Thursday, November 3, 2011

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 1,667: Clone Commando Boss

REPUBLIC COMMANDO BOSS Republic Commando Delta Squad
The Legacy Collection Toys R Us Exclusive
Item No.:
Asst. 33259 No. 33260
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, backpack
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $39.99-$49.99
Availability: July 2011
Appearances: Star Wars: Republic Commando video game

Bio: Boss leads the elite commando squad and has proven himself to be an exceptional soldier and natural leader. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's kitchen in the backdrop from the packaging. It's a nice backdrop.

Commentary: You can't go wrong doing video game characters as a rule-- especially if the design of a figure, like Boss here, outweighs the "but I haven't played the game!" factor. I don't care if you missed this one on the Xbox, it's still a nice design that fits right in to your movie-esque Clone Wars toy shelves. While not the greatest clone of 2011-- there are far too many awesome figures in the running for that position this year-- it's quite good, and like Scorch before him, another instance of several figures using the bulk of the same body. This time around, the almost super-articulated figure sports 14 points of articulation, just like fans asked for a few years ago. I say "almost" because the shoulder armor was designed with aesthetics over functionality-- some fans will appreciate the detail in the armor, the extra panel lines, the special decoration. Others may enjoy that the "rings" in some figure shoulders aren't visible, and you still can raise and lower the arms. And others are just going to be upset he can't do jumping jacks. There's no pleasing everybody, but since he does have the ability to hold his gun with both hands I'm pretty happy overall.

Decorated with bright orange and some brown scuffs (which honestly don't feel right), the figure's blue visor looks out onto a world of fun. Or something. It's just a nice blue visor, with a black mouth, and a ton of orange on the chest, arms, and even the backpack. It's a great-looking figure and presumably now that Boss has knees and ankles, we won't see another version. Unless Hasbro decides to do a Clone Wars cartoon version, which may sound redundant but let's face it: it'd sell.

Collector's Notes: At the time I wrote this (early September) I haven't actually seen this set in the wild-- I ordered mine online the morning before I left for Comic-Con 2011, as is the way of my people. (It was cheaper.) Since all evidence says it has hit stores, that means it keeps selling out, which means it's popular and you'd be well-served to get it the next time you see one.

--Adam Pawlus


Day 1,667: November 3, 2011

2 comments:

Chris Wermeskerch said...

Don't forget that there is a cartoon version coming in Wave 1 2012. (Unless, of course, you wrote this ahead of time. :D)

Anonymous said...

My TRU has plenty! But I'm passing on it because of the mentioned "dirt"--it just doesnt look natural at all! It stands out too much and doesnt look like its part of the design.