"Evolutions" assortment...

[TheBlackDog65]

Any one done a review on the Sith Evolution Set? Still trying to decide whether to buy it or not. I do like the fact that for the first time you get Sith lightning come out of the fingers, but I am interested in deciding whether to get this or an ARC-170 for my son . . . . and me . . . . who really want it (both).  Thoughts?

[DoctorPadawan]

Any one done a review on the Sith Evolution Set?

Apologies in advance if I'm stepping on Jesse's toes here but I'll give you a quick and dirty review of the Sith Evolutions set (and will answer questions if you have any afterwards) so you'll know what you're getting into:

MAUL:  Articulated at neck (ball joint), shoulders (ball joints), elbows (cut), wrists (cut), waist (cut), hips (cut), knees (ball joints), and ankles (ball joint).  Soft goods "skirt" with rubbery skirt on outside (along the lines of the Evolutions Anakins).  Sculpt-wise, this is, IMO, the best Maul that has been done.

MAUL ACCESSORIES: Episode I era double bladed saber (no "flare" on blade, short unremovable blades); binoculars (on first glance the same as the Trophy Edition Maul's binocs); Sith Probe Droid with clear stand (on first glance the same as the 2002 Saga Sith Apprentice Maul's SPD), and a rubberish cloak that is far too large and bulky, making Maul look ridiculous.

MAUL OVERALL: 4 out of 5 for the figure itself (ball jointed elbows would have pushed it to a 5), 2 out of 5 for the accessories (which are, with one exception, straight out of 1999)

DOOKU: Articulated at head (ball joint), shoulders (ball joints), elbows (ball joints), wrists (cut), waist (cut), hips (cut), knees (ball joints), and ankles (ball joints).  Hands are removable.  Soft goods skirt and cape.  My cape halves weren't sewn together at the bottom but this is easily fixed with a needle and thread, I'm told.  Looks really good on his knees and handless with Evolutions Anakin "at his throat."

DOOKU ACCESSORIES: Lightsaber (same as we've seen all along, but the proper red instead of clearish pink), Sith Lightning hands (lightning is attached to the fingers of the hands).

DOOKU OVERALL: Best Dooku ever (arguably) and the accessories are great (especially the lightning which is the best looking Sith Lightning that has ever been done).  5 out of 5.

PALPATINE:  Articulated at neck (ball joint), shoulders (ball joints), elbows (ball joints), wrists (cut), waist (cut), hips (cut), knees (ball joints), and ankles (ball joints).  Soft goods "skirt" with plenty of room so he can sit down.  Soft goods cloak is tied for the best cloak ever done with a SW toy (the other is, predictably, Evolutions ROTS Anakin), and possibly best by itself, as it has a "neckpiece" that you can adjust the way the hood itself lays. 

PALPATINE ACCESSORIES: Lightsaber (looks great, as always), cane (which he can actually hold; the first modern Palpy that can do so correctly and securely), and aforementioned lightning hands. 

PALPATINE OVERALL: A big 5 out of 5.  Sculpting is incredible, the articulation couldn't be better, the cloak is great, and the accessories are appropriately cool (best Sith Lightning ever!).  Best Palpatine that has ever been done and probably ever will be done.  The only thing missing is his throne.

SET RATING OVERALL:  Like all the Evolutions stuff, a huge 5 out of 5.  Well worth the 20 bucks, and well worth the hunt.  When the best Darth Maul figure ever is your weakest part of the set, you know it's pretty great. 

[Brian]

The Evolutions sets have finally started to show up around here, only the Anakin to Vader set so far though.  I was quite happy to find one this past weekend though.  Both Target(s) and Wal-mart seemed to have them in, and in fairly good quantities on Saturday.  I'm hoping we'll see the other two packs show up pretty soon as well.  I haven't had the chance to open up the Anakin set yet, but from the "outside" it really does look great.  This is definitely a concept I hope Hasbro continues, especially with the suggestions listed earlier in this thread.  The Obi-Wan one would be great, and like mentioned, could include an Alec Guiness version now since we've gotten a great ROTS Obi-Wan (which hasn't shown around here yet either).  I also really like the ideas of the Padme, C-3PO, and Luke sets.  There is really quite a bit of potential with these, and they seem to be a better deal overall than the VOTC figures.  I think they could do some nice Han Solo, Princess Leia, and of course, Storm/Hoth/Scout trooper sets.

[Nicklab]

Nick, if they don't continue this line, especially given the (seemingly) universal praise and lauding that Evolutions is getting, it will baffle me more than any other decision they haven't made over the years.  There are so many possibilities with the line that could be explored, and to cut it short after three sets would be a real disappointment.

My concerns are based on what happened with the Unleashed line.  That line seemed to be universally lauded, and yet Hasbro bailed on it.  Why?  It was a cost VS earnings issue.  They're going to make decisions based on that sometimes, and not a line's perceived popularity.

