OWEN LARS Prequel EditionThe Legacy Collection Basic Figures
Item No.: Asst. 87535 No. 87990
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #BD46
Includes: Coat, rifle, build-a-droid piece
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $7.99
Availability: June 2009
Appearances: Attack of the Clones
Image: Adam Pawlus' TV tray.
Bio: Owen isn't surprised when his stepbrother Anakin Skywalker arrives at the Lars moisture farm on Tatooine in search of his mother. He wishes, however, that the Lars family had better news to deliver about Shmi to her Jedi son. (Taken from the figure's package.)
Commentary: Proof that fans are now asking for things they don't have rather than things they really want, we now have a prequel version of Owen Lars. That's right, Hasbro spent time, money, and resources to make a super-articulated version of a character that basically did nothing in movies a lot of fans claim to not like. But that's neither here nor there, how'd it turn out?
OK. Starting with the head, the sculpt is decent, however as I've often pointed out, paint is everything. His beard is just a little too thick, but the real hair to worry about are the frosted tips given to him by Hasbro. They're not so much frosted as green. You can pretty much write a figure off when that happens. The actual costume is pretty good, the super-articulated body looks as if Hasbro could probably reuse it for any of a number of Tatooine natives. The belt is nicely detailed, with holes, pouches, and other odds and ends. As belts go, this is one of the best Hasbro's sculptors ever put out, but unfortunately it's painted all one color so the detail sort of fades away into the plastic. On the bright side, that means that this figure is better than he looks.
His pants and shirt are also well done, but lacking in detail. Since the figure is packaged in a giant bath robe, odds are you won't be seeing the plastic garments quite as much. The robe fits, and the texture of the cloth is actually pretty slick, but the problem is that it's far too bulky. It looks like it's too big, and it gets in the way. It does have a decent amount of deco on it, though, which makes up for the squeaky-clean, just-bought-from-Sears quality of the rest of his garments. In short, Hasbro crafted a figure far better than the character deserved. I'm not one to advocate less articulation most of the time, but it seems Hasbro could have saved a few nickels here and put that into developing another figure that could benefit from additional joints. Owen doesn't have much to do other than stand around or stay in his package, so outside of pleasing customizers and the truly picky, it seems that this is a rare case of exceeding the mandate for a figure's quality.
...if you can get past the green hair tips, and I can't.
Collector's Notes: At press time, this figure is somewhat difficult to get as retail stores aren't getting a lot of new shipments of Legacy figures. As such, it may prove temporarily hard to find, or you'll need to order it online.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 1,122: October 1, 2009
4 comments:
"Proof that fans are now asking for things they don't have rather than things they really want, we now have a prequel version of Owen Lars."
This fan really wanted a prequel Owen. It's been seven friggin' years since AOTC, and it's about time! Besides, he's a helluva lot better than the repackaged "elder Owen" in that Disturbance at Lars Homestead, which is still stinking up the clearance shelves at TRU.
"In short, Hasbro crafted a figure far better than the character deserved."
Adam, you're an annoying action figure snob. We get a brand-new figure and all you do is complain.
"I'm not one to advocate less articulation most of the time, but it seems Hasbro could have saved a few nickels here and put that into developing another figure that could benefit from additional joints."
Or, you can look at this positively, Adam. Hasbro never has to make this figure again because they did it right the first time ... and we don't have to read about you whining over a couple of well-spent nickels.
"This is a rare case of exceeding the mandate for a figure's quality."
Whose "mandate," Adam? Yours? That plus a bunch of Republic credits would still get you thrown out of a high-class Tatooine junkyard.
"At press time, this figure is somewhat difficult to get."
Oh, yeah? Come on up to Connecticut. We're swimming in them.
Calm down, it's only a toy! ;-)
To me this figure is a perfect representation of the tail wagging the dog. He's very well done, and yes, they will never need to revisit him; but I think in this case (and others to come), catering to fan wish lists doesn't always breed terribly desirable figures (Willrow Hood, cough cough). I don't envy the impossible job Hasbro has trying to please the adult collector base; increasingly we seem to ask for things that only a few of us will buy. Was this figure necessary? Your mileage will vary on that one; at least he was done well. I think we as a group should be careful how far down the well of obscurity we ask Hasbro to dig, however.
I agree with Edzo, might as well do the figure right since it'll never be done again.
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