General Grievous - TBS [L50] - Six Inch Figures (Exclusive)

The Clone Wars are brought to life in a unique animation style that captures the drama of this epic period. Jedi warriors lead Clone Troopers into battle against the evil Separatist forces.

Hasbro did a wonderful thing for collectors when they developed six characters for The Vintage Collection and three characters for The Black Series based on Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars micro-series. But it’s abundantly clear that some releases turned out better than others. In particular, we have to admit our disappointment with General Grievous. Now, it’s not like this should be a surprise to anyone who reads out reviews with any regularity. We’ve always felt that 2019’s TBS [P3] General Grievous (D1) figure was a significant letdown for collectors. Between the joints that can’t support the figure’s weight to the incorrect scale and proportions, General Grievous has a lot working against it. We didn’t expect Hasbro to retool the figure before repainting it for the Clone Wars Walmart exclusive release. However, the figure still has the same issues, and the new color palette isn’t accurate to what’s shown in the micro-series. Yes, General Grievous went through a significant color change from Volume 1 to Volume 2 in the Clone Wars, but Hasbro appears to have blended both styles into this action figure. Something got lost in transation before the figure received its final approval. We’ll explain.

Hasbro took inspiration from the animated Clone Wars General Grievous figure both in packaging and figure approach. The original 3.75-inch figure began as Target exclusives in 2003, and Hasbro applied those graphics to The Black Series Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary line. The original 3.75-inch animated General Grievous didn’t get released until 2005, but Hasbro kept the line running until the Revenge Of The Sith line was released later in the year. Hasbro developed the action figure based on the light blue and dark blue colors of General Grievous. (They later released the “Volume 2” General Grievous, with white body and red-lined cape, in the Clone Wars Commemorative DVD Collection (Animated Pack 2) three-pack when both volumes of the Clone Wars micro-series got released on DVD. But Hasbro mixed the two animated styles of General Grievous when developing this figure’s paint job. General Grievous comes with a blue body and white outer plating. But that’s not correct. This version of General Grievous should have a dark blue body and then light blue armored plates. It appears the only detail they got right was the all-white cape. Oh, and the cape Hasbro included here is about as cheap as they come. It’s another disappointment here.

You still get four lightsabers here that break down into hilt and blade. But Hasbro didn’t include the droid blaster, which makes sense because Grievous didn’t use one in the Clone Wars. On paper, General Grievous is an excellent action figure. But the execution didn’t turn out the way collectors expected. The General Grievous 6” figure is a bittersweet release, which is also an understatement. And for us, the figure doesn’t meet our expectations when trying to position it in a display. Most important, it’s time for Hasbro to spend a little more money on quality plastic that will hold up over time. We will never be able to understand why Hasbro feels flimsy plastic is acceptable for collectors’ action figures, especially those requiring reinforcement and support due to the nature of their frames. The articulation system of General Grievous is stunning, but the figure feels wasted on the weak plastic used. Hasbro loaded General Grievous with an astounding 40 points of premium and swivel articulation, but it’s lost on the flimsy plastic. General Grievous also retails for less than its original release. You’ll pay $26.99 for it at Walmart. But most important, we'd love to see Hasbro do this version of General Grievous for The Vintage Collection!