Tag Archives: Wicket

#3917: Princess Leia & Wicket

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

PRINCESS LEIA & WICKET

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“The Ewok named Wicket was the first of his clan to find Princess Leia after she crashed a speeder bike in the dense woods of Endor. Their friendship allied the Ewoks and Rebels so that together they could help defeat the evil Empire!”

Remember last week, when I revisited the “Princess Leia Collection” for the first time in almost an entire decade?  Great, well, that’ll serve as a good refresher for today’s entry, which is another one of those.  Look, sometimes I remember something, and I just can’t shake it until it’s wrapped up.  This is one of those times.  I jumped back in, and I feel an undying need to wrap this set up.  So, let’s jump into the only of the original trilogy I haven’t looked at from this particular sub-set, Return of the Jedi, with its Leia and Wicket-centered presence!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Princess Leia and Wicket are the fourth and final two-pack in Kenner’s “Princess Leia Collection” sub-line of Star Wars: Power of the Force II.  As touched on in the intro, they’re the only set based on Return of the Jedi.  Like last week’s Leia and R2, this set consists of a new Leia, packed with a re-pack of the standard Wicket from the main line.

Leia is once again the main selling point of the set, which makes sense, what with the collection being named after her and all.  She’s seen here in her Ewok dress from Jedi, which is interesting for two notes.  Firstly, the packaging shows an image of Leia in her Endor assault gear, from her first (and most prominent) scene with Wicket, rather than the dress.  Secondly, the dress got a standard line release shortly after this one, making it a bit of a crowded market for the look.  I think it might have been cool to do the Endor gear, since it would have been neat to get the cloth poncho, like the vintage line, and it might have been a more fun design.  But, I’m also just kind of partial to that look.  This one does fit the vibe of the line and its more girl-oriented angles a bit better.  The figure is about 3 1/2 inches tall and she has 6 points of articulation.  She does the same mixed media approach as the other Leis from this line.  It works well enough.  The cloth used for the dress is heavy, and hangs well, and the actual braids in the hair are admittedly kind of neat.  Her coloring is a bit of a departure; rather than the brown shades of the actual dress in the movie, she’s got more of a pink hue, again seemingly to make her fit the general aesthetic they were going for a bit more.  It honestly works in her favor, because it’s s slightly more endearing color scheme.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never been much for this particular design for Leia, and I wasn’t relishing having to get it *twice* for a Power of the Force collection, but I did it, because that’s what I do, I guess.  Ultimately, it was more that this set was very cheap and easy to snag, so that got me on board.  I like it more than I expected to.  This design especially lends itself more to this style of line, and that does it a lot of favors the standard line didn’t have.

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.

#3827: Wicket & Logray

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

WICKET & LOGRAY

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE (KENNER)

Here we are, back at the Star Wars!  I’m doing this thing where I jump back and forth between Power of the Force and not-Power of the Force, and last month was a not-Power of the Force month, so we’re back on the Power of the Force!  I sure did say “Power of the Force” a lot there, didn’t I?  One of the neat things about Power of the Force was its aim at a sense of value.  The vintage line would sell you everyone at the same price point, regardless of relative sizing, but for the follow-up, Kenner was a bit more experimental.  For notably small guys, like the Jawas, the Ugnaughts, or, in fact today’s focus, the Ewoks, they were nice enough to give you two figures for the price of one!  How kind!  Let’s look at Wicket and Logray!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wicket and Logray were added to Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force line in 1998, in the midst of the Freeze Frame era.  Wicket was actually technically a re-release, having appeared in the Princess Leia Collection the prior year, but Logray was totally new.  Wicket stands about 2 1/2 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation.  Logray stands almost 1/2 an inch taller, but keeps the same movement.  Both figures are far from super posable.  The necks are quite restricted, especially on Wicket, with his hood and all, while the hip joints are ultimately not super useful for much more than some fine tuning to keep them standing.  They are at least pretty stable on their feet, so there’s at least that.  The sculpts are also pretty nice overall.  I like the head gear being actually separate parts, and the fur detailing is solid for the era and style.  Of the two, I think Wicket’s the slightly stronger sculpt, but they’re both decent renditions of the look from the movie.  Paint work’s not too bad on either figure.  They both get a bit of variation on the fur.  It again works a bit better on Wicket; Logray looks a bit like he’s wearing striped pajamas.  Hey, at least it’s unique.  Both figures get their own accessory, Wicket getting his spear, and Logray his staff.  There’s also the Freeze Frame slide, for those that are interested in such things.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Would you believe me if I said I don’t actually recall getting these?  I know I got them from All Time, some time after I well and truly committed to this whole buying the entire run thing, but I think I may have gotten them in a batch with some other figures?  I’m pretty sure I got them sealed and then opened them during one of my bouts of needing to open things to feel better.  They’re not bad.  Honestly, it’s hard to mess up an Ewok, so good on them for not doing that?

