFF

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Power of the Force II was, at its heart, very much a product of its time.  And that time was the ’90s, a time for goofy, pointless variants of main characters.  While Star Wars has always had its own particular take on such things, and PotF2 tended to stick that, the line did dabble in the more traditional goofy variants territory, courtesy of its first round of “Deluxe” figures.  The first four figures in the set were all re-workings of standard figures, each with a big gimmicky variant.  Today, I’m looking at the Luke Skywalker of the set, packed with his Desert Sport Skiff.  Perfect for all those Desert Sport needs.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Skywalker’s Desert Sport Skiff was released as part of the first Deluxe assortment of Power of the Force II figures in 1996.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  The sculpt on this figure is very similar to that of the line’s first Luke figure.  There are some minor adjustments; notably the legs are a little closer in stance, and the torso has had a peg hole added.  Not sure why on the peg hole, since there’s not practical reason for the addition, or anything, but it’s there.  Other than that, it’s the same basic sculpt as the first figure, with all that entails.  He’s still super buff, and not particularly similar to Mark Hamill in terms of look.  But, uhh, it’s consistent, right?  Who didn’t want another chance to get a real swoll Luke?  The paint work on the figure, much like the sculpt, is different for the sake of different.  Not very different, mind you.  The base colors are the same, just the exact shades are slightly tweaked.  It accomplishes the same end goal overall, so the changes are likely more of a difference in production year, and not something that was an intentional change or anything.  The main “selling point” on this figure, if you can call it that, is the Desert Sport Skiff, which was totally new to this release.  It’s a big skiff thing.  He stands on it, and it can fold up the sides, as well as having a missile at the front that can launch.  Truly thrilling stuff.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I discussed in my review of the Crowd Control Stormtrooper, these figures always seemed kinda odd to me as a kid.  They’re ultimately a little bit pointless, being mostly re-hash, at least at the core.  That said, there’s kind of a cool vibe of a road not travelled with these releases.  Sort of an alternate path that could have been taken had Kenner stuck to doing more conventionally toyetic variants of the main characters.  The big Skiff thing is goofy and silly, but also kind of amusing, and it’s fun to get another stab at the swoll Luke figure.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3091: Luke Skywalker and Tauntaun

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

LUKE SKYWALKER AND TAUNTAUN

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

My last Power of the Force review before my great big gap in Power of the Force reviews was a creature set.  It was, specifically, the line’s largest creature set.  So, there’s quite literally no topping that.  I guess I’ll just go to the opposite side of the spectrum, and tackle one of the line’s smallest creature sets…which was also kinda borderline one of the line’s smallest vehicle sets, I guess, depending on how you look at it.  Can a living being be a vehicle?  And, what’s the over/under on how long the Tauntauns actually live, and where that places them on this whole vehicle scale?  Eh, I think I’m going to deep on this, you guys.  Let’s just get to the actual review.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Luke Skywalker and Tauntaun were released in 1997 as part of the Power of the Force line’s creature-based sub-set, alongside Han and Jabba, the Sandtrooper and Dewback, and the Jawa and Ronto.  It was the smallest of the 1997 sets, though that didn’t mean it was any cheaper.  It was the only Empire-based creature set from the first year, and one of three overall in the sub-set (with this set effectively being split up and re-paired for the other two Empire sets the following year).

The Tauntaun was obviously the selling point of this set, having not been released in figure form since Kenner’s original Empire line.  While the vintage releases both more or less just averaged the appearances of Luke and Han’s Tauntauns, this one decidedly adapts Luke’s, so as to properly pair off with him in the set.  The figure stands about 4 1/2  inches tall and has 5 points of articulation.  The sculpt on this one was unique at the time, though most of it would later see re-use for the Han and Tauntaun pack the next year.  The sculpt is a pretty solid one. It presents a slightly more active Tauntaun than its vintage counterpart, which seems more appropriate for how we see them in the movie, where they’re frequently in motion.  The details match up pretty well with the movie prop, though it is in some ways sporting some slightly more idealized proportions than the real thing.  The detail work isn’t bad, with some passable texturing on the fur, as well as plenty of extra work going into the harness and survival kit on the main body.  The paint work on this release is mostly pretty good.  There’s a lot of attempts at proper accenting which *mostly* work.  The shading on the fur and the white flecks for snow both work out.  The odd yellow on the arms and legs, not so much.  I’m not entirely sure what the aim was on those, but it missed.  The Tauntaun’s only real accessory is its harness/lead, which clips into the mouth, and allows for Luke to more properly hold on.

