Review of Captain Antilles 1/6 Action Figure
Star Wars

Introduction

Captain Raymus Antilles is one of those Star Wars characters that has almost no screen time, and yet has plenty of backstory. As commander of the Tantive IV, he was a hero of the Rebellion, kicking ass and taking names. However, all that most folks know of him is that he was the guy that Vader tossed against a wall like so much used Kleenex.

But he did have on a pretty cool outfit, and it was one that set him (and his comrades) apart from other members of the Rebel Alliance. So it's no real surprise that as Sideshow is working their way through the sub-line "Militaries of Star Wars", that they decided to produce Antilles.

Antilles is being handled a little differently though, as there is no regular and exclusive edition. In fact, the regular release isn't even a Sideshow exclusive, and you can pick him up through a number of online retailers as well.

There's no edition size set at this point, at least not officially, and he'll set you back around $65, depending on where you pick him up.

Packaging - ***1/2
Guess what? It's the usual kick ass Sideshow Star Wars box, complete with magnetic closures, solid back story information, and no twisties or dental floss ties to impede his release from, or return to, his plastic prison.

Sideshow has gotten four stars for similar packages in the past, but any rating has to be compared not just against the companies own work, but against the work of the rest of the industry. And in this area, the rest of the industry has been picking it up, producing far better sixth scale boxes across the board. The competition for Sideshow is getting tougher in this category, and this slightly lower score reflects that.

Sculpting - ***1/2
The actor that played Antilles in A New Hope was British stage actor Peter Geddis. Obviouslyl, this is supposed to look like him, but does it?

It's sort of tough to tell - while Geddis was in a fair share of films, it was never as a leading man. I found very little reference material that gives a really good look at his face, and most of us remember him best with Vader's hand around his throat, eyes bulging. All the basic elements seem about right though - eyes, nose, lips, shape of the face...so I'm going to give Sideshow the benefit of the doubt and assume they had better reference material than I.

The one thing that does seem a bit off about the sculpt is the amount of age wrinkles. He looks about the right age here for what the character was SUPPOSED to be in ANH, somewhere in his mid-40's. But it seems to me that Geddis didn't look that old in the film, and that there has been debate about that fact (Antilles actual age) in the past. All that really means is that this sculpt does look a little older to me than his screen version.

Still, the good news is that it is a very realistic sculpt. The texturing on the lips is great, the wrinkling is very realistic, and there is nothing cartoony or caricaturish about the proportions or features.

The hand sculpts are good, but the regular hands he comes packed with are gripping hands that have nothing to really grip. You'll most likely go with the extra set, which includes a gun gripping hand and a gesturing hand, as your regular display.

Paint - ***
The sculpt is my favorite overall feature of the entire figure, but the paint doesn't quite come up to the job of supporting it. This is not a Hot Toys level production paint job, although it's not as bad as some we've seen in the past either.

The work is fairly clean, with straight eyes, even lips, and fairly well done eyebrows. There is a bit of slop around the edges of one eyebrow, but it's fairly minor.

The hairline is pretty clean as well, but I do have this weird paint rub on the front edge of the dark brown hair. It came out of the box that way, so it's a factory issue, probably caused during packing.

The skin tone is decent, and matches between the hands and face. My biggest complaint on the paint ops isn't on the head or hands, but rather on the helmet.

The edge of the dark 'visor' area of his helmet is very, very sloppy. and when you're dealing with black paint on a bright white plastic, any slop or uneven cut line is obvious as sin.

Articulation - **
*sigh* It's the Buck. I'll give them a little credit here, as the Buck joints are fairly tight, but it's still...the Buck. They have a far superior body available (theoretically) in the Prometheus, and they are certainly charging a premium price for their figures at this point. Added to that is the fact that the Star Wars license is clearly their biggest money maker in the sixth scale area. And yet, we're getting the woefully outdated body that isn't much better than the one's used by mom and pop shops like Amok Time or Peril Unlimited. For seventy dollars? Uh, no.

It's worth noting that Raymus stands about 12 1/4" tall, which seems about right with the other figures. The skinny legs and weird pelvis of the Buck look a bit odd in the pants, but with a little tissue paper and a little patience, you could pad them up to get a better appearance.

Accessories - **1/2
Antilles is a little light in this department, especially if you ignore the common add ins.

