Figure of the Day: Day 915: Naboo Royal Guard

NABOO ROYAL GUARD Trooper
Episode I Collection 2
Item No.: Asst. 84095 No. 84083
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, removable helmet, CommTech Chip
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: Spring 2000
Appearances: The Phantom Menace

Bio: Their freedom threatened by the invading Trade Federation army, the Naboo Royal Security were forced to go underground before readying their defense. With help from the Jedi, they emerged to take back their beloved capital city of Theed. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' desk drawer.

Commentary: Another one of Hasbro's finer Episode I figures, the Naboo Royal Guard featured a tremendously detailed sculpt and had a top-notch pose. Sadly, he didn't have as much articulation as he'd need to be to stay awesome, nor did Hasbro take advantage of the design to release head variants to make an "army." A shockingly good interpretation of the face on the packaging, this specially trained guard has everything he needs to defend the Queen or anyone else on Naboo. Which is to say, a steady hand and a gun. Both hands rotate forward to come together to better "aim" his firearm, and this is the only articulation you'll find in his upper limbs. Overall, he only has six points of articulation which was basically acceptable for his time, although other releases did find themselves with more moving parts. The attention to detail here is superb, as there's a lot of bunching and ribbing in his outfit to replicate. His helmet also received a lot of work, with some of the finest coloring Hasbro did on a piece of removable headgear.

By today's standards, it's still an excellent figure to look at, although it could use more moving parts and the jacket should be a slightly darker shade of red. I still find this to be a great figure, and I assume you will as well-- if you're still buying Naboo-based figure from the first prequel. Here's hoping for an upgrade some day, but if this is the only one we ever get, it's still quite good.

Collector's Notes: This figure was in somewhat short supply, but eventually saw rerelease in 2004 in a Toys "R" Us exclusive figure gift set-- which you should also get. This particular Naboo Guard also came packaged with the formerly obscenely rare bonus Pit Droids in Europe and Asia in 2000.

Day 915: December 16, 2008