It makes very little sense to release Luke’s Tauntaun and not a Luke to go with it, I suppose.  There’s of course the single Hoth Luke release, but he notably lacks in the “being able to actually sit on the Tauntaun” department.  This one aims to fix that.  He stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and has 8 points of articulation.  The extra articulation comes in the form of actual knee joints.  Pretty crazy to see those, especially on a figure of this era, but they did happen from time to time.  Check out his actual sitting action!  From the waist up, he’s effectively the same as his single-release counterpart, with one minor tweak to the left arm, so as to slightly reposition his hand.  Other than that, he’s the same, which is good from a consistency standpoint.  The paint work likewise is pretty close.  It’s solid work, with clean application, and all the major colors it needs.  Luke is packed with his blaster pistol.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had the single Hoth Luke as a kid, and never got a ton of use out of creatures, so I never had this one.  I remember it, especially the way it lingered for a bit, but it just never really called to me.  As I’m working on a full set, I’m picking up a lot of items that I passed on over the years.  In some cases, it’s not so thrilling, but sometimes it leads to me discovering some items I really like.  This one’s part of that latter category, and I’m glad I finally got around to picking one up.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3086: Yoda

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

YODA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE (HASRBO)

“Like the swamp planet Dagobah where he lived out his last years, the Jedi Master Yoda was shrouded in mystery. A diminutive, green-skinned creature, Yoda faithfully served the Galctic Republic as one of the 12 members of the Jedi Council. When the Emperor seized control of the galaxy, he ordered the elimination of all Jedi. In his darkest hour, Yoda, the last known Jedi Master, went into a life of hiding on Dagobah. When Luke Skywalker searched out Yoda for Jedi training on the advice of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi Master had reservations, but he chose to instruct young Skywalker in the ways of the Force.”

It’s May, and this is officially my first Power of the Force review of the year.  That’s a shockingly long stretch of not reviewing any of these guys.  And I didn’t even wait until Wednesday to start back up.  I mean, it’s prime Star Wars Day material, right?  Well, I like to break from the norms, I guess.  Or, you know, I just didn’t look terribly closely at the schedule before putting this one on this here Monday, two days before the fourth, and I couldn’t be bothered to rework my layout for it.  Besides, I wouldn’t have all this fantastic material for the intro that way.  And wouldn’t that just be such a terrible loss?  Right, so let’s have a look at a Yoda figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Yoda was part of the first set of “Flashback Photo” Power of the Force figures.  The whole batch hit shelves at the end of 1998, as part of the promotional work leading up to the release of The Phantom Menace and its corresponding tie-in material in 1999.  This was the fourth Yoda in the line, though only the second from the main line releases, with the other two coming in the form of the Jedi Spirits Cinema Scene and the Dagobah Complete Galaxy set.  This would be the line’s final version of Yoda before it wrapped in early 2000.  The figure stands 2 inches tall and he has 4 points of articulation.  His sculpt is very similar to the first figure’s, with only minor mold changes to the body below the neck, mostly just to change the date stamp.  Otherwise, it’s virtually identical, for better or for worse.  It’s still goofy, but it’s fitting for the line.  His head sculpt marks the real changes for this release; the actual face and ears are more or less the same, but the hair is now actual rooted hair, rather than just sculpted.  It’s…honestly better than expected.  The concept feels like it would be too goofy, but it’s actually not half bad.  The paint work on this guy is similar to the first release, but stepped up just a little bit.  The eyes are a little sharper, and the accenting is a little more intensive, which is all pretty good, especially for this era of figure.  Yoda is packed with the same cane as the first release, as well as a boiling pot and a small candle.  Also included is the Flashback photo thing, which shows Yoda, and then you pull the thing, and it’s also Yoda, but, like, a little bit younger.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked this guy up when he got traded into All Time Toys, fairly recently.  Not much of a thrilling story there, just kind of a “hey, there he is, I don’t have him, might as well grab him” sort of thing.  He’s not anything majorly unique or special, but it’s a pretty nice little figure, all things considered.  The rooted hair works better than expected, and the accessories are pretty nifty.

