The Batman

And on the subject of the Dark Knight, here's a recent bargain...  

Batman from Mattel's Dark Knight Rises line, bought for a paltry £2.50 from Tesco. The paint on the face is a bit sloppy, but in general it's better than I thought it would be, with a well done soft-goods cape and surprise knee joints making a whopping seven points of articulation! There's better Batmen out there, but this one is mine, and for the price I paid I'm not complaining at all. Now there's someone to watch silently over the toy shelf at night...

VC103: 'Realistic' Clone Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi Review

Knight of the not-as-old Republic!

A Clone Wars Obi-Wan would've been slightly less enthusiastically received by me at 8 years old than a Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker, but only slightly - that's not to take anything away from Sir Alec Guiness' depiction of Old Ben, but more so about the mystery of the man who became Darth Vader. Anyway, whilst the Prequels did whatever they did to the Star Wars franchise, one positive was that by Revenge of the Sith, Ewan McGregor had finally got a handle on how to play Obi Wan Kenobi, which in turn gave the film its more enjoyable moments. Following on from how good the Vintage Collection Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker was, this seemed like an appropriate purchase...

The Packaging

VC103

The packaging follows the standard Vintage Collection template, with the Clone Wars TV series logo in the place of the episode title. The picture is of Clone Wars-armoured Obi Wan Kenobi with a Ewan McGregor likeness in a pretty nifty Geonosis-esque war zone - clones and a Republic Gunship fill the dusty background. I like this; it's more exciting than the Anakin Skywalker card, and even some of the pictures on the movie figure cards. As with all TVC figures it features the Kenner logo in the bottom left, and the back of the card is covered by a boring multi-lingual sticker.

As shown here, he's packed with a lightsaber and a lightsaber hilt. Pretty minimal, but short of a helmet I'm not really sure what else he could've come with.

The Good

General Kenobi & Troops

First and foremost, the sculpt is fantastic. As soon as I pulled it out of the blister I was impressed with the weight of the figure and the sturdiness of the joints (with the exception of the wrists, which I'll come to). Straight away I was able to get Obi-Wan into various Jedi-like poses, and as well as having great joint movement (the shoulder pads share the same under-the-armour trick as the Anakin figure), I was also able to get him to stand in those poses. I don't know if it's the weight of the figure or that it shares some SA Clone Trooper DNA in the legs, but it's really well balanced. 

I'm a fan of the Clone Wars character designs anyway, but I find this figure really visually appealing. It features the best integration of soft goods and sculpted robes I've seen yet with the skirt, which is trimmed and fixed perfectly to allow for full leg movement without billowing. The Republic Jedi crest on the shoulder pad is crisp and brings a nice dash of colour to the armour, which is otherwise splattered with war zone dust (presumably from the same locale as is featured on the cardback). The belt features two pouches and a port for the lightsaber hilt, something that was notably absent on Anakin.

Guardian of Peace and Justice...

The Bad

Easy Now...

When I've seen the figure online I've never been sure if it's boss-eyed or not - since getting it in hand, I've realised it all depends on your point of view, quite literally. The right is on the donk, but viewed from the left or straight on it's really not that noticeable. Since the head sculpt is in general very good (even going as far as to include his forehead bump), I'd say it's not a huge issue. For such an EU figure, I find the dust a bit scene specific, but that doesn't bother me too much - it's more the way it's been kind of slopped on in parts that I'm not as keen on.

As I noticed when I pulled it out of the packet, and again when fixing the lightsaber, the swivel wrists do feel quite weak and as such I'm going to avoid too many two-handed duelling poses. As these are bona-fide collectors pieces rather than simple toys (like there's really a distinction...) I think all but the most heavy handed should be OK; either way, I'm still going to be careful!

Ready for (Clone) War!

The Verdict

If you have a Clone Wars-era display, or any interest in the time frame between Episodes 2 & 3, then this is the Obi-Wan Kenobi for you. I gave the VC92 Anakin Skywalker figure a five star review and this guy's even better - that can only mean he also gets top marks.

*****

Shelf Review: Gambit

Shelf Reviews! Wherein I write bitesize reviews of figures I've acquired second hand. Why let the MISP guys get all the fun?

I had never heard of the term 'Cajun' before reading X-Men. Comics are brain food!

Marvel Universe Gambit, how do you do? Since I collect better with a focus, I decided that rather than just buy Marvel Universe figures randomly, I'd be better off working on teams. As I already had a 90's costume Wolverine and a penchant for X-Men, where better to go for my line-up than the iconic Lee/Claremont era Blue Team?

Now THIS is a mutant super team.

Marvel Universe figures have been slightly hard to find over here in recent months however, and so I've been resorting to Ebay. Of my recent Blue Team searches, Gambit here has been the only one to turn up at a reasonable price. Was he worth it?

Well, it looks pretty much like Gambit. The paint apps on my figure are superb, the black eyes/red pupils really make the resemblance His blue neck guard is missing, but otherwise this is a good rendition of the character. The coat is molded into a billowing position, which I actually really like; it provides good balance and looks dynamic even in a standing pose.

