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Never Forget - The ICMG Petition

Moff Jerjerrod

The Imperial Officers are a deep well of boredom for Hasbro to dip into, and really they’re an area Hasbro could save a little cash by re-using body parts to crank them out cheaply as well. They’re collector-favorites usually, and while dull looking they tend to have some popularity at retail. Case-in-point is the recently released General Veers who I didn’t look on favorably but who has sold well at retail without a doubt.

Hasbro’s Endor Wave rolls around and there is yet another Imperial Officer included in it, this time tackling a character who is kind of the “Joe Blow” of Imperial Officers. He isn’t unique looking, he doesn’t really do much in the film (what he did do mostly got cut), and overall he’s just a bland kind of “generic” officer while still being a specific character from the film. This week’s review is of the Death Star 2’s commander… at least till some others arrived, Moff Jerjerrod.

So Hasbro has a real shot at giving us an Imperial Officer ideal for army building due to the generic looks of the character in question. Jerjerrod just looks like any old guy. Even his rank badge is a “generic” rank, as during filming of Return of the Jedi the Imperials all have the same rank if you look closely, as a moment of continuity screw-ups on Lucasfilm’s part. Jerjerrod truly has potential to be just a generic Imperial for people to army build, but how can Hasbro make that less of an option for fans? Well read on and you’ll see just how they can make you less interested in buying multiples. They pulled out all the stops with this one I’m afraid.

PROS

-Sculpt (Well, Mostly Anyway): For the record, the sculpt isn’t 100% perfect and the pose (part of the sculpt of course) is a flaw unto itself, however those are details for later to pick the figure apart. For now, we’re going to look at overall how the accuracy of the figure’s costume and the details of it are presented in the sculpt, and Hasbro really did a nice job on that for the most part.

The costume of the Imperial Officer has seen a lot of changes over the years in terms of how they are sculpted. It actually was done very well with 1999’s Admiral Motti, then Hasbro started to slip a little with the heavily textured and grainy looking Admiral Ozzel. This year’s General Veers saw the best work yet though in nailing the Imperial Officer sculpt down, and Jerjerrod’s carrying on that tradition of quality in general.

The uniform pants are sculpted substantially different from Veers in that the riding breeches poof outward at the thighs in a different and unique way compared to other officers in the past. They fold in sharply and the look is unique and detailed with a lot of depth to it. The way they look as though they are folded over and tucked down inside his boots is an especially cool detail to add some “life” to the sculpt.

The figure features a sculpted “skirt piece” that extends the tunic down over the legs, and that’s always an appreciated feature on Imperial Officer figures. It shows the huge leap in quality from the early POTF2 figures to now. The way the tunic folds in sharply under the belt as though the tunic is getting cinched in as the belt is tightened, is especially nice looking and detailed. Again it adds lifelike realism to the character.

The figure’s tunic features a lot of nice detail as well, including a raised and detailed rank badge, perhaps the best sculpt of that specific costume item ever. Jerjerrod’s tunic also has a cool detail at the neck area showing how it buttons below the collar, and sort of is bulkier at that point. The pockets for the security spikes (or pens, or whatever) are also great in that they show the bulk of the pen down inside the pocket bulging outward as well. The detail is small but it’s the kind of little realism things that make Hasbro one of the tops with sculpt details these days. I wish I could say the same for the figure’s pose and face sculpt, unfortunately I can’t say that, so get ready for some sculpt negatives later on in the review.

-Paint Aps/Decoration: Hasbro’s proven to do well by the collector with their paintjobs as of late. The Imperial Officer rarely requires much in terms of color variety but there are the usual details like well painted eyes, a crisp detailed paintjob on the rank badge and other things that come up to make one appreciate the work that is there.

