Another week, another review...

This time I'm taking the microscope to yet another Neimoidian figure...  The H must love 'em because they make plenty of 'em.

This week it's

Captain Lushros Dofine, commander of the CIS Battleship Invisible Hand.

Clicky button, ready review...

So what can I say?  This guy is about as exciting as watching paint dry honestly...  His poseability sucks, but really by no fault of his own as he's in long flowing robes.  His colors are fairly bland overall, his hat isn't removable, he looks whiney.

Yet Hasbro did about as well as they coudl with him...  And you get the spiffiest of accessories with this figure I believe.  Short of something poseable with softgoods (doable) and a captain's chair, Hasbro really did make this dull character somewhat more interesting.

They cut corners though...  The hat in particular comes to mind...  Make it removable and spare us please.  In this day and age, just do it and give this figure SOMETHING cool to talk about other than his stuff.

Lushros is one of those figures you feel ripped off after you pay $7 for him, but yet you'd regret not having him in your collection.  It's frustrating in a way.

And here's something to chew on...  I've watched ROTS on HBO now a couple times in the last few weeks...  Is it me, or is this apparantly the Naval Officer/crewman's uniform for the Neimoidian military?  I think I see LOTS of these guys on the Invisible Hand, as well as running around while Anakin slices and dices the Separatist Leadership on Mustafar...  These guys seemingly are military, but man what odd outfits for military.

Anyway, do you really wanna buy more than one?  I mean, the consoles are cool but I have a tough time justifying army building this guy.  

Another new review this week as I head on back into the realm of basic figures after our VTSC break...  We're picking up with the Coruscant Wave, which till recently was the newest basic figure out there anyway, and in particular we're going to examine

Clone Commander Cody

With this being the most hotly demanded single Clone since Clones came into the modern Star Wars fan's mindset, how could Hasbro screw it up, right?

Well, read the review and you'll see that Hasbro's able to take their veritable Clone Perfection from the past 2 years and completely drop the ball with it all because of some corner cuts and poor design decisions.  Cody's far from perfect, and doesn't even match up to his own trooper's level of quality...  How can that be?  Fit for command...  my hairy white ass.

The figure's pluses are cool, especially a removable helmet, but it's disappointing that Hasbro's cut of ankle articulation and the sculpt of said ankles turned out to really ruin a figure with a ton of promise.  It's a simple enough customizer's fix, but it's hardly something that anyone outside that hobby niche wants to get involved in.

Read the review...  Even I needed convincing by our own Jared that this figure had its flaws before I'd bought it.  When I got one in-hand, I was let down a good bit for sure.

Another week and another new review here at JediDefender.com.

This time around we're taking a look at another in the Premium "Vintage" Saga Collection of figures...  A Vintage that not everyone wanted, but now that he's out I'm sure we'll all be happy to own him...  Greedo!


Clicky Button, Ready Review

So you thought Hasbro was done putting Greedo figures on the shelf?  Wrong...  But thankfully they have made the definitive version of this character with his "Vintage" incarnation.  If they re-use that Commtech Sculpt they should be beat with piles of old Greedo figures I think.  Though, here it is in 2006 and we're seeing COmmtech Han get re-used...  again...  and no VOTC version re-issued, so is it really that far-fetched to think we'll likely see Commtech Greedo repainted again?

Still, at least we're getting a definitive Greedo NOW...  ANd what a load of figure to love.  A great felt vest, a nice new spiffy holster for an all-new film-accurate blaster pistol...  And articulation galore. 

And really one of the pluses to Greedo, and something that makes plunking another $10 down on yet another Greedo figure, is that there are so many Rodians (especially in A New Hope) roaming around Mos Eisley in the same outfit, that I don't feel like I need to retire all my old Greedo figures...  THey just all become nameless Rodian thugs for Jabba's SE scene or they fit nicely in with the drunkards in the Cantina.

No muss, no fuss, no figures put into storage.  PLus all the repaints of Greedo look different to some extent so they blend nicely together.

Enjoy this figure...  Hopefully Hasbro sees fit to re-release THIS one if they feel the urge to put Greedo on the pegs again down the road.  There really should be no other out at this point.

This topic has been moved to Watto's Junk Yard.

http://www.jedidefender.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=10998.0

Hey guys, sorry for the late forum post on it, it completely slipped my mind last night when I did the newspost on our front page...  It's traveled pretty far to the bottom by now too thanks to our smokin' newsteam here...  THanks guys.   

Anywho, this week there's a mini-Review-A-Thon for your reading pleasure...  Four figures from the VOTC line.  We're looking in particular at the Empire Strikes Back wave of VOTC actually.

Clicky the button, ready the review:



C-3PO represented everything Hasbro could do wrong with even the cheapest of figures, and yet they managed to do it wrong with their overpriced VOTC "Premium" figure line...  Yes, we're basically blowing our rant load early by showing the worst of the entire Vintage assortment first (well, first for this wave anyway, but still I'll say right now he's the worst figure of the VOTC and easily the worst C-3PO ever...  Even compared to the POTF2 figure IMO).

Lacking articulation is only the beginning of this turd's problems.  The irony though?  He's probably still the hardest figure of the VOTC to find...  Priceless.



Darth Vader took fans really close to perfection on a character that had been long overdue for an "ultimate" version.  The iconic villain of the classic trilogy had never looked better than in 2004.  While he has his flaws, at the time he was really great and still is a figure worthy of recarding.  The Evolutions Vader has replaced him as my favorite, but my VOTC still holds a spot on my shelf kneeling before his master, Palpatine.



