Thursday, November 14, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,189: Axe Woves (Amazon Exclusive 3-Pack, Epic Hero Series)

AXE WOVES
Unite the Clans

Epic Hero Series Amazon Exclusive Figure 3-Pack
Item No.:
No. G0311
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Mandalorian Warrior, Paz Vizsla, 2 blasters, fire gauntlet, blade gauntlet
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: September 2024
Appearances: The Mandalorian
Bio: These Star Wars toys feature design and detail inspired by The Mandalorian live-action series on Disney+. (Taken from the Amazon description.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary:
I held off on buying the Unite the Clans set, not because I didn't like it, but because I don't pay for Prime. It's not a bad little set - for $19.99 you get figures with 1-2 accessories each, all of which are made from existing tooling. It's not amazing, and it missed some interesting repaint opportunities, but at least it's interesting. I don't think there's any kid demand for Axe Woves but maybe I'm wrong. He did some stuff on the show, and kids glom on to surprising things.

He has no jet pack, and his two blasters are the same as the one we got with Bo-Katan Kryze (but darker.) It's pretty much what you might expect other than the missing rocket pack. The first salvo of most figure lines are usually great, and the second salvo involves a degree of repaints or retools - and this would be part of that second salvo. While you do get an extra blaster, compromises on the body and a lack of jet pack puts him on the bottom of the list for this line so far.

The figure itself is pretty interesting - he's the only figure in the 3-pack that has new tooling. He's derived from the same digital sculpts that got us Boba Fett [FOTD #3,165], but with some changes. The helmet and arms seem unaltered. The and torso use the same poses, but are different. The front and back armor is a different sculpt, the boots are new tooling, and the thigh armor seems to match the character's first appearance - so it resembles that of Mando. For a cobbled-together figure, they did a pretty good job, but you're probably not going to be buying this guy for accuracy. The shoulder armor is dead wrong, the wrist gauntlets look pretty good, but the armor on the back of the actual hands is off-model. Since the figure is more or less painted correctly, I don't think the target audience for this line is going to care if the figure is a bit more on the thick side and the boots just don't seem quite right.

From the front the figure looks acceptable. From behind you'll notice the helmet forehead stripe does not continue along the back, and he has no armor on his back either - making him a soft target. Hasbro did a nice job delivering this figure - and indeed this set - on a budget, but I don't think this is going to be anybody's favorite. Repainting Bo-Katan as Koska Reeves might have turned out better, but this is what we got, and for the price it's a pretty good set. I also think it's pretty likely this set will go on sale or wind up at a closeout store - not because it's bad, but because similar Amazon exclusive multi-packs of Spin Master DC figures were all over DD's Discounts and Ross last year.

Axe Woves has a sturdy build and feels like an old Kenner figure - and like an old Kenner figure, isn't terribly accurate. This set seems to be meant to represent season three armors, and the non-repaint parts fall short of that. But I like a weird figure, and if you ever see this set on sale for $15 or under I'd strongly recommend it. If you're a completist, I think you can appreciate that what you get for the money is pretty good and if any kids get this, $20 is a pretty good price for a gift set with this much in the box in 2024. Heck, just Paz Vizsla (with a rocket launcher) was $12-$15 earlier this year, so $20 for Axe Woves and a couple of buddies is acceptable. Not great but certainly good enough.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Amazon.

--Adam Pawlus



Day 3,189: November 14, 2024

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