Tag Archives: Star Wars

#0877: Princess Leia & Han Solo

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

PRINCESS LEIA & HAN SOLO – BESPIN

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

HanLeia1

You know, they say the best things come in threes (who says that? I don’t say that! I don’t think that’s a thing…) I’ve already done two days of Princess Leia reviews, why not go for a third? Well, you’re getting a third whether you want it or not. This is my site! ….Which I’m incredibly glad you’re all reading right now! So…if you don’t like this, I promise I won’t review a Princess Leia tomorrow. Anyway, here’s today’s review. It’s not just Leia, though, there’s also a Han! Yay?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Like yesterday’s set, these two are from 1997’s The Princess Leia Collection sub-set if the Power of the Force II line. This pair represented The Empire Strikes Back.

PRINCESS LEIA

HanLeia2After spending almost the entirety of the first film in the same basic outfit, Leia was given a few more looks for the sequel. While her Hoth look from early in the film is by far the more definitive look, this figure was based on her slightly more regal look from a few of her scenes on Bespin. She’s 3 ¾ inches tall and has the usual 6 points of articulation. Unlike the last pair of figures, this Leia didn’t have an equivalent single-release figure. She got a totally new sculpt. Like the other figures in this line, it’s not really fantastic, but it’s passable enough. The general proportions are fairly decent, and she looks sort of like Carrie Fisher. She’s a bit oddly posed, though; the legs are in a slight stride (making it really hard to keep her standing) and her right arm is bent in such a way as to make it longer than the left. Like the prior Leia, this figure uses some cloth parts for her costume, specifically the skirt and cape (though, this time, the cape uses a plastic piece for the collar). The pieces once again scale pretty well for cloth, which is always nice to see. The paint is all pretty passable and clean, though some of the work on the face is a little bit heavy. Leia includes no accessories of her own (unless you count Han!).

HAN SOLO

HanLeia3While Leia got a few different looks in ESB, Han pretty much just stuck with the one main look for the majority of the film. Since it’s the look that he wears around Bespin, it makes sense to pack this one with Leia. The figure is a little taller than Leia, and has the same 6 points of articulation. Like yesterday’s Luke and Leia, Bespin Han had a single-release counterpart in the main line (which I even reviewed on this site!). This figure uses the same head as that one (as did most of the PotFII figures); it’s not a great head sculpt, mostly because it bears next to no resemblance to Harrison Ford, but at least it was consistent. The rest of the sculpt is okay, but not fantastic. Like Luke, the body feels rather undersized, especially the hands. This only exaggerates the problems with this head. I think part of this may be to counteract the use of a cloth coat, which does bulk up the figure a little. The coat isn’t as well tailored as Luke’s, but it’s alright, I guess. Once again, the sculpted version looks a fair bit better. The paint is fairly well handled, though, like Leia, the face is a bit heavy handed. It’s not technically a paint issue, but it should be noted that the color of the coat is incorrect. It should be blue. It’s worth noting that the single-release figure also had the wrong colored coat, so it may have been a licensing thing. Han was packed with his usual blaster, which, like all of the PotFII blasters is a fair bit over-sized.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with yesterday’s set, I picked this pair up from a collectibles store across from the theatre where I saw The Force Awakens. This was actually the one of the two sets I was more looking forward to, but after opening them, I think it may be the lesser set. Once again, the Leia figure is the superior of the two figures, and she’s helped by the fact that she’s the only PotFII version of this particular look. Han, on the other hand, is rather a letdown. Still, this is a cool enough set that I don’t regret getting them.

#0876: Princess Leia & Luke Skywalker

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

PRINCESS LEIA & LUKE SKYWALKER – CEREMONIAL

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

LeiaLuke1

You know what? I kinda liked yesterday’s review of Princess Leia. So much that I feel like reviewing another Princess Leia today. But it’s not just Leia this time! Nope, now she’s also bringing her twin brother, Luke, along for the ride. Isn’t that sweet?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This pair are from the Star Wars: Power of the Force II line, specifically from 1997’s The Princess Leia Collection sub-set of the line. There were four different two-packs, each containing a variant of Princess Leia, alongside one of her compatriots from the films. Each film in the original trilogy was represented, with an extra set for the original film.

PRINCESS LEIA

LeiaLuke2Leia spends most of A New Hope in the same basic number, but she did have a second, more short-lived look right at the very end of the film, commonly referred to as her “Ceremonial” look, due to it being worn during the award ceremony that makes up the movie’s closing scene. That’s the look this figure replicates. She stands 3 ¾ inches tall and has the same 6 points of articulation seen on most of this line’s figures. Though a single-carded version of this design was released right around the same time as this figure, the sculpt seen here is unique. It’s not the most amazing work ever, but it’s not bad for the time, and certainly tops Leia’s first PotFII figure. The general build of the figure isn’t too terrible, though her head seems just a bit on the large side, and she has quite a neck. The “cape” and skirt are both handled via cloth pieces. At this scale, cloth can always be a questionable venture, but it works pretty nicely here. These pieces are technically removable, but aren’t really meant to be taken off; she looks rather incomplete without them. Leia’s paint is generally pretty well handled; it’s really only on her torso and head, but the detailing is pretty clean. Leia doesn’t have any accessories specifically for her, but there is an included medal, which can easily be given to either included figure.