Lando is the true intergalactic Pimp, and VOTC's Lando put all previous attempts to shame.  It's probably the single best figure in the ESB Wave of these premium figures, but again he's not flawless.  Hasbro saw fit to cut a couple articulation corners and how hard is it to make a removable cape on a figure who was seen with and without his stylin' space fashion?  Lando could've used some tweaking but he's still one of my 2004 favorites and one everyone should have.

Good thing he's still widely available at many TRU stores. 



Everyone's "little green friend" gets two incarnations in 2004, making him probably the biggest paradox for fans...  Do you buy one, or the other?  They're both good figures, and one's half the price, but the Vintage OTC Yoda sported tons of accessories and poseability unmatched in any Yoda figure (even the prequals where he goes ape**** and needs articulation the most).

Like plastic robes, you have the basic figure, like a vintage-esque poseable Yoda with cloth gear and you have the VOTC figure?  He may not be everyone's cup of tea but I'm a cloth fan so VOTC Yoda gets some praise (and a couple complaints) from me.

Check out all the reviews...  Share your thoughts with us too, by all means.  It's nice to take a look back while I'm in the middle of reviewing the 2006 Vintage Saga COllection of figures, and in detail look at how the VOTC line of 2004 stacked up by comparison...  It's also interesting to see that Hasbro made a number of changes in overall quality in 2006, making sure not to cut TOO many corners.  Could it be they heard the cries of the fans during VOTC's run?  I wouldn't doubt it myself.

Enjoy!

I'm kicking off my Vintage The Saga Collection reviews this week...  And oh mama, these are sweet figures to own, even at the price.  Lots of figure goodness to be nitpicked upon.  These are the kinds of figures I LIVE to review though in this line.  They're why I collect honestly...  Of course it's better when you get them for $5 to $7.     $12 sucks butt.

Anyway, first up...


Vintage TSC Han Solo (In Trench Coat)

Clicky the image to read the full review...  My hat's off to our own Jared too, who takes the highest-res, best photos of ANY site on the net.  We're unmatched there, so as he keeps working, the SW collecting community as a whole really gains a valuable tool in Jared's image galleries.  Nobody comes close folks.

Anyway, Han...  Where to start?  Super articulated, good for many scenes in a couple films, nicely accessorized...  Awesome sculpt, though there are flaws...  For instance without his vest on youc an see a noticeable gap on his lower back due to the torso articulation.  Also the "hovering holster" is back that plagued the VOTC Han Solo figure.  I'll live with it but it looks odd not physically attached to the thigh.

Anyway, I love this Han...  The torso articulation was maybe overkill and I'd be happy without it honestly (just standard swiveling articulation at the torso is fine), but still it's novel to have it and does add a lot of poseability to the figure.

The blaster isn't proper, but Endor Raid Han's are a dime a dozen.  I have a couple I got just for the bombs and pistols as I recall as they were on clearance.

The coat though, THAT thing kicks ass.  Working pockets on it?  Fuggetaboutit!  It fits, it's not bulky, it's nicely sewn/decorated (the camo pattern on it is perfect), and it's everything I have personally wanted in an Endor Han Solo action figure.  I've wanted Endor Han for ages too, so this is a figure I've NEEDED in my collection, and now it is here. 

Is Han perfect?  No...  Others in the wave hold that distinction though.  Han is pretty great though.  Super articulated, maybe too much so (*gasp* Blasphemy!) with the torso...  Super accessories...  And who doesn't want one for Carbon freezing on Bespin, or for fighting on the Skiff, or for raiding the bunker on Endor, or for sneaking up on your Biker Scout (oh I'm giddy to get to that one!)? 

This figure is fantastic...  If it weren't for price, the review would be that much better.  Hopefully Hasbro sees fit to use this sculpt again.  I'd re-buy it down the road I'm sure if it came with different gear, or whatnot.  It's just that good.

Another week, and of course another review.

This time we are taking a microscope to one of the BIGtime steamers of the Geonosis Wave.  The Jedi Knight/Master guy Sora Bulq.  Check out the Full Review Right Here.



So what is it that Hasbro flubbed with Sora Bulq?  Well honestly, they were hitting all the marks till *drum roll* articulation came about.  It's typical of 2006, but with Sora Bulq it was probably the most annoying lack of articulation because the figure actually has 2 articulation points NOBODY cares about, and at the same time lacks knee joints, and thus lacks real poseability.

The arm articulation on him is stellar though and I feel the headsculpt is one of Hasbro's better efforts, at least on a Jedi figure.  There's a lotta detail there, and the way the dreadlocks hang separate of the figure, they're great looking.

The arms are super poseable too, and he can pull off great poses from the waist up, but for some inexplicable reason Hasbro toy designers said that Sora Bulq needs ankle joints but not knee joints...

WTF?     Why would you articulate the ankles, but not the knees?  They did this with the Mustafar Sentry, The Utapau Warrior, and the Neimoidian Warrior...  And to be honest, and blunt, it didn't do a goddamn thing to help any of the above figures.

Why would you articulate a figure's ankles and not his knees?  That just doesn't make an ounce of sense to me...  Does it to you?  I don't know.

Anyway, read the review and share your thoughts...  Vent if you want because I felt like it too.