AmanaMatt
10-27-2001, 07:58 PM
these reviews are based on having seen these figures loose, up-close and personal; here we go!
1) Maul with Sith Attack Droid: of the four deluxe figs, this is one that was tied in my book for last place (with the upcoming Leia) for the deluxe fig I anticipated the least. That being said, this is a great Maul and probably my favorite to date (no more Hasbro). Now, those that know my posting style know that I am not big on comic book or off-screen versions of figures. Also, I have not been big on Maul lately - there are just way to many different versions of the same character. So then what makes this Maul different for me? It's called a little style and pizzaz. :D This version of maul has a very interesting look... the execution of the paint detail is flawless. The details on the face are great and the extra attention to detail is there: case in point, this maul has ten points of articulation (more on that in a minute) and the arms can be turned in a couple of ways, and every time I could match the tattoos up so that their pattern remained and looked totally natural...that to me is a nice touch.
The only slight downside to this figure is it's posability. Despite the fact that this figure has ten points of articulation: neck, waist, legs, shoulders, elbows (which can detach and reattach - I guess you can make Maul's battles with the droid as gross as you wish!) and forearms. Despite this, Maul does have a bit of a limiting pose. His head, neck and torso are all leaning and this figure looks his best when looking over his right shoulder.Not a huge deal. As far as the plastics goes, Mauls's skirt and legs are made with a softer plastic, but nothing like the Boomer B. Droid, and his being able to stand was not a problem at all for me.
Small mention should go to the accessories: Maul's blade is standard with once exception: it can detach and reattach in the middle. Cool, but nothing shocking. The droid is fairly faithful looking to the comic book on which it was based (the comic book had it looking more with a black and grey deco than anything, though, so some crative license was taken with the color scheme), the arms are made of a soft plastic and can kind of turn where the arm connects into the droid itself. There's a horn thingee on the top of the droid that turns as well and has a well made stand with a button that when pushed, will knock the droid over off onto it's side.
overall, this Deluxe Maul gets an: 'A -' and worthy of being in the deluxe series if only due to its aswome paint job, otherwise this could have probably been a standard carded fig.
2) Luke Skywalker in Echo Base Bacta Tank: (WARNING - this review is glowing and has nothing negative to say. If such high praise showered onto something Hasbro has created is bothersome or downright troubling to you, turn back now! For those that have the stomach, proceed).
With all seriousness, this is the best darn deluxe figure ever made for the Star Wars line. This is the line few (including myself) dreamed could one day be possible. Gone are the troubling days when Bob Fett with Rocket booster thingee proliferated and seemed to multiply on shelves. Mmm, where to start with this review?
The luke figure, itself is perfect. With only five points of articulation, nothing more was needed other than the awsome sculpt Hasbro created for this set. This Luke, with bruises and all, is a stunning approximation to Mark Hamill, himself. The paint deco is top notch and the way that the fig fits into the tank is well done. I still cannnot believe, that after all these years, we finally have a Luke in diaper. At this point, the wait was well worth it. Had Hasbro brought out a version of this set a couple of years earlier, I doubt the quality would have been as high.
The Bacta Tank is awsome. The look is dead on. The feel of the plastics used is seemingly very high quality, and I'm very happy to report that the tank is, indeed, waterproof! :D Another nice touch is the little tube that one can blow on to create bubbles coming out of Luke's breathing apparatus...with the only slight problem being the tube's length - it is not long enough to truly see the bubble effect. The idea is for us to see the bubbles, but with the tube at it's current lenght, I could only see the effect with one eye - seriously, I wonder if a 'short hose or long hose' variation can be too far off. For me, it could have been and extra inch or two.
The biggest question for those with this set, including myself, might be: to add water or not. My concern would be what possible effect water itself will have, not to mention all the crap tap has in it, to the Luke figure itself, as well as the acrylic paint used in the deco. As far as the fig, there are two holes in Luke's back to adjust for the water factor; as far as the paint, well, I will be buying distilled or purified bottled water for mine, to minimixe as much as possible the possible damage water will cause to this fig over time. All of this said, the Bacta set looks great when filled with water; I didn't think it would be that big of a deal, but really, with water, it looks really cool and we get that slightly distored, rounded look when filled with water that cannot be achieved any other way. As for the tint in the tank itself, when filled with water, it is not overly red or annoyingly 'odd' looking.
As far as the control panel accessory, I am really, really happy Hasbro didn't pull it out of this set to cut a corner. It is very detailed and looks awsome with 2-1B standing right in front of it. After having just seen the final carded image of Fx- 7, this set will look so unbelievable once that wave hits.