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

#3363: Wicket

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

WICKET

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Isn’t it great how the Star Wars movies are all spaced out in such a way that you’re bound to be celebrating some sort of anniversary for them, almost every year?  The more recent theme on the Hasbro side has the been the 40th anniversaries of the Original Trilogy films, and up to bat this year is Return of the Jedi and its original 1983 release.  As with all the other 40th celebrations, Black Series is getting a couple of rounds of retro carded figures, which are a mix of old and new offerings.  There’s but one new offering in the very first of those assortments, and it’s one of those devilishly divisive Ewoks.  But it’s not just any Ewok: it’s Wicket!  He’s, like, the best one!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wicket was released alongside re-carded versions of Endor Leia, Endor Han, the Scout Trooper, and Skiff Guard Lando in the first series of the RotJ Retro Carded Black Series figures.  As noted in the intro, he’s the only unique figure this time around, and he’s our third Ewok in the line.  As the main Ewok, it’s a little surprising that it’s taken quite this long to release him, but he’s at least a good choice for an anniversary.  As of right now, he’s exclusive to the Retro Card, but it wouldn’t be that shocking to see him show up in the standard line later, as they’ve done with a few of the other anniversary figures.  The figure stands 3 inches tall and he has 20 points of articulation.  Given how small he is, he’s honestly got a pretty impressive articulation set-up.  The only major joint missing is the knee, but that would probably have broken the legs up too much, and it admittedly doesn’t mess with the movement too badly, due to the range on the hips and ankles.  Wicket’s sculpt is all-new, and it’s a very strong one.  He’s very small, of course, but that’s proper scaling for him, so it makes sense.  Even with his smaller stature, there’s a ton of texturing, and it’s got a great likeness of the Wicket costume from the movie.  The face in particular really captures the look of the character.  His hood is a separate piece, which can be removed if you’re so inclined, but it’s not really much to look at that way.  He just looks extra goofy.  But, it’s cool to have the option, and it stays in place very well.  Wicket’s paint work is pretty well handled, with accenting on his hood and his fur.  The fur jumps a bit in intensity from piece to piece, but the head is again the best work, with a rather subtle set-up, as well as gloss on the eyes that really helps to make they pop up against the rest of the face.  Wicket is packed with his spear, which is his signature weapon.  Presumably to make up for his smaller size while still occupying the standard price point, Wicket also gets a bow, an arrow, and two different styles of club.  They’re not things that he uses in the movie, but they’re good base Ewok weapons, and it’s not like he *couldn’t* have used them at some point, and it does give you extra options.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back when I was still operating under the delusion that I was only buying a very select run of figures from Black Series (in 2013, when the line first launched), Wicket was one of the figures on my list that I was definitely buying.  I assumed he’d be the first Ewok at the time, and also thought we’d be seeing him sooner than ten years into the line, but I knew I wanted him all the same.  In an otherwise kind of lack-luster launch wave for the 40th RotJ figures, Wicket was a pretty exciting figure, and in hand, I really dig him.  Sure, you’re paying full price for a figure that’s half the size, but there feels like an extra attention to detail on this one, and to me he feels like a better deal than Yoda and R2 were.  And he’s just a fun little guy.

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