I’m sure some of you perused the info card on the way down here to the review and, upon seeing the mediocre score for a newly tooled figure in 2024, assumed that it’s related to how I feel about the media.  In 2012 when I gave Ben Quadinaros a lowly 5 score, people on an off-site forum accused the review of being biased by how I feel about the media.  I thought that was rich because there is no way they could know how I felt about The Phantom Menace, which has always been a “thumbs up” for me.  My disappointment in that figure was based on objective factors.

Even though I have no love lost for The Acolyte, which wasn’t nearly as bad as the Star Wars fan socials made it seem, I assure you the 7 score is warranted based solely on the figure itself.  Our reviews here never have anything to do with our feelings about the media.  If Hasbro made an Eli Manning figure that was as good as this year’s Kanan Jarrus, I would give it a 10 out of 10, and that guy is worse than a 1000 Newmans.  [Editor’s note: Now I want a Manning / Tyree / Harrison 3-pack] In fact, there is nothing I like more than geeking out about an exquisitely executed figure.  Photographing and reviewing a figure that is knocked out of the park is a blast.  It’s effortless.  It’s fun.  I wanted nothing more than to love this Jedi Master Sol figure.  I was excited to start posing what I though would be a candidate for my Top 10 list come the year’s end.  Sadly, I don’t love this figure.  That makes this process decidedly unfun.

In general, there is an overall rubberiness to my sample, and more specifically, this becomes borderline damning with the hands.  The figure’s grip on the saber hilt isn’t poor.  It isn’t bad.  It’s excremental.  This a massive flaw with Jedi figures.  It renders one-handed saber poses challenging because anything where the opening of the grip is pointed to the floor risks the saber falling out.  Even when the grip is combatting Earth’s pull, gravity can twist the saber out of the desired alignment.  Cool looking one handed poses should be a given for Jedi figures even dating back to the pre-articulation age.  Having these types of poses limited by the weak grasp is frustrating, to say the least.

Two-handed poses are no picnic either.  First, the flare of the upper tabard restricts the range of motion of the shoulders for bringing the hands together.  I can’t fault the figure too much for this as it’s the costume design, but this is where the weak grip comes into play.  In the most dynamic poses, the articulation is being brought within an inch of its life (and maybe a millimeter or two beyond).  A firm grip on the saber can prevent the upstream points of articulation from reverting to a more relaxed position.  With a weak grip, the hands either pop free of the hilt or slide apart.  Look at image 16 above.  It looks the grip a tee-baller has on the bat during his first time at the plate until the hyper, type-A coach angrily corrects him.  You know.  This guy.

I was so put off by this grip issue, that my finger hovered over the six when grading this release.  I was there.  I was about to do it, but ultimately thought better.  It’s not because I consider the issue any less damning, but because the positives earn this Jedi Master Sol one bonus point back.  The head sculpt likeness is outstanding.  Hasbro really zeroed in on Lee Jung-jae.  Next, the execution of the soft goods is excellent. This is aided by the fact that the hood is stitched down. Not being capable of the “hood up” pose is an acceptable compromise to hoods that look like deployed parachutes.  Finally, the pliability of the lower tabard and tunic, combined with the slit up the side, unlocks the full potential of the lower body articulation without compromising aesthetics.  These are all big positives.

There is absolutely the potential that these issues are with my sample alone, and you may get one that is less rubbery.  Your mileage may very.  Having said that, I can only review the figure that I have in front of me, thus the mediocre 7 out of 10 for a 100% newly tooled figure.  Heck, I don’t even think I’ve handed out an 8 for a 100% newly tooled figure since 2022.  They’ve all been nines and tens.  Even though the score is lackluster, I’m marking the figure as definitive considering the series cancellation and lukewarm reception.  I don’t think there would be enough market to justify fixing the issues.