Tag Archives: The Empire Strikes Back

#4047: Han Solo & Tauntaun

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

HAN SOLO & TAUNTAUN

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Okay, so the coin reviews are officially done, which means I have to look at something else for these weekly Star Wars reviews.  Oh no, whatever shall I do?  Perhaps I’ll do a bit of wrap-up on some of the other sub-lines of Power of the Force I haven’t yet finished?  Back in November, I looked at the last of the creature sets I had in my possession, but, aha, I still had one I *didn’t* own yet.  Guess what I own now.  Did you guess the last creature set?  Because that’s what I was hinting at. Anyway, here’s Han Solo and the Tauntaun!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Han Solo and Tauntaun are one of the 1998 Creature sets from Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force II.  They served as a rather logical follow-up to the prior year’s Luke and Tauntaun, as well as a companion piece to the Luke and Wampa from the same year, wrapping up the three Empire-based Creature sets.

HAN SOLO

Hey, it’s Han Solo in his Hoth gear.  What a classically well-selling figure.  What’s that?  Oh, it’s not?  Wow.  Yes, the single carded Han in Hoth gear is rather infamously one of the worst selling figures from the red card days of PotF (which is why he’s one of only two red card figures that was never re-released on a green card), so there wasn’t exactly a rush to get another one out there.  But, it’s not like you can really pair the Tauntaun with a Han that’s not in the Hoth gear, so their hands were sort of tied.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 8 points of articulation.  Like the Luke with the Tauntaun, this figure aims for “actually able to sit on the Tauntaun” by adding a pair of knee joints to the articulation set-up, which is quite nice.  Beyond that, he’s actually quite a bit different from the single-card release.  The single decided to have his hood pulled down, revealing the cold-weather cap that he’s wearing but that is never actually seen in the movie, which was an odd choice.  This one reverses that, pulling the hood back up, allowing for a more screen accurate appearance.  His detailing is also far sharper on this one, a very nice shift from the very soft sculpt of the single.  Even the paint is improved, with a bit more accenting to the fur lining of the hood, as well as changing the color of his goggles to the more proper yellow.  Han is packed with a single blaster pistol, same as all the other Hans.

TAUNTAUN

Hey, it’s Han’s Tauntaun.  “Hantaun” if you will.  Will you?  I will for sure.  I feel like I can’t be the first one to come up with that, right?  Unless everyone’s just been distracted by the “Luke warm” joke and never moved any further.  This figure represents the main reason for the set’s existence, since the aim was to address that the vintage line treated the two Tauntauns as pretty much the same, while this line wanted to handle the two designs distinctly.  Also, easy way to re-use a lot of tooling.  From the neck down, it’s the same as the prior Tauntaun.  It’s perfectly fine, and that’s an okay sculpt.  About the only downside, really, is that you don’t get the morbid “slice open the guts to stick Luke inside” feature of the original, but I guess that’s okay.  The new head is rather similar to the original, but now it’s got two unbroken tusks, as opposed to Luke’s.  Yay, it’s different!  Also, the paint is a little different, too.  Not a lot, but enough that you can notice.  Noticeably different paint!  Yay!  Also included with this figure is the rein, which is the same piece from the Luke set.  It’s a good, standard piece, and it’s kind of hard to mess that up.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve kind of known for a while that this set would be one of the last pieces I’d get from this line.  Because the single Hoth Han and the Luke and Tauntaun set were both rather rough sellers, this one wasn’t exactly ordered in high numbers, and didn’t really get much coverage at retail, making it one of the few genuinely scarce PotF items.  As such, you don’t really just buy it, because it’s rare enough that asking prices tend to be high.  I’ve been keeping my eye out for a not stupidly expensive one consistently since November of last year, and I finally managed to line it up a couple of weeks ago, which quite excited me, I’ll tell you, since it’s become a minor grail for this collection.  In hand, it’s maybe not that different than what came before, but the minor tweaks add up to quite a fun little set, and one that also retroactively makes me appreciate the Luke and Tauntaun set just a little bit more as well.  The creature sets are an interesting mix of genuinely impressive and just sort of phoned in, which is pretty accurate to Power of the Force on a larger scale, I suppose.

