Figure of the Day: Day 430: General Grievous

GENERAL GRIEVOUS Battle of Coruscant
The Saga Collection
Item No.: Asst. 85770 No. 87053
Number: 030
Includes: Blaster, cape, lightsaber, staff, stand
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: Spring 2006
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith

Bio: After kidnapping Chancellor Palpatine and barely escaping Mace Windu's Force-crushing power, General Grievous attempts to escape Coruscant aboard his flagship. Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi have other plans. After the Jedi crash-land aboard the ship and rescue Palpatine, Grievous' forces capture the trio. Once again, the Jedi fight their way out of this mess, but Grievous barely escapes and flees to the Utapau system. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: Repaints can be a little tired, but sometimes you get a real improvement like General Grievous. This very mold was already sold to fans three times, once as a "sneak preview" figure, which was repackaged with an exclusive cup as a Target exclusive, and was again put in a Battle Pack, all within a span of a few months. (And the battle pack is coming back to stores soon.) So why get this one? Well, a little paint goes a long way, and this figure meshes much more nicely with the Clone Wars toys as well as the Revenge of the Sith goodies. I prefer this Grievous over all others. Sure, he's a little short, but he looks mean and superb even in his packaging. Sure, you may have the mold, but this figure just looks so much more refined-- the only thing it's missing is a second lightsaber, so he can look like the picture on his packaging. The figure doesn't quite have the right posture nor the right height, but it is mean enough to look good in the right display-- like fighting your ARC Gunship, for example. With about 10 points of articulation, he's about as good as we can expect so far, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement.

Collector's Notes: At this point, this figure may be the best-- but added articulation, improved height, and a few tweaks to the mold could really benefit fans looking for the perfect Grievous. A cloth cape would be nice too, but for now, this is the best you can buy so go out and get it. It wasn't overly hard to get, and Hasbro did a wonderful job positioning it in a unique pose in the package, making it a figure that I'd advise you get an extra of just to keep carded. So with the right packaging and paint, it isn't too hard for Hasbro to make a compelling toy even more exciting. Plus he has more accessories than he can carry-- and that's always nice to have, too. You feel that you're getting your money's worth this way.

Day 430: July 10, 2007