2011 Clone Wars Figures: Kiss Your Hamiltons Good-Bye

I haven't seen the New Clone Wars figures on the store pegs, but they have crossed into the sanctuary of the Past Generation Toys shop. Under my overly critical collector's eye I came up with a quick list of the Top 5 "must have" figures.

The full list of contenders are as follows:

First Case
- Clone Commander Jet
- Plo Koon (Cold Weather Gear)
- Savage Opress (Shirtless)
- ARF Trooper (Kamino)

Second Case
- Saesee Tiin
- Clone Trooper (Stealth Ops)
- Kit Fisto (Cold Weather Gear)
- Seripas
- Captain Rex (Jet Pack)

Third Case
- Even Piell
- Savage Opress (Armored)
- Chewbacca
- R7-D4

As I've said before, the current Clone War figures are taking one step forward and two steps back. The molding and paint applications are improving, but at the cost of poseability. Sure, the smaller head and hand sculpts more accurately fit the body proportions, but did we have to loose the hinges in the wrist joints AND ankle joints? I understand; the cost of the new molds are offset by the reduction in articulation. But did you have to take away both wrists AND all ankle joint articulation?

Alright. Alright. That's enough of my complaining... right after this!

Hey, Hasbro. What's with Yoda's eyes? Why did you decide to paint them looking down? He's the smallest guy in the Star Wars universe, why's he looking at feet? An even better idea than the obvious straight ahead glare would have been to have Yoda looking slightly upward. Then he can be posed darting along the ground, saber lit and held behind him, ready to throw a beatin' on anyone who says he sounds like Grover.

Ahhhhh. That felt good to get out. Now that I'm no longer hyperventilating, I guess I can step down off my righteous soap box and get to the 5 figures to spend your hard earned coin on.

5) Cold Weather Gear Plo Koon

Remember when Spider-man figures covered the toy shelves like wallpaper? We had Skydiving Spider-man, Skateboarding Spider-man, and even Soccer Player Spider-man. Hopefully, Clone Wars won't slide down this slippery slope. With that said, Snow Bunny Plo Koon looks impressive... most impressive. The figure comes with his trusty lightsaber, clip on snow shoes(!), and a winter mask. The winter breathing mask was cool enough to push him into the threshold of the Top 5. Kit Fisto is in similar garb and gets some sweet goggles, but his tentacle neck warmer seemed too much of a stretch for me. Isn't Kit Fisto more like a fish guy? I just picture him needing to keep his face moist. Fisto should have had a climate control fishbowl dome or something. Anyway, Plo Koon isn't super poseable in his snowmobile suit, but neither were Obi-wan and Anikin in their snow fatigues.

4) Commander Jet

Jet is mash-up of a couple of other figures with a Geonosis repaint. His helmet earmuffs are actually tolerable with the little antennae sprouting out of them. Yes, I'm angry about the wrists having only a swivel joint, but the ball hinged ankles settle me down a bit. Plus, I'm a sucker for the double pistols and the holsters that actually hold them. I know the paint is suppose to be the Geonosis paint scheme, but ever since the Flame Thrower troopers, (repaints of the Snow Gear Rex), I just see these colors as the Clone Trooper Fire Brigade. Commander Jet is going to look sooooo cool posed in front of the other Geonosis troopers from the Target 2 Packs. My army of repainted firemen.

3) Chewbacca

Our favorite Wookie made an appearance in the season finalie of Season 3 of the Clone Wars. He's a prisoner along with with Asoka and some other captured Padawans. They're being hunted by whatever race of creature Bossk is. I'm only mentioning this because I was disappointed that when Chewbacca is revealed he looks EXACTLY the same as we know him from the first Star Wars films. He even has his bandolier belt/pouch thingie. You would think they would have taken it off him. I'm thinking it would have been cooler to make him a little skinnier. Maybe he could arrive without his pouch and we get the bags origin story. Maybe we observant viewers see the pouch on one of the lieutenants and after Chewbacca beats up this guy, he lifts it off him. It comes in handy a couple of times so he keeps it. I'm just saying.

When this figure was first released by Hasbro he was called the Kashyyyk Warrior giving you no indication that this was actually Chewbacca. The Chewie sculpt is brand-spanking-new and honestly looks more Star Wars-y than Clone Wars-y. This version of Chewbacca would look right at home with any of your Star Wars figures from the vintage line. My favorite part of this figure is his face; specifically the eyes. He has some dark paint applications which really make the details in his blue eyes pop. Someone must have put some extra time into programming the machine that would paint Chewbacca's blue eyes. That machine deserves some extra oil. Chewbacca comes with his patented bow blaster and another bow blaster that belongs in the garbage next to the game pieces.

