I caved and bought a case of the new Collection 1 (Boba, Anakin, R2, Mace) figures from Entertainment Earth late last week. I know, I know, I'm impatient and paid more than I should, but we can't find diddly in SoCal right now. Here's a few thoughts:
Boba is ok, even with the less than stellar paint job. I dig the articulation, and the base makes him stand out. He certainly looks good in the ROTJ area of my display case. There are obvious problems like all the reviews have said so far - he doesn't hold up when placed next to 300th Fett, the missle and action feature are distracting and lame, and his gloves are the wrong color. He seems to have started out with the best of intentions and ended coming up a bit short, IMHO.
R2 is HORRIBLE. This is the very first Star Wars figure that I don't even as a completist want to own. He's that bad. Poor paint job on a non-articulated head (its grey!) and he has brackets on his back to wind the string on, like a vacuum cleaner has for its cord. A terrible, shocking, and disappointing waste of cash and plastic.
I don't really like the new Anakin - he seems unnecessary and that robe is hideous. If you take it off, you have a figure that looks just like Hanger Duel. Ball socket joints on his arm are the big benefit, but I haven't quite figured out the point of the ball socket ankles. If he's meant to be a companion figure for the upcoming Padme, he completely misses the mark. He can only really be posed in positions as though he was just married and suddenly sprung into action to destroy a horde of Battle Droids.
Funny enough, Mace is TOTALLY FUN out of the package, a really cool toy. His arms are rubber with articulated pieces in his arms, so they move correctly, and making him move around blocking blaster fire is a great play idea. He sucks as a display figure though. Definitely for the kids.
Hopefully, after the Jedi Luke announcement, this should stand as the lowest point we're going to hit in the Saga line, and the only place to go is up!