#3079: Admiral Piett

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

ADMIRAL PIETT

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“An ambitious Imperial officer, Piett rose through the ranks to captain and was assigned to the Super Star Destroyer Executor, Darth Vader’s flagship. When Vader strangled Admiral Ozzel, Piett was granted a battlefield promotion to admiral — and given a grisly warning of the penalty for failure.”

Hey, remember yesterday, when I was filling in the lull between Marvel Legends releases with stuff I had sitting around unreviewed?  Well, prepare yourselves for the same thing, but with Black Series.  Sure, there are theoretically new figures out there I haven’t reviewed, but I also haven’t seen any of them, so I’m pretending like they aren’t really out there yet, and doing my first Black Series review in a month and a half about a figure that’s been sitting to the side of my desk, unopened, for, like, six months.  Eh, it’s just Admiral Piett.  Everyone forgets about ol’ Firmus.  Okay, not everyone.  There was actually a sizeable campaign to bring him back for Return of the Jedi.  So, I guess it was really just Lucas that forgot him.  Well, Hasbro didn’t, at least as far as The Black Series is concerned, so I guess I’ll remember him for the day and take a look at that figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Admiral Piett was released in 2018 as an online store exclusive Black Series release, predominately shipping through Entertainment Earth.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  Structurally, Piett largely shares his parts with Tarkin and Veers.  It’s sensible, them all being in the same uniform and all.  As with Veers, Piett’s torso sculpt has been tweaked ever so slightly to change up the pins and properly designate his rank.  He’s also got an all-new head sculpt, sporting a pretty solid likeness of actor Kenneth Colley.  Not as strong as Tarkin, but a touch better than Veers, which is saying something.  He’s still got hat hair, but what do you expect?  Piett gets his own removable had, which is a distinct piece from the one included with Veers figure.  They should be, since their hats are slightly different, but it’s still nice that Hasbro went that extra mile, especially since the hat’s really just a bonus with Veers in the first place.  The paint work on Piett is up to the same par as Veers; nothing too terribly exciting or anything, but he gets the colors he needs to, and the printing on the face is nice and lifelike.  Piett is packed with the aforementioned removable hat, as well as the same small blaster pistol included with Veers.  Not that he ever really uses it for much, but it lets him be ready should he ever, you know, be, like, in the same vicinity as an actual fight.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since Piett was released right around the same time as Veers, and one can only get so excited about a bunch of stuffy British guys in grey, I wound up passing on ordering him.  I kind of regretted that after the fact, since, as I mentioned in my review of the PotF figure, I do have a bit of a soft spot for the character.  Fortunately for me, I got a second chance at grabbing him, courtesy of him getting traded into All Time before the holidays.  Of course, then I dragged my feet on actually opening and reviewing him, but that’s hardly the point.  While not the most thrilling figure, he’s nevertheless a rather nice one, and fills out the upper ranks of the Imperials just a bit more.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3061: Han Solo – Bespin Capture

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

HAN SOLO — BESPIN CAPTURE

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE JEDI (HASBRO)

“A smuggler before he joined the Rebel Alliance, the daring Han Solo stayed alive by keeping his guard up and his blaster ready. Unfortunately, when he arrived on Cloud City with Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO, Solo had no idea he was walking right into a trap… and a fateful confrontation with Darth Vader.”