#4043: Snowtrooper

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

SNOWTROOPER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Dear readers, we’ve finally arrived, after a seven week stretch, at the end of the Power of the Force coin reviews!  As noted last week, the last few of these are the ones that don’t really have as much in the way of new to offer.  While the seven figure set was heavier weighted on the heroes side, there were two “villains.”  I already looked at Emperor Palpatine, but there was a trooper in the mix, specifically of the Snowtrooper variety.  Why “snow?”  I got no idea, but why question it now.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Snowtrooper is the seventh and final figure in the Toys “R” Us-exclusive “Millennium Minted Coins” line-up from the Star Wars: Power of the Force II line, released in 1998.  This was the line’s third and final Snowtrooper, following the single and the deluxe.  The figure stands 4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  The Snowtrooper’s sculpt is a straight re-use of the single release mold.  It’s kind of restricted in its movement, but generally a reasonable sculpt.  It’s accurate to the design, if perhaps a bit soft on the detailing.  So, what’s the thing that makes this worthwhile?  The paint, of course!  The original release’s paint was fine, but ultimately inaccurate to the source material.  The deluxe release had a more accurate layout, so this one matches that.  It’s the sort of thing that you aren’t likely to notice on its own, but side by side it’s a notable change-up.  Like the single release, the Snowtrooper is packed with a medium blaster rifle.  He also includes the required Millennium Minted Coin, which rather amusingly refers to him as “Hoth Stormtrooper” so as to keep its accuracy to the vintage release, despite the box calling him “Snowtrooper.”

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Count this figure as yet another on the pile of “didn’t really think I’d need it” when I started collecting the line, since it’s pretty similar to the others.  I got him because I didn’t have him, but wasn’t expecting much.  So, I gotta say, he’s actually a pleasant surprise.  The new paint’s not drastic, but it’s a change, and it’s ultimately a better figure for it.  Of the three Snowtroopers in the line, this one’s probably my favorite.  And that’s a wrap on the figures with the coins.  This set was one I didn’t think much of when I went in, and I was honestly kind of expecting them to be kind of lame.  While they’re totally a fairly hollow cash-grab, I found it to be a surprisingly nifty set of figures.  The coins are actually cool, and all of the figures do feel at least like a minor step-up from the single releases.

#4039: Bespin Han Solo

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

BESPIN HAN SOLO

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

As I make my way through the home stretch of the Power of the Force coin reviews, I’ve officially passed the figures that really offer anything actually new, so, you know, that’ll be a ton of fun, right?  Right.  Since one of the aims of the subset of the line was new variants of the franchise’s heavy hitters, it’s no shock that all three of the central trio were present.  I’ve already looked at two of the three, so today, let’s round out the trio with Han Solo!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bespin Han Solo is one of the seven Toys “R” Us-exclusive “Millennium Minted Coins” set from Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force II line, released in 1998.  While Luke and Leia were both sporting their Endor gear from Return of the Jedi, Han breaks up the theme by being based on his main look from Empire, which is a twofer, being from a different movie, and also being his main look, not a specific variant.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Structurally, he’s pretty much identical to the main line release of Bespin Han.  Honestly, that’s not awful.  Apart from the fact that the head sculpt doesn’t really look like Han, it’s past the crazy bulky proportions of the earliest sculpts in the line, and generally looks the part.  The only issue with this particular release is that he can’t stand particularly well, so he needs a stand to keep him upright.  Color wise, he’s again pretty much the same as the single release.  Apart from the jacket being the wrong color (a forced error mandated by Lucasfilm’s licensing in the ‘90s), the paint work is pretty well handled, and fairly cleanly applied.  Paint is also the one distinguishing point for Han’s blaster accessory; though totally black in all other releases, this one gets a bit of silver paint at the front, which is a fun change-up.  He also includes the requisite Millennium Minted Coin, as well as a display stand, which is especially helpful, given his troubles with standing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the Chewbacca figure from a few weeks ago, this figure wasn’t really on my list until very late in my Power of the Force collecting, given just how similar he is to both the standard and Cinema Scene releases.  Ultimately, there’s not a ton going on with him that’s not going on elsewhere, but the added paint app on the blaster is honestly a pretty cool thing, even if it’s kind of small.  I do appreciate there being *something* different to justify another purchase if you’re the sort of crazy person buying them all.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0071: Luke Skywalker in Hoth Gear

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

LUKE SKYWALKER in HOTH GEAR

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

It’s another Friday, and we’re still here…I hope.  It’s…well, sometimes it’s touch and go these days, right?  Well, if you’re reading this than we’ve all made it to the end of the week unscathed.  Yay us!  Go team!  How about a little bit of flashing back to slightly happier times, perhaps?  Yeah, let’s look at this here Luke Skywalker in Hoth Gear again!