LUKE SKYWALKER

LeiaLuke3The Luke included here is specifically designed as a companion piece to Leia, so he’s also in his “Ceremonial” garb from the end of the movie. I always felt it was a shame that this look was only in the one scene, as it’s actually pretty sharp. The figure is the slightest bit taller than Leia, but only just barely, and he has the same 6 points of movement. As with Leia, a single carded version of this look was released right around the same time as this set. The two use the same head sculpt (It was Kenner’s second stab at a standard Luke head), but everything else is new to this figure. While it’s not a bad sculpt, he does feel…undersized. Luke also makes use of softgoods, this time for the coat. It’s a little over sized, and definitely doesn’t look quite as good as the single release’s sculpted piece, but it’s not terrible. The coat can be removed, and, in contrast to Leia, he looks like he was actually designed with removing the coat in mind. Luke’s paint is a little more intensive than Leia’s; the application is pretty clean overall, and he looks pretty spot-on to the movie look. Luke seems like the more natural choice to give the medal to, but it doesn’t really sit quite right on his shoulders due to the coat.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The theatre where I saw The Force Awakens on opening night was in a mall, and right across from it was an incredibly well-placed collectibles store. I didn’t have a chance to go in (I had a movie to see, after all), but I ended up going back the next day. I was caught up a bit in the excitement of the movie, and definitely looking for something Star Wars-related to buy. I remember seeing these sets when I was younger and never actually getting them, so I figured “why not?” Luke’s inferior to the other version of this look from the same time, but Leia’s supposed to be the real star anyway, and she makes it worth it.

#0875: Princess Leia Organa

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

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA

STAR WARS (KENNER)

LeiaVint1

Amazingly enough, in all 874 of the preceding reviews, I’ve only looked at one single figure from Kenner’s run on the vintage Star Wars line. And that was review #0052! 822 days ago! Wow, that’s weird. Well, I guess I’m breaking the trend a bit, looking at another vintage figure today. This one’s even more vintage than the last, being one of the very first Star Wars figures Kenner ever offered! Also, it’s a Princess Leia, and #0052 was ALSO a Princess Leia, meaning she’s still 100% of the vintage figures reviewed on this site. That’s pretty cool for her!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

LeiaVint2Princess Leia was one of the first four figures in Kenner’s Star Wars line, offered as part of the historic “Early Bird” set, alongside Luke, R2-D2, and Chewbacca. She was also, by extension, one of the original 12 figures from the main line, released in the first 1978 assortment. The figure measures a little over 3 ½ inches tall and has 5 points of articulation. As a figure from 1978, Leia is not blessed with the high level of sculpted detail that we’ve come to expect, but that’s not to say she’s at all a bad sculpt. The head is fairly decent, and the hair has some pretty cool texture work. The face is fairly generic, but not unreasonable. The top half of the body is a passable translation of Leia’s look (though she’s missing her hood), but the lower half is…different. In the film, Leia wears a dress, but the figure has sort of reworked that into this sort of leisure suit looking thing, in order to give her leg articulation. It’s a little weird looking. Also, like every other caped or robed character in the vintage line, she gets a rounded piece of vinyl with holes for her arms, which I guess is meant to look like her dress? Spot-on recreation, it is not. The paint on Leia is pretty simple; she’s mostly just molded in white, with only her hands, belt, hair, and eyes getting actual paint. It’s actually pretty well applied, though my figure has taken a bit of a beating, as you can see. Leia was originally packed with a small blaster pistol, but as a second hand acquisition, mine does not have that piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I was growing up, my earliest Star Wars toys were actually my dad’s old collection from when he was a kid. He had a Leia, but he didn’t like the silly cinnamon buns hair, so he had sculpted her a new ‘do. As a kid, I never realized this wasn’t how she originally looked, so I was surprised to later see pictures of an un-modded Leia. While on vacation over the holidays, I came across a few vintage figures at a nearby antique store, which included the Leia seen in this review. Super Awesome Girlfriend was with me and insisted on getting it for me, so here she is. She’s fairly standard for the line; she shows her age, but certainly not in a bad way (not unlike the real Carrie Fisher).