In the wake of The Phantom Menace‘s tie-in line not quite performing the way Hasbro had hoped, they rolled what remained of that line into a full-franchise covering line dubbed Power of the Jedi, which also boasted updated takes on a few of the Original Trilogy designs as well.  The main characters got a little bit of coverage, mostly serving as a continuation of the slightly improved figures from the end of Power of the Force.  There were two Han Solos included, one of which was based on Han’s super fly Empire attire, which is the one I’m taking a look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Han Solo (Bespin Capture) was released during the first year of Power of the Jedi‘s run, hitting during the second round of figures.  He was the first of the two Hans in the line, and the first Bespin Han since 1998.  In the subsequent year, we’d gotten the updated Cantina Han from A New Hope, so the aim of this one was really just to bring the Bespin design up to that same quality.  The figure stands a little over 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  While he didn’t get to keep the knee articulation from the Cantina Han, this guy still got some slightly improved articulation, with universal joints at the shoulders, as well as swivel joints at both elbows.  Han’s sculpt was an all-new one, though the head is clearly based on the same sculpt as the Cantina Han, much like how all of the late run PotF Lukes had the same updated features.  The likeness isn’t bad for Harrison Ford, especially compared to other sculpts from the same era.  The body sculpt is a pretty strong piece itself; the proportions are generally pretty well balanced, and the detailing is pretty sharp.  The jacket is perhaps a touch long for its proper length, but it’s not terrible, and the fact that it’s a separate piece does add a lot of depth to the overall look.  His paint work is generally pretty solid.  The colors are more on the subdued side, and apart from a little bit of slop on the right sleeve, the application is pretty clean.  Han was originally packed with his blaster (which can be stored in his holster) and a pair of cuffs.  Mine is lacking the cuffs, but he’s still got the blaster, which is a much smaller sculpt than prior versions.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a kid, I remember really wanting this figure, but Power of the Jedi was one of those line’s that never really had consistent distribution, so I never saw one in person.  Over the years, I kept my eye out for him, and I eventually got a hold of one a couple of years back, courtesy of the House of Fun in New Jersey.  He’s a pretty solid little figure.  I don’t generally get Power of the Jedi stuff, but this guy’s one that feels like a nice extension of PotF, and he’s honestly just my favorite Bespin Han.

#3051: IG-88

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

IG-88

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE JEDI (HASBRO)

“The most infamous and feared of all assassin droids, IG-88 has made a career as a ruthless bounty hunter. The tall, slender, gray droid was produced at Holowan Laboratories. IG-88 is equipped with an array of head sensors that allow him to see in all directions at once, and a variety of lethal weapons including grenade launchers, missiles and a flamethrower.”

Most of the IG-droid love on this site has been directed to the newcomer IG-11, and while I do certainly love that guy and all of his Taika Waititi-voiced goodness, I still feel the need to show some proper appreciation for the original IG, IG-88.  With an extra 40 years of existence on IG-11, 88’s got quite a number of figures in his arsenal.  I’ve covered his vintage figure and his Shadows of the Empire figure (which doubled as his representation for Power of the Force), so now I’m moving forward in the IG-88 chronology, with a look at his figure from Power of the Jedi, the post-Episode I full-franchise covering line that ran from 2000 to 2002.  Not a long run, but long enough to get an IG-88, and that’s what really counts.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

IG-88 was added to Hasbro’s Power of the Jedi line during the second half of its debut year, as part of the push for more Original Trilogy offerings, to further distance from the Episode I merchandise that was still hanging around at this point.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  The Shadows IG-88 just used a slightly tweaked version of the vintage mold, adding a “waist” joint to match with the rest of PotF style figures.  Jedi IG-88 doesn’t completely abandon the vintage molds just yet, but he does get a new head and torso.  The head is more accurate to the actual prop than the previous mold had been, and the new torso firstly makes the bandolier a separate piece (allowing for more depth to the design), and secondly moves the mid-torso joint up to a more design appropriate spot.  It takes a mold that was already pretty strong, and just makes it stronger, resulting in probably the best take on IG-88 until they started making the articulation improvements.  There was a running change on the mold; initial offerings had the right hand molded into a closed grip, while the larger portion of the run opened the hand up.  It doesn’t really affect the ability to hold his gun, or anything, and honestly just looks about the same either way.  Previous IG-88 figures had been relatively light on the paint front, but for this release, Hasbro actually put a bit of effort into making him look a little more worn-in.  It’s pretty well done, and does a great job of breathing some new life into the re-used parts, while also doing a nice job of showing off the detailing of the newly sculpted bits.  88 downgrades a bit on the accessory front, getting just one long rifle, rather than the two guns he usually sports.  It’s at least a new gun, so he’s got that going for him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite its close proximity to both Power of the Force and Saga, both of which I collected quite a bit growing up, I only had two Power of the Jedi figures growing up, and I’ve only since picked up a few others.  IG-88 is notably one of them, given that he’s IG-88 and all, and I do kinda like IG-88.  This figure’s a pretty solid one, taking the vintage mold, which is already really nice, and just making it even better.  I really like him.

