The Legacy Collection and Clone Wars Figure Review

7-28-2008

At 12:01 AM on Saturday, July 26th, the newest waves of action figures in Hasbro's new ongoing lines were released.  Most stores, including Toys-R-Us which opened specially for this event, had the first two waves of The Legacy Collection in stock.

I picked up five figures from wave 1 and all of wave 2.  After opening them and having them around for a couple of days now, I thought I would give my first impressions of the figures.

Wave 1

Wave 1 was made up of eight new figures and four repacks of The Force Unleashed figures from the tail-end of the 30th Anniversary Collection.  All 12 figures were available with a First Day of Issue sticker.  The eight new figures are numbered BD-1 through BD-8 with the "BD" standing for Build-a-Droid (B-a-D) while the repacks were numbered GH-1 through GH-4 with "GH" standing for Greatest Hits.  All repacked figures from earlier collections will have the GH designation and include droid parts that duplicate those packed with the new BD figures from the same wave.

I picked up the following figures:

• Leektar & Nippet
• Ak-rev
• Yarna d' al' Gargan
• Bane Malar
• Darth Vader

Leektar & Nippet

It's always fun to find more Ewoks in the line and this set is no exception.  Leektar looks to be a basic repaint of the TAC Romba figure with a new head.  Possibly a tweak to the legs or a kitbash with another Ewok figure, but it's close enough.  The accessories and headdress are new.  The paint apps are relatively basic but effective.  Nippet is more of an accessory, no articulation, and he also has basic paint applications.  His accessory is a small basket.  Together they make a nice set to expand your Ewok village.  Because both are small, look for the best price on these.  I bought them at Wal-Mart for $6.94.

Ak-rev

Ak-rev expands on the 30th Anniversary Umpass-Stay figure by completing the other half of his drum.  Ak-rev is a Weequay and the figure is all new.  He has decent articulation from the waist up but, while his ankles have articulation, he has no knee joints.  He's a very colorful figure with plenty of paint apps.  He also comes with two drumsticks to round out the set.  For a minor background character with a huge accessory, this is a nice addition to the line and one of the things that putting up with repaints gets us.  For the price, I paid $6.99 at Toys-R-Us, it's well worth it if only for the drum accessory.  The drum does fit well with the half that came with Umpass-Stay and makes for a nice diorama piece for your Jabba's palace.

Yarna d' al' Gargan

Yarna is a figure that, I think, has almost been made as a joke.  A minor character from Jabba's palace, Yarna showed up on a lot of internet want lists a few years ago as a figure that, possibly, was a joke to a certain extent.  But, she gained momentum and last year Hasbro announced her.  She came out this weekend and the figure is a mixed bag.  She's a brand new sculpt yet has a lot of articulation in both the arms and legs.  She comes with a knife and drinking glass for her accessories.  There are a lot of paint apps on the figure including washes to her garments and a lot of cosmetics work on the face. 

However, that's where things go wrong.  The paint apps on the figure I bought, and on a lot I've seen on the shelves, is sloppy.  That takes away from an otherwise decent sculpt.  The two worst aspects on the figure I bought are the face and the flesh coloring on the torso.  If you are looking to pick up this figure, be choosy when selecting it so as to get the best paint applications available.

Bane Malar

Malar is a bounty hunter, also appearing in Jabba's palace during Return of the Jedi.  The action figure has plenty of detail and lots of articulation.  He comes with both a blaster and a rifle.  He's molded all in blue with some basic paint applications.  It's a good figure overall and again, allows people to fill out a diorama.  An added bonus to this figure is that the body is generic enough that customizers are sure to find some use for it.

Darth Vader

Another Vader?  Yep.  However, this is one of the nicest Vader figures we've had to date.  Based on the 2005 Evolutions Vader figure, this has a two part removable helmet.  Coupled with the attached lower mask, this makes the first Vader with a 3-part removable helmet.

The paint applications on the figure I brought home are well done and the soft goods add to the effect with one exception; none of the Vader figures with the silver cloth "chain" really work that well.  That's a small gripe on an otherwise excellent figure.  This, for my collection, is now the definitive Darth Vader.

Build-A-Droids

Each figure in the B-a-D waves comes with a part to assemble a droid.  In waves of 8 figures, like waves 1 and 2, you can build two astromech droids.  Later waves, with six figures, will build protocol droids.

Wave 1 builds R4-D6 and R7-Z0.  Figures BD-1 through BD-4 build R4-D6 and the GH figures have duplicate parts for the same droid.  I only purchased Leektar & Nippet so I haven't assembled the R4 droid yet.