#0869: Luke Skywalker – Snowspeeder

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

LUKE SKYWALKER – SNOWSPEEDER

STAR WARS: TRANSFORMERS

SnowspeederTF2

Sometimes, two things can be combined to make one single, super awesome. Take for instance chocolate and peanut butter. Great on their own, but put those two together and you’ve got yourself a winner. Over the years, a similar theory has been applied to all sorts of action figures and toys. Nine times out of ten, it’s Transformers + something else. In the mid-00s, Hasbro realized that the held the rights to both Transformers and Star Wars, and that no one had ever put those two properties together, so they did just that. Some of the more recognizable characters from the franchise were made into the alt-modes of their corresponding vehicles, and Hasbro even came up with an in-universe backstory for why the vehicles turned into robotic versions of their pilots. As a central character in the movies, Luke Skywalker got a couple of different figures, and I’ll be looking at one of those today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SnowspeederTF3Luke was released as part of the sixth series of Hasbro’s Star Wars: Transformers line (the same figure saw a re-release in a later series as well, but there were a few cosmetic changes and less accesories). He’s the second Luke in the line. In his humanoid form the figure stands just shy of 7 inches tall and has 19 points of actual articulation (with a bunch more joints to facilitate the whole transformation thing). Luke is based on his basic pilot’s gear look, which makes for a slightly easier conversion to the Transformer aesthetic. He’s been made quite a bit more robotic and angular, and his look has been slightly tweaked to allow for the more mechanical parts of the ship he transforms into. The quality of the sculpt is okay, if a bit rudimentary. The head is definitely the best work. Though the transforming feature was a main selling point here, the robot mode definitely feels mostly extraneous, as he’s got a fair bit of excess stuff from his alt look. The first Luke’s alt-mode was his definitive X-Wing fighter. This one mixes things up, offering up a snowspeeder. The snowspeeder definitely got the focus here, resulting in a fairly faithful recreation of the ship from the movie. The transforming feature is a little difficult, but not terribly so. Paint is minimal on this set, but what’s there works and looks pretty decent. Once again, the speeder gets most of the focus, and ends up looking pretty cool. Luke was packed with a little 1 inch tall Luke figure, which is pretty neat. He also has a pair of blasters (which serve as the cannons in vehicle mode), as well as a lightsabre, though mine did not have that piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Star Wars: Transformers were something I never really got into when they were new. However, Gidget’s Gadgets, a small toy store near where my family vacations over the holidays, had a rather large selection of these guys when I was there in December. I was in a particularly Star Wars-y mood at the time, so I decided I might want to have one. Since they didn’t have an X-Wing, I went with the next best thing. It’s definitely a goofy figure, but I’m glad I got it. It’s a lot of fun!

SnowspeederTF1

#0864: Han Solo

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

HAN SOLO

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

HanTFA1i

A lot of (very much deserved) praise has been heaped on the new cast members introduced in the Force Awakens, but one of the coolest things about the movie was the return of some of the “old guard” from the Original Trilogy. The most prominent returning hero by far was everyone’s favorite scuffy-lookin’ nerf-herder, Han Solo. For a number of reasons, Han, along with most of the other returning characters, was absent from the first few waves of Force Awakens product, but the merch based on him is starting to hit in full storm. Today, I’ll be looking at his much anticipated Black Series figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HanTFA2Han was released in the fifth series of the latest iteration of Star Wars: The Black Series. He’s marked as number 18 in the line, which makes him the last figure in this particular series numerically. The figure stands just over 6 inches tall (which is the same as his A New Hope figure) and has 27 points of articulation. Some of the movement, most notably his hips, is a little restricted, but he can certainly pull off just about any pose that the real Harrison Ford can. Han’s sculpt is totally new, and it’s an amazing piece of work. The proportions look great, certainly better than the last Han, and the detail work on the clothing is just fantastic. The jacket in particular has some amazing texture work, which adds a lot of character to the figure. The shirt and underlying belt are a little on the soft side, and I’m not sure I’m a fan of the pose on his left hand, but those are my only real complaints. The real draw of this sculpt is the likeness. Harrison Ford has a notoriously hard to capture likeness, but this is perhaps the best one we’ve ever seen. There are a few angles where it looks a bit off, but the HanTFA4boverall appearance is very close. Now, you may be thinking that, based on the pictures, he really doesn’t look as close as I’m saying. Well, here’s where the paint comes in. For the most part, the paint’s great. The clothing (particularly the coat) has some really great work, which really sells this as a real person. My first nit is the eyes; they aren’t terrible, but they’re a little sloppier than I’d like. However, the major issue here is the hair. The application of the paint is alright, but there’s no getting around the fact that it’s simply the wrong color. Instead of being mostly grey with maybe a few streaks of light brown, it’s light brown with just a few streaks of grey, resulting in him looking a fair bit younger than he should. It’s really annoying, because it seriously throws off an otherwise really great figure.* Han only includes one accessory: his signature blaster, which is a totally different mold than the one included with the Series 2 Han.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I found out this figure was hitting stores, I was anticipating him being a chore to find. So, I was pleasantly surprised to walk into my local Target and find him hanging on the pegs, hiding behind a pair of Jango Fetts. I’m not sure I can adequately describe just how much I like this figure. He’s hands down the best Han Solo figure I own, and possibly one of the best Black Series figures to date, and certainly the best of the Force Awakens figures. Yes, the hair thing is annoying, but this figure outshines all those issues, and is just a ton of fun to mess around with.