First up, the costume itself features some especially nice LITTLE paint details. For instance Jerjerrod is the first Imperial Officer to get the soles of his boots painted up nicely. The boot, a nice satiny black, features a distinct grey sole painted on to make it look new and crisp and well cared for (as any self-respecting officer would have of course). The belt features a similar black paintjob with a silver buckle and the silver buckle pin to the right as is found on all Officer’s belts in the movies.

Jerjerrod’s rank badge and code cylinders are also painted nicely. The silver of the cylinders in their pockets is usually a tricky application that is prone to bleeding onto the uniform but not in Jerjerrod’s case. The badge is painted with a silver base and then each individually raised rank square is painted red or blue, without any of the colors bleeding onto each other.

Lastly is Jerjerrod’s face and hair paint details, and they’re all well done. The sharply raised eyebrows are painted smooth and evenly. The hairline exposed around the hat is also painted nicely, even onto the longer sideburns, and it doesn’t bleed onto the skin at all. The eyes are very small but appear to be Hasbro’s usual 3-layered paintjob for human characters. It appears to me that I can see the pupil dot painted over a blue-ish iris, and of course set on the white of the eye with a dark line across the top to simulate an eyelid as well. They are both painted evenly and quite nicely, so no cross-eyed looking paintjob here. Of the Jerjerrod figures I saw though your mileage may vary on how the eyebrows look. Some seemed more sharply raised in anger than others, but they were all even and seemed to look fine.

The only flaw on the paint I found was the neck’s flesh color that Hasbro used. The neck is painted, however on my sample the color of paint doesn’t even closely match the flesh tone of the plastic used for the head and hands on the figure. This was disappointing but not a deal breaker so I’m cutting some slack to the figure on this flaw. Overall I was quite pleased with the paintjob on Moff Jerjerrod.

-Packaging: The Saga Collection packaging for each figure is an interesting mix of styles. You can definitely see some elements of the ROTS line mixed with elements of the OTC line, and that makes for a unique package on the shelves. I really enjoy the black cardback with silver lettering, and I hope it’s something Hasbro is willing to stick with for a long time to come.

I also highly enjoy the unique backgrounds for each figure. Pulling an element from the OTC line, the new Saga Collection packaging uses a film shot that pertains to each unique character, and really individualizes the figures. This is drool-worthy for the carded collector and it makes even the die-hard openers want a figure here and there to keep carded just because of how special the backgrounds are.

The bubble is a little closer to the ROTS line in its overall size and shape, but should lend itself more to staying mint for the carded guys. There’s also an insert depicting the specific character and the character’s name, packaged into the bottom of the package just as the Revenge of the Sith figures had. The insert features the bold blocky silver lettering of the Saga, and lets fans know that this is the universal collection of figures encompassing the entire Star Wars universe.

There’s a lot to like with this packaging so I hope it stays as the standard for a while. I would say that The Saga Collection and Original Trilogy Collection will go down as some of the most liked packaging by collectors for quite some time if Hasbro gives it a while, and this is coming from a guy that rips almost everything off its card at some point or another.

CONS

-Accessories: To say that you get little with Moff Jerjerrod is an understatement. Not that I feel you deserve an arsenal with the good Moff here, he obviously isn’t that kind of character, but Hasbro included one measly accessory with this figure and when you’re looking at a toy like this guy, sometimes something “cool” that is an unexpected extra is able to help push it through with sales. Kind of like Lushros Dofine and his little command console, Jerjerrod just needed something extra to make him look a little more interesting on the pegs.

Jerjerrod comes sporting a Blastech E-11 blaster (Stormtrooper blaster), and that’s all fine and good. It would be kind of cool if Hasbro had given us something new in terms of blasters instead of the usual Stormtrooper rifle but still this gun does make sense as well so it’s tough to knock it.

At the same time though, Hasbro could’ve included a little hologram of the Death Star II, or perhaps a datapad accessory with some cool decoration on it. They really could’ve gone the extra mile though and included perhaps a Death Star console of some sort… In the novelization of Return of the Jedi, Jerjerrod actually took control of a console and was going to blow away Endor with the Death Star’s superlaser, so that would’ve been a COOL accessory to give the figure, and a nod to the novels. Alas Hasbro gave you nothing else of note, and that sort of sucks.

