I love this figure, and I don’t care who knows.  I want to shout it from on top of a mountain, but I don’t have a mountain.  I have a website and a camera.  Look, I review figures.  That’s what I do, and today’s top story in Bantha Skull’s world is that I love this figure.  If you are a long time reader with a good memory you will recall that I have made that exact same Anchorman reference in another review.  But I figured your memory is about as good as mine, so it was safe to go back to that well again.  It’s hard for me to imagine that just over three years ago I gave a Black Series figure a score of zero and absolutely meant it.  Now I am reviewing what, for me, might be Hasbro’s best figure ever.  The turn around from the dark times is impressive to say the least. 

If you can’t tell from the lead in paragraph, or if you’re CJ and skipped directly here, I’m going to give this figure a perfect score of a 10 out of 10, but it’s not a perfect figure.  It’s hard for me to reconcile that statement except to say that there is always a subjective element to these reviews.  I am subjectively willing to forgive the few minor warts the figure has in this case.  So what are the issues?  First the neck lacks an ideal range of motion, and is limited to a slightly downward tilt at all times.  This gives the figure a menacing stance, but in picture 15 above, I would have preferred to have the figure staring straight on instead of staring at the top of his boots.  The other negative is that, once again, “rocker” ankles would have had a huge benefit here.  That type of ankle joint isn’t going away.  The upcoming Vintage Collection Assault Tank Driver appears to utilize them.  My suspicion is that the lower shin armor prevented it in this case.  Those are the only two gripes I personally have.  Reader Jimmy Griffin mentioned that the shoulder armor hindered the range of motion on the arms on his sample.  I did not encounter this, so it may be yet another case of “your mileage may vary”. The shoulder armor is flexible enough on my sample to move out of the way.  During the HASCON Star Wars panel, Meagan mentioned that they are working to devise flexible yet durable plastics. 

Why do I love this figure?  I was able to easily balance the figure in a number of aggressive fighting stances and also pose it in a neutral stance.  This wide range of posing options is why we want super articulated figures.  So this figure excels at it’s most important trait.  The ball jointed wrists allow the figure to securely and naturally hold the melee weapon.  When I first saw the “red Solo cup arms”* on the character, I was worried that would limit the range of motion of the figure’s arms.  The ball jointed elbows do stop at ninety degrees, but in this case, that is all the is needed to interact well with the accessory.  Again, this figure does its job.  One last comment is that we often think of the Vintage Collection as the highest standard of quality in the modern line.  In one respect, this figure exceeds that standard.  Despite having a two tone lower leg, the knee joint uses a matching plastic color, something that was often missed during the first iteration of the Vintage Collection.  As you should have read in the second paragraph, I’m giving this figure a 10 out of 10.  Hate me all you want.  I love it.