The furor of Star Wars collecting has not been what it once was, but
Hasbro keeps cranking out the new waves. The regularity and quality
of the waves has also increased since last year, and the collectors that
are still plugging along are being rewarded handsomely. This latest wave contains four figures. Tatooine Jar-Jar, R2-Q5,
Tessek (Squid Face), and Lando Calrissian. Depending on where you find
them, they are running $6-$7 each, although Targets, Meijers and Wal-marts
seem the hot locations right now.
I picked this wave up at a local Target, and Lando was clearly the one
that was either shortpacked, or more desirable. He was in short
supply on the peg, and that could easily be due to the fact that it's been
so long since we saw a Lando figure, and this Lando figure is such a
standout. Packaging - **
I don't think there's anything new I can say about this packaging.
Oh wait, there is. Since these are all on .03 cards right now, you
don't even see them on the back of the package. This generic
packaging, with the silly little insert card, must be saving Hasbro quite
a bit of cash. Also of note - the word 'imperial' is misspelled 'imperal'
on the R2-Q5 force file. It's pretty good odds that they'll correct
it, but as all variation hunters know, it's impossible to predict which
version will be in shorter supply. Articulation - ***
Hasbro has improved the articulation on this line, at least for certain
figures. The R2 unit has a rotating top, jointed legs, and the
center leg extends and retracts slightly. The feet are also jointed. Tessek
has hips, waist, neck shoulders and one elbow cut joint. He stands
well on his own. Lando could have used some elbow joints, but he stands
well on his own. He only has neck, shoulders, hips and waist.
That limits his poseability. And good old Jar-Jar has neck, ball jointed
shoulders, waist and hips. The ball joints are nice, and I wish more
figures got this treatment. Accessories -
***1/2
Each figure comes with an accessory - excellent! The R2 unit has the
holographic death star, Tessek a blaster, Lando a blaster and his
ultra-cool cloth cape, and Jar-jar comes with one of the collapsed droids. Tessek's
blaster is extremely soft, and I think Hasbro is going way too light on
the PVC mix for the weapons lately. But Lando's cape is fantastic,
with a beautiful liner and great stitching. For a cloth item on this
scale, it is terrific work. The droid that Jar-Jar comes with, and the
Death Star hologram are both decent accessories, and certainly an
improvement over the pitiful items we've seen in the past. Sculpting -
****
I'm really surprised - we get an entire set of four figures in a single
wave that really stand out! Jar-Jar is my least favorite character
in the entire Star Wars universe, but even I have to admit that this is a
great version. Lando's sculpt is wonderful, but Tessek is simply
amazing. He shows terrific attention to detail all the way around,
and the face sculpt is amazing for this scale. Kudos to Hasbro for
improving their work. Paint Ops - ***1/2
All four figures looked good, and the paint ops on the R2 unit really make
that figure. Tessek is extremely well done as well, and overall
there appeared to be no paint problems on any of the figures I saw. Value -
***
Six bucks feels right - the seven I paid is a little too much. But
with decent accessories for a change, I don't feel like I'm being
monetarily abused. Overall - ***1/2
If I were grading these individually, Jar-Jar would be at the bottom with
perhaps ***, and Tessek at the top with ****. Things even out across
the line though, and I highly recommend that you pick up these versions.
|