The R7-Z0 figure, on the other hand, was included with figures BD-5 through BD-8 and makes a fine figure.  The parts all fit together quite well and use a removable middle leg design much like the VOTC R2-D2 sculpt.  The dome fits on with a peg and when assembled, rotates smoothly.  If you take the dome off there are some nicely detailed inner workings exposed.

The side legs also fit well and while a bit rubbery, have nice articulation on the feet.  Both side legs and the middle leg have wheels in the bottom that seem to roll freely.  The R7 droids have leg jets that are removable and don't detract from the functionality or look of the figure.

The torso has the hole for the center foot and both side legs but also adds an extra set of holes on the sides so you could, if you wanted, assemble a figure that stands up or even mix in some protocol legs later on for a really custom figure.  Overall, this is a really nice addition to the line.

Wave 2

The second wave of Legacy Collection figures was originally slated for the 30th Anniversary line.  It was postponed to the second wave of TLC and was originally slated to come out a few weeks after the July 26th launch.  Luckily, it shipped early and was available last Saturday.

The entire wave is made up of realistically styled characters based on the animated Clone Wars cartoon by Tartakovsky.  I had originally planned on buying the full wave, just not on Saturday.  After finding it, and deciding not to buy any of the larger vehicles, I picked up all eight figures from the wave.  They are:

• Obi-Wan Kenobi
• Clone Scuba Trooper
• Saesee Tiin
• Padme Amidala
• IG Lancer Droid
• Mon Calamari Warrior
• Quarren Soldier
• Clone Trooper

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan is sporting his clone armor from the cartoon and comes with both his lightsaber and lance that he used to spar with Durge and the IG Lancer Droids.  The figure has really nice articulation including the ball jointed hips that we've seen previously on the AT-TE Gunner and the 2008 Obi-Wan and Anakin.  His robes are cloth and fit in very well with the uniform.  The upper tunic is actually painted on the figure while the "skirt" is cloth and they work together quite well.

The only real issue with the figure I bought is the paint on the head.  The head sculpt is kind of a caricature, not exactly realistic to Ewan McGregor and not really animated.  It's not bad, but the paint applications left something to be desired.  I didn't pay close attention to him when I bought him and I'm sure I could have done better.  Overall it's a nice figure and much better than the previous Battle Pack try at an armored Obi-Wan.

Clone Scuba Trooper

This is one of the nicest figures from the wave.  The sculpt is well done and he looks like the character from the cartoon.  He has a huge backpack and removable flippers while the gun is huge, but well sculpted.  The figure has plenty of points of articulation and would make a great army builder if you so choose.  He'll also go well with the shirtless Kit Fisto that was released in the Saga Collection.  Well worth the $7 price tag.

Saesee Tiin

I'm a big fan of both Saesee Tiin and Plo Koon so I was happy to see this figure in the wave.  He's also armored up as he was in his animated appearance and sports a lightsaber and removable helmet.  The helmet is kind of soft and open on the sides in order to accommodate Tiin's horns.  This leads to a kind of sloppy look.  It doesn't ruin the figure but I think I'd have preferred interchangeable heads.

Tiin has good articulation and even with the goofy helmet, he still makes a nice toy, which is really all that's important.

Padme Amidala

This is the Padme we should have gotten at the beginning of 2007.  Instead of the crude, poorly articulated and sloppily painted Battle Pack version of Ilum Padme, this is the figure we all wanted.  Built to look like both the cartoon version and the real life Natalie Portman, this figure sports really nice articulation in both the arms and legs.  The paint on the figure looks well done but keep an eye out for this just in case.

The soft goods cloak works really well in conjunction with the molded hood.  She comes with a blaster and working holster.  This is one of my favorite outfits for Padme and I'm glad to see Hasbro stepped up and gave us this figure.

IG Lancer Droid

Based on last year's VTAC IG-88 figure, the IG Lancer Droid has two blasters and his lance.  The figure is really well articulated and the paint apps are subtle but well done.  He's a little soft around some joints but overall he holds up well.  He's a big droid from a relatively brief scene in the animated Clone Wars show, but it's fun to have in the collection.

Pull some speeder bikes from elsewhere in your collection and have him face off with Obi-Wan!

Mon Calamari Warrior

Another home run in the second wave.  While the figure lacks knee articulation, his arms and feet have plenty.  He also comes with cool accessories with a rifle, horn and shell shield that looks like a trilobite.  He sports a soft goods robe and nice paint apps on his head that bring out the details in he sculpt.