By 'common', I mean the extra set of hands and the display stand. These aren't unusual with any release, and Antilles only has the one extra set of mitts, unlike some past figures.

I want to mention here that getting the hands on and off was a much more difficult exercise this time around. In fact, there was simply no safe way to put the hands on the posts without heating them up first with some hot water.

Antilles only real accessory here is the blaster, which is extremely well done. Sideshow has upped the quality of all their weapons over the last year or so, but the Star Wars blasters have been the most improved. The detailing of the sculpt and paint is excellent, and it fits nicely in his gun grip right hand.

However, there's no holster here for him to put it away. On the website it does not advertise him as having one, but on the box it actually says he's supposed to have a holster on that belt. Hmmm, interesting. Either way, some sort of holster would have certainly been appreciated.

Outfit - ***
This outfit has some highs...and some lows. Ironically, the highs are on the bottom, and the lows are on the top.

Let's start with the stuff in the middle. He's wearing pants, a shirt, a belt and a spiffy jacket with insignia. The quality of the material is all good, and the cloth is very thin to allow him to look proper in this scale. The belt is a alright, although calling it a 'detailed belt' as they do on the website is a bit of a stretch. There are minor nits - the pockets on the jackets are a bit big, the insignia should be over to the left a little further, the vertical stitching on the front of the jacket should be dark brown where it crosses on to the darker material, and the brown shoulders are actually a little too dark. But these are quite minor nits, and on the shelf, the cloth aspects of his uniform should look fine. The tailoring is good, or at least a good as it's going to get on the Buck body.

Now let's talk highs - his boots. These are made from a softer material which allows them to bend much better at the ankles. The Buck ankles themselves aren't really good enough to make the best use of these soft boots, but if this was on the Prometheus body, you'd get a lot better posing out of them. The material also has a much higher leather-like shine than actual leather does in this scale, which is a big plus. Sideshow has always done footwear well.

The low is on his head - the helmet. I've already mentioned the weak paint ops, but the sculpt is somewhat soft and includes mold lines, and there is no lining or soft insert of any sort. At this price point we ought to at least get some little rubber tabs to keep it from scratching the hair. The antenna is metal though, which saves it from a worse score. Had they done a bit better job on this helmet, this category would have gotten another half star.

Fun Factor - **1/2
This is a decent army building sort of figure to face off against Vader and the Stormtroopers, once Sideshow actually starts putting them out. There's nothing about this figure that would proclude his use in any play environment, as the parts and accessories are all as sturdy as any mass market toy. Well, except for the price.

Value - **
This is a nice figure, but it's not $70 nice. It's still stuck on the old Buck body, it's not even any sort of limited edition. With such few accessories, it is much more in line with old school Sideshow figures that cost $20 less.

Things to Watch Out For -
Take care swapping hands, especially in putting the new ones on. Those wrist pegs might be small, but it is possible to break them, so I'd suggest going the hot water route. It won't have to be boiling - just what you have running out of the hot tap should work.

Overall - ***
This isn't a bad figure, just an overpriced one. The head sculpt is solid and the uniform is good. He's light on accessories, and I wish the quality of the helmet and paint were better, but if he were $20 cheaper, he'd be just fine. He'll look fine on your shelf, and you certainly won't be embarrassed by having him in the collection. But at $70, you really should expect something more for your money.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - **
Accessories - **1/2
Outfit - ***
Fun Factor - **1/2
Value - **
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
As this isn't an exclusive, you have quite a few options. Of course, you can get it direct from Sideshow for $70, but other online options include:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered a ton of Sideshow Star Wars:

- I wasn't thrilled with Ki-Adi-Mundi, but the recent Obi-Wan in Clone Armor is easily their best to date.

- then there's Aayla Secura, Tatooine Luke and Han Solo.

- Sideshow has had a strong year in 2008 with Commander Praji, the exceptional Palpatine/Sidous and ANH Obi-Wan, and the not quite so exceptional Ilum Padme.

- also in the sixth scale line, I've reviewed Leia and Bespin Luke, the Holo-chess set, Sideshow's Asajj, a terrific figure, Yavin Luke, the Endor Troops, Jabba the Hutt and his throne, Bib Fortuna, Jedi Luke, Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, Bespin Han Solo, regular Anakin Skywalker and Kit Fisto.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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