2) Armored Savage Opress

Cool character with a decent story, but when the episode ended, I wanted more. I could say the same about the figure. Why not give this guy the points of articulation he deserves? All the Jedi jump here and flip there, so why not splurge and give him wrist and ankle joints? Not only that, but I don't remember him being so yellow in the show. I jokingly heard him called the Simpsons Sith. I also noticed that his double saber is a little short. It should be the length of two lightsabers, plus the middle handle. Even with these beefs, this figure lands pretty close to the mark. The sculpt and paint is very subtle and detailed. His orange and yellow eyes, the sneer on his face, and his skull horns all look great. Hasbro even painted his fingernails! I am most impressed with the idea of combining plastic and cloth for his skirt. Instead of having a chunk of plastic with slits on the sides, this skirt has plastic only in the front, while the rest of the waist is surrounded by black cloth. Opress is free to do the Russian splits now, if he so desires. I wish they would do this combination with all Jedi figures.

1) Serapis

"The galaxy is on Orion's bea...bea...belt." Remember that little guy from the first MIB movie? Well, this is the Clone Wars version. Serapis made a showing in a Clone Wars homage to the Seven Samurai movie by Akira Kurosawa. Serapis and a group of other bandits were hired to defend a town from some space pirates. Embo made his first appearance in this episode too. Now that they have two from that particular episode, mark my words, you'll see a 3 pack with Serapis, Embo, and either the hooded sniper or the Darth Maul looking girl.

Out of all the new figures released in these 3 waves, Serais is the cream of the crop. The battle suit is full of moving parts and hidden gems. For one, the left forearm hides a saw blade just like in the episode. By pressing a small button on the bottom of the right forearm releases the second surprise; a forearm missile launcher. The best feature is the flip-top helmet that reveals Serapis in the suit's cockpit. Serapis is even removable! Though his arms have some minor articulation, his legs do not move. That won't stop me from purchasing 3 of these when they finally make it to the toy shelves.

And there you have it. Surfing ARC Trooper didn't make the cut and neither did the no-joints-below-the-waist pink Yoda. Jet Pack Rex almost broke the Top 5 with that cloth skirt of his, but then I noticed not only did he loose his ankle and wrist joints, but lost is torso articulation too! If that wasn't enough, his extra large helmet fits like he's wearing a bucket. On the bright side, it's worth mentioning that included in the new cases are Commander Wolfe and that other impossible to find figure, Commander Colt. So we get a second chance to scoop up these guys.

I'll see you in the toy aisles,

R. Ticulation

The Gauntlet of the 5 Ps: A Toy Review

Just so we understand each other, I'm only interested in awesome toys. I don't care if they're vintage or new. What do I mean by "awesome"? Glad you asked. All toys fall under my 5 part scale that, luckily for you, I'm willing to share. I call them "The 5 Ps". The categories are: Package, Paint, Parts, Poseability, and Planning. (Price would have been included, but let's face it, you and I both know that if you want it bad enough, you'll justify that purchase.) Package, Paint, and Poseablitly are pretty self explanatory. Parts and Planning, on the other hand, may need a little extra info. "Parts" is my way of saying Accessories, while Planning covers a whole list of things from the color of plastic used to the sculpt itself. Scores range from 0 to 10, and every figure starts at 5. You impress me, you get a point added to your score. Try and play me for a novice, you'll pay for it in the form of subtracted points. And don't worry, I'll list my reasoning for each so, agree or not, you'll see where I'm coming from. Score all 10s and you get the coveted R. Ticulation Certified Seal of Awesome!

Oh, and for the record, I am looking at these toys through the lens of display. How cool can I get these toys to look on my shelf? I don't care how much kids would enjoy playing with these things or how good/bad the TV show/cartoon/movie was. That's not to say I won't comment on these things, but in no way will they sway my scoring.

I bought a Star Wars The Clone Wars Captain Rex a while back. I wanted a mail-away Boba Fett with the firing missile. You know the one. Got the thing and the card was dinged up in shipping. Not happy about that, and they wouldn't replace it either. But, I'm drifting. Rex got pulled out of the package and posed on my shelf. Let's put him through the meat grinder of the 5 Ps and see what comes out the other end.