[Gatillo]

Unfortunately I think like Nick.  Hasbro terminates lines that sell well and are collector friendly, rather than kid friendly.  I know kids like the Evo line but lat weekend I saw first hand where parents told the kids (in 2 diff stores) to pick four different figures instead of the anakin 3-pack. 

I always thought of the Unleashed line as a big improvement over the Epic Force "line" and that they would stay around forever.  But that didn't happen.  The evolutions line seems like something where we will get those 3, maybe 2 more sets and BLAM its over.  To be honest, in central Ohio we have not seen the Clones and Sith and it is because of the dozens upons dozens of Anakin sets.  They are bigger shelve warmers than those battle sets with the spinning figures or the Mustafar playset (which I like, even though it is super simple)

I hope Hasbro proves me wrong

[Darth_Anton]

I couldn't wait wait to bust open the clone set when I got it home. Overall, the set is great and very high quallity and it's praise is well justified. However, I just wanted to throw out a couple of nit-picker observations that do detract slightly from these guys.

First, Jared is right about the lack of waist articulation on both the AOTC clone and the sandie. Why was this done? Who knows? I also felt that the hands on the Sandtrooper should have been rescuplted to better carry his weapon. It takes a bit of work for it fit in. Finally, the neck on the ROTS clone could have been a bit longer to fit the helmet better.

I think all of these have been mentioned somewhere before, but I just wanted throw in my concuring opinion.

[Morgbug]

As an example of why Canadians are so whiny....

Recent report over on snowtroopers.ca regarding the evolutions packs.  Only the Anakin-Vader set has shown up, but it has sold quite well with a couple of restocks happening and collectors buying them up. 

The price is pretty stupid if you ask me, $29.99 before taxes and Canada is tax mad so nearly $35 after the government plunges you.  For three figures and about 0.0743 ounces of extra plastic accessories, but in a nice window box.  Relative to Canadian retail (TRU is the only one carrying these sets so far) that's not horrific (well, in certain respects) in that TRU charges $9.99 for a basic figure anyway.  From that perspective it's not an unfair price.  Ahem. 

So now comes word that TRU has jacked the price up to $34.99 BEFORE taxes, totalling nearly $40 after taxes   Three figures that should retail at $9.99 each at worst now cost even more.  Why?  Same reason as happened with the bounty hunter four pack - they sold well

Is it any wonder we whine or beg for assistance so much?  (anyone have any spare clone evolution packs?  or Sith? )

[DoctorPadawan]

My concerns are based on what happened with the Unleashed line.  That line seemed to be universally lauded, and yet Hasbro bailed on it.  Why?  It was a cost VS earnings issue.  They're going to make decisions based on that sometimes, and not a line's perceived popularity.

By that standard though, shouldn't the Force Battlers line be abandoned as well?  In the countless stores across several states I've been in since the ROTS product launch, Unleashed is selling much better than the FB figures, and with more FB figures coming out day after day, doesn't the cost of tooling a more articulated 10 dollar figure end up being more than the tooling of a non-articulated 15 dollar figure?  Hasbro frequently uses the excuse that "articulation = higher prices", so by that rationale, the Unleashed line should actually be cheaper to sculpt/tool than the Force Battlers.  Anyway, that's neither here nor there and is detracting from the topic, so I digress.

My main point with this is that the Evolutions sets are selling very well right now, and even the first Anakin to Vader set is still moving briskly.  The case pack ratios seem to make sense at the present time, and the future case packs with all Clones and a running change/variant set of Clones is going to keep interest.  The figures are (more or less) universally lauded by collectors and fans, and when combined with the great sales of the three sets, I think that Hasbro would be crazy not to continue with the line.

Even if the cost-benefit analysis Nick correctly references does tend to lean toward the side of Hasbro putting forth a lot of money in development costs in the short run, I honestly think it would be more beneficial for them in the long run to spend money on tooling Evolutions-level figures than it would to waste finances and resources on items that just will not sell outside of a very select crowd (like the rumored Choppers or the 2 inch "Not Unleashed" Battle Packs). 

If the two examples I mention bomb horribly at retail (and they will, I think), then Hasbro put forth all that development and money for nothing.  However, if a figure is developed and put into an Evolutions pack, not only will Hasbro be able to exploit the sculpt/mold for that set, but they will also be able to use it as a basic carded figure in the future when they need to do their recard/reissue stuff.  And if I were a beginning collector, I'd much rather get a Palpatine from the Evolutions Sith set as a regular carded figure than I would a ROTS or Saga Emperor figure.  In my own opinion, the 9 Evolutions figures in these three packs are pretty much the definitive versions of these characters, and Hasbro could and should just use them as the rehash versions from here on out.

So, like I said, the cost-benefit analysis might be less money for Hasbro's investment right now, but in the long run, they could get many miles out of these molds and sculpts in the future if they intend on taking this until 2018 or whatever.  Of course, this is all my opinion.

[Famine]

Some a friend of mine suggested at another board:

New ones I'd like,  (All Super-Articulated)

General Grievous:

EU: Kaleesh Warrior/General (Soft goods, and rifle.)



