Packaging - ***
This newer packaging looks fairly good, and I like the text and bios on
the back. It's not stupendously eye catching artwork, but it's
certainly better than average.
Sculpting - ***1/2
All three of these figures have an excellent sculpt job. Yoda is
particularly well done, and matches up with the new film nicely.
Vader is also well done, even with the rather odd action pose.
Luke's sculpt, at least in terms of his face, is the weakest of the three,
but they've always had trouble capturing Hamill's look. He's pretty
beat up here, as he should be, and the sculpting on his uniform shows
excellent detail.
Paint - ****
I was surprised on how good the paint ops are on these three. Hasbro
is usually decent, but all three of these have a lot of details, and all
the paint work looks fantastic. The bruising on Luke's face is of
particular note, along with the wash paint on his uniform. These are
details that Hasbro has been known to screw up in the past, but this time
they look great.
Articulation - Yoda ***1/2,
Vader **1/2, Luke ***1/2
Yoda is always going to have a rough time getting much articulation.
While he may have proved once and for all that size doesn't matter in the
film, when you have a little figure like this there's only so many joints
you can add.
He has waist, neck, and ball
jointed shoulders. While there aren't as many joints, these all work
well and give him quite a bit of poseability.
Vader has neck, shoulders,
cut joint forearms, hips and waist. The waist is actually the action
feature - push the button on his back and his torso twists.
Luke has the similar waist
articulation, with the twisting action feature (in the opposite direction
from Vader!), along with neck, shoulders, cut joint elbows, wrists, hips
and knees. This is one of the best articulated SW figures so far,
and it's certainly the best articulated Luke. The only problem is
that the legs are so spread out that even with the knee articulation he
ends up looking pretty funny in most standing poses. He's really
designed to hang from the 'weather vane', and that's what he needs the
knee articulation for.
Accessories - ****
These three figures are an excellent example of how great the
accessories you could get every time.
Yoda has a base to sit on,
similar to the films, but this one has an action feature - he can
'levitate'. He also comes with his required cane, his light saber
(with metal hilt), and one of those silly Jedi energy bolts.
Luke comes with the three
piece weather vane, which can attach to a smooth surface with the suction
cup, his light saber (with metal hilt), blaster and a Bacta tourniquet to
be placed on his arm when you remove the hand.
Speaking of Luke's hand, the
one I have opened and photographed is the non-blood version, with the
metal shaft in the hand. It seemed to hold well, and I didn't have
any trouble with it. I also included a photo of the 'bloody' version
at the bottom. There's a third version that I haven't seen yet with
a plastic peg on the hand rather than the metal peg.
Vader has a section of the
set from the final duel to place in the background, along with a removable
cape, and light saber with metal hilt. His set piece actually comes
in three pieces, and looks terrific.
The only issue I had with any
of these accessories was Luke's blaster - it doesn't fit well at all into
his holster. But other than that, all the accessories are fantastic,
and considering that we used to be lucky to get a light saber for $8, this
is definitely a major improvement.
Value - ****
This is the highest ranking I've ever given a Star Wars toy on
value. But these really do deserve it. With terrific
accessories, and good sculpting and articulation, all for six bucks at
most stores right now, you can't go wrong.
Overall - Vader ***, Luke
***1/2, Yoda ****
I could have just given the whole set of these three a score of ***1/2
stars. But I separated them slightly, just because there are some
simple differences. The lack of leg articulation hurts vader a bit,
and the action features on both him and Luke detract from otherwise good
sculpts.
Yoda is the winner of these
three for me, but after seeing the movie I have a new respect for the
little guy.
Where to Buy -
There are on-line options of course, but right now these are showing up at
Toys R Us, Wal-mart and Target stores all over. Prices have dropped
as well right now, and it really doesn't make sense to go the on-line
route without giving it the old college try at your local stores
first.
|