Now, you do get the usual mainstays of the 2006 basic line. You get a random holographic miniature figure (in red flavor), and you get a stand embossed with the film the character is from on top of it, and with the character’s name painted along the front edge… These are pack-ins that I personally find A) unnecessary, and B) an added expense that has detracted from the quality of figures in 2006… Obviously I could do without these things if it meant a better figure in the package, or better accessories or whatnot. To me these don’t even count as something to keep the figure complete really. Overall though Hasbro shafts this figure on “extras” and that certainly hurts it when you’re looking at its value to you and your hard earned cash.

-Articulation: -Articulation: Hasbro not only under whelms the collector-world with a lack of accessories with Jerjerrod, but they also disappoint on the figure itself by simply not giving a lot of articulation to him. A lot of people will say that you don’t NEED a lot of articulation on an Imperial Officer and I’d tell them that no figure NEEDS a lot of articulation, but the fact is he’s a toy first and in 2006 it’d be nice to get an Imperial Officer that could sit in a chair if we wanted him to… It should simply be a standard for any figure really because articulation = a more fun toy. This guy certainly needs to be more fun too.

Moff Jerjerrod features articulation at:
- 2 standard shoulder joints
- 2 angle-cut elbow joints
- 2 standard wrist joints
- 2 standard hip joints
- 1 ball/socket neck joint
- 1 standard waist joint

That’s a total of 10 points of articulation on Moff Jerjerrod. That’s about average for what Hasbro does for the Imperial Officers. It’s not horrible by any means, and the arms are quite passable for poseability in and of themselves. Unfortunately Hasbro just needs to go that one extra step and give us some knee joints so that Jerjerrod can be running around the Death Star, sitting down (the “skirt” extension of the tunic can be made flexible and able to allow the figure to sit down).

It’s a minor gripe when a figure costs $5 though. It’s a gripe that increases in importance when a figure costs you $7+ at retail though, which is what this guy ran me, so there is definitely something to be said for increasing articulation just to meet the increases we’ve seen at the checkout aisle. Either way though I think the Hasbro Star Wars line has a ways to go to really be at that higher standard that I hope some day they reach as far as poseability goes. They’re getting better with a lot of various figures but just not straight across the basic line as it should be.

-Face Sculpt/Likeness: As I noted in the Pro’s, the sculpt is pretty good overall really and there is a lot of little details to enjoy, however Hasbro did drop the ball with the headsculpt in two specific ways. First the likeness, second the awkward expression.

The likeness issue is something I generally am a little forgiving of, especially with humans. Jerjerrod’s likeness is so far off the mark though that I really don’t know if they were intending this figure to look somewhat generic or not. The actor obviously has his own “look” and the likeness sculpted for the figure just doesn’t match it in the slightest by my opinion. Now granted one man’s favorite Han Solo likeness is another man’s least favorite, so maybe you feel this is spot-on to the actor, however I just don’t see it. I feel like this is one of the most far off likenesses of a human character that Hasbro’s put out in a while.

The second issue is the expression then, and I just don’t have a clue what Hasbro’s goal was with sculpted Moff Jerjerrod in a vicious scowling style. In the film Jerjerrod had two mode; Subservient and scared crapless. He basically just stood there and looked cordial and dutiful to Vader, or he looked like he was about to mess his spiffy trousers when he was told Palpatine was on his way. The figure though has an expression of rage and anger which doesn’t apply to the character in the film at all.

The sharply raised eyebrows are almost comical looking, and the character’s face appears almost as if he was intended to be from the cut sequence where he’s about to blow up Endor even. He just doesn’t match up to what’s in the film though and thus Hasbro dropped the ball overall with this figure’s face. He should’ve just been neutral and normal like other Impy Officers have been.