EU: Post-Shuttle Crash Grievous before the suit. (W/  Bacta Tank.)



ROTS: General Grievous (Soft goods and electrostaff w/ electro effect.)

Viceroy Nute Gunray:

TPM: Nute Gunray (with Neimoidian Mechno-Chair & Mechno-Hologram Projector w/ Mini Darth Sidious Hologram, soft goods, and a removable hat.)
AOTC: Nute Gunray (with soft goods and a removable hat.)
ROTS: Nute Gunray (with Darth Sidious Hologram, soft goods, and a removable hat.)


Battle Droid:

TPM: Battle Droid: (with interchangle heads, arms, and torsos for Security, Pilot, and Commander Battle Droids, a blaster, and mini Nute & Rune holograms.)
AOTC: Super Battle Droid
ROTS: IG-100 MagnaGuard (soft goods, and electrostaff with electro effect.)


The Queens of Naboo:  (w/ Throne)

TPM: Queen Amidala (soft goods)
AOTC:: Queen Jamillia (soft goods)
ROTS: Queen Apailana (soft goods)


Confederacy Organic Infantry:

EU: Gossam Commando (w/ Battle Droid blaster)
EU: Koorivar Fusilier (w/ Battle Droid blaster)
ROTS: Neimoidian Gunner (New sculpt w/ super articulation, and correct size rifle.)

[Scott]

While neat ideas...those would never sell. 

Obi-Wan, Padme, C-3PO, Luke, Han and Leia would be good guesses...

[Scott]

Padme:

Return to Naboo/Qui-Gon Funeral, Picnic or Fireplace and any of the unmade Episode III

Obi-Wan:

Episode I SA, Episode II SA, Episode III SA

All with high quality removable robes and all of the neat gadgets (head gear, clone armor, etc)

C-3PO:

Episode I SA, Episode II SA, Episode III SA

With ******* articulated knees...how long do we have to ask for this before they finally do it?

I'd also love...

Princess Leia

ANH...full length Soft Good robe, Hoth SA and Endor SA

Luke
Stormtrooper Disguise, Snowspeeder Pilot, Endor SA

Han
Stormtrooper Disguise, Carbon Freeze Chamber, Endor SA

Stormtrooper
Stormtrooper (VOTC), Hoth Snowtrooper SA, Scout Trooper SA

[Jesse James]

I think the Battledroid one could be a winner...  I'm not sure I'd include the Magna Guard, but instead the ultimate Destroyer Droid (One that they got as close as possible to "folding", or included interchangeable parts so you could get him to fold).

I'd also like a Rebel Trooper set... 

-Tantive IV, Hoth, and Endor...  The army builder sets would have me shelling out the cash like there's no tomorrow.  *sigh*

[Jeff]

I'd also like a Rebel Trooper set... 

-Tantive IV, Hoth, and Endor...  The army builder sets would have me shelling out the cash like there's no tomorrow.  *sigh*

As long as they have alternate heads...  one thing I can't stand is having my army builders all have the same heads!  I mean it's fine for Imp Troopers with Helmets, but for guys like the hoth dude or endor dude it would suck to have a bunch of the same guy - they aren't clones after all!

Now, the way to really do it up right would be to pack in 3 alternate head sculpts and then make ALL six of the heads (3 on the troopers and the 3 extras) interchangable!

Then, you could buy 6 of Jesse's proposed Rebel Trooper sets and have six "unique" troopers for each movie (tantive,hoth,endor) without having to chase down a bunch of corps figures for customs/head-swaps!

Jeff

[Jesse James]

I'd be A-O-K withthat.

Also, I'm not sure everyone agrees but I noticed that 21st's Marines have a repaint series (from green fatigues to pacific theater camo), but the heads all got a new paintjob too.  Some look the same but with maybe stubble/5-day beards, while others are a COMPLETE repaint.  New skintone (tanner), new hair color completely, new eye color...  It's amazing what just a different paintjob on the hair can do to make a figure look 100% different.  That'd be pretty neat to see on more figures IMO.

I'd kind of like to see that pop up more often really.

But I agree wholeheartedly on interchangeable heads and the like too...  3 unique sculpts and interchangeable between all 3 bodies?  That's a great idea Jeff.

The Rebel set's a dream right now...  Be great if it'd happen.  I'd go broke buying them, but it'd be great.

[Darth Slothus]

After looking at my sith evolutions( not opened) I agree with the Doctor about Palp's paint application . Damn this fig looks good! The only thing I find comical is that his face looks more like he's trying to push out a log then getting fierce and angry. LOL IMO

The Paint application on the Sandtrooper DOES look like Bantha Poodoo. LOL he looks like smeared in TP. Maybe..just Maybe he was riding a Dewback then fell asleep on the job, fell out of his saddle and caught his foot in the stirrup and was dragged for miles being ..(you guessed it-crapped on as well)  before a comrade stopped his dewback to let it know he was using his master as TP!

could happen..