HanTFA3c

*It should be noted that the hair thing isn’t limited to just this figure. The Pop! and LEGO versions also sport the light brown hair, suggesting it’s a licensing issue of some sort.

#0860: Star Wars Mashers

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

LUKE SKYWALKER, HAN SOLO, DARTH VADER, STORM TROOPER, & SCOUT TROOPER

STAR WARS HERO MASHERS

ROTJMashers1

For a guy who’s not a huge fan of Hero Mashers, I sure do seem to be picking up a lot of these guys, don’t I? Yeah, I don’t really have an excuse. I’m a bit of a push over when it comes to certain things. But, hey, it means you guys get to keep reading about these figures. Isn’t that a plus? No? Well, sorry…

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This five-pack of figures was released not long after the onslaught of Star Wars-merch in September. It initially appeared to be a TRU-exclusive set, but has recently begun to show up at other retailers. All of the included figures are based on Return of the Jedi.

LUKE SKYWALKER

ROTJMashers2Luke makes his second appearance in the Mashers style here, based on his Jedi look from….Jedi. Specifically, he’s based on his look from towards the end of the film, after he’s ditched the vest and unbuttoned one side of his chest-flap-thingy. The figure stands 6 inches in height and he’s got 18 points of articulation. He’s got the same reduced shoulder movement that all the more recent Mashers have gotten, but I’ve really stopped noticing at this point. The figure shares his head with the Bespin version of Luke from the two-pack. That’s nice from a consistency standpoint (even if Hamill does look different in the two films…) and the actual sculpt does a pretty nice job of tweaking Hamill’s likeness to fit the style. The rest of the sculpt is unique to this figure, and it’s a pretty sharp sculpt. This particular design definitely transfers well to the Mashers aesthetic. Like every Mashers figure, Luke can be disassembled at the neck, elbows, hips, and knees, and his parts are interchangeable with the rest of the line (if you’re into that sort of thing…). Luke’s paintwork is generally pretty simple; it’s limited to the face and chest, with some slight finish variance on the glove and boots. There’s an odd spot of silver on one side of my figure’s collar, but aside from that, the application is pretty clean. Luke is packed with his green lightsaber from the movie, which is so far unique to this set.

HAN SOLO

ROTJMashers3After getting his styling jacketed look in the two-packs, this Han returns him to his classic vested look (albeit the slightly less classic variant of it from Jedi). Han’s sculpt is mostly the same as that of the two-pack figure, with only a new torso piece. The re-use isn’t too terrible, but it does mean Han’s got pockets on each arm, which isn’t accurate. The overall sculpt isn’t bad, but Han doesn’t seem to have translated as well to the Mashers style as Luke. The head in particular just seems far too generic for Harrison Ford. Also, this figure’s hips seem particularly wideset. An additional note: Han’s hands are separate pieces from the forearms. They aren’t designed to be removable, but they might pop off if you aren’t paying attention. Han’s paint is a bit more complex than Luke’s, and it’s handled pretty well. There are a few fuzzy lines, but nothing really terrible. Han is packed with his signature blaster. It’s got a blaster bolt permanently attached, which looks a little odd in a basic pose, but does add some nice flare in an action set-up.

DARTH VADER

ROTJMashers4I’ve actually reviewed a lot of this guy before. Vader, unlike the others in this set, goes for a very scene specific look. Namely, the scene where he’s getting electrocuted by the Emperor. That seems a little morbid for a kid-aimed toyline, but okay! The torso, upper arms, legs, cape, and skirt are all exactly the same as the single-release Vader. Same sculpt, same paint, same everything. What’s new are the head and lower arms, which take the previously used pieces, add a bit of “electricity” detailing to them, and cast them in a cool translucent blue. Of course, to be truly accurate to the scene, he should be missing his right hand, but I guess that would be too morbid for the kid’s toy. Vader is packed with the same extra as his single-packed counterpart, a lightsaber, as well as two electricity effect pieces.