Doesn’t it feel like I *just* reviewed this figure? Well, I didn’t. Well, I didn’t. Reviewed a very similar figure, of course, because that’s the insanity of toy collecting. But this one’s different, you see. He…ummm….he’s got…goggles? Yeah, let’s go with that.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Skywalker in Hoth Gear was released in the 1997 assortment of Power of the Force II figures. We’d had our first taste of Hoth figures the prior year with a Hoth version of Han. The figure stands 3 3/4 inches and he has 6 points of articulation. He’s wearing the same cold-weather gear that we saw him wearing in the two-pack with a Wampa, but this figure depicts him a few moments earlier in the film, prior to the Wampa’s attack. So he still has the goggles, and his face is un-scarred. His sculpt is unique to him (though parts of it would be slightly re-tooled for a few later variants of this same gear), and it’s pretty decent. He’s still a bit puffy and bulked-up, but with the cold-weather gear, that doesn’t feel quite so off. The level of detailing on the outfit is quite sharp, and looks very good for the time, rivaling even more modern offerings. My figure is missing his little head scarf thingy, which was a free-hanging piece that was prone to breaking off. Luke’s paintwork is about what you’d expect. Fairly basic and an overall decent match for what we see on the screen. Application is clean, and there’s pretty much no slop. Hoth Gear Luke was originally packed with his lightsaber and a blaster pistol, but mine has lost them in the years since I got him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I remember this figure being rather hard to come by, at least initially. Stores still had tons of Hoth Han, and I was constantly having to explain that it wasn’t the same thing. I eventually got him in the Farpoint Dealer’s room the year he was released. If I recall correctly, it was the same dealer from whom I ultimately got my Princess Leia figure, that very same year. It’s been a favorite of mine for a while, even if it is rather environment specific. 

There’s a sort of comedy to me opening the review by noting I *just* reviewed a similar figure, when said “similar figure” was the 2018 ForceLink release from the Solo product launch, and not, you know, either of the two virtually identical Power of the Force Hoth Lukes that I would later review.  Like, I was complaining about similarity, and I hadn’t even scratched the surface.  Otherwise, pretty straight forward review.  At the time, I was missing his blaster and saber, but I’ve since replaced both of those.  His head scarf is still broken, but at least he’s fully armed!

#3991: AT-AT Commander & Driver

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AT-AT COMMANDER & DRIVER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Oh man, I haven’t reviewed any Power of the Force II figures since last year, you guys! …that’s, like, a whole month.  Crazy.  So, let’s jump back into the fray of ‘90s Kenner 3 3/4-inch Star Wars! As I make my way through what remains of the line, I am, of course, running low on standard release figures, but there’s still the oddball and pack-in releases to be considered.  Early in the line, the vehicles were packaged without figures, but as the line progressed, and Kenner was looking to get as many figures out as possible, pack-ins became the standard.  Most just included a single figure, but the line’s largest vehicle, the Electronic AT-AT, featured two figures of its own, which I’m taking a look at today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The AT-AT Commander and Driver were packed in with the Star Wars: Power of the Force II AT-AT, released in 1997.  Both figures were exclusive to this set, and remained so for the run of the line.

The Commander is unnamed, but is clearly meant to be General Maximillian Veers, the primary AT-AT Commander seen in the movie’s Hoth battle.  This was his second figure, following up on his vintage counterpart.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  His sculpt is similar to the other Imperial Officer figures the line put out, albeit with the obvious change-up that he’s wearing the armor seen in the AT-AT scenes.  His detailing is definitely on the softer side, and his head seems a touch oversized relative to the body sculpt, but I do really like the detailing on the armored sections of the uniform.  There’s not really much of a Julian Glover likeness, but it doesn’t look *unlike* him, and the uniform is distinct enough that it’s pretty clear who he’s supposed to be.  His color work is basic, but does all the stuff it needs to do.  I do also really appreciate that he’s got the varied grey shades, to help the armor and cloth stand-out from each other.

