Stand Tall Display System

April 9, 2006

We, as Star Wars fans and collectors, owe Hasbro one enormous hug.

I waltzed into the Star Wars section of my local Target on Saturday and absently mindedly browsed through the standard figures on the shelves. Of course they had a bunch of “Cliff Clavin” figures and a couple Han Carbonite figures but I’ve “been there, done that” if you know what I mean. So I performed a perfect military style roundabout turn and prepared to leave. That’s when something caught my eye…

Nestled discreetly under the transformers was the “Angelic Glow” of the silver Star Wars logo. Upon further investigation I saw Greedo’s big green head staring back at me through a perfectly crisp clamshell. There on the peg was one each of the new vintage style figures. I almost, and I mean this literally, left what I call “lumpy” in my pants. (At this time I’d like to thank whoever it was that got there before me and only took one of each figure.)

I am never one of the first guys to find new figures so I’m going to take advantage of this and give my first review ever.

Now, without further ado, I present:

Stand Tall Display's First Ever Figure Review!

Let’s state the rules:
  I do not collect packaged figures so I don’t care about that.
  I don’t count too good so I won’t mention amounts of articulation points.
  I do write random thoughts and impressions both good and bad for each figure.

Greedo — The first Bounty Hunter to ever grace the screen in the Star Wars universe. He may have been the absolute worst shot in the Galaxy but he was still cool enough to find and corner Han Solo.

The Good: Very Poseable with a fine soft goods vest. The coloring is just right, the head is the correct size, and the paint job is done well. This is the definitive Greedo.

The Bad: Lets face it. Greedo was already done well for the Commtech line. For 11.99 I’d rather have a figure that’s more in need of updating.

Han Solo, Endor Gear — A dashing new Han that looks more like and old west gunslinger than a space smuggler. That’s not a bad comment by any means. He looks confident and intimidating in his camouflaged duster. The cocky sharpshooter is ready to shoot first and ask questions later.

The Good: Great Sculpt and paint ops. The holster doesn’t look big and bulky. It’s basically the original VOTC Han with Endor colors and accessories.

The Bad: Hmmm..I guess I could say that his expression could be mistaken for a guy with a migraine instead of look of rugged determination. Maybe I’ll say that his duster doesn’t quite fall right on such a small figure but even that isn’t bad enough to pick on. How about I get back to you on this one. I really can’t find any big negatives.

Luke, X-Wing Pilot Outfit — Can you ever really have enough pilots? This new Luke is back for the third time (I think) in his orange jumpsuit and classy helmet.

The Good: There is an amazing amount of detail that went into this figure. On both front and back the paint and sculpting is exceptional. The light saber handle attached to his belt is actually another accessory and is removable. The helmet fits perfectly on his head and is extremely detailed. I can’t say enough good things about this figure. I even started swapping heads to make more pilots.

The Bad: The legs may be too far apart for him to sit in the X-Wing correctly. I’m sure he will fit but during his flight his legs may be forcibly pushed together. This could create a “Bow-Legged Luke Figure.” I’m pretty sure nobody wants that….although I didn’t think anybody really wanted a Willrow Hood Figure (Ice Cream Maker Guy) so I could be wrong.

Tusken Raider — Ohhhhhh….I know we all already have a ton of variations on this species. Do we really need another? YES!

The Good: Hasbro took every fine element of the previous incantations of this character and slapped them altogether into a finely detailed and fully accessorized collectors dream. This should be the last Tusken Raider that Hasbro ever has to make. The soft goods are a light material that is actually really easy to lay down into a natural looking position even on such a small figure. The outer “shawl” comes off to reveal a fully detailed body and offers a chance to purchase several of these suckers and display them all without it looking like a tusken clone army.

The Bad: The one item I thought would make this figure nearly perfect is Ball Joint Elbows. Instead this figure has swivel elbows that make it a little bit harder to achieve some of the cooler “two-hands on the weapon” positions.

Biker Scout — Did Hasbro finally make a trooper that nobody can complain about? I think so….

The Good: This is a fully articulated, finely detailed trooper. Quite possibly the best trooper figure to date and that is not an exaggeration. I have to admit, since Revenge of the Sith came out I have been a Prequel Trooper fan. The Stormtroopers, Snowtroopers, and Biker Scouts just weren’t as cool to me. This figure change my mind. This is the very first trooper that actually looks like a little person in armor. The proportions are so good that it’s like having a perfect scaled down model of a human being. This is the one figure I have paid $11.99 for and felt like Hasbro deserved every penny for it. In fact if Hasbro decides to make every figure like this from now on I will gladly pay $11.99 each and let somebody from Hasbro come to my house once a month to kick me in the “soft spot”. I know that sounds crazy, but once you get your hands on this figure you will see what I mean. Now I hope they re-release this sculpt with a EP3 paint scheme and I will be a happy camper.

The Bad: I only have one of these beauties.

Overall: Hasbro has made a nearly perfect wave of figures. Sure there expensive but each and every one exceeds previous versions of the characters. Don’t get me wrong paying $11.99 per figure really hurt at the time, but once I opened them I forgot all about it. Now I can send away for my Georgie-Trooper and life will be grand.

Good Luck on your own search……….

Before I go I’d like to mention that the figures in the pictures are standing on my very own Stand Tall Display System. It’s my very own invention created for my figures. You can find out more by visiting my Ebay store.

Till Next Time,
Jim (Team_Felix in the forums)

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