2003 collection 1 and 2 first wave

Ishi Tib

New Recruit
<CENTER>2003 COLLECTION 1 AND 2
FIRST WAVE
</CENTER>

<CENTER> By Ishi Tib</CENTER>


Making scattered appearances at Walmarts and Targets throughout the country, the first wave of Saga figures for 2003 are top ranked on everyone's hunt trips. Starting with Obi-wan Kenobi "Acklay Battle" as figure #1 Collection 1 and ending with Tusken Raider "Tatooine Camp Ambush" figure #6 Collection 2, the new characters, in some instances, come accessorize with bases, recreating the specific scene the given sculpt relates to within the film.

The new wave is made of five characters including, besides the aforementioned ones, Darth Tyranus "Geonosian Escape," Padme Amidala "Droid Factory Chase," and the short packed Research Droids, a two pack set with SP-4 and JN-66 from the deleted scene found in the DVD's extras.

Wanting to let everyone vent out their own opinions, the usual review on the figures has been cut short this time and, more pictures have been added. There are over twenty detailed images of the Jedi, The Separatist, the Senator, the Droids and the "light headed" Sandperson.




<CENTER>OBI- WAN KENOBI
ACKLAY BATTLE
</CENTER>



The overall look of this figure is lame; Kenobi's pose is limited and very scene specific. Try displaying him without the spear and you'll have him in a very unrealistic stance. There is only one good pose one can obtain from this figure and that is as part of a diorama fighting the Acklay beast.

Although the head sculpt is more accurate this time, truly reflecting a closer likeness to the actor, the spear-stabbing arm movement and lack of articulation offered, diminish the well rendered look of the face.

Obi's right shoulder shows a huge and unnatural joint gap. This is due to the room needed to insert the figure's action feature that allows for his arm to be raised just about a quarter of an inch by pressing on a cleverly disguised button/pouch on the left side of his belt. Sacrificing authenticity for such feature, was truly unnecessary.

The poor articulation prevents the figure's waist from moving and also there is none offered for the knees. Obi will always maintain the same squaring off pose against the Acklay .


<CENTER>ACCESSORIES/ARTICULATION</CENTER>


As far as accessories go, the Geonosian spear is a welcomed weapon. It can actually be separated into two pieces. The back piece is made out of metal, thus allowing it to be held by the magnet embedded in the left hand of the Jedi. Three more accessories are included, a detachable blade lightsaber with metal hilt, handcuffs which can only the attached to one wrist at a time (since there is not enough articulation for both hands to come together as they should had), and finally a break apart column, exactly as the one given to the previous Padme figure, a nicely sculpted but way out of scale piece.

The moving points of the figure are found on a the fully rotating neck, shoulders and hips. There is no other articulation present.



<CENTER>FIGURE INFORMATION </CENTER>

NAME OF FIGURE: Obi- Wan Kenobi "Acklay Battle"
DIGITS: PN 6190300000
FIGURE NUMBER: #1_ for '03
COLLECTION NUMBER: 1
ACCESSORIES: Geonosian Spear, Lightsaber, Break- Appart Column, Binders




<CENTER>DARTH TYRANUS
GEONOSIS ESCAPE
</CENTER>



I enjoy this figure. It is nicely detailed, accessorize and the action feature works well. The likeness is dead on, very accurate, capturing the evil look on the separatist's face, not the sad-looking expression seen with last year's April release.

The sculpt stands well on its own without the aid of a base, balancing the weight perfectly well, even when Tyranus is holding the long force lightning piece. The flowing cape, chained at the neck, can be pulled off and taken out with ease; his left hand holds the non removable blade lightsaber securely and the "dueling action" can be implemented without the saber falling out.

