Monday, November 14, 2011

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 1,674: Mandalorian Warrior

MANDALORIAN WARRIOR & Mandalorian speeder
The Clone Wars Figures and Vehicles
Item No.:
Asst. 91787 No. 25578
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blasters, stand, jetpack, bike
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $17.99
Availability: June-ish 2010
Appearances: The Clone Wars

Bio: Mandalorian commandos in the Death Watch splinter group ride security speeders for quick-strike attacks. Like all Mandalorians, they are highly skilled warriors who have perfected the art of battle. Their repulsorlift speeders are customized with binders to capture enemies during raids. The design of their helmets pays homage to battle helmets worn by Mandalorian warriors in the past. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's old kitchen.

Commentary: The Mandalorian Warrior mold is one of Hasbro's finest. Ever. To date, there have been about 7 figures based on this body type, with two flavors of armor. This is the darker one, with nearly black armor while others are a lighter grey color. This is the only trooper with the dark armor-- Pre Vizsla is colored similarly.

The figure includes a bike, which, I have to say, was the most dull of the small vehicles in 2010. It's tiny and doesn't do much, but at least it has this great figure with 14 points of articulation. Hasbro wisely gave him ball-jointed hips, so all troopers so far share this trait. It's a rare instance of Hasbro doing a perfect job the first time which, I assume, is saving them money over the long haul as collectors will probably be happy to buy this figure with its working holsters for years to come.

Collector's Notes: At press time, there are 7 Mandalorians from the cartoons and 2 vehicles with 7 seats between them. It's one of very few times where the figures and the vehicles match up 1:1, so if you collect them all you probably have enough figures to fill some ships.

Despite 7 figures being based on this sculpt, all of them are actually somewhat tough to get. Hasbro also hasn't exploited the design yet-- if they made up new designs for the armor similar to Clone Troopers, they could probably sell a ton more figures. I mean, I'd buy them...

--Adam Pawlus


Day 1,674: November 14, 2011

3 comments:

John Wood said...

BTW Adam, I have been seeing this set at TJ Maxx recently, for I believe $9.99 (maybe $8.99); they seem to be plentiful enough. If the Mando (and ARC Troopers) BPs emerge as well this year... there's gonna be some happy collectors and kids.

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Chris Wermeskerch said...

Please don't give Hasbro ideas! Let's enjoy only have two colors and let Clone fatigue set in without hating the Mando mold, too!