Tag Archives: Star Wars

#1829: Grand Moff Tarkin

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

GRAND MOFF TARKIN

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“As one of Emperor Palpatine’s most loyal administrators, Grand Moff Tarkin devised and administered the construction of the first Death Star battle station. The governor ruled a large section of the Outer Rim Territories, including Tatooine, with an iron fist of terror and brutality.”

Though a prominent character in the franchise’s first installment, as an old guy in a grey military uniform, Wilhuff Tarkin hasn’t been the most toyetic character from the Star Wars movies.  As a matter of fact, Tarkin was the only major character to be completely absent from the vintage line.  His first action figure would come over a decade later.  I’ll be taking a look at that figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Grand Moff Tarkin was released in 1997 as part of Power of the Force II’s second year.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has the usual 6 points of articulation.  Tarkin sported a brand-new sculpt, which would remain unique to him (Captain Piett would make use of a similar selection of pieces, but they were just different enough to be…different).  It’s a decent sculpt, and an early break from the extreme proportions of the line.  I mean, sure, he’s still got a bit more bulk than Peter Cushing ever did, but compared to some of the others in the line, he was downright normal looking.  His face even sports a halfway-decent likeness of Cushing, certainly one of the best human likenesses Power of the Force II produced.  While he lacks some of the sharper detailing that a lot of the aliens from this line got, all of the important details are there, and he certainly still looks respectable.  The paint work on Tarkin is clean and fairly simple.  There’s a little bit of slop on some of the silver parts, but it’s minor.  Tarkin is packed with two different styles of blasters: one small, one mid-sized.  Not bad for a guy who never carries a single blaster in the movie.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve mentioned a few times before in these PotF2 reviews that my cousin Patrick and I sort of had this shared collection of these figures.  As such, there are a number of figures I never personally owned, which I still have some memories of.  He had a Tarkin, which was sadly lost on the beach on one of our family vacations.  That stuck with me for a while, and I never did get around to finding my own.  I got this one during a sidewalk sale at Lost In Time Toys over the summer.  Tarkin’s a decent figure.  Sure, there have been better versions of the character over the years, but for his first go, this one’s pretty darn good.

#1810: Admiral Ackbar

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

ADMIRAL ACKBAR

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE 2 (KENNER)

“A respected member of the Mon Calamari species, Admiral Ackbar serves as a senior Rebel Alliance adviser. He commanded the attack on the second Death Star from aboard his personal flagship during the Battle of Endor.”

It’s a trap!  Sorry, I think I’m contractually obligated to start every Admiral Ackbar review that way.  Just no way of getting around it.   So, now that it’s out of the way, let’s just have a looks-y at this here Admiral Ackbar figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Admiral Ackbar was released in the 1997 assortment of Power of the Force II figures.  He was Ackbar’s second figure, following his original vintage release.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Ackbar was sporting a brand-new sculpt, and as a more inhuman character, he’s got perhaps one of the most accurate sculpts from this era of the line.  There’s a ton of detail going on in the head and hands, and it looks really good.  Honestly, I’m not even sure that more recent figures have topped this.  Definitely some top-notch work going on here.  The rest of the body is fairly basic by comparison, but that’s in keeping with how Ackbar’s design worked in the movie.  His proportions are a little bit bulked up when compared to the movie, which was of course in keeping with the rest of the line.  That being said, he’s not that far removed, and I think some of the differences can be written off as simply making for a somewhat sturdier toy.  The paintwork on Ackbar is actually quite complex for the time.  The head and hands have quite a bit of subtle accent work, making them look more properly skin-like, and accenting the already quite detailed head.  Ackbar was packed with a wrist-mounted blaster.  Fairly certain he doesn’t sport this one in the movie, but I guess we can’t blame them for trying, can we?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Ackbar was not amongst the figures I had growing up.  I think I just didn’t really have an appreciation for the character until I was a bit older.  He’s one of the more recent additions to my collection, grabbed during one of Lost in Time’s sidewalk sales.  The figure is definitely one of the best figures from PotF2; his more alien design allows for a figure that’s aged quite a bit better than the rest.

