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Packaging - **1/2
The package doesn't do a whole lot to show off the contents, since
there is no way to see the pieces with the exception of the two heads.
These heads can be seen through a small window on either end
of the box, but for a larger effect, you have to rely on the box photos.
Inside, they went nuts with the
twisties too, using them to hold various pieces in the rather flimsy
plastic insert. The extra weight of some of these pieces,
like the Emperor's body, would have probably been better served with a
foam insert.
Sculpting - ***
If you're looking just for pure Sculpt quality, this score would be
much higher. They've done some beautiful detail work in both
characters, particularly in the textures for their wrinkled up old
skin, as well as the clothing. Their own internal scale is good, as is
their scale to each other. I
love the pose as well, capturing the battle mid-fight. It's extremely
dynamic, yet they didn't create a goofy or silly expression on either
character. It's all grim determination and resolve. The base of
the diorama is about 15" wide, but the two characters are quite short.
Yoda is less than 4" tall, while Palpatine is less than 10" tall.
You may recall that the Kotobukiya Star Wars kits are supposed to be
1/7th scale, but often the figures are much closer to 12". What
that means is that just like the R2-D2/ C-3PO dio, the characters here
are completely out of scale with the rest of the single figure kits.
You'll have to have two completely separate sections in your display -
one for the single, larger figures, and one for these smaller dioramas.
I'm cutting a good half star off the score here for this reason
alone, so your mileage might vary. Speaking of 'kits', yes, these
come in pieces, and quite a few. There's more than a dozen, but they
all go together fairly easily, and they hold very tight, including the
two sections of the grey base. These kits are not resin, but a
hard ABS type plastic. A polystone or resin statue in this scale would
have been far more expensive, and the hard plastic holds a very
detailed sculpt quite well.
Paint - ***1/2
The paint work is every bit as good as the sculpt, and doesn't have that nasty annoyance of scale to bring it down. The bolts of energy are a translucent purple plastic, with no additional paint. Properly lit, they look excellent. There's
very little slop here on either of the two figures, especially Yoda.
There's the occasional errant mark (like on Palpatine's chin), or the
slightly sloppy cut line, but these issues are quite rare. There
is a wash on both the cloak of Palpatine and the skin of Yoda, designed
to bring out the detail of the sculpt. I think it's just about
right, but whether or not there's too much is often very much a matter
of personal taste.
Articulation - Bupkis
The lack of articulation here shouldn't be a surprise - and won't
effect my own overall - since these are intended as statues.
However, Kotobukiya has been known to add a joint here or
there in the past, so it's worth noting that it's not the case this
time around.
Accessories - **
This is one of those odd categories. Normally, a low score here would
hurt the overall, but since this is supposed to be a Nerd Hummel, any
score here is a pleasant surprise and is a big plus.
You have the choice of two sets
of hands for both characters. One set is just open, gesturing
hands, preparing to blast each other. The other set has the
plastic bolts of energy attached, and actually connects the two
figures together. Swapping the hands is easy enough, and both sets look
good. Most folks will probably go with the bolts, but
it's always nice to have options.
By the way, these bolts of
energy do NOT light up in any way. In the first photo I lit them with a
blue LED light to give the impression of and internal light source, but
that's just cool lighting.
Fun Factor - *1/2
The Emperor figure can actually work fine as a static figure off his
base, so kids could use him to battle with shrimpy versions of other
figures. What those figures might be I don't know, but
there's still some potential.
Yoda has the pegs on his feet,
rather than on the base, so he can't stand independent of it. That
hurts his usefulness as a separate figure.
Value -
**1/2
The SRP on this set was $200. Ouch. That's dropped at many
retailers right now though, closer to $125 - $150. However, right
now Things From Another World
has this set in their 50% off clearance sale, where it was originally
$175, so you can pick it up for about $88 through them. That's still a
lot of cash, but it's much closer to
a decent value. Things To Watch Out For
-
Not a thing. You might want to take a little care attaching the energy
hands, but it's a minor concern. I was pretty rough putting
mine together, and it never felt like it was close to breaking.
Overall - ***
As a stand alone statue, I really, really like this piece. A dynamic
fighting situation like this is usually very hard to pull off without
making it look silly, but they've done an admirable job. The
paint work is solid, and the extra hands are a nice touch. And if
you add in the great sale price from TFAW, you can see that this set is
well above average on its own. For
me, the big issue is the small size compared to the rest of the series.
If that doesn't matter to you, or you plan on only displaying this
alone (or with the R2-D2/C-3PO diorama), then you can add another half
star to my overall score. But if you're like me, looking to
increase your overall Kotobukiya Star Wars display, the difference in
scale is likely to be more of a problem. |
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