I’ve actually already looked at *an* AT-AT Driver from Power of the Force, but it wasn’t this one, it was the ever so slightly different single card release that they did so that people could have a second Driver to pilot the AT-AT without needing to buy a whole second big vehicle.  This one’s the original, though.  He’s really not different, in a broad sense (and, in fact, you would’t really want him to be), but he’s the slightest bit taller than the single, and his pose is a bit more rigid.  The details are also somewhat softer on this release than the single, more in line with the Commander’s sculpt.  His paint work is more or less identical, though, and that’s again a good thing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

At one point in time, I considered going the route of buying the vehicles that came with figures for my complete run of Power of the Force, but this was the one that broke me, because it’s so big, and kind of pricey, and I just wasn’t looking for the commitment.  Thankfully, I was able to find both of the pack-in figures loose, so that made that whole bit easier for me.  These figures aren’t great by any stretch, but they’re decent enough, provided you’re not buying a big vehicle to get them.

#3976: Dagobah with Yoda

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DAGOBAH with YODA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“The boggy, swamp planet Dagobah is the principal planet in the star system of the same name. Although explored, Dagobah remains sparsely populated because of its inhospitable climate and generally unpleasant surroundings. Constantly shrouded in mist and strangled by dense vegetation, the planet is the home to numerous animal life, including dangerous flying predators. The Jedi Master Yoda also makes his home and hideout there and is the only resident of notoriety.  When the evil Emperor Palpatine ordered the Jedi Knights erased from the galaxy, Yoda went into deep hiding there, using its natural defenses and the power of the Force to discourage visitors. It was not until near the end of his days, at the arrival of Luke Skywalker, that the 800 year old Yoda would have a purposeful visitor. 

Dagobah is totally without spaceports nor any other modern technological convenience. It has been considered a haunted planet due to its history with the dark side of the Force and an evil group of Dark Jedi that terrorized it and the neighboring Sluis sector during the Clone Wars.”

Hey remember that sub-set of Star Wars figures I’ve been looking at for two weeks? Well, I’m not done with them.  So, you know, there’s more.  Yay?  Well, maybe let’s not get too excited.  Bring it down a notch.  Can’t say I’ve got much else to get at here, so away we go!

THE TOYS THEMSELVES

Dagobah with Yoda is the third of the four “Complete Galaxy” sets added to Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force II line in 1998.  This was the only set specifically based on Empire….although given that Yoda and Dagobah also show up in Jedi, I guess it could work for the third movie as well.  There was at least one more Empire set planned, as the single-carded Hoth Leia was originally meant to be included in a rebel base-inspired set before the whole sub-line got scrapped.  Like the Death Star set, Dagobah is a bit more solid on its base than Endor, which is nice in a sense of “it doesn’t always fall right off.”  We get the usual globe set-up on the exterior, showing Dagobah’s swampy nature, with a few important spots labeled.  Inside, there’s a recreation of Yoda’s Hut and some of its exterior on the bottom, as well as one of the “dangerous flying predators” from the bio mounted up top.  Said flying predator is not designed to be removed from the rather obvious post its attached to, and if it breaks, it’s no small chore to get it to stay in place again.  I speak from experience on that one.  There’s a small little spot at the front where you can stand Yoda, and spin him, in case you feel a need for spinning your Yoda figure, I guess?

Speaking of spinning Yodas, the Yoda what gets spun is the included figure here and he’s…different?  Ish?  A little.  Like, honestly, this one’s almost virtually identical to the standard release Yoda figure, which was hardly a rare figure.  He’s got the same general sculpting, right down to the same pose, and the same lack of hair.  I guess maybe the sculpt is a little sharper?  And they did change the date stamp, so, you know, you gotta have that.  Spin that guy around and check out that sweet new date stamp, am I right?  His paint work’s a touch darker than the standard, but again not by much, so it’s hard to note the difference without having them both in front of you.  He has a cane, which looks suspiciously like the cane from the standard figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked this set up, still sealed but in a pretty banged up package, as part of a larger lot of Power of the Force figures I snagged about a year or two ago.  It was the most recent big push to fill the holes in my PotF collection.  This got picked up purely because I didn’t already own it, and was by far the least exciting part of the stuff I picked up, which is probably why it’s the last one I got to reviewing by a fair bit.  It’s…not great.  The Yoda offers nothing new, and I think the set proper is kind of bland and uninspired.  It could be worse, I guess, but it also could have been a lot better.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this figure for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3960: Cloud Car with Cloud Car Pilot

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

CLOUD CAR with CLOUD CAR PILOT

STAR WARS: EXPANDED UNIVERSE (KENNER)

“Cloud cars are atmospheric vessels that employ both repulsorlifts and ion engines, filling the important gap between airspeeders and starfighters. Functional in many ways, twin-cockpit, patrol cars escorted the Millennium Falcon and her crew onto Cloud City during The Empire Strikes Back. It was here that Darth Vader had Han Solo frozen in carbonite while Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO were held prisoners of the Empire. This single cockpit cloud car was designed and built based on production sketches found in The Art of Star Wars; its brainchild was renown Star Wars artist, Ralph McQuarrie.”