#1807: Rebel Solider – Hoth

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

REBEL SOLDIER — HOTH

STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION (HASBRO)

In the hiatus between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Hasbro launched a brand-new style of Star Wars figure.  They were higher quality sculpts, much more articulated than the standard faire, and, coolest of all, they had packaging based on that of the old vintage figures.  The Vintage Collection ran for three series of four figures each, one assortment from each movie in the original trilogy.  In 2010, the line was re-launched, with a more expansive selection of figures.  It went on hiatus in 2012, and was in the mean time replaced by the smaller-scale Black Series offerings.  Following the franchise’s 40th anniversary, however, the line has been brought back from hiatus!  I’ll be looking at the first assortment’s one true “vintage” character, the Hoth Rebel Soldier!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Rebel Soldier is one of the six figures in the first series of the re-launched Vintage Collection.  He, like all but one of his case-mates, is essentially a straight re-release of a prior figure, specifically the clean-shaven Rebel Soldier from 2010’s Target-exclusive “Defense of Hoth” boxed set.  The figure was meant to see a single-packed release as a running change to The Legacy Collection’s bearded Rebel, but that never materialized, leaving this guy exclusive to a boxed item, and thereby difficult to acquire for the purposes of army building.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 22 points of articulation.  While he’s not quite as mobile as some of the more recent offerings from Hasbro, he’s pretty good for a figure who was sculpted almost a decade ago.  He’s well-proportioned, and his uniform is sharply detailed, matching up well with the film.  The helmet is removable, albeit slightly tricky to get off the first time.  I like it well enough, though I’m not super crazy about the scarf, as it seems to make him a little too specific for army building.  The underlying head is distinct enough to look like a real person, while still being generic enough to allow for some army building.  He’s not bearded, which is good, since most of the Hoth Rebels were not.  The skirt piece is cloth, which looks slightly off when compared to the rest of the figure, but allows for much better posability, so I don’t mind it so much.  The paintwork on this figure is clean, and well-applied.  I generally like to see weathering on these sorts of figures, but for the Hoth guys, it’s not as big a deal, since snow’s trickier.  The Rebel Soldier is packed with a blaster rifle, a pistol, and a survival pack, which is a pretty decent assortment of extras, especially given the smaller available area in the vintage packaging.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Rebel Soldier’s been by far the scarcest of the new Vintage Collection, no doubt due to his army building potential.  As such, finding one wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.  I managed to track one down by scouting out an out of the way Walmart that had just put out its case.  I’m glad I got him, because he’s a really strong figure, and the best Hoth Rebel out there.

The Blaster In Question #0068: First Order Stormtrooper Blaster (Rival)

Posted by Tim Marron in Nerf Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

BlasterInQuestion1

FIRST ORDER STORMTROOPER BLASTER

STAR WARS (RIVAL)

RivalStorm1Hold on. We’ve been here several times before, haven’t we?  No, once again, we’re looking at yet another First Order Stormtrooper blaster. What is this, the fourth blaster with this name?  Yes, but with a big difference. Hitherto, all the various Stormtrooper blasters have been standard dart blasters, but this particular iteration is in fact, a Rival blaster. How’s that work then? Let me tell you. Onto the review. 

