|
Packaging - ***1/2
I like this new 12" packaging quite a bit. It looks good on the
shelf, but has very little wasted space. It seems to hold up pretty
good, and is actually collector friendly if you don't mind retying a few
twisties. That's a pretty major change for Hasbro.
This figure is marked with a
'Jedi Council' seal on the front, which neither Anakin or Obi-Wan have,
obviously because they aren't on the Council.
Sculpting - ***
I really wanted to give this a better score in this area. Let's face
it, it's Real Scanned, so in theory it should be excellent.
And above the mouth it
is. The shape of the head, the eyes, and especially the nose, all
look just like Samuel Jackson. There's much more detail in the
wrinkles and contours than the previous sculpt, making it quite an
improvement. At least above the mouth.
For some reason, Hasbro felt
the need to go with a psuedo-bad ass look. You know the type - some
sort of contorted mouth position to make it appear as though he's
screaming or yelling or something.
And as usually, it looks
simply stupid. Since the look doesn't translate to his eyes (which
is crucial if you expect this to work) it ends up looking like the
director just told a bad joke. He's not grimacing, he's not gritting
his teeth - he's simply being polite.
Paint - ***1/2
The eyes are really the only paint ops, and they seem to be hit or
miss. Some folks have reported pretty poorly done eyes, but the two
I saw were both decent.
I'm also counting the skin
tone this time though, although that's the color of the plastic.
It's much closer to what you expect this time around.
Articulation - **
Same as always, which is all the more disappointing with a character who
is intended for battle stances. I realize that the license cost
itself has really burned Hasbro here, and made it very difficult for them
to improve the figures. But with the much better bodies in the
Joe line, there really is no excuse.
Accessories - ***
Mace only comes with one, and it's no surprise that it's a light
saber. What might be a surprise is the color - it's purple.
Mace is certainly the first Jedi I've seen with this particular color,
although if it had been Shaak Ti or Luminara I wouldn't have been quite as
suprised.
The blade is removable of
course, and the hilt is very detailed. Also, there's a peg on the
hilt that fits perfectly into a new style holder on the belt. It's a
nice improvement.
Outfit - ***
I'm giving what is in reality a rehashed outfit a pretty good score.
But although we've seen this before, it's still nicely done.
The boots, pants and tunic
all look great, particularly the boots. The sculpt is excellent with
lots of detail, unlike some of the earlier boots.
There's an improvement too -
the belt is quite a bit nicer this time around, with lots of little bags
and goodies sculpted on it.
On the bad side, we're
missing the cloak this time, which couldn't have been that much more to
include. I realize that Hasbro is trying to keep costs down to
around twenty bucks on the 12" line, but they have to keep in mind
the quality and accessories we're getting from the competition at $25.
Value - **1/2
I've mentioned value a few times now, and with only the light saber, no
cloak, and a lot of rehash in the costume, this figure isn't a great deal
at $20. Still, if you missed out on the first Mace, or if you can
get over his silly smile, he's a decent buy.
|