STORMTROOPER

ROTJMashers6And now for the set’s one straight re-pack, the Imperial Stormtrooper! Yes, this guy’s the same exact figure as the single-packed version. But come on, it’s a Stormtrooper! You can’t have too many of these guys, right? The design definitely fits the style very well, and he’s helped by the totally armored look. He’s easily got the sharpest detailing of the figures included here, which definitely helps the overall look. The one major nit with the sculpt is more an articulation issue than anything; since his elbows only swing forward and back, he can’t actually hold a blaster two-handed. Also, like Han, the hands are separate pieces, glued in place. The Stormtrooper’s paint is generally pretty decent, though the black is a little sloppy in a few spots, and there are a few bits of slop. It’s all relatively minor, though. He’s packed with a standard trooper blaster, which, like Han’s, has a blaster bolt permanently affixed. Consistency!

SCOUT TROOPER

ROTJMashers5Last, and very much not least, it’s the Scout Trooper! By far my favorite Trooper design from the OT, and also the one totally new figure included in this set. The Scout Trooper’s design is already pretty chunky and blocky, so it translates very nicely to the Mashers style, and doesn’t look quite as cartoony as some of the other figures. The general quality of the sculpt is pretty great. Some of the details are a bit on the soft side, especially on the torso, but he’s no worse than other Masher figures. The one thing that knocks this figure down a peg is his paint. It’s not terrible or anything, but there’s definitely a fair bit of bleed over, and the edges of the white paint are all pretty fuzzy. From a slight distance, he looks fine, but up close he’s a bit off. The Scout Trooper includes a small blaster, which has the affixed blast, just like the other two. Three for three!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

“Ethan, if you aren’t a huge fan of Mashers, then why did you buy this big set of figures?” The answer is simple, hypothetical reader: Scout Trooper. I have an unhealthy addiction to Scout Trooper action figures. It was just my luck that this guy had to be part of a big boxed set. Due to the slightly high price tag of the set, I actually passed on it several times. However, last month, I was at Target, and they had this set for half-price. For $25, I figured it was worth it. I don’t regret this purchase in the slightest. The Scout Trooper is definitely my favorite, but the basic Stormtrooper and Luke are pretty awesome too. Han’s not really my preferred version and I can take or leave Vader, but the overall set is actually pretty fun.

ROTJMashers7

#0853: BB-8, Jakku Scavenger, & Unkar’s Thug

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

BB-8, JAKKU SCAVENGER, & UNKAR’S THUG

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

BB8Scavengers1

Star Wars has characters of every shape and size, which can make things difficult when it comes to doing properly scaled action figure lines. Sure, the likes of Luke, Leia, or Han can all be more or less the same basic size and price point, but how do you handle outliers like Chewbacca or R2D2? Well, Kenner always went for an approach of letting the averages work out, pricing them the same as the others. Of course, then came The Force Awakens, which gave us BB-8, who was far too small to realistically sell by himself. The solution so far has been to pack him in with larger characters. In the Black Series, he was packed with Rey,and for the smaller scale line, he was packed with two of the lesser known Jakku characters. I’ll be looking at the smaller BB-8 and his two companions today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These three were part the the multi-pack assortment of Star Wars: The Force Awakens figures, which hit at about the same time as the second assortment of single figures.

BB-8

BB8Scavengers4He may be the smallest, but BB-8’s definitely the “draw” for this set, with this being one of the only two ways to get him in this smaller scale. The figure is about 1 ½ inches tall and has 1 point of articulation. BB-8 has a new sculpt, which does a pretty spot-on job of capturing his movie look. While the larger BB-8 was a more exact duplicate of the onscreen look, this figure has flattened the bottom of the body. While it’s not technically accurate, it does make this particular BB-8 much more stable, which is much appreciated. The paintwork on BB-8 isn’t the most involved work ever, but it gets all the basic work done. He’s orange and white and the colors mostly go where they’re supposed to. Some of the lines could probably stand to be a little cleaner, but that’s about it.

JAKKU SCAVENGER

BB8Scavengers2This figure is officially billed as “Jakku Scavenger,” but he does have an actual name. He’s Teedo. He’s called that, by Rey, in the film, and his bio on the back of the box even calls him that. So it’s a little odd that Jakku Scavenger is his official title. Oh well. The figure stands 2 ¾ inches tall and has the now standard 5 points of articulation. Teedo’s design harkens back to the OT in a lot of ways, looking like a cross between a Jawa and a Tusken Raider. The sculpt of this figure does a nice job of capturing his look, and offers a lot of really great detail work, especially on the body wraps. Some of the various stuff attached to him could stand to be a little more defined, though, as it has a tendency to blend in with the rest of his body. The paint on Teedo is decent, but like BB-8, it’s not anything super amazing. It gets the job done. Teedo includes a big giant missile launcher thing, with a net attachment. Gotta give them at least some credit for being pseudo accurate.