THE BLASTER ITSELF

RivalStorm2Arent you a little big for a stormtrooper blaster? Not you, the reader, was doing a bit where I—  you know, because of the quote from— look, nevermind.  The Rival version of the First Order Stormtrooper blaster was released in 2018 as one of the more “collector’s” style of blaster like we’ve seen with the Boba Fett Apollo reskin and the Deadpool Kronos. Like both previous examples, this blaster comes in a fancy display style of box with lots of stormtrooper imagery, as you’d expect. Unlike the other blasters, though, this isn’t simply a recolor, it’s an entirely new shell, and boy is it a shell. Mechanically speaking, the Stormtrooper blaster works just like the Helios, albeit without the ability to switch the charging handle from one side to the other. Because of this, the body of the blaster has to accommodate the same layout of internals, which is why the stock section looks a little chunky compared to props from the movies. Add to that the barrel and fore grip section which isn’t present on the Helios and you now have a pretty huge blaster.  Not that that’s a bad thing in and of itself, but it does throw a couple RivalStorm3things off just a bit in terms of the design. More of that later. Out of the box, the blaster comes with 2 extra bits that are meant to be slotted into the right side in order to make it more visually accurate to the movie prop. They don’t serve any function beyond aesthetics but I did find it interesting that they are easily removable, I guess if you want to put everything back in the nice display box. There is a scope molded into the body of the blaster so it’s not removable, but it might have been nice if they put any kind of reticle in there at all. As it stands, it’s just a tube. The aforementioned wonkiness in scale probably has the greatest impact on ergonomics. The first thing you notice when picking this up is that the grip is absolutely huge and kind of blocky. I know the Sterling submachine gun has a grip with flat sides, and consequently, so does the movie prop on which it’s built, but some contouring around where the webbing of my thumb sits would have made a big difference here, especially since the Helios has just such contouring, so it’s not an issue for RivalStorm4preserving the function of the blaster. Secondly, because the stock is so thick, the butt plate is much wider than it would be normally. Again, wouldn’t have been an issue with some light contour work, but for now, the wide plate with hard edges along the sides can be unpleasant if you don’t seat it just right on your shoulder. And that’s really all the functional complaints I have about this. I mean, it’s a Helios and I love the Helios. The charging handle on the left side is hinged so it can flip up to be more out of the way for storage or what have you, and is a pretty good shape for being as slim as it is. As a Rival blaster, performance is solid, firing hard and far, definitely something to give your younger siblings pause. The First Order Stormtrooper Blaster comes packaged in its fancy box with the two extra decorative pieces, a 7 round Rival magazine, and 7 special red Rival rounds, you know, ‘cause it’s a laser gun. 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION 

I do actually have one more complaint about the blaster, but I saw this one coming the moment I saw it unveiled at Toy Fair. It’s expensive. Really expensive. Such is always the case with licensed blasters. If you want a Helios, you can get one for about 1/4 the price of this. I got mine through GameStop with a bit of a discount, but still, you have to be sure you want this if you’re planning on picking one up. Maybe if you’re feeling crafty, you could paint the white parts gold and have yourself a Captain Phasma blaster. Then in true movie fashion you could never fire it once and then try to apprehend a deserter with a stick. Good choiceRivalStormbox

#1796: Lando Calrissian

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

LANDO CALRISSIAN

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Lando Calrissian has been called many things over the years; con artist, smuggler, and rogue. He never expected to be called a leader and war hero…but then, he never dreamed that the Empire would force him to betray his best friend.”

This deal is getting worse all the time!  What deal?  I don’t actually know.  I didn’t have a decent intro for this thing, so there you have it.  I’ve been pretty steadily working my way through my Power of the Force II collection over the last two years, but with all of the new stuff I’ve been picking up, sometimes they fall off my radar for a bit.  They’re back today, though, and I’m looking the receiver of progressively worse deals, Lando Calrissian himself!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lando was part of the first series of Power of the Force II figures, released in 1996.  He’s based on the character’s debut appearance from Empire.  It’s rather distinctive, and quite frankly, it’s my favorite of his looks.  This figure would mark the second time it would show up in plastic form.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has the usual 6 points of articulation.  Lando, being from the line’s very first assortment, is also victim to the worst of the line’s stylization.  He’s rivaled only by the farm boy Luke for the title of “beefcake,” and that deep lunge of a pose he’s got going on certainly accents his disco-inspired garb quite well.  But really, can we talk about the fact that his poofy and loose-fitting shirt from the movie is seen here stretched to capacity over Lando’s rippling pecks and abs?  Because boy is it.  Like, how does one get oneself jacked like that?  I’m genuinely curious.  That’s a talent, to be sure.  Lando gets a souped up cape to match the rest of him.  This thing is super thick, and super heavy; I guess if his cape is this heavy, that explains how he got so jacked.  The whole thing’s topped off with a head that’s identical to the one on the skiff disguise Lando.  While it’s not a perfect likeness, it’s still one of the better efforts from the earlier PotF2 figures, and it’s leaps and bounds beyond any of the vintage Landos.  Lando’s paintwork is actually kind of unique for one of these figures, what with all the blue.  He looks quite clean, and pops out from the display, as he most certainly should!  Lando is packed with two different blasters.  He’s got the one he stole from a Stormtrooper, as well as one of his own, more suited to his personal flair.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Lando isn’t a figure I had growing up, but when I started filling in the gaps in this line a few years ago, he was definitely near the top of my list.  I ended up grabbing him from Lost in Time during one fo their sidewalk sales, and I certainly was happy to find him.  Lando is perhaps the goofiest, most ridiculous of all the initial PotF2 figures, but that works in his favor, making him perhaps the most memorable, and certainly a lot of fun.

