Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Figure of the Day: Day 981: Rav Bralor

RAV BRALOR Elite Forces of the Republic
30th Anniversary Collection Entertainment Earth Exclusive Mandalorians & Omega Squad Set
Item No.:
Asst. 87467 No. 87455
Number: n/a
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Includes: Cape, blasters, helmet, 6 more figures
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $39.99
Availability: November 2007
Appearances: Republic Commando (novels)

Bio: Rav is a sharpened battle instrument, attacking with surgical precision and stunning efficiency. Jango handpicks her to assist in the training of the clone commandos, where she hammers their independent natures into razor-edged power. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Commentary: Hasbro's tooling for Rav Bralor was shared with Isabet Reau, meaning we got two female warriors with less work being done on Hasbro's part. (I'm all for this.) This red-armored figure was inspired by the strong back story of the Mandalorians, which has taken numerous forms from novels to whispers in comic books to art in magazines. It's also entirely possible this figure's face is based on a Hasbro employee, but who, I honestly don't know. The two figures share essentially the same body, but sport unique head sculpts, distinctive paint, and of course completely different accessories.

While her helmet is a smidgen too big, the figure still looks pretty cool. Her red and black armor stands out from the pack of Boba Fett figures we've all bought over the years, and the cape is a nice change of pace over the traditional jet pack. With 14 points of articulation, this figure gives us way more than we're used to when it comes to exclusive sculpts. (For the record, these are usually about 6 joints.) While some fans have expressed a dislike for her lack of scars, I think it's OK. She does wear a helmet, after all, and her grey streak in her hair gives her a flair of distinction or serves as a reminder of great warriors who have since left us, such as E!'s John Henson. Despite having little to no real influence on the fiction at large, I like this figure and enjoy Hasbro's decision to start encouraging a few more figures with a little less history associated with them. I'd make some crack about her being better than another clone repaint, but she came with four of them, all black repaints at that. So we'll just move on and say I enjoy this figure a great deal, Mandalorian fans voted with their dollars, blah blah blah. Get one.

Collector's Notes: This was an Entertainment Earth exclusive and did indeed sell out. As such, eBay may be your best bet.

--Adam Pawlus


Day 981: March 18, 2009

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