The worst flaws with the figure are the articulation, or lack thereof. It would have been infinitely improved with swivel wrists, no doubt, and being able to hold his staff isn't the same as being able to pose with it. He's quite tricky to get to stand up, although mine has loose knee joints, which never helps with that. Another significant absence is his playing cards; his left hand feels empty without them.

This is how everyone dressed in the 90's. Really, it's true.

On balance, I'm happy enough with Gambit to put him in the collection, and I think he'll look swell as part of my Blue Team when it's complete. However, for his flaws, I have to say I'm happy I didn't pay full price for him.

Thanks for reading!

Vintage Wednesdays: POTF2 R2 D2 & C-3PO

Well, this seems like a relevant time to return to Vintage Wednesdays, and who more apt to focus on than Luke Skywalker's loyal droids, Artoo Deeto and See-Threepio?

"I don't know what all this trouble is about, but I'm sure it must be your fault."

Despite the background, these shots aren't from my new lightbox - I took them some time ago, and have been storing them up for this very day. Anyway, what do you need to know about these guys?

R2 D2

"Beep!"

Height: .96 meters average
Status: Navigator, T-65 X-Wing Fighter
Classification: Astromech Droid
Affiliation: Rebel Alliance 

I'm pretty sure most Star Wars fans would count R2 as their favourite droid. The ultimate robotic Swiss army knife, it's his mission that sets the whole chain of events of A New Hope into motion and pulls Luke Skywalker into the Civil War. After that he serves as Luke's loyal and trustworthy companion throughout the evacuation of Hoth and both his trips to Dagobah, and he also plays a key role in the rescue of Han Solo. None of us had ever seen such devotion from a droid before (although granted, we'd never seen a droid before either); it's kind of amazing Obi Wan Kenobi forgot all about him. Almost like a huge, unresolved and unnecessary plot hole. Anyway, I digress...

C-3PO

"But, sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid."

Height: 1.67 meters
Status: Interpreter
Classification: Human-Cyborg Relations Droid
Affiliation: Rebel Alliance 

And, let's face it, Threepio is harder company to have around. Despite being the most annoying character in The Empire Strikes Back, I now realise how that's part of the measure of the heroes of the film that they never leave him behind - Han Solo ensures 'Goldenrod' makes it out of Echo Base on the Falcon, and Chewie carries his destroyed body around Cloud City, despite being insulted for doing so. I think that's why I like C-3PO; he brings out the best in his compatriots. He's a lot more tolerable in Return of the Jedi, and the way he's revered as a God by the Ewoks is a great touch, and a nice little way for Lucas to say 'thanks' to the character for being such a superb heel. I'm not sure about his being created by Anakin - don't get me wrong, I do like how coincidences hang together in stories, but that felt like a stretch too far for me, even if it did yield a superb comic that plugs a gap from ESB.

POTF2

The Power of the Force line was launched in 1995 by Kenner (who had been purchased by Hasbro in 1991), and was quickly dubbed 'POTF2', after the original Power of the Force line from 1985. Despite the beefcake sculpts the series was a massive hit, and continued to run until 2000, and completely reinvigorated interest and sales for the Star Wars merchandising juggernaut. This line is probably the main reason this blog even exists...

Anyway, back on topic. The first I knew about POTF2 was seeing Luke Skywalker in X-wing Fighter Pilot Gear (actually Snowspeeder Gear) in Milton Keynes Woolworths, where I bought it outright. Shortly afterwards I picked up the R2 D2 featured above, and gradually built up a mish-mash collection of various figures that provided hours of fun. Honestly. I played with vintage figures growing up, but these were my Star Wars vintage toys, and they were most excellent. Which I guess brings us nicely to today's hot topic...

THE BLACK SERIES

So, it's finally happened. After decades of the 3 3/4 inch scale toy line, Hasbro is now preparing to launch a six inch, super-articulated, OT-centric and collector focused line, 'The Black Series'. I for one couldn't be happier. Yeah, I have a lot of 3 3/4" figures, and I will keep a lot of them. But look at that figure! It may be a prototype, but if the quality of the mass-produced ones is anywhere near that, it may become my favourite line ever. The launch, in August, consists of Luke, R2-D2, a Sandtrooper and Darth Maul - that's a definite OT three out of four for me.

Coming back to collecting late has had both good points and bad but I'm glad to be here, and now I'm really excited to get in on this line from the ground floor. And what better way to start a collection than with a Luke Skywalker in X-Wing Fighter Pilot Gear?

Thanks for reading!

Outside the Rules

I've been working on some shot ideas for the The Rather Childish 2nd Annual Vintage Star Wars Action Figure Photo Contest (closes January 31st, there's still time!), and took the opportunity to use my lighting and set-up with a slightly newer guy...

Man, I do so much better with the modern figures. On another note, it's irregular games night tonight! X-Wing vs TIE until the small hours... :D