Thursday, January 27, 2011

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 1,467: Sigel Dare

SIGEL DARE & Darth Krayt
The Legacy Collection Comic Packs
Item No.:
Asst. 87504 No. 87972
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #08
Includes: Lightsaber, cloth cape, Darth Krayt figure
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $13.99
Availability: September 2009
Appearances: Star Wars: Legacy comic books

Bio: Darth Krayt is not pleased; Admiral Stazi of the Galactic Alliance Remnant has stolen the Sith Lord's powerful new warship Imperious. Unknown to Stazi, Imperial Knights Sigel Dare and Treis Sinde have sabotaged the ship, hoping to ruin Krayt's plans. Now Dare must warn Stazi before the bombs planted on the ship explode! (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' former back yard.

Commentary: If you have a Sigel Dare in your collection, it's probably because you bought Darth Krayt and she just happened to be in the package. The third Imperial Knight action figure, the character isn't particularly memorable especially compared to Azlyn "Who Here Watched Irresponsible Captain Tylor?" Rae. After getting two Imperial Knights to help kick off the Legacy comic figures, it sort of sucks that another slot was taken up by a third one with non-matching red painted armor and mostly newly sculpted parts. Were she a head swap, I could understand her being made, but with so many recognizable (or at least modestly interesting) Sith and Jedi and smugglers in the series, seeing her paired with the hugely popular Darth Krayt was something of a drag. Sure, Krayt could carry the set, but seeing as the comic pack line seems to have limped to its end, well, sheesh.

The overall figure is, on her own, pretty great. The head sculpt isn't bad, and the deco (while not perfect) does a good job of emphasizing and exaggerating detail so that it looks decent on the toy shelf. A little eyeliner never hurts. Her metallic red armor looks exquisite, and if this sort of deco were applied to more Transformers toys Hasbro could probably get away with jacking them up a few more bucks. Very well done. She is indeed super-articulated with the full 14 joints and as many ball joints as you can reasonably expect from your average action figure. The cloth cape, a nice touch, sits well behind the figure and the entire ensemble is rounded out by a clear lightsaber. In short, the figure's main problem is that she exists and another character does not, and admittedly that's a pretty stupid thing for me to complain about. If you like the design, you really should make sure you get her-- and if not? Well, too bad, you have to get her if you want Darth Krayt.

Collector's Notes: Since this two-pack appeared near the end of the line for comic packs and has one of the most important villains in the comic series, it's going to cost you. While it did ship through early 2010, it's gone now, and it's $20 or more on eBay. As such, start saving or prepare to go without. This figure (and her companion) have little chance of a reissue given Hasbro's decreasing interest in the Expanded Universe in the immediate future.

--Adam Pawlus


Day 1,467: January 27, 2011

6 comments:

Mario! said...

I haven't read the Legacy comics aside from those in comic packs, and I got the set with the two Imperial Knights mainly because they looked cool, and it was on a good sale. So I got this set solely for Sigel Dare. I was pretty "eh, whatever" on Darth Krayt, although he is a decent figure. I guess I'm the exception that proves the rule.

Unknown said...

Love the Sigel Dare figure also,
Darth Krayt was so-so. You are not alone in your opinion.

blisstasticman said...

Ditto.
While I liked Legacy a lot, I snagged all 3 Imp Knights on the cheap to add to clone wars dioramas with armored Obi-wan and Sansee Tinn. I'll do my own 're-envisioning' because, honestly, the Clone Wars were much cooler in my 10 year old brain back in '77.
Maybe Krayt can fight with the baddies alongside grievous, Durge and the freaky half cyborg Maul I had to buy to get a halfway decent Uncle Owen.

Ben Carthage said...

Have to (mostly) agree with the other comments. This is one of my favorite figures, remarkably well done (and I've never read the comic so I've no idea who she is), and it's nice to see a woman who isn't Padme or Leia in the line. Excellent design, great looking -- this figure was so nice I picked up a second one. Terrific effort, glad she was made.

Jerry Cann said...

This is a really impressive 4" scale headsculpt and deco. If only the Leia figures could look this nice.

Boba Fettuccini said...

I picked up the first Imperial Knight set and was really disappointed with the absolutely CRAP capes. I got Sigel Dare on eBay since she is awesome, and Krayt is a bit of an embarrassment to the Star Wars franchise, as it most of the Legacy-era material. The armor on all the Knights is great, and after removing the capes, they look even better. This is a really underrated figure.