Back in early 2021, I wrapped up the last review of the standard “Expanded Universe” figures from Kenner’s Power of the Force run.  I was, however not *truly* done with the “Expanded Universe” sub-line, because in addition to the nine standard figures, there were also three smaller-scale vehicles, each including their own unique figure.  The slight switch up there is that, rather than go proper Expanded Universe, the vehicles were all early concept designs.  Thus far, I’ve reviewed one of those, a fact I almost forgot because I found the set so “meh” that it continues to leave virtually no mark on my memory.  Perhaps today’s offering will fair a bit better?  I sure hope so.  Here’s the Cloud Car and its associated pilot!

THE TOYS THEMSELVES

The Cloud Car with Cloud Car Pilot was released alongside the rest of the “Expanded Universe” sub-line of Star Wars: Power of the Force II in 1998.  As noted in the bio, this set is based on illustrations by Ralph McQuarrie as part of Empire’s pre-production, making it, I believe, the earliest McQuarrie-based item in the toyline.  This was the largest of the three vehicles, though not by a ton.  It’s about 6 inches long and about 4 inches tall.  While the Cloud Cars seen in the final film are a rather odd twin cockpit design, the initial look was a more conventional single-seater.  It’s actually not a bad little design, with a very fun futuristic vibe that’s very clean.  It doesn’t feel like it’s totally out of place with the final design, either, so perhaps it was still there, just elsewhere?  It certainly feels like more of an older, Clone Wars-era design.  The toy does a nice job translating it, and working in a number of fun playable features, so it can be fully collapsed or deploy the wings.  It’s even got a rather clever missile launcher design, which isn’t too obvious or silly.

The Cloud Car’s pilot is a unique figure, and not really at all like the established Cloud Car pilot from the film, largely because he’s not actually based on a pilot design, but rather a more generalized Bespin citizen, presumably an early version of the Bespin Guards.  The figure stands just shy of 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Like the last pilot I looked at from this line, this guy feels a bit small compared to the rest of the line.  Of course, he also feels like he’s from a different line entirely, just in terms of styling.  He’s more angular and cartoonish, again a bit more like a Clone Wars character, or perhaps Rebels.  In contrast to the Rebel Pilot, I feel like this stylization helps him to keep the original charm of the design, making for a generally more entertaining figure.  His paint work is a bit of a departure from the usual Star Wars shades, making it rather eye-catching and different.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t recall much about this set, or really much about getting it.  I know it was part of a larger purchase, and more than likely I grabbed it at the same time as the other vehicle I was missing.  It’s also been sitting unopened for a good while, continuing the theme of all of my recent Power of the Force reviews.  There was more reason this time, because the speeder bike was so underwhelming, and I just wasn’t sure about this one.  I’m happy to say, this one’s a pleasant departure from the earlier set, and I actually found it to be an immensely enjoyable set.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this figure for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3956: Wampa & Luke Skywalker

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

WAMPA & LUKE SKYWALKER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Sometimes, your sci-fi adventure series needs cool, original monsters, and sometimes, it really just needs a pretty standard issue sort of monster that everyone understands.  The latter is well represented in Star Wars’s Wampas, a race of Yeti/Abominable Snowman types that are a pretty natural fit if you’re confined to an ice planet.  Hey, what’s the antagonistic force here? Oh, yeah, it’s exactly what you’d expect it to be!  Solid.  No notes.  The Wampa’s a good choice for toy coverage, since it’s a good basic design, from a memorable and punchy sort of scene from the movie, and also pairs well with a Luke Skywalker variant, as is the case today! 

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The Wampa and Luke Skywalker were one of the 1998 Creature Sets in Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force II line.  It followed up on the Empire-inspired Luke and Tauntaun set from the prior year, and also paired off with the similarly Empire-inspired Han and Tauntaun set from the same year.

