Emperor’s Royal Guard - Vinyl Collectible Dolls

There are some Imperials that gain an inordinate amount of notoriety for merely existing. One such character would be the Emperor’s Royal Guard. They just stand around (and maybe walk around) in Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi, yet they are one of the most requested characters to be made into Star Wars collectibles by fans. Medicom Toy made two exquisite collectibles of this character in two separate lines: the Real Action Heroes Emperor's Royal Guard and Vinyl Collectible Dolls. The VCD was released in 2007, during the celebratory 30th Anniversary of Star Wars, and it sold out almost instantly and was quickly acquired into various collectors’ homes and proudly made part of their collections. The VCD line isn’t for everyone, but no one can discount the quality that Medicom Toy puts into the line. And when it came to the release of the Emperor’s Royal Guard VCD, let’s just say that no expense was spared to created a fantastic super-deformed interpretation of these crimson guards.

Would you believe that the Emperor’s Royal Guard VCD has multilayered and expertly tailored soft-goods robes? They have also been woven in multiple high quality fabrics to produce a proper sheen, drape, pleating and texture that looks like they were ripped right out of the film. We’re not exaggerating. Look at how gracefully the gowns fall and look at how much they remind you of the onscreen character, despite the super-deformity of this character. Even the stitching is up to par with high fashion couture: neat, clean and with crisp detailing. Medicom Toy also added wiring into the base of the gown to allow for clever displaying, in case you want his robes flowing and moving. Underneath the gorgeous soft-goods is a solid piece of plastic which represents his body. It’s humanoid in form, but it really serves as a handy display base for the rest of the figure. The Emperor’s Royal Guard doesn’t have legs or anything hiding behind those robes.

The Emperor’s Royal Guard comes with only four points of articulation: two swivel shoulders and two swivel wrists. But this is all of the articulation you need for this to be an effective collectible. His right index finger is outstretched and if you pose his arm at a 90 degree angle from his body he sort of looks like Uncle Sam beckoning to you join the military, but the finger is opened so it can rest on the force pike and it helps provide a little bit of leverage. The force pike is inserted through a hole in the palm of the hand and then goes underneath of the index finger perfectly in place. When fully “assembled” you have a true to form Emperor’s Royal Guard defending against any intruders entering the throne room. Clearly, this collectible isn’t intended to be screen accurate. This is an artistic take on one of the most popular secondary characters from Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. But we love it and are impressed with its screen accurate elements, as well as its super-deformed ones.