#1792: Princess Leia Organa

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

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA — HOTH

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (HASBRO)

With all of the stuff that’s been dropping in the last few months, it’s been more than a little difficult to keep up with all of the new releases, not only tracking them down in stores, but then also remembering to review them after I’ve gotten them.  In the spirit of clearing out my pile of new things to review, the next couple of days are going to be some figures I’ve had waiting in the wings for a couple of months now.  I’m kicking things off with another Star Wars offering, from the somewhat infrequently looked at basic line.  Let’s have a look at Princess Leia!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Leia is from the second assortment of basic figures under the Solo product banner.  Obviously, Leia isn’t drawn from Solo; instead she’s based on her Hoth appearance from Empire.  She’s in good company, since her brother got a Hoth-based figure in the initial product wave.  Ironically, it’s only Han whose Hoth look is absent from the Solo line.  This figure stands 3 1/2 inches tall and she has 7 points of articulation.  Leia has, like an increasing number of figures in the basic line, some extra non-standard articulation.  Most figures have been getting wrist movement, but Leia instead gets cut joints at the tops of her boots.  I like having the extra movement there a lot; it helps make her more stable on her feet.  I do wish she’d also gotten the wrist movement, but perhaps that’s too much to ask for.  Leia is sporting an all-new scuplt.  It matches well with the previous Luke figure in terms of quality and detailing.  The head, though not the best Fisher likeness we’ve seen at this scale, is a respectable offering, and you can certainly see a lot of her in it.  Leia’s paintwork is mostly pretty reserved.  All of the important details are there, and application is clean and even.  Obviously, the face doesn’t possess the same lifelike quality we’ve been seeing in the 6-inch line, but it’s not a terrible offering at all, and is a step-up from the work we were seeing a few years ago.  Leia is packed with a standard issue rebel blaster rifle, which even has some painted detailing.  That’s always good to see.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When Leia was shown off towards the end of the Last Jedi branding-run, I was definitely interested in tracking her down.  This has always been my favorite Leia look, so I have a tendency to grab all the figures of it that I can.  I didn’t have much trouble at all finding this figure; when the second assortment started hitting stores, I was fortunate enough to find an untouched case of them at a Walmart.  I like this figure quite a bit.  I don’t know that she’s topped the Vintage Collection release as my favorite, but she’s certainly the best version at the lower articulation count.

#1781: Concept R2-D2 & C-3PO

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

CONCEPT R2-D2 & C-3PO

STAR WARS: 30TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION (HASBRO)

“Ralph McQuarrie was commissioned by George Lucas to create several paintings. This scene depicts R2-D2 and C-3PO in a desert landscape. Even in this early rendering, Threepio already has a somewhat startled look, and Artoo reveals traces of his spunky nature.”

Prior to the versions of the characters we’ve all come to know and love so well, the Star Wars characters were handed to illustrator Ralph McQuarrie.  McQuarrie created distinctive versions of the characters that have stuck with the fanbase all these years later, even though they were in some cases very largely changed for the final product.  McQuarrie’s best remembered image is the confrontation between Starkiller and Vader, but not far behind it was his desert landscape, featuring the characters that would become R2-D2 and C-3PO.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

R2 and 3PO were released as an exclusive two-pack at Celebration IV in 2007, where they helped launched the 30th Anniversary Collection.