Quarren Soldier

With Kit Fisto, the Scuba Trooper and Mon Calamari Warrior we needed someone for them to fight and now we have him; the Quarren Soldier.  This figure also lacks knee articulation but has the necessary arm, leg and torso articulation to make a good toy.  The head sculpt is well done and has minimal paint apps, but they are effective.  He comes with a trident and soft goods skirt. 

Both the Quarren and Mon Cal Warrior (plus the Scuba Trooper) make good army builders if you so desire.

Clone Trooper

The final figure from the wave is the Quad gunner from the animated show.  He's kind of a combination of an ARC trooper and an AT-RT Driver with a removable helmet and his signature quad gun.  The backpack-attached gun fits relatively well and when put together it's a rather impressive Trooper.

The removable helmet is a pet peeve of mine and I wish, on generic troopers, that Hasbro would stop doing it.  It's fine for the Commanders and whatnot, but the general Troopers should be anonymous.  The reason it doesn't work here is that the helmet it slightly too large and is quite soft making it fall off easily and looks sort of misshapen while on.  Overall it's a fine Trooper and rounds out our ARC team from the Muunilinst scene.

Build-A-Droids

Wave 2 included parts to assemble R7-T1 and R4-J1.  R4-J1 is probably my favorite B-a-D figure so far in the line.  He has a nice green color to him and has the same components as the R7 figure I reviewed above with the exception of the leg jets.

R7-T1 is a very colorful droid with several paint apps in blue and beige.  He sports the leg jets as did the other R7 droid, but again, it works well.

All of the parts on the three droids I assembled fit snugly and work well together. 

The Clone Wars

The debut wave of Clone Wars includes 8 figures and are all designed to mimic the animation from the new movie and TV show.  The articulation on the figures, however, maintains a high level of consistency, at least in the first wave.

I was undecided about collecting this entire line but there are several figures that have been shown that look really cool and I'm sure I'll be adding them when they come out.  For now, I only have two with one being R2-D2 and the other the exclusive Commander Fox from Target.

R2-D2

Not only was this the figure that caught my eye from the first wave of figures, but it is now one of my favorite droid figures from any line.  Like the B-a-D figures, R2 has a removable center leg and leg jets, all well done.

The sculpt details on the figure are a little basic compared to the live action movie style, but they work well on droid figures.  R2 is easily recognizable with the use of blue on various details.

He has several cool features built in.  Hiding behind a panel in his back is a grapple with a string.  You can unwind it to attach to other droids or equipment and then, using his head, you can wind it back into his torso and close the door.

On the front are two opening panels that hide some tools that R2 can use to interface with computers or hold tools.  He even has a pop-up scanner in his dome that's manual rather than popping up when you spin his head.

All three feet have wheels which roll well and add to the playability of the figure.  This is a great toy!

Commander Fox

Fox, as I mentioned, is a Target exclusive and like his predecessors, he's packed in a Hasbro star case.  He also comes with a premium price tag of $12.99.  I really don't like paying that much for one figure, especially when the comic packs are the same price, but in this case I felt it was worth it.

Fox is the commander for a group of red painted Troopers and he sports a nice insignia on his chest, in red, to go along with them.  His troops will be coming later this year, also to Target, in an exclusive Battle Pack with Yoda.

The articulation on Fox is pretty sweet with ankle, knee and hips along with middle torso, shoulders, elbows and wrists.  He's topped off with a ball neck.  The wrist articulation is like that of the TAC Commander Gree figure in that they not only rotate but are also hinged.

He comes with a kama and has two pistols in holsters as well as his blaster rifle. 

I'm still waiting on my mail-away Captain Rex figure but if he's as nicely done as Fox, he'll be a hit.

Wrap-up

Wow, first of all, that was entirely too long!  So, if you stuck with me, I'll keep the wrap-up quick;

The Legacy Collection = Win!

The Clone Wars = Mostly win.

The Build-a-Droids are awesome and I'm looking forward to the protocol droids in the coming waves, especially after how well C-3PX turned out in the Wal-Mart Droid Factory sets. 

With a few exceptions for paint applications there's not really a bad figure in the first two waves of TLC figures, even the ones I didn't buy look nice, they just weren't needed for my collection.  The Clone Wars figures look nice with more goodness yet to come.

Soon as I add any vehicles, Battle Packs or Evolution sets I might take a minute to review them so stay tuned.