...with Rodian Blaster Rifle [no exclamation point on this one]
Coming
in the second POTF2 wave was Greedo, the man who used to shoot first.
He seems a little muscular in the chest, but Kenner did a much better
job on his color scheme this time around, a better matching head, and
more Rodian-like hands. He also comes with two guns - mainly to match
(the gun he was in the movie with) and to more appeal to boys (another
big freakin' gun!).
By the second wave Kenner probably
realized the bio cards on the back were going to be hard to keep up
with every figure, so we now have the basics, a larger photo, and no
lengthy paragraph.
Five reasons you should buy this figure:
1. The best Star Wars figure to accent your St. Patrick's Day.
2.
A little lighter fluid, a match, some proper supervision, and you can
make your own version of Greedo to match his post-duel carcass.
3. Those dead glassy eyes! Couldn't you just lose yourself in them?
4. A spool of thread for a table, and you can recreate your favorite Greedo cantina scenes.
5.
If you really want to collect all the bounty hunters, you need him
(although he has been disavowed by all the reputable ones).
Backstory:
Apparently Greedo has been causing trouble since the Clone Wars, since he appeared in the series, and faced his end in Episode IV. If you want his full story (and who doesn't?), read his full Wookieepedia entry here.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Greedo [1995, POTF2]
Posted by Ben at 5:06 AM 2 comments
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
EV-9D9 [POTF2]
...with DATAPAD.
I
used to be excited about the vintage version of this figure, but this
one has left me a bit listless. While it may be an improvement over
the old figure with coloring and detail, and it includes a datapad this
time around, where's the lever? I want my lever! In the old figure
there was a lever in the back of the head to move her mouth up and down
(yes, check the literature, EV is a "she"). See my post on the vintage figure here.
I miss that lever, and no amount of datapads is going to make up for
it. Argh. Who makes a droid with such a big moving mouth? Who?
Who!?
Five reasons to get this figure:
1. Nostalgia for the moving mouth. Sigh.
2. Datapad! Can't tell your droids from your bounty hunters with out a datapad!
3. That third eye. Oh yes, look closely, it's there, beckoning you to look - but you must not!
4. Fans of scarabs, this is as close as you're going to get with a SW figure.
5. Closely matches the hue of the Colonial flight suits on the rebooted Battlestar Galactica. Another sigh.
Backstory:
After finding out that Lando had infiltrated the palace, EV-9D9 thought that he and his droids (R2 an C-3PO) were there for her, although they were there for Han. Before she could implement any recourse, she was tracked down by one of the tortured droids from Bespin, which let loose her own creations on her.
Want more? The Wookieepedia article
Posted by Ben at 3:33 AM 0 comments
Monday, September 2, 2013
Emperor's Royal Guard [POTF2]
...with FORCE PIKE.
"Ah, sir?"
"Yes, what is it guard?"
"You are the Emperor, and I want to do my best to protect you, but..."
"Yes, guard, spit it out!"
"Well, couldn't we have guns?"
"Absolutely not, royal guard! Guns are reserved for Death Star Gunners, who get a blaster and an assault rifle!"
"Why would they need any guns - they are manning cannons..."
"Do not question your Emperor!"
So, despite the fact that the highest guards for the Emperor have pikes and no guns (this is explained a bit in the Crimson Empire
series from Dark Horse comics), the Guard looks kind of cool. All
red, contrasting with the pervasive black in muck of the Imperial
forces, and a kind of cloak of secrecy.
Five reasons to get this figure:
1. Peel back the layers to see what's underneath...OH MY GO-
2. Where else are you going to find a force pike?
3. Red is all the rage this season, according to my sources.
4. Cool Cylon-like helmet.
5. His right hand points! It points! You know what this means? Me either.
Backstory:
They
were first formed as the Red Guard for the Republic Senate after
Palpatine claimed rumors of corruption in the Senate. They later
became the Emperor’s personal guard. They were handpicked from among
the best stormtroopers, and underwent rigorous and grueling
training. To keep in fighting form, some were always rotated out on
combat missions, so some survived the destruction of the second
Death Star. These remaining Guards were chronicled in the graphic
novel series Crimson Empire, where they fought for supremacy. They
also came back together to protect the clone Emperor in Dark Empire,
but one of their own had sabotaged the Emperor’s clones so he would
not live long.
Want more? Full article at Wookieepedia. Article just on force pikes.
Posted by Ben at 2:04 AM 0 comments
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Death Star Gunner [POTF2, 1995]
...with IMPERIAL BLASTER AND ASSAULT RIFLE.
Sheesh,
all of these military types not only get the Imperial blaster, but a
mother-puss-bucket assault rifle. Not A rifle, but an assault rifle.
So
anyway, second line of the POTF2 figures comes out, and Kenner chooses
to make a figure that looks best in a gunner chair on the Death Star,
but doesn't make the gunner chair. Oh, well, still looks kind of cool.
Five reasons to get this figure:
1. Another Imperial dressed in black - collect them all!
2. Another Imperial for the Death Star II Emperor line-up - collect them all!
3. Another Imperial with a blaster and an assault rifle - collect, ah forget about it.
4. Cool helmet - especially for the Tour de France.
5.
Re-enact his big scene: "Oh I hope they come to my hemisphere of the
Death Star! Damnit - why are they going for the trench?"
Backstory:
As
cool as the figure looks, in reality, Imperial Gunners are often
the lesser-scoring recruits in the Imperial forces. The visor helmet
provides little peripheral vision and makes them run into things.
Their main function is to guard against the blinding light of the
Death Star main gun. Although why you would design something like
that where the guys sit that close to the laser is beyond me. It's a
cruel joke, man.
Want more? Wookieepedia article on Gunners
Posted by Ben at 2:40 AM 0 comments