R2-D2

Perhaps one of the least changed of the McQuarrie designs (barring perhaps Vader), R2 was still a tripodal little trash can droid.  His basic silhouette is more or less the same, though McQuarrie’s design was a little chunkier and had a few more attachments.  A lot of the specific elements of this design would later be worked into Rebels’ resident astromech, Chopper.  The figure is about 2 1/2 inches tall and he has 13 points of articulation.  He’s actually more compact than he initially appears.  He’s about 3/4 of the size of your usual R2 figure, but he’s certainly not short on detail work.  The steampunk nature of the design translates to a sculpt that Hasbro’s sculptors clearly had a lot of fun with.  I think my very favorite part is the pair of arms at the front, which nicely fold into his mid section, helping to recreate R2’s signature “face”.  Rather than his classic white and blue colors, the McQuarrie R2 design serves as a more natural counterpoint to 3PO’s golden finish, being a gunmetal grey and silver combo.  It actually makes for a pretty striking look, and the work on this figure is actually way better than you might expect from a straight silver figure.  There’s plenty of accenting, which helps to bring out all of the cool details in the sculpt.

C-3PO

McQuarrie’s C-3PO is probably one of his most remembered designs.  I think it’s largely to do with the decidedly more feminine nature, and that it bears more than a passing resemblance to the robot Maria from Metropolis.  It’s a really cool throwback to one of sci-fi’s most classic designs, which definitely gives it a leg up in my book.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has 16 points of articulation.  3PO exists in this kind of weird cross roads of articulation.  Hasbro was really just starting to learn how to articulate these guys, so you kind of get this weird mix, where the elbows, mid-torso, and ankles have a great range of motion, but then the shoulders and hips are just basic cut joints, and there aren’t any knees at all.  The knees in particular are odd, since the design has natural breaks for them and everything.  Odd choice.  Still, the figure’s not as limited as you might think.  The sculpt actually takes a little bit of a departure from McQuarrie’s illustration, and plays more into the Maria side of things.  I’m not opposed to this, though, and I think this ultimately makes for the better overall figure design.  3PO’s coloring is rather similar to the final film design, being gold, from head to toe.  It’s even more prominent on this design.  The figure’s molded in a goldish plastic, and sports some brown accent work, which generally pairs off well with R2’s paint.

Though neither figure in the pack includes any character-specific extras, but they do include one of the 30th Anniversary coins, which features some of McQuarrie’s artwork embossed on it.  I never got super into these, but they’re certainly nifty.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted in my review of the Concept Han Solo, I’ve always been intrigued by the McQuarrie Concept figures.  They’re a lot of fun, and some day, I’ll get around to putting together a whole set of them.  I think these two are nearer the top of my favorites, though I gotta say, I was expecting to like 3PO the most, but it was R2 that ended up being my favorite of the two.  Regardless, these are two very well put together figures.

This pair isn’t part of my personal collection (yet), and were instead loaned to me by my friends at All Time Toys.  These two are available through All Time’s eBay store front, should you be interested in owning them for yourself.  And, if you’re looking for other toys, both old and new, please also check out All Time’s full eBay store front, and take a look at their webstore at alltimetoys.com.

#1775: Hoth Rebel Soldier

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

HOTH REBEL SOLDIER (w/ ANTI-VEHICLE LASER CANNON)

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“The Empire has located the Alliance’s secret headquarters on the Ice Planet Hoth. During the consequent invasion, Rebel Soldiers hold out bravely against an unbeatable ground assault until a retreat salvages their heroic effort.”

