Poseable, and a hidden feature are good.  Can't say what the leg poseability is, but the arms are looking good.  To me I'm not underwhelmed...  So far.

MILES better than Saga's initial offerings, without a doubt.

The photos are so grainy and terrible, that making out any real detail is a pain in the ass...

The astromech I'm actually happy to get, as I would buy repaints of Astromechs all year round.

Tion's been seen so I'm not excited on him.

Like others, I wish the photos were clearer.  I'd like to see Obi and Mace closer up and higher res, but to me they look half decent...  Surprisingly.  Short of them having a possible button, which seems very unlikely now, I'm content. 

I'm happy to see that, even with action features, they're waking up to the realization that articulation is a BIG aspect to the Boys Toys market, and that it can make or break a toy line.  Took them what, 26 years or so?    Way to go.   

Why didn't Lucas focus in on anything GOOD like this?

We saw Rebels getting offed and some helping others...  Why not this?  Dude needs some lessons on the minor things that brought out the old films more, because that is a cool photo.

Thanks Beth,

Now I just gotta sort through and figure out what's out there he doesn't have.  I know Gamling's among them, but there's a LOT more.  Moria Orc and some olders like that that were tough to get, but it's mostly new stuff...  At least the Shelob wave onward.  And I wanted one of her too.   

I've had an odd feeling about the arms too Dave.  Namely, the large (seemingly) pins in his elbow joints.  Possible he's action-feature laden...  Tough to say without seeing his back where a lot of the features showed their ugly heads in the gigunda buttons and such.

Only feature I ever really liked (other than Total Control Mace Windu, which I think a line of figures like that would be cool so long as they had normal versions) was the SBD's explosion feature with its BD chest plate too.  It worked, it wasn't obtrusive, and scattering SBD parts around a diorama looked great. 

I guess that was my thought on it exactly Jared, in that his word is taken with a lot of weight behind it, yet it is a regional observation and I'd say his region is the exception on this one, and not the rule from what I hear.

Antilles is a figure I would buy another couple of if I saw them, but damned if I can't find one in my area...  And I was out last night thinking about this and I honestly didn't see many Dodonna's at all either.  I saw one on a HORRIBLY trashed card at a Target.  That's it.

At the same Target sits Hoth leftovers (mostly soldier and R-3PO) among some other 03/04 stuff, and the odd OTC remnant.  Not much.

It's like the guy who sees dozens of VOTC and says they're pegwarmers.  Maybe for him, but even the ANH wave in my area moves...  Slowly at WM's where it was overordered, but ya know I don't see many Luke's or Leia's at all anymore, and Han/Ben is dwindling.

ROTJ comes into stores (Target/TRU) by several cases at a time, and they always sell out.  I saw a LOT of Boba Fett last night though, but the sheer # of him implied to me that EVERY other figure in the case blew out of there, and he seems to be selling too. 

I don't think Star Wars has jumped in popularity all of a sudden...  The blitz surrounding the DVD's wasn't exactly awe inspiring or anything.  I just think good figures are proving that they WILL sell.  Be it $10 pricetags or not. 

And I guess trashing the Antilles figure, which ironically was an old review of mine that we just got posted, and one in which I praised the figure quite a bit (even with his few drawbacks), just happened to be an instance where it stuck out to me.  I just didn't agree with the sentiment at all.  To me, he was a figure LONG overdue and I think he's done very well at retail.

Amen...

Killing a main film character for the sake of gaining readership and interest is like lying to get attention. 

It's not constructive, it doesn't offer anything overly exciting or new, and it really does nothing more than piss people off at you.

Chewbacca has been one of the most underutilized characters in EU because few people beyond Timothy Zahn had any ability as authors to actually utilize Chewie like Lucas did in the films.  The creators of Southpark use Kenny more creatively than authors in Star Wars used Chewbacca.

That's ****** up, if I may be so blunt.

And at least Kenny's killed off interestingly in South Park, so he's still one up on Chewbacca's death.

Ultimately though, the NJO's other main failing is the Yuzahn Vong.  Super Villains from somewhat of a distance away who just happen to show up when it seems like everything is ok.  They seem to "assimilate" at least parts of their victims.  They're "unstoppable", and have no regard for other species...  Blah blah blah...

Yes, Star Trek did it with the Borg first, the Breen, Species 90210 (or whoever they were from Voyager) and their organic ships and stuff, etc., etc., etc...  It's a tired Sci-Fi ploy to create new threats to a played out world.

To me, Luke's resurgence of the Force and FOrce Users (and his somewhat haphazard way about it) would be enough plotline to keep new enemies arising.  New species shouldn't be introduced as more of a threat than anything ever to Luke Skywalker though, as it sorta cheapens the movies and their point.

That's part of the problem though.  Luke and the films are intended to, kinda, imply that Luke's faced the ultimate trial he'll face.  Still there's more tactful ways to go about it.

Zahn had a knack here I believe then.  He didn't need force users to cause trouble so much as he used political and military strife, and an enemy who merely was smart.  The Yssilimari were kinda wonky but they weren't the Vong so I bought it some more.

I like NJO's establishment of Luke bringing about a, well, New Jedi Order...  The enemies and Chewie's death were just horrible turns though, IMO, and they become really just detractors from the series. 

I'd like to actually see some EU that establishes a war of attrition that the New Republic faced with the Empire.  Rather than this "Warlords" and "infighting" crap with the Empire, I think the story should've been one where they actually held it together.

Nazi Germany wouldn't have collapsed had Hitler died in 1940...  If anything, the Allies would've faced a much more destructive and competent enemy without him.  Perhaps the Empire could've had a more fitting scenario for it.

Anyway, that's a rant I'll end here...  Needless to say, EU's something I'm picky on because there's just too much BAD in there.

I was reading Q&A recently at GH.com the other day, and Adam Pawlus said in it that Captain Antilles was a pegwarmer (or something to that effect), and kinda trashed the figure for being made...

It may be the case in some areas, but in Pittsburgh he's not overly common, or "pegwarming" by any means.  I think his potential as an army builder has helped him sell steadily.  Dodonna's a LITTLE more prevelant, but not by much.

I just didn't see him as the pegwarmer some have...  I run into one here and there, maybe a few at a K-Mart or KB where figures are more $, but at WM's, Targets, and TRU's, Antilles is drying up.

Same with Ozzel and other of that ilk...  The customizers and army builders have spoken in my book, and they'll pick one of those up every whipstitch it seems.

The same thing happens with BBI's Elite Force figures at Toys R Us.  They get a glut, then slowly but surely they sell, one by one.  It's really an impressive thing to kinda monitor when you're shopping. 

Some folks out htere must have impressive armies going.  I wanted another Antilles or two but damned if I can get them now.  Gotta check some of the lower traffic stores perhaps.