Package: 6

Nothing too impressive. I like these darker blue packages better than the white ones of the year before. I also enjoy that you get a pic of the character, but disappointed that it's, pretty much, just a head shot. Collectors have to be happy about the cardboard backing and the glued blister, though. I know I was. It's just like old times. I hated those older blister cards with the tape slapped on all over the back. I'm glad Star Wars toys got away from that, but the curse lingers on in other toy lines, that I won't mention. (Cough.) Captain America Movie Figures (Cough.) Ahem. But the cardboard itself is a double edged sword. It looks nice, but there are so many angles on this card that it's hard to find one that doesn't have a dulled corner.

Paint: 5

Again, this is a kids toy so the paint applications aren't exactly the highest priority on Hasbro's list. It would be nice if they could mimic the scratched-up-detailing-look from the Star Wars The Clone Wars computer animated show, but then I think back to the first wave of "dirty" Clone Wars Troopers and how crappy that looked so I think what they got going, for now, works.

Parts: 9

I'm a big fan of accessories. I love how this guy gets two pistols, a rifle, and a missile launcher AND a missile with a cable attached AND AND AND a helmet. Just make sure you buy a helmet that isn't turning yellow. You'll notice that some of the other clone figures suffer the same discoloration on their legs and chest pieces. Cheap plastic, sun discoloration, or whatever the reason, take a closer look before you throw one in your basket.

Can a figure have too many accessories? You wouldn't think so, but then you haven't met the Star Wars Galactic Battle Game. Now, have I played this game? No. Do I ever plan to play this game? No. Did anyone ask for a game to be included with their figures? Not me. Like the game or not, we all know this die, skill set card, and figure stand were just another way to justify an increase in price. It's like paying for that two year phone contract when you only wanted a year. You don't have a choice to just get what you want. And the stand? A well made figure shouldn't need no stinking stand. A figure should stand on it's own. I'm so tempted to just throw that stuff right in the trash, but my collector instincts won't let me.

Poseablitly: 10

Thanks to the Clone Wars Movie I had almost sworn off Star Wars for good. Horrible story aside, I felt this advertised "new" look ripped off the character designs from Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars cartoon shorts and pretended they never happened. I saw the figures in the stores and the Jedi figures didn't have any knee joints and the Clone Troopers, going for that battle worn look, had instead a "dipped in tar" look.

By accident, I stumbled across some of the deeper episodes of The Clone Wars: Season 1, and actually enjoyed them. I'm thinking specifically of the "Rookies", "Lair of Grievous", and Cad Bane's introductory episode. By the time I saw these episodes, the new packaging was on the shelves and the dirty clones were a thing of the past. When I came across the Clone figures again, I noticed their wrist joints. That put me over the top and I started collecting Star Wars figures again. The subtle tilts bring a realism to how the Rex holds his pistols or tucks his rifle into his shoulder. With Rex's ball jointed head, you can tilt his head to look down the sights of his rifle. Then you have the waist joint. If you ask me, every figure needs a waist joint. For this figure it's bumped up to just below the chest, but it serves the same purpose and has been engineered not only for side-to-side movement, but also up and down. I'm also a fan of the ankle joints. They're not very useful for standard flat footed poses, but that subtle, added joint allows for some dynamic stances.

Planning: 8

Again, my hats off to Genndy Tartakovsky's idea of designing skirts for the figures. They just look too skinny without them. The shoulder pad also helps bulk up this bean pole. The face looks alright. I give the bald head with painted hair a pass since I know the head will be used for umpteen other Clones. My biggest beef is the trigger finger on the right hand. Why not design a mold with a separated trigger finger like the left hand? Without that correction, he's pointing his arm at, let's say, 12 o'clock, but his gun is pointing to 2 o'clock. How hard would that have been? Not hard at all I figured and broke apart my razor and became a toy surgeon. Ever so carefully, I sliced between the index and middle finger. With a little black marker touch up, Rex can actually point his arm in the direction he wants to shoot.

Now, I've noticed the newest clones actually have two trigger fingers. (Yeah!) But, now the wrist joints are gone and Jedi figures are loosing ankle joints. (Boo!) Are these figures actually de-evolving? That's a topic for another time. But, for this figure, the placement and design of the joints allow for numerous sweet poses.

So there you go. Rex makes the Top 10 of Clone Wars figures, but you might want to keep him in his package unless you're willing to take a razor blade to his finger. Now I've got to buy another Cody, Gree, and maybe a Wolfee figure (if I can find one) and put all four of them into a group pose.

Until next time, I'll see you in the toy aisles.

R. Ticulation