WAMPA

Making his debut in the revived line was the Wampa.  He’d shown up in the vintage line as his own stand-alone creature release, but this one started the trend of packing him with a Luke figure, which would become the standard approach going forward.  The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and he has a rather minuscule 3 points of articulation.  There’s the shoulders and the waist, and that’s it.  And even the shoulders are kind of spotty, since the right one is just a cut joint, to allow for removal like at the end of his scene in Empire, and the left has a spring-loaded swiping feature that’s a bit limiting.  So, not a lot of posing is what I’m really getting at here.  The sculpt here is rather big and imposing, but also rather on the soft side in terms of detailing.  Though rather cartoony, the original Kenner figure had some pretty sharp detailing, especially on the fur.  This one, less so.  He’s at least a bit more accurate to the Wampa prop from the movie, or at least what we can see of it.  His paint work does the usual Wampa thing of being inexplicably heavy on the accenting, making him look like he’s got splotches of something brown in his fur.  Not the best look.  The rest of the work is fine, though, so it’s not all bad.

LUKE SKYWALKER

This was the third time Luke showed up in his Hoth gear in this line.  There was the single and the one with the Tauntaun, both of which are his pre-attack look.  This one’s the only post attack one, which makes it a bit more unique, as he was the first of his kind.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation, which may seem normal, but it’s slightly skewed.  See, he doesn’t get waist movement, but he *does* get an articulated face covering, so that it can swivel to look like he’s hanging upside down.  It might be more practical if you actually had something to hang him from, but it’s a cool touch nevertheless.  Otherwise, his sculpt is rather similar to the other two Hoth Lukes, as you might expect.  He’s a little sharper on the detailing, though, and also has the expected changes, with the removal of the goggles, and the addition of the scarring to his face.  In general, I’m a fan of the new set-up.  The paint is again very similar to the others, which makes sense from a consistency standpoint.  He’s packed with his lightsaber, which is the same standard one used multiple times throughout the line.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I remember the Tauntaun set at retail, but this one kind of slipped under my radar as a kid, displaced by the Saga era release.  It wound up being the second to last of the Creature sets I located (I still haven’t actually gotten the last one), pulled out of a much larger collection of Power of the Force figures.  As with so many of these things I’ve been reviewing lately, it’s been sitting unopened for a lengthy amount of time, but I finally did it in preparation for this review.  Hooray for me!  The Wampa’s fine.  He works as a display, but I can’t say he’s thrilling.  The Luke’s actually really nice, and the best of the three Hoth Lukes, so that’s a quiet victory there.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this set for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3925: Princess Leia Organa in Hoth Gear

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

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA in HOTH GEAR

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Imperial snowtroopers have been spotted inside Hoth’s Rebel base. Little time remains for Princess Leia and Han Solo to make it to the Millennium Falcon and escape with their lives.”

Kenner’s Power of the Force II hit its high-points for production in 1997 and 1998, as demand steadily rose through the line’s run.  However, as they started jumping deeper into the weird cuts of characters, and production was not scaled back, things started to become stagnant.  The line was subsequently reined in, and refocused, as they prepared for the incoming push for Episode I.  With a great many of the “Freeze Frame” era figures still lingering at retail, the final four figures for the sub-set were released not at main retail, but rather through a Fan Club-exclusive assortment in 1998.  Of the characters featured, by far the most noteworthy was Princess Leia in her Hoth attire.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Leia Organa in Hoth Gear was released as part of the aforementioned Fan Club assortment of Star Wars: Power of the Force II in 1998.  She in particular had an interesting journey to release, first intended for release in the “Complete Galaxy” sub-line, which was cancelled, then intended to go with a Hoth 3D display, which was also canceled, before being moved to single release for an assortment that was also almost cancelled.  At least she made it out.  The figure stands about 3 1/2 inches tall and she has 6 points of articulation.  Her sculpt was unique, and not shared with the Cinema Scenes release of the same design, though admittedly, they’re pretty close in terms of styling.  This one gets a stiffer, more generic standing pose, instead of the more scene-specific one from the multi-pack.  Neither is really better than the other, they’re just different enough to be different.  Sculpting is pretty sharp, and the detailing on the outfit is particularly impressive.  Her color work is also a bit different than the other version, but not better or worse.  The hair’s a little darker, and the face is a little sharper.  The weathering on the outfit is also a cooler shade, and more focussed on her legs.  It still seems a little heavy handed, but it’s not awful.  Leia is packed with a blaster, which is a re-use of the Han-style one that they loved so much.  It’s fine.  It’s not remotely accurate, but it’s fine.  She also gets a freeze frame showing a scene from the Hoth evacuation.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had none of the Fan Club figures as a kid because I honestly didn’t know that was a thing the Fan Club did.  Kinda wish I could have gotten in on such a thing.  Seems right up my alley.  Instead, I’ve been slowly tracking them down.  They’re not expensive, mind you, just a lot less likely to show up than the others in the line.  Leia here was found mixed in with a batch of otherwise not noteworthy figures from the earlier run.  She’s perfectly fine.  It’s crazy how many steps there were to getting her release, but she’s a decent figure of one of the character’s main looks.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this figure for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0040: Luke Skywalker – Dagobah