#3046: 501st Legion Clone Trooper

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

501st LEGION CLONE TROOPER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES ARCHIVE (HASBRO)

“An elite unit of Clone Troopers, the 501st Legion patrolled the grounds after their siege of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant”

Clone Troopers.  They’re, like, one of the back bones of Star Wars.  Yes, it has multiple back bones.  It’s one of those aliens with multiple backs.  And Clone Troopers are one of them.  When in doubt, do some Clone Troopers.  It’s a good motto, especially when it comes to toys.  And one that Hasbro takes pretty well to heart.  Sometimes, they even do those Clone Troopers multiple times.  Also not a bad call, really.  Despite seeming like the perfect avenue for constantly re-releasing clones, their main line of re-releases, the Archive, hasn’t yet had any actual Clone Troopers, just one commander.  But that’s okay, because now we’ve got one.  Yay for new old Clone Trooper!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The 501st Legion Clone Trooper is part of the fifth assortment of the Star Wars: The Black Series Archive line, alongside Episode III Obi-Wan, Darth Revan, and A New Hope Leia.  He’s a re-release of a figure previously only available as part of the Entertainment Earth-exclusive “Clone Troopers of Order 66” boxed set from 2016.  Apart from some minor paint adjustments on the weathering of the armor, the releases are effectively the same, since there’s no face to update with face printing or anything like that.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Since he’s a straight re-release, we’re back on the old Clone body, rather than either of the updated versions.  That means a slight downgrade in terms of how the articulation works, but it’s still certainly passable, so I’ll hardly complain.  The 501st Trooper’s sculpt is shared with all of the other standard Phase II clones.  It’s the Phase I body, with the new helmet piece.  While it’s not quite as accurate as newer releases, it’s still a pretty strong sculpt, even seven years removed from its original release.  It’s not as good as the newer update, but it will fit in just fine with them.  As with any standard rank and file clone, the thing that makes this guy “unique” is the paint work.  It’s quite involved, with detailing not just for the 501st Legion’s distinctive blue markings, but also the wear and tear on the surface of the armor.  The first release of this figure used straight paint for these details, which was a little inconsistent in application, but for this release it’s updated to the printed technique, which gives it some more consistency from piece to piece, and looks just a touch sharper.  The Trooper is packed with his standard smaller blaster, which is accurate to what they carry in the film, as the long rifles are gone by that point.  It does still feel kind of light, but it is what it is.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was still on my “no prequels” rule for the most part when the set that contained this guy dropped, so I held off at the time.  I grew to rather regret that moving forward, so when he was confirmed for a single-packed re-issue, I was definitely on board.  He’s pretty straight forward.  Nothing new, and perhaps slightly outdated at this point, but it’s exactly what you expect, and by that metric, he does what he needs to exactly on the mark.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0017: Jyn Erso

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , , ,

JYN ERSO

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

I bet you guys weren’t expecting one of these, now were you?  Sure, it’s not been nearly as long a gap between Flashback Friday Figure Addendums as the last two rounds, but four months is still four months, right?  What can I say, I like keeping you guys on your toes.

As I’ve been discussing the last two days, one of Hasbro’s focuses in The Black Series this year is doing the whole Rogue One team in one cohesive run.  That’s one new figure, and then a bunch of re-issues.  For the most part, I either missed out on the original runs, or I didn’t need the update, but I did decide to go for the re-issue of Jyn.  I know, it might seem crazy to buy another Jyn, but I’m a crazy guy.  Here’s what this crazy guy had to say about the original release:

