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12" Darth Maul with Sith Speeder

This last six weeks has been the Exclusives Period in the Star Wars Action Figure History Time Line.  The latest in this long series of exclusives to hit in such a short period of time is the 12" Darth Maul with Sith Speeder.  This is a Walmart exclusive, and retails for about $40.

Packaging - **
Even more plain than usual.  Perhaps that's because the Tatooine background is pretty dull here, or the fact that this package is radically smaller than the Speederbike or Dewback  What ever the reason, this package is certainly less inspiring.  And as is the usual case, you better bring your wire snippers to the party because this boy is very well attached to the insert.

Sculpting - ***
Above you can see the original Maul sculpt (left) and the new and theoretically improved Maul sculpt (right).  While the new sculpt may not be perfect, it certainly highlights what a truly awful sculpt the original was.  Let's face it, the guy on the left looks like he should utter "Whoa, dude".  The blank expression combined with the clown paint application of his tattoo is just horrendous.  The new sculpt makes that clear.

However, the new sculpt isn't perfect.  I love the look in the eyes, and the malevolence in the wrinkle of the brow.  The face paint is a tremendous improvement as well, thinning and thickening the lines perfectly.  The perfect example is the chin, where originally it looked like the tattoo artist may have been drunk while old Maul was in the chair.  On the newer version, the design is cleaner and sharper.

But what about that grin?  Okay, I can deal with the poor dental hygiene.  But the grin is very close to crossing the line from evil to psychotic.  And while I can understand an evil Maul, a psychotic Maul just doesn't play.  It's almost a Joker grin, and that's not necessarily a good thing.

Accessories - ***1/2
I'm counting the bike as the accessory here.  I know that's bizarre, but that's the way I do it.  And this is a pretty damn nice accessory. Pretty solid construction, Maul sits fairly well on it, although his hands have a bit of a problem holding both handles at once.  The handles move separately, the clear plastic stand tilts left and right, and there is even a compartment in the tail to store the lightsaber if you'd like.

Speaking of the lightsaber, that's obviously another accessory, but you've seen it before with the original 12" Maul.  Nothing new here.  They did add his silver arm band, although it's certainly nothing to get excited about.  Very plain, but at least it fits.

Articulation - **1/2
Same as the original 12" figure, and just about all the other 12" Star Wars figures.  If you consider it adequate, you still will.  If you hate it, you still will.  I do like the ball joint on the neck of the Maul figure however, which isn't present on every other 12" figure.

Outfit - ***
I'm giving Maul's outfit pretty high marks simply because it's a damn cool outfit, and well done.  But there's nothing new here - the robes, belt, boots, all we've seen in the original version.

Value - ***
Pretty good score for a 12" exclusive.  Normally these are too high for what you are getting - fifty bucks for the Speederbike was pushing it, and the cost of the Dewback or Palpatine/Guard two pack were way out of line.  But if you consider that the figure would cost you $20, the Sith Speeder is only costing another $20, and that's certainly not too shabby.  Add in the fact that you're getting an improved head sculpt on Maul, and this is a pretty good deal.

Overall - ***
This is certainly one of the better exclusives recently, if you look at the overall picture.  While I still think the Speederbike is a bit better in terms of the coolness factor, this is certainly a better value.  And if you were like many and didn't get the chance to pick up a 12" Darth Maul the first time around, here's your chance to get an even better looking version.

Loose figure from the collection of Larry Jones
Boxed Return to Main Menu
Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford

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