Rum Sleg is probably most famous for being a member of the Disqus community.  But prior to this fame, he was a bounty hunter trying to make his way through the galaxy.  He can be spotted strolling through the streets of Mos Espa just before the Boonta Eve Podrace scene, as one of Darth Maul’s probe droids floats by on its way down an alley searching for the escaped Queen of Naboo.  Rum Sleg seems utterly indifferent to the Sith probe droid, if he even noticed it at all.  Turns out he was actually on his way to the aforementioned pod race.  He can be spotted in the stands, cheering along with his fellow spectators.

I seem to recall really wanting this character to be made into action figure form, mostly due to his cool mask and outfit.  He was one of the more visually compelling backgrounders in TPM.  10 years after the release of the film, Hasbro got around to making him.  A truly obscure dude, this figure is yet another example of how awesome the 3.75” line is.  Hasbro was never unable to surprise us with figures we never thought we wanted, but actually did.  Things are different now, of course, as we seem to get plenty of figures we know we don’t want, and no figures that we know we want.  There are also figures we don’t know that we want, and…wait, this all sounds a lot like Donald Rumsfeld.  He was hilarious.  And it’s just dawning on me right as I type this late this fine evening, that “Rum Sleg” is very similar to “Rumsfeld”.  Chew on that for a while.

As for the figure, it looks pretty amazing, and there are some great details included.  The most striking feature, is, of course, the head.  The removable space helmet works great, as it fits snugly, but is very easy to remove and put on.  Once removed, we see some details sculpted into the head that Hasbro clearly put some great effort into.  The goalie mask is indeed a mask, and not Rum Sleg’s actually face.  While not removable, you can see how it fits over his face.  Also revealed are dreadlocks that are tied into a ponytail, which actually protrude from the back of the helmet when it’s on.  It’s all very well done, and a real highlight of this figure.  The rest of the figure is sculpted in what seems to be an accurate reproduction of the character’s pilot uniform.  Lots of details in the armor and belt, and there’s a shoulder patch sculpted on there as well. 

For accessories, the figure includes two unique silver blasters.  Each holster is shaped to specifically accommodate one of the blasters.  I’d prefer a more snug fit, but it gets the job done.  Rum can hold both pistols fairly well, although the one in the gallery that he is holding with his left hand is much better because he has a floating left index finger which fits nicely into the trigger guard.  The other blaster just kind of rests in his hand.  Also included is a back pack apparatus, which is removable.  It has a pair of hoses at the top which plug in perfectly to the hoses on the back of the helmet.

Rum Sleg has a near fatal flaw when it comes to a collector-grade super articulated figure:  He has no ankle joints.  I’m a broken record, but a dynamic character absolutely needs ankles, otherwise the hips and knees are rendered nearly useless.  The figure has the problem of being pretty top heavy, and the lack of ankle joints makes it a bit tricky to stand up without tipping over.  The lack of ankles on this figure, compounded by the poor center of gravity make it a frustrating figure.  The waist swivel joint on my sample is also VERY loose, so it’s all a bit of a mess.

Rum Sleg is wonderful to look at.  The head, the helmet, the backpack, and the body sculpt are all terrific.  The blasters are so-so (loose holsters, iffy grip).  The lack of ankles is a killer.  All of this lead up to a sub-par 6.  It doesn’t stop this from being a great background figure with which to populate your displays, but the simple inclusion of ball jointed ankles would have probably made this figure at least an 8.  I would have to give this figure credit for being as definitive as we have any right to expect at this point.

Build-A-Droid 

Rum Sleg contains the right arm and flame effect of L8-L9.  This prototype combat droid participated in a multi-gladiator fight-to-the-death in the arena pits of the planet Rattatak.  L8-L9 was destroyed by another gladiator named Asajj Ventress.  Source:  Clone Wars (non canon).

Verdict: No Action 

Unless there was some kind of TPM push and Hasbro had a way to sneak in an upgraded Rum Sleg with ankles, I think it’s safe to say this is the one and only figure we’ll ever see of this character.  He can be found on eBay for moderate prices (about $35 carded, if you look around).  The value is probably due to the fact that he’s a one and done for this character, and that he came with a BAD part for a pretty awesome droid.  He’s certainly not helped by being sourced to The Phantom Menace.  In any case, it’s a really cool looking figure if you can get past the lack of ankles.  Pick one up if you love obscure backgrounders.

Verdict Guide:
Re-sculpt = The figure is not definitive, and a new version should be developed.
Re-issue = This version is definitive (or close enough), and shows sufficient secondary market demand to warrant a straight repack.
No Action = This release does not require new attention.