jedi master sal
06-28-2005, 02:51 PM
When I first saw the picture of Commander Bacara, I thought, "Wow, now we really have something here!" I thought he would have a much bigger role in the movie and was disapointted when he didn't. Not as much as I was disappointed to actually get this figure...
I should say that if this figure would have come out during the Phantom Menace, he would have been touted as one of the best ever. But that didn't happen.
Here are my subjective and objective reviews for the figure:
Head Sculpt: The sculpt is great. I would have preferred a detachable helmet shell and cheek guard, but otherwise it is on the mark. Rates 4.5 out of 5 Holocrons
Articulation: This is where this figure comes up a stinker. When we've already got various clones out there with much BETTER articulation (#6 and #41 for example), why should this figure suffer from a 90 degree left arm and NO waist articulation? Also, he does NOT bend at the knees. Hasbro has proven that they can do an action feature and still have bendable knees, ALA #6. And that they can do articulated waist ALA #41. Why not combine the best of both worlds and give this guy that articulation and do away with the action feature, which no doubt cost more to create and produce than knee and waist articulation. With the left arm in a perpetual angled pose, we don't have the luxury of posing him how we want. Rather Hasbro took away our creative thought process and says "He must be posed this way." While I applaud Hasbro efforts at giving up ball jointed heads (the only way to go, IMO), they failed miserably everywhere else. Rating 2 out of 5 Holocrons
Paint Application: Well, other than the head and the shoulder armor there realy isn't any other paint apps. The skirt is a nice rich red. The Head is again very good for it's paint apps. The shoulder is adequate. Rating 4 out of 5 Holocrons
Over all sculpt: If you are just looking at the sculpt and not taking into consideration the articulation then it's great. Only thing I would complain about is the shoulder armor. Why have the crimson band going across it if they weren't going to sculpt it? Other wise it's great. Rating 4.5 out of 5 Holocrons
Accessories: Removable Shoulder armor, skirt, rifle and pistol. He looks thin without the skirt and it's a little difficult to remove and put back in. I don't recommend doing that unless you're customizing. Rating 3 out of 4 Holocrons
Customization possibilities: One reason why I wanted this figure after seeing the movie, plus seeing the non accurate Target clones, was to customize. I wanted to take the shoulder armor and give it to a target clone to get that much closer to movie accuracy. While the shoulder armor does come off, it simply doesn't fit on any other clone. I tried Target clone, #6, and #41. It seems that Bacara suffers from being to thin. To add insult to injury, is you want to remove the skirt, which is possible (and can be put back on) it leaves you with a beltless clone that looks VERY odd. To boot, there's a hole showing where the belt peg is inserted into. This makes it look worse. I tried to fit the skirt around other clones and again the same problem. Either Bacara isn't eating enough or the other clones are working out more, because it just won't fit around their waists. And here's the worst kicker of all, if you want to swap heads with Bacara and another clone, FORGET IT. The ball joint space at the base of his head is bigger than the others causing a very loose connection. It's better on the #41, than the #6, but not by much. Rating 3.5 out of 5 Holocrons (possibilities, but work is required)
So customizers beware that you will need to get a little inventive if you want to make that SA Bacara.
1) You'll need to add either a filler to the ball joint head space to fit on another clone or build up the ball joint on the SA clone.
2) The shoulder strap will need to be stretched. Either by literally stretching it, or adding/attaching a piece to the straps to make them fit the other clone bodies
3) widening the skirt/belt. This is fairly easy as you don't need to have a second belt for the other clones. So, simply cut away the belt part of the skirt then you can (carefully) glue it to the underside of the belt on the SA clone you are customizing.Beware that the skirt is a semi-rigic lastic and will not easily bend to conform to your possible desired articulated poses.
Playability: Because this clone variant lacks certain articulation, you won't be as please by it as you may have been with previous variations. However the sculpt helps make up for it and he does for the most part at least attain the pose he's known for in the movie. The action feature will get old with some collectors, but kids may get more use out of it. Rating 3.5 out of 5 Holocrons
Overall Score: While not the best ROTS clone Hasbro has offered thusfar, it's still a decent figure (if somewhat obscure charactrer). It's always good to have more clones and now we have a named commander for them. Here's hoping for Bly, Gree and last but NOT least CODY! Rating 3.5 out of 5 Holocrons
Respectfully submitted-
-Sal
I should say that if this figure would have come out during the Phantom Menace, he would have been touted as one of the best ever. But that didn't happen.
