5POA is not OK.  I think all of you out there know where we at Banthaskull stand on this subject, even if you’re not all in agreement with our zealous stance.  For me, reduced articulation should never have made its return to the hobby so many years after technology and expectations had put such a thing in the rear view mirror.  Some collectors believe that without 5POA the line would have died out by now.  I believe that the line was put on life support for a multitude of reasons, but the re-introduction of 5POA figures after 10+ years was almost the nail in the coffin.  Given the current state of the line, with the dearth of volume and choices, 5POA seems to be an avenue where we could get some figures that would never see the light of day in SA form.  Again, I am of the believe that SA should never have been pushed aside for so many years.  I do not believe that every single character needs a 20 POA ultra-super articulated figure.  I would reserve that for dynamic characters like Jedi and troopers.  But I do think that a 14 POA figure, as long as it had basic ball jointed shoulders, elbows, knees, and ankles, could stand swivel joints at the wrists, waist/torso, and hips (at least such characters could drop the extra hip swivel), nor do they need rocker ankles.  But it’s a tough call to go down that road and risk the ire of collectors because the wrong character was chosen for reduced articulation.

Anyway, the Jedi Temple Guard is one of those figures that was made in 5POA that manages to nearly escape the typical problems that make me hate the format.  First of all, the Rebels line was selected to use the animated styling.  This is generally a non-starter for me.  They figures don’t look right next to their realistically styled counterparts.  The JTG, for whatever reason, seems perfectly at home in a display of realistic figures.  The animated styling is most definitely muted, if not absent altogether. 

A second problem was nearly avoided, but not entirely.  The JTGs usually were standing at attention (or at least parade rest), unless called into action.  They are often seen standing quietly in the background as if they are guarding Buckingham Palace.  If you take away the lightsaber, you could have a couple of these guys in any Jedi Temple display, and they’d look great.  The illusion fails as soon as you take into account the ignited lightsaber, which shows off the limitations of the reduced articulation.  A fighting stance is impossible to replicate, although you can kind of get away with a “ready to defend” pose if the figure simply extends its non-elbowed arm outward with the lightsaber in hand.  It’s not a great pose, but it’s passable.

The Jedi Temple Guard is one of the most in demand 5POA figures out there, and samples can go for well over $100 on Ebay.  Some say that Hasbro should re-release this figure, and although it’s technically animated from the cartoon series, it would have been pretty awesome if it was included in the “Jedi” Celebrate the Saga pack.  More in line with my wishes, I’d prefer if this was someday offered in SA form.  The trick there would be if it should have full Jedi articulation, or if it would be OK to have basic 12POA sculpting. 

Either way, this is probably my favorite 5POA figure and I find it pretty OK, I just wish we didn’t have to settle for the inferior format.