When it comes to Star Wars-related army building, the Stormtroopers and their ilk get the lionshare of the attention—wait, wait, hold up.  I already ran this review a month ago.  Ah, but you see, that was the Kenner Power of the Force II Hoth Rebel Soldier from 1997.  Today, I’m looking at the Kenner Power of the Force II Hoth Rebel Soldier from 1997…with Anti-Vehicle Laser cannon.  That’s very different, and it should most certainly be treated as such.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

So, as the intro touched on, the Deluxe Hoth Rebel Soldier was released in 1997 as part of Kenner’s Power of the Force II line, specifically of the Deluxe variety.  The initial Deluxe offerings were goofy non-canon variants on main characters, but by the time this guy came along, things had become more normalized.  He stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Not entirely surprisingly, this figure has a few parts in common with the standard Hoth Rebel Soldier I looked at last month.  Specifically, these two share the same legs and pelvis.  His upper torso and arms are also quite similar to the basic release, but the pose on the arms is a little less wide spread, and the torso lacks the goggles.  Given the uniformed nature of the characters, it’s a fairly sensible re-use/similarity.  The main change between the two figures is the head.  Where the last figure had his goggles pulled off his face and a beard, this one has his goggles on and a clean shaven face.  This aids him in being a little more generic than the other figure, and a bit more accurate to the Hoth Soldiers as a whole.  Given how much more suited to army building this particular figure is, it’s actually a bit of a surprise he was the one in the deluxe set, rather than the other guy.  The paintwork on this figure is another point of difference, which is actually a little bit surprising.  This one is a fair bit more subdued than the basic release.  It’s not quite as eye-catching, but the application is decent enough.  This Hoth Soldier included the same survival pack from the basic release (with a slightly tweaked paint to match the base figure), as well as the previously mentioned Anti-Vehicle Laser cannon.  The cannon is decent enough, and good for scenery, I suppose, though it’s got the “exploding” effect that Kenner was so keen on for this line.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In doing my usual background research for the basic Hoth Soldier, I was reminded of the existence of this figure, who I recalled always wanting to track down.  He doesn’t really crop up as frequently as some of the other figures in this line, so I wasn’t sure how quickly I’d be able to find him.  Fortunately, while I was visiting 2nd Chance Toys for my birthday, I found this guy in a stack of figures from a collection they’d just gotten in.  Of the two Soldiers, this one’s my favorite, and I’m quite happy to have found him.

#1770: Han Solo – Exogorth Escape

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

HAN SOLO — EXOGORTH ESCAPE

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

“Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon, was one of the great leaders of the Rebel Alliance. In the wake of the of the battle of Hoth, Solo fled with the rest of the RebelForces and evaded the pursuit of Imperial TIE Fighters as he expertly maneuvered the Falcon towards the perceived safety of a crater in the Hoth asteroid belt. Infamous for his bold plans that seemed to always defy the odds, Solo soon discovered that the unstable crater upon which he had landed the Falcon – and its crew made up of co-pilot Chewbacca, Princess Leia Organa, and C-3PO – was in fact the cavernous mouth of a giant space slug known as an Exogorth. In the belly of the beast, Solo and crew discovered an inhospitable environment of noxious fumes and parasitic, swooping Mynocks – bat-like creatures who ate through power cables and drained the energy from even the most impressive ships. With the life of his comrades and beloved Millennium Falcon threatened, Solo was called again to emergency action, and steered the Falcon to safety, barely escaping into space through the rapidly collapsing jaws of the ravenous Exogorth.”

