Figure of the Day: Day 1,060: Concept General Grievous

GENERAL GRIEVOUS Character Concept
30th Anniversary Collection ShopStarWars.com Exclusive
Item No.: No. 87418
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Shield, some blaster thing, chest armor, coin
Action Feature: Opening gut panel
Retail: $16.99 $12.99
Availability: Summer 2007
Appearances: n/a

Bio: In concept artist Warren Fu's artwork of General Grievous, the droid commander has a more humanoid-looking form than the more robotic one that becomes his ultimate design. His cold, calculating efficiency is still clearly captured in the smooth metal casing and skull-like head. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Commentary: It's sometimes really amazing to see where Hasbro decides to put its efforts. This 2007 General Grievous concept figure is Hasbro's best. And yes, I have all of them. Most Grievous figures are too short, colored incorrectly, have ill conceived action features, and are made of weak rubbery plastic which bends, causing figures to topple over. This figure doesn't have any of those problems, it's only flaw is that it's a concept figure, and not the movie one.

Everything a Grievous figure should do, short of the arm-splitting, can be found here. He's loaded with 14 points of articulation. He's made of sturdy plastic. And he can hold a pose, stand up, and look cool. Sure, it'd be nice if they had a lightsaber with him, but it's not like you don't have one you can borrow from another toy by this point. This is also the first (and at press time, only) released Grievous with a cloth cape. He's also huge. The white coloring is quite striking, and the fact that you can pop off his gut panel and see the goo inside is quite a nice feature. Oh, and it's functional-- when I started writing this article, I completely forgot that the feature was present. THAT, my friends, is how you integrate an action feature.

The accessories are neat, but kind of clunky. I'm glad the figure can hold them with minimal difficulty, but Grievous just looks so good that I'd rather see him without the extraneous stuff in the way. If you only buy one older figure online this year, make it this one. If you don't, much like Qui-Gon Jinn, I will find you and I will kill you.

Collector's Notes: This figure serves as an example of why you don't make the best stuff as exclusives. This is one of Hasbro's recent best figures, and it's still in stock at the original retailer two years later. This is not a sign of success, it's a shame it wasn't a basic carded figure for seven or eight bucks. If you're buying this year's concept Anakin figure which just hit, you freaking owe it to yourself to get Concept Grievous.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,060: July 7, 2009

July 15, 2011 Update: Star Wars Shop is going out of business next Monday and this item is still in stock, two years after I wrote this article, and four years after it was originally released. It's $10.99 now.