Poggle The Lesser

If you read Banthaskull regularly, than you probably have seen our review of the slightly repainted version of this figure that was released in the 2006 Saga Collection line as TSC 018. 

Poggle the Lesser featured fairly prominently in the final act of Attack of the Clones. His big moments include sentencing Anakin and Padmé to death, and handing over the “Ultimate Weapon” plans to Count Dooku.  He also had a few brief appearances in Revenge of the Sith, including getting sliced in half on Mustafar by the newly anointed Darth Vader. 

2003 wasn’t exactly the Golden Age of Articulation, and Poggle’s no exception.  He’s got swivel shoulders, hips, and one wrist, along with the articulated wings.  He’s also got a ball jointed head.  He’s under-articulated by modern standards, and there isn’t a whole lot you can do with him.  But you can get him to stand there and look great along with the other Separatist leaders.  He’s got a really interesting look, which seems to be very accurate to the on-screen character.  His unusual appearance is very different from almost all the other members of his species that we see in AOTC, and it is captured faithfully here.  The only accessory is his cane, which he can grip well, and he can be posed to look like he’s really leaning into it.  It’s a nice figure, with great details.  He just doesn’t do much.

The sculpt and articulated wings manage to earn a 6/10.  Even though its origins date back to 2003, it will work well enough in your current displays.  Hasbro would do wonders for a modern take on Poggle, but it’ll do for now, I guess.

Count Dooku

There’s not much to discuss here.  This Dooku sculpt has been easily crushed by the Evolutions version, which was re-released (with a new head) in the Geonosis 2-pack line.  That figure, while not quite in step with 2020 articulation, still meets the baseline standards, and at a minimum, Hasbro should do a “pack refresh” and give it a TVC card.  (An all-new Dooku would be pretty nice, though.)

As for this one, it’s outdated and has a sculpting choice that makes it essentially good for only one thing - holding the included Death Star hologram accessory.  Sadly, the hologram is not even really accurate to the film, as this one looks like an oversized lollipop stuck on the base of a silver wine goblet, instead of emanating from a disc.  That aside, it serves its intended purpose.  But if you try to have Dooku posed to do anything else, he looks ridiculous.  Maybe he could be Dave Grohl in the Everlong video, which I can only assume was the inspiration for this figure.

San Hill

San Hill was another Separatist, leading the Muunilist Banking Clan.  His first appearance on screen elicited an unintended chuckle out of the audience in my theater.  It’s never a good thing when viewers laugh at something that was supposed to be sinister.  The design just didn’t work out too well.  Nevertheless, Tartakovsky and Filoni did their best to give fans additional chances to accept the species, writing the Muuns into several storylines.  Finally, we were treated to the revelation that Darth Plagueis The Wise was a Muun himself, and we got a pretty cool (but flawed) action figure out of it.

As for this guy, Hasbro was faithful, but the simplistic 5POA sculpt has not aged well since 2003.  (At least he’s got ball jointed shoulders, which makes it better articulated than the Disney media 5POA figures that many of us have hated for the past 5+ years.). Additionally, my sample struggles to stand upright, probably because the thin rubbery legs have warped a bit over time.  The figure is nothing to write home about, but he’s likely the only version we’ll ever get of San Hill.  4/10.

Holographic Table (half)

Since the Dooku figure is more or less obsolete (other than the hologram), the Poggle figure was eventually re-released in the basic line, and the San Hill figure is pretty terrible, that leaves the holographic war planning table as the star of the set.  As was not uncommon in the past, Hasbro gave us “modular” parts of environments that were available in different sets - sometimes at different times (like the Jedi Council 3 packs), so you could world-build over time, while Hasbro could offer affordable temporary options.  In this case, there were actually 2 of these 3-packs, and each came with half of the holographic table that was shown in the command room on Geonosis. 

Obviously, this table is very much underscaled, but I’m glad we have it at all.  The table pieces from the 2 sets fit together nicely (they are identical).  The base is simple, while the tabletop looks like some kind of solidified fruit jelly.  It is sculpted in such a way as to have several tiny AT-TE’s on the ground, while separately sculpted and differently colored pieces plug in and simulate Homing Spider Droids and flying Gunships.  The effect is pretty nifty.  When you assemble the pieces and have all of your Separatists surround the table, it makes for a good mini-diorama.  6/10.

Set

Overall, the set is dated, but it’s your only way to get any San Hill figure, the holographic Death Star, and (half) of the war room holographic table.  It was nice in 2003, but by 2020, it’s showing its age.  It nevertheless still has a place in your displays.