By the way, the action feature works by squeezing the legs together which in turn raises the left arm all the way up over the figure's head. His left hand while sculpted opened and basically meant to hold the lightning piece, can also "force attract" the saber with the embedded palm magnet. The magnet was not painted over, and it is fully exposed, detracting a bit if the figure becomes "empty handed."_


<CENTER>ACCESSORIES/ARTICULATION</CENTER>


As mentioned earlier, there are two accessories packed with Tyranus, a lightsaber and a force lighting effect. Both appeared to work well, specially the lighting effect which it is made of a sturdy, not too flexible plastic, offering a good opening and support for the hand.

The is a one piece hilt and blade and lacks some paint details seen on previous sculpts as there are no silver lines present over its black area.

Although the articulation on this figure is limited, its pose is less scene specific than Obi Wan's, thus allowing for a more natural stance without the accessories. The figure lacks articulation at the waist and knees but can be found at the neck which is ball jointed, permitting the head to be moved back and forward as well as being able to rotate.

There is articulation present at both shoulders and both elbows. The right elbow is ball jointed, while the left one presents the usual peg movement. Both hips are articulated as well.



<CENTER>FIGURE INFORMATION </CENTER>

NAME OF FIGURE: Darth Tyranus "Geonosian Escape"
DIGITS: PN 6190300200
FIGURE NUMBER: #3_ for '03
COLLECTION NUMBER: 1
ACCESSORIES: Lightsaber, Force Lightning
 

Ishi Tib

New Recruit
<CENTER>PADME AMIDALA
DROID FACTORY CHASE
</CENTER>


If articulation is your thing, well Padme has plenty. I'll get into it later on. But as far as likeness and sturdiness of the plastic is concerned, this figure could had seen better attention.

The face, although offering good details, is not as femenine-pretty looking as one can expect from Padme. The eyebrows are too thick and her cheeks look as she was suffering from a teeth infection; they are puffy! Thus, I'm bound to say likeness is off and goofy looking.

The running pose seen on the back of the card, where her left leg is up in the air, is basically impossible to maintain, a true disappointment. The soft nature of the plastic, mainly where it meets the boots makes the figure, after a few minutes standing on one leg, sag to the left. The end result is a complete bent leg, with Padme's body resting on its side. In other words, the flimsy plastic, does not support nor it can balance the weight of the figure and cloak together. Your best bet is to have the Senator with both feet touching the ground or have her without the cloak on if you wish to pose her running.

Another disappointment I encountered was the foot peg that sticks out from the base. It is too long and does not allow the boot to touch the base. I had to cut off the excess in order to accomplish this.

Her cloak, on the other hand, is one great piece, beautifully sculpted and showing proper texture and wrinkles of the fabric. It can be easily removed and placed back on her thanks to the generous opening for the head.

The belt pouches are more detailed than the ones previous Padme in her white outfit offered and the holster has been hollowed, allowing for the placement of a weapon.



<CENTER>ACCESSORIES/ARTICULATION</CENTER>


She is nicely accessorize with a Factory base which attaches to that of the Deluxe C-3po and Battle Droid, recreating a larger scene. Although the color of the base does not completely match the one on the Deluxe set, the fact they can connect is a great idea. The other two accessories, are a white cloak and a silver pistol with brown handle.

Articulation was definitely not overlooked, Padme offers an amazing 12 points of it. She can be "rearranged" at her neck, both shoulders, biceps, waist, hips knees and right at the top of her boots, where they meet the legs.


<CENTER>FIGURE INFORMATION </CENTER>

NAME OF FIGURE: Padme Amidala "Droid Factory Chase"
DIGITS: PN 6190300400
FIGURE NUMBER: #4 for '03
COLLECTION NUMBER: 2
ACCESSORIES: Cloak, Pistol, Droid Factory Base

<CENTER>SP-4 & JN-66
RESEARCH DROIDS
</CENTER>


Despite the fact these two little droids did not make it into the movie and can only be seen in the DVD's cut out scene, and that they very much have a Star Tourish appearance, the figures are fantastically sculpted and are, indeed, a great addition to our collection.

