Neimoidian Warrior - ROTS - Basic (III 42)

Neimoidian warriors are specially trained members of the Neimoidian Gunnery Battalion. They are armed with special Neimoidian weaponry that is being mass-produced for use in the Clone Wars..

Up until Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith hit theaters, fans really didn’t see the less glamorous side of Neimoidian life. Assumptions were made that they were all rich and snooty Separatists making the lives of those who lived in the Republic a daily struggle during the days of the Clone Wars. But in Episode III we get a pretty good look at the less elite Neimodians who served as guards at the Separatists’ gathering on Mustafar. Gone were the ornate robes and high hats and instead were armored outfits and battle staffs. The Neimoidian Warrior was actually a fresh new outlook on the species and it helped collectors see the frailties and imperfections of this normally elitist species. Part of the Neimoidian Gunnery Battalion, the warriors served as military units because battle droids weren’t impervious to mass shut down should the Republic Army succeeded in deactivating the central units. As a Collection 1 action figure from the Revenge Of The Sith line, you can imagine that an action feature has been worked into the sculpt. Thankfully, it has been worked into incredibly well and you may not even recognize its presence until you start playing with the figure in your hands.

Neimoidian Warrior comes with a generous 12 points of articulation. Besides the annoying swivel elbows, the figure has nice flexibility and offers many options for active and passive posing than you may be inclined to believe. The figure’s proportions aren’t perfect. He definitely has too small of a head and the chest if definitely too broad, but as a whole, the Neimoidian Warrior looks better than average. That doesn’t mean we won’t want to see a definitive super-articulated update in the future, because we absolutely would. But this figure will hold up well until that definitive update is made. The coloring of the figure is spot on as far as we’re concerned. The copper and brown outfit is well decorated and helps to pick up all of the details etched into the sculpt. As we’ve mentioned, the head sculpt is too small (and much too round), but the paint job Hasbro gave to the details on the face, specifically the eyes, is nothing short of impressive. The removable helmet is a nice touch, although we’re not sure how necessary that was since we never see these characters with their bald heads. It does however add some extra play value to the figure.

We find it odd that Hasbro decided to work in an action feature into the Neimoidian Warriror. These characters literally just stand guarding the entrance of the Separatist War Room on Mustafar and do nothing else in the film. Oh, they do get butchered by Darth Vader’s lightsaber too. So, we’re not so sure if development dollars should have been expended on adding this extra play value. We would have much rather seen Hasbro add ball-jointed elbows and knees instead. The play value could have began and ended with the accessory. Slightly screen accurate to the one they are holding in Episode III, the figure’s battle staff fires a projectile. (See, there was no need for the wind-up/snapping waist.) The Neimodian Warrior isn’t one of Hasbro’s finest moments, but with so many characters developed that didn’t make it into the final version of Episode III, it’s nice to see an action figure of one that did. And it’s also refreshing to see a more rugged version of the uppity typecast Neimoidians we’ve grown accustomed to in Episode I and Episode II. We’re holding out for an update. Hasbro has proven that they can make great action figure’s that meet our demanding standards now. Let’s see that applied to a new Neimoidian Warrior!