Alright, the 3 3/4-scale Rogue One stuff is done for now (though I’m sure there will be plenty more things for me to review, going by what Hasbro’s shown off in the last week), so we move on to the larger-scale Black Series stuff.  As of late, it’s been a little difficult to say where this line was headed, what with a large chunk of the Force Awakens stuff either showing up too sparsely, or being too heavily packed.  It looks like Rogue One might help getting things back on track.  The first of the new figures is main character Jyn Erso, who I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jyn is sort of taking the place of last year’s First Order Stormtrooper in regards to release style.  She was first released as a preview item at this year’s SDCC, before being slotted into the regular release line-up.  She’ll also be showing up as part of the Target-exclusive 3-pack with Cassian Andor and the Death Trooper Specialist some time next month.  They all look to be the same figure, but for this review, I’m looking at the regular release figure.  She’s part of the first series of Rogue One-inspred Star Wars: The Black Series figures, and she’s figure #22, making her chronologically the first figure in the series.  Yes, you read that number right, she’s #22, meaning Hasbro actually kept the number scheme for The Black Series for more than a year.  And there was much rejoicing (yaaaaay.)  Jyn here is wearing her Jedha outfit, which, from what we’ve seen in the marketing for the movie looks to be a fairly present look.  The figure stands about 5 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Jyn’s sculpt is fairly decent overall, and is certainly on par with what we’ve come to expect from The Black Series.  The hood is kind of bulky and odd looking, but it’s not awful, and it can easily be removed, resulting in a superior figure.  The underlying head sculpt is pretty decent, and bears more than a passing resemblance to Felicity Jones (though it’s not quite spot on).  It’s a little softer than I might like, but it’s not awful.  The body sculpt is also pretty great, with a nice set of proportions and some nice layering on the various clothes.  The verst is technically removable, but since the arms still have the jacket sleeves on them, I can’t see many people removing it.  The paintwork on Jyn is passable.  It’s not anything amazing or anything, but it’s better than a lot of last year’s Black Series offerings, which is a nice improvement.  If Hasbro could start adding a little bit of accent work here and there, I think the figures could be even better.  Jyn’s only accessory is her blaster pistol (the same as the one included with her smaller-scale counterpart).  It’s a little light given the price (and the fact that the same series features are re-issue of last year’s Rey, which has a staff, BB-8, and an added lightsaber), but hood makes up for it a bit.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Jyn was one of the first items I grabbed from TRU during their midnight opening.  I didn’t know she’d be showing up in the Target set as well, or else I’d probably have held off on this particular release.  That being said, she’s a solid figure, and a lot of fun to mess around with.  There are worse things than owning two of a good figure, I suppose.

That review was written in October of 2016, before I’d seen the movie, or really knew anything about the character I was reviewing.  It’s also something of a relic in a few ways other than the writing (which is usually where the relic status on these old reviews comes up), like the rejoicing on keeping the numbering on the line, or the fact that I bought her at TRU.  The red box line wound up going much further than Jyn’s meager 22, wrapping up in 2020 with Kit Fisto’s 112.  It wound up with quite a run.  I was actually pretty positive about this figure in my original review, something I’d kind of forgotten about after she kind of became a go-to figure for ragging on by the fanbase.  I stand by it, because she’s actually a really nice figure.  It was kind of nice to remind myself of that.  This release is overall very similar.  Like Kanan from last year, the change-up is the face paint, and it’s a really major change.  The likeness was alright, but it’s pretty on the mark now.  Totally revitalizes the figure’s look.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3035: Chirrut Imwe

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

CHIRRUT IMWE

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Deeply spiritual, Chirrut Imwe believes all living things are connected through the Force.  Though he lacks Force abilities, the warrior monk has rigorously honed has body through intense physical and mental discipline.”