UNKAR’S THUG

BB8Scavengers3This guy is by far the most minor of the three characters included. He’s so minor he doesn’t even get a name. He’s the possessive of another character. That’s gotta suck. He’s the tallest of the three at a full 4 inches tall. He’s technically got the usual 5 points of articulation, but the nature of his hood renders the neck joint pretty much null. The Thug’s sculpt appears to be all-new to him; it’s a decent sculpt, though the design it’s replicating isn’t the most exciting look of all time. The mask/goggles are pretty cool, but other than that, he’s really just a mix-match of various common pieces of clothing. Still, the sculpt makes those parts look pretty cool, and he’s on par with most of the others in terms of quality. His paint is handled pretty well. He’s pretty muted, but it works, and all of the application is pretty clean, so that’s good. The Thug includes a staff (I think it’s supposed to go with him), and a small blaster pistol.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This was the hardest to find of the multi-packs, so I didn’t get this one until after I’d seen the movie. I ended up getting these three at the same time as Rey’s Speeder. I actually really like this set a lot. BB-8 is clearly the main draw, and while he’s not as cool as the Black Series version, but he’s still pretty nifty. Teedo is a really fun figure of a neat background character. Unkar’s Thug isn’t the most exciting figure here, but he’s a solid figure, and he fills up the back of the display quite well.

BB8Scavengers5

#0849: First Order Legion Boxed Set

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

CAPTAIN PHASMA, FIRST ORDER STORMTROOPER, RIOT CONTROL TROOPER, HEAVY ARTILLERY TROOPER, SNOWTROOPER, FLAME TROOPER, & TIE FIGHTER PILOT

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

FOLegion1

Staaaaaar Wars! Nothing but Staaaaar Wars! ….Okay, maybe not “nothing but Star Wars.” I do still have other stuff. But, the amount of Star Wars stuff getting reviewed recently compared to just how much Star Wars stuff I actually own does seem a little disproportionally large. I guess a new movie does that. So, how about some more Star Wars toys? I’ve certainly had quite a focus on many of The Force Awakens’ dashing heroes, so why don’t we have a hearty look at the other side, with this here First Order Troop set!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These seven figures make up the “First Oder Legion” boxed set, which is part of the smaller-scale Star Wars: The Force Awakens line. The set is an Amazon exclusive, and, after a sizeable delay, it started shipping out in mid-January. Most of the included figures are simple repacks of regular release figures, though the Heavy Trooper and Riot Control Trooper are currently exclusive.

CAPTAIN PHASMA

FOLegion2One of the biggest reasons I got this set, due to her single carded figure being virtually impossible to find. While her part in the film made me glad I hadn’t shelled out the big bucks for her, I still liked her design enough that I wanted at least one figure of her. The figure is just over 4 inches tall and has the standard 5 points of articulation. The sculpt on id pretty decently handled; the details of her armor are all nicely carried out, and the under suit has some nice texture work. Her helmet exhibits some much finer detail work than the basic troopers, which is nice. She has just the slightest bit of a pose to her, which keeps her from having an awkward straight-up -and-down pose, without getting too extreme. The cape is a separate piece, made from a soft plastic material. I much prefer the plastic to cloth here, so I’m glad that’s the way Hasbro took it. The paintwork here is decent, but nothing to write home about. The somewhat flat silver plastic is definitely not as striking as the chrome-plated look from the film. Granted, the single release was like this too, but giving the exclusive version chrome plating would have been a nice way to incentivize this set for people who already had the single release. Oh well; she’s not that bad. Phasma is packed with her unique, gold-colored blaster, which she can hold reasonably well in either hand.

FIRST ORDER STORMTROOPER

FOLegion3Do you remember when I reviewed the Stormtrooper Commando included with the Assault Walker? Well, then you’ve more or less seen this guy already, minus that figure’s shoulder pauldron. That’s not to say the two are identical, though. The legs are just the slightest bit wider in stance, and, most importantly, the neck pegs are the same size as the ones used for the un-helmeted characters, allowing for easy swapping, which is a definite plus. Aside from those small changes, the sculpt looks very much the same outwardly as the Commando. It’s a good translation of the film design to the smaller scale. Once again, the paint is just a fairly straightforward white plastic with black detailing deal, which looks fairly decent. The black is definitely fuzzy around a few of the edges, but not terribly so. The Trooper includes a basic mid-sized blaster, which can be stored on his thigh, like all the other troopers.

RIOT CONTROL TROOPER

FOLegion4This is one of the two exclusive figures in this set. He has the notoriety of being the same class of trooper as the fan-favorite “TR-8TR” (who’s actual name was FN-2199). As far as the figure goes? Like his larger-scale counterpart, he’s just a basic trooper, with the addition of a few new accessories. He has the same blaster as the normal trooper, but in addition to it, he has his baton and shield. Both pieces are quite nicely sculpted, and very well painted. Perhaps the only downside is that the shield isn’t quite as nicely handled on the underside as the larger version. However, it’s also a lot easier to remove, so silver lining.