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

LUKE SKYWALKER — DAGOBAH

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

We are officially taking the Flashback Friday Figure Addendums back to Star Wars!  Oh yeah!  Let’s jump back to some of the earliest Star Wars coverage here on the site, and indeed the very earliest Star Wars in my entire collection, with Dagobah Luke!

So, today’s review is actually pretty nifty. I’ve looked at the most recent round of Star Wars toys with The Black Series, and I’ve also taken a look at one of the vintage figures from the original line, but I’ve never really looked at any of the figures released in between.

Star Wars is looked at as one of the permanent fixtures of the action figure aisle nowadays, but that wasn’t always the case. Following Return of the Jedi, the line shifted to Power of the Force for a little while, but that line only ran until 1985, at which point Star Wars toys effectively ended. Ten years later, Kenner relaunched the line under the branding Power of the Force II. In 1995, I was 3 and just getting into action figures. So, POTF II came at just the perfect time and provided me with my very first Star Wars figure, which I’ll be looking at in this review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke was released as part of the 1996 assortment of Power of The Force II. He’s based on Luke’s look while he’s training on Dagobah in Empire Strikes Back. The figure stands about 3 ¾ inches tall, and features 6 points of articulation. That waist articulation was revolutionary, let me tell you. The sculpts for POTF II, in general, have not aged well. For some reason, everybody got really buff. Luke follows that trend, and looks more like Arnold Schwarzenegger than Mark Hamill. From a purely aesthetic stand point, it’s actually not a bad sculpt. There’s some nice texture on his clothing, and the proportions are about right, even if they don’t belong to Mark Hamill. One negative point: the feet are sculpted at a bit of an angle, which can make getting him to stand up a chore. The paint is actually very good for the time. There’s no bleed over or slop and the smaller details are all clean and sharp, and the shading on the shirt to show it’s wet and stained gives the figure a nice level of depth rarely seen on figures of this era. Luke was packed with a lightsaber and a blaster.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The trip on which I acquired this figure is actually one of my earlier memories of going to the store and buying something. I don’t remember what store it was (for some reason my gut says Target, but that doesn’t seem right). What I very vividly remember was being walked over to the toy aisle by my parents, seeing the display of figures and running to them. I saw Luke hanging there and immediately grabbed him. In particular, I remember my mind being completely blown by the idea that he actually included a lightsaber. I guess I just assumed that would have to be a separate purchase. I had yet to pick up on how action figures worked, I guess. Regardless, I was thrilled to have this figure. As the years have gone by, the figure has started to show its age, but I still feel pretty damned nostalgic for him. All in all, he’s not a bad figure, and the sentimental value pushes him up to 11.

Well, I can generally stand by this review pretty well, I feel.  Nicely formed, and generally on point.  Covers all the bases.  Kind of funny.  Good hook at the end. Go me.  A few notes to follow up on, though.  I addressed the angle of the feet, which mean he has to stand at an intense angle to remain upright, which is actually to do with him being designed to work with the Yoda released at the same time.  It actually works well in that regard, but I didn’t own Yoda until *after* this review was written, so I didn’t really know.  When I reviewed him, he didn’t have his lightsaber and blaster, but I’ve found both of those, so now he’s all complete!  And lastly, my wife an I watched all of Righteous Gemstones a few months back, and after watching it, I can’t help but see this take on Luke as looking unmistakably like Keef.  So there’s that.