2013 Darth Vader Lava Line Look Toys R Us Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. A5077 No. A5161
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber, 3 additional figures
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $39.99
Availability: October 2013
Appearances: Attack of the Clones
Bio: The Jedi launch a rescue mission to Geonosis that ends in a battle between the Jedi and Separatist forces. The Jedi fly to the planet to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Padme Amidala from the Separatists. Battle Droids and Geonosian Warriors fight the Jedi in what becomes the first battle of the Clone Wars. (Taken from the figure's box.)
Image: Adam's photo lab.
Commentary: Speaking of Jedi, here's one I didn't even know the name of until the figure came out. Sephjet Josall is part of an amazing initiative by Hasbro to reuse old tooling to give us new figures, which as a toy industry person I find incredibly clever. As a collector, I'm sooooo sick of the Battle of Geonosis, Human Jedi, and overpriced gift sets. This is a nice but ultimately optional purchase.
Sephjet, aside from having a terrible name, reuses some elements of the Evolutions Luke Skywalker body. The torso, arms, and legs are carried forward with an all-new lower robe piece (as far as I can tell) plus an all-new bald human head. Courtesy of his obscurity, the figure looks great - if you compare it to stills from the movie, his eyebrows could be darker, and he needs traces of a shaved head, rather than a bald head. The sculpt is still good, with 14 points of articulation and shows that Hasbro is getting better and better at wisely reusing its vast Jedi tooling library while understanding how adding one tiny new piece of costuming - that lower robe piece - makes a world of difference in changing this from Luke's body to Sephjet's body. I have zero attachment to the character (played by film editor Joseph Jett Sally, hence the name) but I'm tickled by the good work Hasbro did and I'm always delighted when we get a new figure based on someone who actually works behind-the-scenes on the movies. It's expensive, but you've paid more for less - get it if you can, especially on a sale.
Collector's Notes: I got this at Toys R Us in Scottsdale, AZ in mid-October. I saw it at a few stores before buying, because many were opened, or the tape was cut by a knife, or otherwise looked compromised. At $39.99 I do not anticipate you will have problems finding it unless Hasbro cut the run significantly from previous exclusives. Also, I don't know why it didn't appear in Black Series packaging - that black-and-orange would probably look beautiful with a photo backdrop in a window boxed set of figures.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 2,047: October 31, 2013
1 comment:
It's to accompany the TRU exclusive Republic Gunship
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