At a suggested retail price of $10 - $11, the new Luke in Bacta is a truly crowing achievement and a helluva way to start up the new Deluxe series. 'A +++'
1) Maul with Sith Attack Droid: of the four deluxe figs, this is one that was tied in my book for last place (with the upcoming Leia) for the deluxe fig I anticipated the least. That being said, this is a great Maul and probably my favorite to date (no more Hasbro). Now, those that know my posting style know that I am not big on comic book or off-screen versions of figures. Also, I have not been big on Maul lately - there are just way to many different versions of the same character. So then what makes this Maul different for me? It's called a little style and pizzaz. :D This version of maul has a very interesting look... the execution of the paint detail is flawless. The details on the face are great and the extra attention to detail is there: case in point, this maul has ten points of articulation (more on that in a minute) and the arms can be turned in a couple of ways, and every time I could match the tattoos up so that their pattern remained and looked totally natural...that to me is a nice touch.
The only slight downside to this figure is it's posability. Despite the fact that this figure has ten points of articulation: neck, waist, legs, shoulders, elbows (which can detach and reattach - I guess you can make Maul's battles with the droid as gross as you wish!) and forearms. Despite this, Maul does have a bit of a limiting pose. His head, neck and torso are all leaning and this figure looks his best when looking over his right shoulder.Not a huge deal. As far as the plastics goes, Mauls's skirt and legs are made with a softer plastic, but nothing like the Boomer B. Droid, and his being able to stand was not a problem at all for me.
Small mention should go to the accessories: Maul's blade is standard with once exception: it can detach and reattach in the middle. Cool, but nothing shocking. The droid is fairly faithful looking to the comic book on which it was based (the comic book had it looking more with a black and grey deco than anything, though, so some crative license was taken with the color scheme), the arms are made of a soft plastic and can kind of turn where the arm connects into the droid itself. There's a horn thingee on the top of the droid that turns as well and has a well made stand with a button that when pushed, will knock the droid over off onto it's side.
overall, this Deluxe Maul gets an: 'A -' and worthy of being in the deluxe series if only due to its aswome paint job, otherwise this could have probably been a standard carded fig.
2) Luke Skywalker in Echo Base Bacta Tank: (WARNING - this review is glowing and has nothing negative to say. If such high praise showered onto something Hasbro has created is bothersome or downright troubling to you, turn back now! For those that have the stomach, proceed).
With all seriousness, this is the best darn deluxe figure ever made for the Star Wars line. This is the line few (including myself) dreamed could one day be possible. Gone are the troubling days when Bob Fett with Rocket booster thingee proliferated and seemed to multiply on shelves. Mmm, where to start with this review?
The luke figure, itself is perfect. With only five points of articulation, nothing more was needed other than the awsome sculpt Hasbro created for this set. This Luke, with bruises and all, is a stunning approximation to Mark Hamill, himself. The paint deco is top notch and the way that the fig fits into the tank is well done. I still cannnot believe, that after all these years, we finally have a Luke in diaper. At this point, the wait was well worth it. Had Hasbro brought out a version of this set a couple of years earlier, I doubt the quality would have been as high.
The Bacta Tank is awsome. The look is dead on. The feel of the plastics used is seemingly very high quality, and I'm very happy to report that the tank is, indeed, waterproof! :D Another nice touch is the little tube that one can blow on to create bubbles coming out of Luke's breathing apparatus...with the only slight problem being the tube's length - it is not long enough to truly see the bubble effect. The idea is for us to see the bubbles, but with the tube at it's current lenght, I could only see the effect with one eye - seriously, I wonder if a 'short hose or long hose' variation can be too far off. For me, it could have been and extra inch or two.
The biggest question for those with this set, including myself, might be: to add water or not. My concern would be what possible effect water itself will have, not to mention all the crap tap has in it, to the Luke figure itself, as well as the acrylic paint used in the deco. As far as the fig, there are two holes in Luke's back to adjust for the water factor; as far as the paint, well, I will be buying distilled or purified bottled water for mine, to minimixe as much as possible the possible damage water will cause to this fig over time. All of this said, the Bacta set looks great when filled with water; I didn't think it would be that big of a deal, but really, with water, it looks really cool and we get that slightly distored, rounded look when filled with water that cannot be achieved any other way. As for the tint in the tank itself, when filled with water, it is not overly red or annoyingly 'odd' looking.
As far as the control panel accessory, I am really, really happy Hasbro didn't pull it out of this set to cut a corner. It is very detailed and looks awsome with 2-1B standing right in front of it. After having just seen the final carded image of Fx- 7, this set will look so unbelievable once that wave hits.
At a suggested retail price of $10 - $11, the new Luke in Bacta is a truly crowing achievement and a helluva way to start up the new Deluxe series. 'A +++'