Packaging - *1/2
If you are at all familiar with Hot Toys (semi-legal) figures in the Famous Type Figure series you will not be surprised by the ultra-crummy job they do on packaging. The box doesn’t even have the name of the figure on it, it just tells you that it’s from Hot Toys, it’s a Famous Type Figure and that it’s “the original poseable action figure”. Original you say? Hmm… sounds suspicious from a company started in the 90’s, but who am I to question the box? The box also states that the figure has “over 34 points of articulation + accessories”, now I’m not a mathematician, but accessories means at least two right? This may be a problem, but I’ll get to that later. So bottom line is this: the box sucks! But, I give it an extra ½ star because it actually sucks less than the packaging for the Hot Toys “Neo” figure.

Sculpting - ***1/2
The most crucial part of the figure is George’s head. And thankfully they did this really well. When you see this figure, even from a distance, it is 100% George Lucas. I really don’t think that Hot Toys could have captured his likeness any closer, and they even gave him a nice serene look. One additional word on the likeness, this is a sort of mid-career Lucas, he does not have the dark hair and beard of his youth, but lacks the goiter chin of present day, so what you end up with is a nice general representation of the man. So you may ask then, why not 4 stars? Well the problem is the head is the only sculpted part; the rest of the body is completely stock. And this stockness is the only real problem with the figure… Ya’ see, for some reason they chose to mount Lucas’ head on a darker olive-skinned body. Now this isn’t a huge deal for his neck line since it’s hidden underneath the collar, but his hands are way darker than his face (I have a picture up to illustrate this discrepancy). So his hands do look a bit odd, however you can pop them out easily and if you have an extra set of pink hands they look quiet nice. I experimented with this using the hands from the “Neo” Hot Toys figure and he looked better.

Paint - ****
Hot Toys really did great on the paint job here. Again, the only work is done on his face, but it is done exceptionally well. Lucas’s beard has a nice blend of gray and white, and his hair is a darker gray with white highlights. It appears his skin-tone is the base color of the plastic used for his head, but they added some fine darker lines to show age. Also Lucas’s eyes are done very well, and there is a minimum of slop overall on the paint applications. Bad paint apps would have destroyed this figure, but thankfully they pulled through on this one. 

Articulation - ****
This is pretty much your typical Dragon or Sideshow 1/6 scale figure articulation. The box boasts 34 points and I’m inclined to agree with that. Mostly because I don’t want to fiddle with trying to get all the clothes off and back on again, as I never seem to get that right when I try it. The articulation works well with the figure, most importantly Lucas has a ball-jointed neck. Overall it’s nice to see that the manufactures didn’t cheap-out on the figure. Also, Lucas has bendy-finger hands, so you have a lot of range with his hand gestures (yes even giving the middle finger, you sickos). But, the trade off is that the hands do tend to look a bit awkward. So, if you are not a fan of these types of hands you may be disappointed, but I tend to like them and they work well with the figure (except of course for the color). 

Outfit - ****
This is where the figure really shines. For anyone that collects 1/6 scale figures you know how bad the clothing often times looks. The material is usually way to thick and it ends up looking bulky and cartoony. Well not here, Lucas is dressed in his typical uniform of a flannel shirt and blue jeans. For added effect he also has a nice dark jacket. The clothes are expertly tailored and fit wonderfully with the figure. Most impressive of all are the pants, these things are actually made of denim! And somehow they are tight-fitting, and don’t look like balloons. Only complaint is that they are a bit high-waisted, but you can push them down a bit and they look a lot better. The flannel shirt is very nicely done with snap buttons on the front and one on each cuff and it even has two breast pockets. The jacket is nicely done as well, I’m guessing it is probably a suit coat, but it also could be a pea coat. I’m not entirely sure, either way it gives you options for out-on–the-town Lucas, or lounging ‘round the house George. Rounding out the ensemble you have a black belt (with metal buckle) and simple black loafers. Overall an exceptional care appears to have been taken with the clothing, and it shows.

Accessories - *
This is a low point for The Director. He has one “actual” accessory and it’s probably technically a piece of clothing. But, I don’t want to believe that the box lied to me… so, I’ll consider the sunglasses as George’s “accessories”. Having said that the sunglasses are quiet nice, they are a thin metal with amber lenses. They are pliable, and can be shaped to fit his noggin quiet nicely. Again these help to make George a little more sophisticated looking. In all fairness the figure really couldn’t come with too many accessories, especially since including a miniature X-Wing may have tipped off the copyright lawyers, so I think Hot Toys played it safe on this one. But, it would be easy to take your Micro-Machines out of the shoebox and use them for display purposes on this one

Value - ***
Now this is a bit sticky. I am basing the value score for this figure solely on what I paid for him. I got him off of eBay for $45 with shipping, which surprised the piss out of me. I was willing to pay a lot more for the figure, and I have seen him selling for as high as $120. At anything over about $70 I think the figure starts to lose a lot of points, and over $100 is pretty ridiculous for what you’re getting. But on the other hand… George Lucas directed frickin’ Star Wars!!! This is the only 1/6 scale figure of the man out there and I understand that only a few hundred were made! If you are a fan of Star Wars and have a lot of figures than you’ll probably be willing to drop some serious coin for this figure and I can honestly say you probably won’t be disappointed.

Fun Factor - ****
Like I said its George Lucas, err… I mean “The Director”. He looks great with Star Wars figures, other 1/6 scale stuff and even just on a shelf pondering the Universe by himself. It is a pretty top-notch figure of a person that you are just not going to find a lot of figures of. Now in reality kids will not be interested in The Director, and may mistake him for Bob Villa. But, as a 27 year-old sci-fi geek with college loan money to burn, I am more than thrilled to have this guy in my collection. 

Things to watch out for: 
Everything seems to be pretty safe on this figure, and in all honesty you’re not likely to have a couple of figures to choose from. The only word of caution I would have is in handling the snaps on the clothing. I haven’t messed any of them up yet, but I could see them popping off pretty easily and it would be a major bitch to sew them back on. So be careful as you go for risqué poses with George!!! 

Overall - ****
I don’t think figures get much cooler than this, to a collector that is. George Lucas is an American icon and has had an undeniable impact on film. Now, he has definitely strayed over the past few years and made some horrible decisions… but, nonetheless you have to give the man respect. In keeping with this, I think that this figure makes an excellent addition to a collection, and who knows, one day Sideshow may come out with Richard Dreyfus as Curt from American Graffiti, and then you would sorely miss not having this figure for behind-the-scenes reenactments!

Score Recap:
Packaging - *1/2
Sculpt - ***1/2
Paint - ****
Articulation - ****
Accessories - *
Outfit - ****
Value - ***
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy
The only place you are likely to find The Director is on good ol’ eBay. They don’t come up too often, and the price can really vary. But, persistence pays off, I’d been looking for this figure for a few years and I was finally able to track one down, so you probably can too.