Admiral Yularen - TCW [R] - Basic (CW07)

The Republic admiral oversees a large fleet during the Clone Wars, coordinating battle campaigns from the bridge of his flagship, the Resolute. He contacts battle leaders, such as Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi, to keep track of ongoing situations.

The Clone Wars line has afforded us the opportunity to see Admiral Yularen in his younger days, years before his “first” appearance in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. And his animated portrait from his younger days is a very faithful representation (albeit younger) to what we saw in Episode IV in his realistic form. The Clone Wars interpretation of him is done very well from his head to his toes and his costume is expertly replicated as well. Hasbro ensured an exact likeness to the animated character and it is quite amazing what they can accomplish in this scale. He comes with a very cool hologram table with a miniature holographic figure of Obi-Wan Kenobi. It is the perfect accessory for him and great attention to detail was executed to ensure its faithfulness in the television series too. The gray color used for the uniform and the body of the figure are beautiful and it is evident that the creators at Hasbro are very conscientious of the products they design and eventually release to us for purchase. Admiral Yularen is a spectacular figure and just his portrait likeness alone is proof that this is a line of toys Hasbro is making sure come out right the first time. The final action figures are perfect and they have exceeded our expectations with this figure. Yularen is one of the few characters in The Clone Wars that actually looks like an Imperial due to the duds he sports. He looks exactly like he was in command of a Super Star Destroyer (or corresponding Republic cruiser) and has the rank badge to prove it.

Yularen is without a doubt one of the more impressive sculpts we have seen thus far in this line and we hope more figures of his same quality are coming. The bar has been raised since the first season of figures were released from the blue phase of The Clone Wars. There is much to marvel about Yularen and the positives are almost sensory overload. Admiral Yularen is not super-articulated but we really like how his legs look without knee or ankle joints. The silhouette is smooth and contoured and it "almost" makes us miss the days of the simpler articulated figures. Let us make it clear that we are fans of super-articulation (for figures that need it) but the hyper-articulation of nearly every figure can be a bit too much and almost overwhelming. And the overuse of articulation can work adversely on some figures. Admiral Yularen is a prime example of a figure that needs a bit more articulation. He leans and falls over very easily and if he had some knee joints, it would aid in a more erect posture. Whether it’s because Yularen suffers a bit from having a bad center of gravity or something else, he does need the assistance of his hologram table or against something else to lean against or he is likely to fall over without it. This is a real shame because his sculpt is flawless, and this is really the only thing working against the figure. It is a big negative for such a beautiful sculpt!

With all the action figure technology out there, we are a bit perplexed on why Hasbro can't seem to master the gravity of figures. Too often they fall over and it exhausts the patience of collectors to no end. An awesome figure like Yularen just shouldn't have these issues. The Clone Wars line is really starting to impress us and we also see that it is having the same effect on you. The character choices and sculpts are getting better and better with time and Hasbro has been really selective about what features they decide to include with each and every figure. We get a nice mixture of different types of figures too. Clone troopers, Jedi, creatures, Separatists, droids and leaders are all evenly distributed throughout the line. And the recipes of each figure are craving even the most gourmet tastes. Admiral Yularen is testament to a great sculpt, great paint job, the perfect type and the right amount of accessories. This is only topped by arriving to us in an all-new and beautiful refreshed line look. It certainly satiates the most discriminating and varied collectors' tastes. As one of the first figures in the newly revised “red” (or Season 2 as we’re calling it) The Clone Wars packaging, it is a sign of very exciting things to come. And if you love seeing and learning about the early history of some of your favorite background characters, then Admiral Yularen is for you! But Admiral Yularen is an excellent figure simply based on his own merits alone. He will without a doubt be a very important addition to your The Clone Wars collection.