Remember what I was mentioned yesterday about Hasbro doing a whole set of Rogue One releases for Black Series?  Well, in addition to the all-new Bodhi figure, they also did re-issues of the other members of the main team. While I got a handful of the original releases, I missed out on a few of them the first time around, so this provides me a second chance to get them.  One of the ones I missed was today’s focus, Chirrut Imwe.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Chirrut Imwe is figure 4 in the Rogue One set of Black Series figures.  He’s a reissue of the #36 figure from Phase III of the line, which hit during the latter part of the original Rogue One run.  The figure stands a little over 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  The Rogue One figures were, unfortunately, not the line at its best when it came to articulation schemes.  Chirrut represents one of the worst instances, honestly.  The range on the arms and legs, especially at the elbows and knees, is quite restricted, with the elbows barely making even a full 90 degrees.  In addition, the actual layout and functionality of the joints is just kind of odd.  You can get some poses out of him that work, but they’re not particularly intuitive.  Chirrut’s sculpt was unique to him at the time, and remains so to this date.  It, like the articulation scheme it sports, is a product of its time.  It’s not terrible, but it’s not great either.  A lot of it’s because the aforementioned articulation’s not really worked in all that well.  The arms and legs again get the worst of that particular issue.  The head’s at least got a pretty solid likeness of Donnie Yen, which is definitely the strongest part of the sculpt.  His robes are a mixed media affair, making use of cloth pieces for the bottom portion. It works out alright, and does at least allow for a little more mobility, albeit somewhat limited by the actual articulation.  Chirrut’s paint work is overall rather basic.  The general colors match up to the on-screen attire, and the printing for the face is an incredible improvement over the prior release’s paint.  Chirrut is packed with his staff and his lightbow.  They’re both pretty solid pieces, especially the lightbow, which is made up of four moving parts, allowing for it to be properly collapsed and deployed.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The assortment that contained Chirrut’s original release was never plentiful at any retail locations near me.  By the time I actually saw one in person, it was obvious that Hasbro wasn’t going to complete the team line-up, so I didn’t see the point in expanding the set beyond the main three.  With Hasbro circling back around and completing the run, I figured it was worthwhile to finally snag him.  He’s admittedly a bit outpaced by more modern offerings, but at least he’s a little better than the first release.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3034: Bodhi Rooki

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

BODHI ROOK

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“A former Imperial pilot, Bodhi has strong piloting and technical skills that he will put to use for the Rebellion.  Ever practical, but highly anxious, Bodhi must gather his courage to bring the battle to the Empire.”

When Hasbro launched Phase IV of The Black Series, in addition to a selection of new figures, they also devoted a whole sub-series to re-releasing and completing the core cast of Star Wars: Rebels.  We got a Zeb to finish out the team, but we also got the rest of the team, with the earliest of them updated to the new face-print styling that has become the standard for the line.  It was a pretty successful venture, so Hasbro has set their sites on another unfinished cast, namely the crew from Rogue One.  Conspicuously absent from the Black Series line-up was poor old Bodhi, a key character to the whole plan to smuggle out the Death Star plans in the first place.  How could you leave him out?  It’s unreasonable, darn you!  Well, it’s okay, because just like Zeb got his long overdue release, so did Bodhi, and I’m taking a look at it today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bodhi Rook is figure 6 in the Rogue One set of Black Series figures.  Of the main line releases in the set, Bodhi marks the one truly new figure, since he’d not had a prior release, as brought up earlier in the review.  The figure stands 5 3/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Bodhi’s articulation scheme is on par with the most recent of the Black Series releases.  It’s got a really solid range of motion, especially on the elbows and knees, and he’s even got the butterfly movement on his shoulders, which adds a lot to the poses you can get out of him.  Bodhi’s sculpt is an all-new offering, as expected, and it’s a really strong one.  The likeness on the head is a pretty spot-on match for Riz Ahmed in the role, and they even do a respectable job of making his hair appropriately scraggly.  The googles are a separate piece, but glued in place.  Still, it means that, unlike the smaller figure, they’re actually clear like in the movie.  The body sculpt is really scrawny and gaunt, as he should be, and helps him to stand out from the others.  His vest is a separate overlay.  It’s not removable like it was on the smaller figure, but it still adds some extra depth to everything.  Bodhi’s paint work is okay, if not the greatest.  The face is certainly the best part, since it’s got the printing.  There’s some misalignment on the hair paint, so he looks like he’s got a few bald spots.  It’s at least on the sides, so it’s not super obvious.  The work on the Imperial insignias is decent, and all of his pens are properly painted too, but the vest winds up lacking a bunch of the details on the buckles and clips, so it’s just largely an unpainted clump of brown.  Just a little bit more detailing would definitely go a long way.  Bodhi is packed with a small Rebel blaster, as well as his cable pack from the end of the movie.  The pack is a pretty impressive piece, complete with a full spool of wire, which can even be wound and unwound.  It’s a really cool piece, and helps the figure feel a lot better accessorized than a lot of other Black Series releases.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really liked Bodhi as a character, and I ewas always really bummed that he never got a Black Series figure back with the others.  It was part of why I never bothered with the rest of them outside of the core three.  I was definitely really excited when this guy was announced, and even more so to get him in hand.  He turned out really, really well.  The updates to the line have benefited him well and the end result is honestly the nicest of the whole Rogue One team.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.