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Zutton

When it comes to Star Wars figures, we are currently experiencing the calm before the storm.  In just a few short months, we'll be literally flooded with new product based on Episode II.  But there's still a few new releases hitting the shelves.

One of those is the alien Zutton, who we used to call Snaggletooth.  He's released under the Power of the Jedi line, along with Eeoth Koth.  I picked mine up on-line, and haven't seen a single one at the store yet, but I hear that Wal-mart has been getting them in.




Packaging - **
Nothing in the least exciting here.  I'm looking forward to the cardback change, since we've seen this art long enough.

Actually, with the greatly reduced number of figures on the back of the cards with the last couple waves, and the seemingly poorer graphics work on the photos, these cardbacks are inferior to even those from a couple releases ago.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Hasbro can do a really nice job when they want to.  They wanted to here.

Both the head sculpt and body sculpt are nicely done, with excellent details and intricate work.  They've captured the source material very well.  Poor guy - he's definitely got a face only a mother could love.  Unfortunately for him, the secrets of Rogaine don't appear to be part of the Star Wars universe.

The only thing holding this back from a perfect four star rating is the forced sculpting on the arms.  Without the elbow articulation, they had to pre-pose the arms, and it's a fairly awkward pose.

Paint - **
A great sculpt can be ruined by poor paint ops though, and that is part of the problem here.  It's not that the ops are that bad, but that they neglected to try to do any sort of wash on the face to bring out the nostrils or wrinkles.  On top of that, there's not enough dark colors in the mouth to set it off from the rest of the face.

Comparing the head to the photo and you can see where the great sculpt would have looked so much better with just a decent use of highlighting and shadow.

The paint ops were a bit sloppy on the blaster as well, with the silver not following clean lines.

Articulation - ***1/2
For a Hasbro Star Wars figure, that's a pretty good score!  We get neck, shoulders, waist, hips and knees on this figure.

I'm assuming they added the knees because of the slightly tilted sculpt on the legs - he's got a casual stance going on.  But elbow articulation would have really helped this figure, giving you a lot more options with the accessories.

Accessories - ***1/2
Speaking of accessories, he's certainly got more than his share.  Since we've been lucky when we get one with a seven dollar figure in the past, it's extremely refreshing to see not two, but three!

He has two blasters - a handgun and a rifle.  The small blaster fits nicely in his left hand, and it also fits in the holster sculpted on his ankle.

The long blaster doesn't fit well in his arms in any pose I tried.  If you've found a good one, let me know.

The small drinking glass also fits in his right hand well, but I suspect that over time the back of the hand may break, as the hands are soft, and the amount it has to bend to hold the glass is considerable.  The glass itself is pretty nifty, and a very nice touch.

The only downside to the accessories is the use of an extremely soft material for both blasters.  That's been a trend now for quite awhile, and one I'm definitely not happy about.

Value - ***
At seven bucks, most of the POTJ figures are overpriced.  We've lost the Freeze Frames, we've lost the Force Files, now we don't get jack with the small figure.

At least Zutton has a good share of accessories, greatly improving his value rating over some of his current colleagues.

Overall - ***
With better paint work on the face, bringing out the details of the sculpt, this figure would have been an easy ***1/2.  It's always more disappointing when they get so close, and just miss the mark.

Still, he's a cool figure, and a must have for the Star Wars alien fans.

Where to Buy:
I picked mine up on-line, but Wal-mart is supposed to be getting these in.  On-line sources:

- I picked up mine at Toyzz.com.  They were only $7 each plus shipping, but it looks like they're already out of stock.

-  Aisle Sniper hast them listed at $5.99 for a non-minty card, or $7.99 for a mint card, but they are listed as Sold Out right now too.  If you give them a call I'm sure they'll give you some idea of when they'll be back in.


Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford.

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