Figure of the Day: Day 358: Royal Guard

ROYAL GUARD Senate Security
Revenge of the Sith Collection 2
Item No.: Asst. 85714 No. 85295
Number: III-23
Includes: Blaster pistol, rifle, display base
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $5.24-$6.99
Availability: April 2005
Appearances: Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith

Bio: The Royal Guard is Coruscant's most elite security force. During his rise to power, Palpatine seized control of all senate security, consolidating the blue senate guard and his own crimson personal guard under his direct authority. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves. And yes, that's the original clear rubber band-- I figured since I had a bunch of them, may as well leave a few on.

Commentary: While it's technically a senate guard or a Coruscant guard, this Royal Guard was one of the most extreme examples of putting two figures under a single item number-- both this figure and the red Royal Guard shared the same packaging, product numbers, and so forth, making it much harder to track them at retail. I mean, how can you tell which one is the stronger seller when they both have the same item numbers? But anyway. The figure is excellent, and is as close to super-articulated as you can probably get without being super-articulated. The helmet is hard to move (by design), and the figure has ball-jointed knees and shoulders, with swivel elbows, wrists, and waist. So if you don't count the head, this figure has 9 meaningful points of articulation. Due to his design, he can easily sit down with his cloth cape, sitting in vehicles, engaging in action poses, and so forth. This figure works both as a great collectible in that it's an authentic recreation of the design, and as a toy, because it can, well, sit, stand, and hold his weapons-- something a lot of figures need to work a little harder at perfecting.

The figure's rifle looks great. His tiny pistol is the same as a Biker Scout's, and it can fit into his holster. Sadly, the figure has no pike or other ranged weapon-- but it's not so much sadly for this figure as it is for his red counterpart, which we'll review later. Overall, this is one of my favorite figures, in part because of the design but also because you saw them in action in the cartoons. You should absolutely own one or two of these, I bought several myself and don't regret it at all.

Collector's Notes: Every part of the figure, save for the head, was redecorated for a red version of the guard. Also, this figure's body was eventually reused for Kir Kanos and Carnor Jax, as well as the yet-to-be-released Shadow Guard. If you like the character, be sure to check out Volume 2 of Clone Wars-- these guards and a bunch of white Clone Troopers saw tons of action while fighting General Grievous, whereas you probably wouldn't notice them in the movie.

Day 358: April 29, 2007