-Pose: Like the character’s facial expressions, Hasbro designed Jerjerrod’s pose to appear as though he’s from some mystery sequence of the film that we never saw. The body from the waist up is fine though, but it’s the legs where Hasbro went nuts and gave the figure something of an “action” stance.

Jerjerrod’s legs are spread fairly wide apart for a much posed look, as though he’s ready for some butt whipping. The pose reminds you of a lot of the earlier POTF2 figures with their wide heroic leg stances. A more recent figure with legs like this (that were equally annoying) was the General Riekean figure. Jerjerrod looks equally awkward, as all he ever did in the film was stand, and kneel. He wasn’t in any action sequences in the film, and anything he did do got cut out of the final edit.

So why go with this pose? Well maybe Hasbro was aiming at making Jerjerrod more “interesting” to a younger audience? I am not sure, but either way it’s a big detractor from the figure, and when you put out a guy like Moff Jerjerrod you have to have the collector more in line as your target audience than the kids.

Between the goofy facial expression and the equally weird leg pose, Jerjerrod looks like he’s giving Lord Vader a bit of attitude that might just earn him a can of whoop-ass from the man in black… A thorough choking perhaps. You can’t show that kind of attitude to Darth Vader after all… I mean, didn’t he talk to Motti about that stuff? Anyway, I’ve gotta say I’m disappointed in weird twists and turns this figure’s design wound up taking.

-Price Hike: Star Wars figures have taken a jump in price at most all retailers in 2006, and while we paid $5 - $6 for most of our Revenge of the Sith figures throughout most of 2005, figures are up to $7 after tax at most retailers, even the usually stalwart for cheap prices, Wal-Mart. Hopefully Hasbro and Retail will see the light that price increases in this day and age means that people may become more tight with their spending.

I know a price hike will affect my buying habits, and I’ll buy fewer extras of any figure I maybe wanted extras of. I’ll cut back on army building, custom fodder buying, and other areas that I otherwise maybe would have spent more freely. That $1 or $2 starts to add up over 60 or so figures though. With no retailer seemingly wanting to budge on their standard price, things aren’t looking good for a decrease anytime soon. So keep your eyes peeled for sales because when they happen I’ve noticed that figures that were sitting suddenly fly off the pegs.

The price hike sucks, and what really is tough to accept is that in 2006 we’ve seen many fewer figures with “great” articulation like we saw in last year’s line for ROTS. This decrease in overall “quality” coupled with the price increase just hasn’t sat well with me about this year’s line-up. Though those nicely articulated gems like the AT-AT Driver or whatnot do sneak in there.

OVERALL

So that wraps up what unfortunately amounts to my least favorite (new) figure of the Endor Wave. Hasbro has done some great work with the Imperials of late, and even General Veers is a figure that I have a lot of positive thoughts about and just was disappointed with an issue or two on it. Moff Jerjerrod though is a pretty big flop as an action figure though and one of the weaker offerings from Hasbro so far in 2006 I’m afraid. If anything it makes me look back at Veers and appreciate him a bit more, yikes!

The face sculpt and expression combined with the stance are my biggest issues with Jerjerrod. A close second would be his lacking articulation combined with an utter lack of accessories. Had Hasbro gone a little extra with articulating the figure (and thus negating the goofy leg pose), I think I could’ve dealt better with the likeness and lacking accessories. I’d be dealing with just a much better toy overall to review than what we wound up with.

As figures go, this one is definitely a stinker, not even just of his wave but of the 2006 basic figure lineup, he’s really in the running for one of the worst. There’s a lot not to like on this figure and I don’t know if we’ll be seeing Moff Jerjerrod any time again in the modern line so there’s a distinct disappointment there as well. This is a figure I’m afraid I just can’t give a positive mark to though. Buy at your own risk, but if you’re on the fence at all I think this is a figure you can EASILY pass on and not regret it.

 

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