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Packaging - ***1/2
I like the new (last year) design of the packages for the 30th Anniversary
figures, although I do like the blue trim better than the darker colors.
There's some reasonably good graphics and text, and they show off the figure
pretty well without taking up too much space.
Sculpting - Elis ***1/2; Onith ***
Onith and Elis are both well sculpted, but like most Lucas creations,
they'll remind you of other more earth bound designs.
Onith is clearly the result of a night of drunken debauchery between an
anteater and a Shar-pei. The sculpt seems a tad soft to me, especially
when you compare it to the reference photo. The horns are too rounded,
and the ridges seem lost in the paint job.
His hands are sculpted to hold the accessories though, and he stands
great on his own. They've also done a nice job using textures to
differentiate between the various pieces of clothing.
Elis is my favorite of the two, although you can't help but see Munch's
Scream in this guy's face. Interestingly enough though, Munch's
version never had the black eyes and mouth that we've come to associate with
'scream'...instead, that came from the movie of the same name.
But it's no surprise that when working with the image of the human skull,
people would come up with a similar visage. Elis looks unhappy,
especially for a guy getting hammered, but I suspect from the downward
sloping eye sockets and shape of the mouth that this guy is a mean drunk.
The sculpted hands are unique and interesting, and designed to hold the
accessories. He stands fine on his own, although one leg is a bit
longer than the other. The articulation allows you to balance things
out with a little effort.
Paint - Elis ***1/2; Onith ***
The paint ops are fairly clean, especially for mass market toys in this scale.
If you compare these with something like the POTC 3 3/4" figures, you'll see
where these are far superior in the same price range.
There's not much detail work on Elis, but his application is very clean
and neat. There's also a good consistency with the colors on various
areas, like the head, hands and feet.
Onith has a little more detail work, but the wash/wipe technique used on
the head isn't doing much for me. The color also doesn't really match
the reference photos, and the brown would have been preferred to this rhino
gray. The hands and face don't particularly match, and while the
quality is decent, these aesthetic issues bring down the score for me.
Articulation - ***
These figures have good articulation, designed for playability more than pure
poseability.
Both have ball jointed necks, which is a huge improvement. The neck
post is a tad short on both, making the range of movement somewhat limited,
but at least it's a step in the right direction. And if you do get a
little carried away and pop the head off, it pops right back on easy as pie.
There's ball jointed shoulders as well, jointed only at the torso, and
cut joints at the elbows and wrists. The cuts at the elbows are angle
cuts, so the arm can either stick straight out or at a ninety degree angle,
making the cuts more useful than straight cuts.
Both figures have ball and pin knees, so that they can turn and bend
backward easily. These work well for getting them in the sweet spot to
stay standing, but don't really do much to get them in a sitting pose.
The hips are the usual V joints, which are pretty much restricted on
Onith, but work as well as can be expected on Elis.
Accessories - ***1/2
There's plenty of re-use between these two guys (and some previous figures),
but that's not always a terrible thing.
Both figures come with the cool silver coins. They may also come
with the new gold 'Galactic Hunt' coins that are the chase figures for
2007/08, but I haven't seen them yet.
The also both come with sections of the Cantina bar. There's the
upper bar piece, a floor, and two bar stools. These two sections can
also connect with each other, or with past chunks of the bar. That's a
terrific feature that increases the value if you buy both.
Finally, the both also come with glasses of blue alien drink. We've
seen these glasses before, and it seems like everyone at the bar drinks the
same thing.
Their unique accessories are their blasters. Each comes with one, and
they fit nicely in their permanently attached holsters or in their hands.
While they are rubber banded into their right hands in the package, the
bands aren't necessary to keep them there.
Elis has one additional accessory - his shawl or scarf. This soft
rubber fashion accent fits around his neck for those cold evenings out
cantina hopping.
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Sure, collectors buy them, but these are toys first, 'collectibles' second.
And they keep that firmly in mind with the level of sturdiness and
playability. Aliens are always fun, and can be thrown in to just about
any scene or backyard battle.
Value - ***
These guys are still around $7, which would rank them an average score
normally. But with the included chunks of bar, even with the re-use,
they are a better value than normal. Throw in the nifty coins (I love
coins), and you've got a solid above average score.
Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. These are built for play, and quite sturdy all around.
Overall - Elis ***1/2; Onith ***
I don't buy a lot of figures, but it's always nice to add a couple more aliens
to the Cantina. Hasbro has certainly improved the overall quality over
the last decade, and it's nice to see that they continue to support the line
so wholeheartedly. All the releases may not be my cup of tea, but I
can certainly appreciate a good brew.
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