HEAVY ARTILLERY STORMTROOPER

FOLegion6This figure is the other exclusive figure in this set, and is one of the major reasons I picked it up. I really like the look of the Heavy Trooper. The figure is yet another variation of the basic trooper figure. This time, he gets a unique add-on for his web-gear, which appears to hold extra ammo of some sort. It’s a bit bulkier here than in the film, but that’s to be expected, and it’s not terribly far off. In addition to the vest piece, he also gets a larger, cannon-style gun, with three pieces to help it stand. He has some trouble holding it due to the limited articulation of the figure, but he looks alright just posed standing behind it.

SNOWTROOPER

FOLegion5Where would the Stormtroopers be without a few environment-specific variants? The original trilogy Snowtroopers were always a fan-favorite, so it’s no surprise that that was the first really environment-specific trooper to get an update (having a climax that took place at an arctic locale probably helped too). The figure is 3 ¾ inches tall and has the usual 5 points of articulation. The sculpt does a pretty good job of translating the design into figure form. Like Hux, this figure’s “skirt” piece has been made a part of the legs, though I feel it works far better here than it did on Hux. One thing I did notice about this figure was his rather present tilt forward, which can be a little frustrating. Aside from that, the sculpt is generally very nicely done. The paintwork on this figure is pretty basic (again), but still suffers from some of those fuzzy edges. The Snowtrooper includes a removable back pack, as well as a blaster with an extended stock.

FLAMETROOPER

Here’s the one figure in the set for whom I already owned the single-packed version. Yes, this figure is 100% identical to the regular release Flametrooper, minus the weird build-a-thing piece. Click here for my review of this figure.

TIE FIGHTER PILOT

FOLegion7The TIE Fighter pilot included here is different than the one included with the TIE Fighter. That figure had a removable helmet. While it was a cool idea, it ended up making the figure’s head a little large. So, this figure’s permanently attached helmet actually works to its advantage, giving us a more faithful rendition of the helmet design. He also has a noticeably different set of arms, which are just a bit longer and look more relaxed and natural than the other pilot’s. The paint on this figure is pretty basic, being mostly just black, with a few smaller details here and there. The insignias and small details are particularly sharp, and add some nice pop. The TIE Fighter pilot includes a small blaster.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After being disappointed by Toys R Us’ midnite opening on Force Friday, I went home and took a look at what was available online, and wound up preordering this set from Amazon. It was originally supposed to hit in late September, just after the Force Friday stuff, but it was delayed until January. I was definitely bummed, but I decided to hold out and wait for it. I’m glad I did. Not only did I finally get a Phasma figure, but I also got one of my personal favorite Troopers (the Heavy Trooper), and one of the more important Trooper variants (the Riot Control Trooper). The other figures are all pretty solid too, and add a ton of value to the set. Plus, my First Order lineup expanded pretty quickly!

FOLegion9

#0847: Rey’s Speeder

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

REY’S SPEEDER (w/ REY)

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

ReySpeeder1

Remember a few days ago when I was talking about how I was still making my way through all the Star Wars stuff I bought over the holidays? Well, how about a little more of that? Before seeing The Force Awakens, I mostly stuck with the relatively inexpensive small-scale figures, on the off chance the movie wasn’t as awesome as I’d hoped. Once I had seen the film and knew just how cool it was, I went back and got a few of the larger items, specifically the vehicles. One of the cooler new vehicle designs was Rey’s speeder, seen during her opening scenes on Jakku. Hasbro put out a version of the vehicle in their 3 ¾ inch line, packed alongside its owner, Rey.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ReySpeeder2The included Rey figure is based on her appearance while riding around on her speeder, when she has her head covered up (presumably to protect her face from the sand being flung at it at high speeds). The figure is 3 ¾ inches tall and (technically) has 5 points of articulation. I say technically because, while there’s definitely a neck joint under that head gear, there’s no way it’s getting any sort of motion. Also, the lack of any sort of knee joints (such as the ones sported by the Elite Speeder Bike’s Trooper figure) really hurts this figure’s ability to sit properly on her speeder. Structurally, you might think that this figure shared parts with the single release figure, however, there are no shared parts between the two. A few pieces (especially the legs) are quite close, but all of them are just slightly different. It’s odd, because a bit of re-use would seem perfectly excusable here. The new sculpt is decent enough. The arms seem a bit skinny and noodle-like, but ReySpeeder4aside from that, the proportions feel pretty balanced and she looks about right. The head/wrap looks really nice; it appears to be the same piece that was included with the small-scale The Black Series Rey. Regardless, it’s a really nice sculpt, with lots of cool texture work. The paintwork here is pretty standard for the rest of the basic figures; it’s not perfect, but it’s serviceable. Rey is packed with her staff, which is the same as the one included with the regular figure (albeit a bit more warped).