Remember the Solo Han Solo Black Series figure that I liked so much?  And remember how I said at the end of that review when I said I’d be sincerely disappointed if there wasn’t a Bespin Han of a similar quality released within the next year?  Well, looks like I don’t have to be sincerely disappointed!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Exogorth Escape Han Solo was released as a SDCC 2018-exclusive offering for Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Black Series.  Like Thrawn, Jyn, and the First Order Stormtrooper before him, he serves as a sort of a preview for a mass-retail released figure, specifically Bespin Han Solo, who is hitting stores in the latest round of Black Series figures.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  Han’s articulation scheme follows the trend established by the Solo versions of Han and Lando, which is to say he’s got some really great range on a lot of those joints, especially the neck joints.  I definitely appreciate this new style for the line, and it’s nice to have a Han can be more expressive than the rather stiff Smuggler version.  The sculpt for this Han is all-new, and overall one of the line’s strongest offerings.  The head sculpt is the main selling point, based largely on its improved Harrison Ford likeness.  While we got a pretty good older Ford likeness from the TFA version, the younger Han has always been a tough mark.  This figure has one of the best takes we’ve seen to date.  It’s still not 100% there.  The hair seems a little off, and the face goes a little bit more for caricature, but the overall appearance is very, very close.  The body is a fairly balanced sculpt, proportion-wise.  The shoulder’s could probably stand to be a little broader, but that’s a decidedly a minor issue.  The detail work, especially on his jacket, is clean and sharp, and there’s some solid texture work all throughout.  I’m also quite happy that they’ve changed up how they do the non-dominant hands, so that it’s a more sensible grip, rather than the weird claw grip we got with the last two Han releases.  Han’s sculpt is aided by some absolutely top-notch paint work.  He uses the printed face technique, which really further sells the likeness on the head.  The SDCC release gets a little extra shading on the face than the regular release, but it’s definitely a minor change.  The body paint is more basic, but he does get some nice weathering on his belt and holster.  Aside from the minor paint difference on the face, the main thing that separates this release from the regular retail offering is his accessory complement.  Both figures include Han’s blaster, which is mostly accurate to the Empire model of the blaster, apart from lacking silver paint on the barrel.  In an effort to make this figure live more appropriately up to his “Exogorth Escape” subtitle, this Han also includes one of the Mynock creatures that had affixed itself to the hull of the Falcon, as well as his breathing apparatus he wears while walking around the Exogorth’s innards, a hydrospanner, and an extra left hand.  The Mynock is a fun piece, and I really like the slightly transparent wings.  I do sort of wish it had a flight stand of some sort, though.  The rebreather fits nicely over Han’s face, though I would be careful about taking it off; those seams on the strap don’t look too durable.  The hydrospanner is a nice scene-specific piece, which looks good in his off-hand.  The left hand might actually be my favorite accessory in the whole set; there’s just so much Harrison Ford in how the hand is posed.  I can practically hear him telling off Threepio!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was unable to attend SDCC this year (or any year, really; living on the other side of the country has that affect on you), so I didn’t have the opportunity to pick this set up in-person.  Honestly, I wasn’t even sure I was going to get it, since the base figure’s getting a standard release and everything.  But, Super Awesome Fiancee wanted the Doctor Aphra set, so I had to log onto Hasbro Toy Shop anyway, and this guy was just sitting there in-stock.  I’m glad I splurged for the deluxe version.  Bespin Han is hands down my favorite look for the character, and I truly love the extras they’ve packed in with him.  By far, the very best version of Han in this line.  Or any line, really.

#1760: Endor Rebel Commando Infantryman

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

ENDOR REBEL COMMANDO INFANTRYMAN

MILITARIES OF STAR WARS (SIDESHOW)

“The men and women of the Rebel Alliance were fiercely dedicated to the principle of freedom, and would lay down their lives to win their objectives. Some were Imperials disillusioned with their government’s tyranny. Some were from worlds subjugated by the Empire. In stark contrast to the faceless anonymity of the stormtrooper ranks or the precision drilling of Imperial Academy training, Alliance troops were aggressively individualistic and much more rag-tag.”

Back in the day, Sideshow Toys was a much smaller company, whose primary focus was largely horror.  Their first big break came along in the form of Star Wars, a property that had previously been confined pretty much exclusively to mass retail.  They were granted a special license (no small feat when you take all of Hasbro’s exclusivity deals), and got right to work producing characters from all throughout the saga.  The line’s still running (though they’ve started partnering with Hot Toys for a lot of releases), but today I’ll be jumping back to the line’s earliest days, and having a look at one of my favorite “characters” from Star Wars, the Endor Rebel Commando!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Endor Rebel Commando was released by Sideshow in 2007, as the debut offering in their Militaries of Star Wars line.  The Rebel was no doubt chosen for the relative ease of creation, especially when compared to the likes of the Stormtroopers.  There were three versions of the Commando available: the Infantryman, the Pathfinder, and the Sergeant.  The figure seen here is the Infantryman, the most widely available of the three, and the one meant to represent the most basic “army builder.”  It’s the same basic design as the Endor Rebel Soldier I looked at from the PotF2 line, though he’s obviously aiming for a more screen accurate appearance.  The figure stands 12 inches tall and has over 30 points of articulation.

