I managed to pick up Antilles, Dodonna and Gold Leader at the front of the wave vs. the back. I’m usually trailing most other collectors, so to celebrate and share the love I’m writing reviews for each.
Gold Leader
Overall, I’m really happy with the new Gold Leader figure. Hasbro has packed some nice detail into this sculpt. There are a few details here that I suspect were test runs of things we’ll see in future figures as much as they are natural progression of the line and the ability of it’s designers. The transparency and refraction of the visor plastic is an improvement over Porkins and Luke.
Ultimately, this guy was sculpted to shoot stuff and then be posed to make everyone stand around and hear about it.
His articulation is great. I was surprised that his knees both bend
and swivel. A mild annoyance is that the strap sometimes pulls out of his back when rotating his hips to a sitting position. This can be avoided by holding the straps securely in his back while bending his legs. It’s not nearly as annoying as loosing the Ventress head, which my 15 month old manages to pop off daily. Ah well, as long as he doesn't swallow it.
The leg movement allows for great dance moves that were unheard of for vintage figures from my childhood.
His right arm has elbow and shoulder articulation, and his left glove and shoulder also rotate. The left glove is a little awkward, the opening seems exaggerated.
Another odd choice is the up/down neck movement in addition to the left/right (think the new Hoth Luke). Odd because the movement is so minor here as to be nearly unnoticeable. This is picking nits, but I would have preferred a working holster added to the flight suit (think Han Solo’s leg strap version) instead of head nodding action.
Perhaps it helps him spot bogies coming at him at 10 o’clock. If anyone were come after the Gold Leader figure, he could spot them a mile away. His eyes, and head, are huge. Also enlarged is his weapon. Gold Leader, Antilles and Dodonna all sport new and improved side arms. These three pack a little more punch than our friend the Rebel Fleet Trooper.
Bigger guns are good, because like I said earlier, this dude is built tozap baddies and talk up his exploits to anyone that will listen.
I recommend picking one up. At the very least, he’ll tell all your other figures stories while you’re at work or school all day.