Here are my subjective and objective reviews for the figure:
Head Sculpt: The sculpt is great. I would have preferred a detachable helmet shell and cheek guard, but otherwise it is on the mark. Rates 4.5 out of 5 Holocrons
Articulation: This is where this figure comes up a stinker. When we've already got various clones out there with much BETTER articulation (#6 and #41 for example), why should this figure suffer from a 90 degree left arm and NO waist articulation? Also, he does NOT bend at the knees. Hasbro has proven that they can do an action feature and still have bendable knees, ALA #6. And that they can do articulated waist ALA #41. Why not combine the best of both worlds and give this guy that articulation and do away with the action feature, which no doubt cost more to create and produce than knee and waist articulation. With the left arm in a perpetual angled pose, we don't have the luxury of posing him how we want. Rather Hasbro took away our creative thought process and says "He must be posed this way." While I applaud Hasbro efforts at giving up ball jointed heads (the only way to go, IMO), they failed miserably everywhere else. Rating 2 out of 5 Holocrons
Paint Application: Well, other than the head and the shoulder armor there realy isn't any other paint apps. The skirt is a nice rich red. The Head is again very good for it's paint apps. The shoulder is adequate. Rating 4 out of 5 Holocrons
Over all sculpt: If you are just looking at the sculpt and not taking into consideration the articulation then it's great. Only thing I would complain about is the shoulder armor. Why have the crimson band going across it if they weren't going to sculpt it? Other wise it's great. Rating 4.5 out of 5 Holocrons
Accessories: Removable Shoulder armor, skirt, rifle and pistol. He looks thin without the skirt and it's a little difficult to remove and put back in. I don't recommend doing that unless you're customizing. Rating 3 out of 4 Holocrons
Customization possibilities: One reason why I wanted this figure after seeing the movie, plus seeing the non accurate Target clones, was to customize. I wanted to take the shoulder armor and give it to a target clone to get that much closer to movie accuracy. While the shoulder armor does come off, it simply doesn't fit on any other clone. I tried Target clone, #6, and #41. It seems that Bacara suffers from being to thin. To add insult to injury, is you want to remove the skirt, which is possible (and can be put back on) it leaves you with a beltless clone that looks VERY odd. To boot, there's a hole showing where the belt peg is inserted into. This makes it look worse. I tried to fit the skirt around other clones and again the same problem. Either Bacara isn't eating enough or the other clones are working out more, because it just won't fit around their waists. And here's the worst kicker of all, if you want to swap heads with Bacara and another clone, FORGET IT. The ball joint space at the base of his head is bigger than the others causing a very loose connection. It's better on the #41, than the #6, but not by much. Rating 3.5 out of 5 Holocrons (possibilities, but work is required)
So customizers beware that you will need to get a little inventive if you want to make that SA Bacara.
1) You'll need to add either a filler to the ball joint head space to fit on another clone or build up the ball joint on the SA clone.
2) The shoulder strap will need to be stretched. Either by literally stretching it, or adding/attaching a piece to the straps to make them fit the other clone bodies
3) widening the skirt/belt. This is fairly easy as you don't need to have a second belt for the other clones. So, simply cut away the belt part of the skirt then you can (carefully) glue it to the underside of the belt on the SA clone you are customizing.Beware that the skirt is a semi-rigic lastic and will not easily bend to conform to your possible desired articulated poses.
Playability: Because this clone variant lacks certain articulation, you won't be as please by it as you may have been with previous variations. However the sculpt helps make up for it and he does for the most part at least attain the pose he's known for in the movie. The action feature will get old with some collectors, but kids may get more use out of it. Rating 3.5 out of 5 Holocrons
Overall Score: While not the best ROTS clone Hasbro has offered thusfar, it's still a decent figure (if somewhat obscure charactrer). It's always good to have more clones and now we have a named commander for them. Here's hoping for Bly, Gree and last but NOT least CODY! Rating 3.5 out of 5 Holocrons
Respectfully submitted-
-Sal