The silver color scheme and brass accents on the droids' bodies have been well captured. Cables and wires and all sort of robotic parts have been detailed with care. They do appear to be a bit out of proportion when standing next to Obi-Wan, as one can expect them to be smaller in size but this is really hard to tell; if I recall well, the cut out scene had them behind a glass while Obi-wan sat on the opposite side showing them the Kaminoan Dart. Speaking of darts, this is one accessory I wish they would had given them but unfortunately they are not offered with one.

The funky looking SP-4 with spikes on its head is the largest of the two Droids and can stand up well, due to the flat large size of its feet. JN-66, the smaller Droid with long arms and single antenna on its head, has no feet but thanks to the clear column provided, can hover around, once it gets mounted on it. The figure can be slightly tilted to the sides, accenting the effect even further



<CENTER>ACCESSORIES/ARTICULATION</CENTER>


There is just one accessory included with the figures, the aforementioned hover column. This piece can me inserted in the hole provided under JN-66's torso, securing the figure in place and preventing it from falling.

Sp-4 presents articulation at several points, including a ball jointed head, allowing to fully rotate and/or point up or down; its neck is also articulated but it can only be moved back and forward. There is movement at both shoulders and both elbows as well as hips.

JN-66 also presents a ball jointed head, allowing for all sort of poses. Back and Forward movement can be obtained at its neck, no rotation though. Its shoulders and elbows are also articulated and the two drum-like pieces protruding from its lower part of the torso have fully rotating capability.


<CENTER>FIGURE INFORMATION </CENTER>

NAME OF FIGURE: SP-4 & JN-66 "Research Droids"
DIGITS: PN 6190300500
FIGURE NUMBER: #5 for '03
COLLECTION NUMBER: 2
ACCESSORIES: Hover Column For JN-66


<CENTER>TUSKEN RAIDER
TATOOINE CAMP AMBUSH
</CENTER>


Another great figure. Not a single detailed was missed. All the head gear including warrior spines, bandages, eye protection lenses, breath filter and even the moisture trap cylinder under his neck, were meticulously crafted. And speaking of necks, this Tusken's neck supports a not so secured head, as it is detachable. There is a magnet embedded in the neck keeping the head in place but allowing and easy decapitation when stroke by Anakin's "laser weapon"

Although the pose of the figure could be scene specific there is articulation properly provided which permits several fighting stances. To top things off the Tusken comes packed with a sand like stand with translucent fire pit furthering the realistic look of the set. The figure stands up well with or without the use of the base.



<CENTER>ACCESSORIES/ARTICULATION</CENTER>


There are two accessories packed with the set. One is the fire pit base which also includes two foot pegs. It is said this base will later on attach to other bases, recreating different scenes; one can see the L shape mounting piece coming out from one of its ends. The second accessory is a Gaffi Stick with a nice silver deco over the poised blade and opposite end. The only problem with this accessory is the soft quality of the plastic used, easily bending.

Despite the limited articulation articulation, it is more than plenty for a Tusken Raider. The head, since it is removable can be placed in any direction remaining in place by the strong magnet within it. The arms are articulated at both shoulders, both elbows and both wrists, thus letting the figure hold the Gaffi Stick in an array of poses. Waist articulation is also found but there is none at the hips nor knees or feet.



<CENTER>FIGURE INFORMATION </CENTER>

NAME OF FIGURE: Tusken Raider "Tatooine Camp Ambush"
DIGITS: PN 6190300300
FIGURE NUMBER: #6 for '03
COLLECTION NUMBER: 2
ACCESSORIES: Gaffi Stick, Fire Pit Base



Take a look now at the detailed pictures of this wave and feel free to share your comments and opinions with us. We'd love to hear what you think. Enjoy!

<CENTER>Ishi Tib</CENTER
 

Ishi Tib

New Recruit
Obi-Wan "Acklay Battle" 1
 

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