Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 1,500: Pre Vizsla

PRE VIZSLA Mandalorian Warlord
The Clone Wars Basic Figures with Galactic Battle Game
Item No.:
Asst. 94736 No. 97560
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #CW08
Includes: Cape, blasters, darksaber, jetpack, card, Galactic Battle Game die
Action Feature: Interchangeable Battle-Damage Parts
Retail: $6.99-$8.49
Availability: June 2010
Appearances: The Clone Wars

Bio: Pre Vizsla is governor of Concordia, the moon orbiting Mandalore. Vizsla appears to support peace and criticizes the Death Watch, a violent group of Mandalorians who want to return to their warrior past. But when Obi-Wan discovers the Vizsla is actually the leader of the Death Watch, the governor tries to silence the Jedi in a duel — darksaber to lightsaber. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: On a TV tray.

Commentary: Hasbro (and the animators of The Clone Wars) know how to get a lot of use out of a single model. The body of Pre Vizsla has been used to make multiple products, specifically Mandalorian Troopers packaged in three other products and counting! They've got good reason to reuse it, as they're all basically the same body and the sculpt is quite excellent. While some figures lost ankle joints in 2010, Hasbro added hip and wrist articulation so these figures could straddle a bike or better hold a gun with both hands. His holsters can store his blasters, and there's a head under the helmet too. Hasbro did a bang-up job on this one, plus it has a distinctive (and darker than necessary) paint job than the character on the cartoon. The detail is pretty good, and the figure is a little thinner than some other animated toys. It's nice. You should get it.

The accessories are pretty good too, and I was surprised to see how the black lightsaber turned out. Well, that's not true. On the show it's a super-black blade with a white aura around it, and the toy is basically a dark chunk of sunglasses lens with a handle. Nice touch. If you're looking for a decent figure with a lot of nice gear that plays well, this is it. Seriously, you should get one. Now.

Collector's Notes: This figure seemed to ship a lot but remained fairly tough to get-- that's the power of a popular figure in a line with kid appeal. It commands a slight premium over retail on eBay, so if you see it for seven or eight bucks just buy it.

--Adam Pawlus


Day 1,500: March 15, 2011

2 comments:

Philip Ayres said...

Every time I see this figure's name I wonder if there's a Post Vizsla out there somewhere

Bravo said...

Kid appeal, probably. There's also this Mandalorian (well, Fett style armor) thing that attracts fans and scalpers. Those once peg warming Tobbi Dala and Fenn Shysa comic packs even sell on ebay, or at least the individual figures do.