The headsculpt was a slight change of pace for Sideshow’s Star Wars stuff, since he’s not meant to be based on one particular actor or character.  However, he’d look kind of odd if he were too generic. So, what Sideshow did was create a sculpt that was realistic, and clearly one individual, but still generic enough that if you have a few of them standing around, it’s not going to look too odd.  While I don’t know that the sculpt they gave us is my ideal head for a Rebel Soldier, there’s no denying it’s a very well crafted sculpt, which looks quite lifelike given the period of time in which it was released.  He’s perhaps a little cartoonish by modern 1/6 standards, but he’s right on par with the rest of Sideshow’s stuff at the time, and a marked improvement over the types of sculpts we were getting from Hasbro just a few years prior.  The paint work is somewhat thickly applied and a little basic by modern sculpts, but once again was very good for the time, and, admittedly, not bad even by modern standards.   The eyes in particular showcase some incredibly lifelike work.

The figure’s outfit showcases another area where the industry really changed following this figure’s release.  It’s a mixed media affair, as you’d expect.  He’s got a vest, jacket, undershirt, and pants that are all tailored pieces.  Though by today’s standards, they may be somewhat bulky, loose-fitting, and sport some rather sizable seems, they were decent work for the time, and again an improvement over similar figures from other companies.  With a little bit of careful posing, you can get them to look pretty great.  He also gets a belt with number of sculpted pouches (and one cloth one) and a bandolier, which both match the other offerings in style, and replicate the gear the Rebels were carrying in the movie.  His boots and gloves are sculpted.  The gloves are actually just hands, and they’re very nicely detailed, and quite well scaled to the body.  Sideshow at this time was always very good with the gloves.  The boots are, unlike with later figures, actually boots that slip over the figure’s feet.  Due to being made from a softer material, their detailing isn’t quite as sharp, but they’re still very good.  Lastly, and most importantly, the Infantryman has his helmet.  The Endor helmets are my favorite aspect of this design, and while this one isn’t a 100% match for the ones from the movie (it’s a little flat at the top, and sits a little high on his head), it’s still a very nice piece, and really pulls the whole figure together.

The primary failing of this, and really all of the early Sideshow Star Wars offerings, is the base body he’s built on.  He uses Sideshow’s Buck body, which was decent when they first started using it, but was almost a decade old by the time of this figure’s release.  It’s a rather stiff body, and clothes have trouble hanging the right way on it.  It’s also very skinny and suffers from some very odd internal proportions.  It’s this body that makes the uniform look a bit more off than it should, despite how it looks when not on this body.

The Infantryman’s uniform was more involved than some of the line’s other figures, so by comparison, he’s a little lighter on accessories.  He includes a Blastech A-295 blaster rifle, his hard-pack survival pack, and a display stand with the Star Wars logo on it.  He doesn’t get some of the more interesting smaller extras, but what he gets all of the basics.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It took me quite a while to actually break into the Sideshow Star Wars line, and it was a ways after this figure’s release.  I remember being very interested in possibly getting this figure, but I just never did.  He’s not a bad figure at all, especially when you look at when he was released.  What’s more, this is still the only time that the Endor Rebels have been released in this scale.

The item reviewed here is not from my personal collection, but was instead loaned to me for review by my friends over at All Time Toys.  If you are interested in owning the figure from this review, he’s available through All Time’s eBay page.  And, if you’re looking for other toys, both old and new, please also check out All Time’s full eBay store front, and take a look at their webstore at alltimetoys.com.