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

ReySpeeder3Rey’s speeder is certainly an intriguing design. It was dubbed the “popsicle speeder” by a number of fans, which I guess I can see, but I don’t mind it. Tim referred to it as an engine with a seat, which I think is quite apt. The speeder is 8 ½ inches long, 2 inches wide, and 3 inches tall. The two flaps on the back are articulated, but aside from that, it’s mostly just a hunk of plastic. Not that there’s a problem with that, though. The general structure of the speeder looks to be a pretty good match for what we saw on film (it’s perhaps a smidge too thin, but that’s really minor). The detail work is generally pretty nice, and everything looks to be about where it should be. The cargo net is a separate piece, however, the actual cargo beneath it is molded to the side of the speeder. Unfortunately, there are four rather obtrusive screws on the right side of the speeder, as well as a somewhat obvious button for the action feature on the left side, poking through the net. The button pops up the top of the speeder, revealing a missile launching cannon. You remember that from the movie, right? No? Okay, yeah, I think Hasbro may have added that. The paint on the speeder is a bit on the basic side; mostly it just uses straight colors. However, there are a few spots that actually look sufficiently worn, which is nice to see. There is, however, a fair bit of slop, especially around the edges of the machinery in the cargo net, which is less nice to see.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After the whole Christmas holiday and seeing The Force Awakens twice in the space of a week, I was really eager to pick up a few more of the toys from the movie. Rey’s speeder ended up being one of the few items I was able to find at the rather picked-through Walmart nearby where I was staying. While this particular Rey has become a little less necessary now that I have the Black Series version, she’s not a terrible figure in her own right, and it’s nice to have a figure purely dedicated to this look. The speeder’s not perfect, but it’s certainly fun enough, and it’s a nice complement to the X-Wing and TIE Fighter.

#0844: Elite Speeder Bike

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

ELITE SPEEDER BIKE (w/ FIRST ORDER STORM TROOPER)

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

FOSpeeder1

Geez, it’s February, and I’m still making my way through the stuff I bought over the holidays. It’s in part due to the fact that a sizeable chunk of stuff from that time was all Star Wars-related, and I try my best not to review too much similar stuff at once. Anyway, Star Wars has always valued vehicles of many differing sizes and functions. Some of my personal favorites are the speeder bikes introduced in Return of the Jedi. While they haven’t seen an official First Order update in the movies just yet, Hasbro took their own stab at creating an updated look, dubbed the Elite Speeder Bike.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

FOSpeeder2The included figure doesn’t get a name more specific than “First Order Stormtrooper,” but this guy is definitely different from a standard Trooper. He’s not Biker Scout different, but he’s still different. This trooper stands just shy of 4 inches tall and has 9 points of articulation. Yes, you read that right, he has a whole 9(!) points of articulation, thanks to his fully articulated knees. Seems even Hasbro knew that this guy needed to be able to properly sit. Sculpturally, this figure looks to use a slightly modified version of the basic body used for the Stormtrooper Commando included with the Assault Walker, with a new set of legs, of course. It’s just a basic Stormtrooper design, and it’s as good a translation as all the other releases. The paint is the main difference; he’s done up in all black, which is mostly just molded plastic, with one tiny bit of silver and then the red stipes on his upper torso, which call back to the TIE Fighter’s detailing. It’s a cool, unique look, even if it’s not very technically complicated. The Trooper includes a small blaster pistol, which can be stowed on the figure’s right thigh.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

FOSpeeder3The updated speeder bike is the real meat of this set. It’s a basic Class I vehicle, which means it’s among the smallest vehicle selection (in fact, it’s the smallest vehicle currently available). The bike is just shy of 8 inches in length and stands a little over an inch tall. It has posable foot pedals, handlebars and tail flaps, as well as an opening engine compartment. The bike uses the Movie Heroes version of the speeder bike as a starting point, which is as good as any, I suppose. It has a new set of handles, new fins on the back, and a new front half. The general design of the bike has been tweaked to make it a bit more flat and wing-like. The overall design isn’t bad, but I’m not sure I like it as much as the original speeder, and I’m also not sure it necessarily fits with the other First Order vehicles, though it’s hard to say. It’s certainly not a bad design. The color scheme of the bike has been done to match with the TIE Fighter (and, in turn, the included Stormtrooper). The paint application is nice and sharp, and the color scheme adds a lot of fun to the design. The bike has not extras other than the included Trooper. A flight stand would have been much appreciated, especially since the bike still has the spot in the back where said stand would attach.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up this set from a Walgreens near where my family vacations over the holidays. I had seen the set a few times, and, after a bit of pestering from Super Awesome Girlfriend and my brother, I decided to finally pick it up. It’s hard to say that this set offers the same amount of value as the equally-priced Assault Walker, but it’s still pretty fun, and the included Trooper is definitely one of the cooler ones!