Original Review by Chris 9/4/2014

Puns are terrible, but I really hope Sam Jackson said “Say ‘Wat’ one more time!  I dare you,” at least one time on the set. If he did, that would be the most redeemable part of Attack of the Clones.  I actually find Tambor’s odd voice modulation as he fiddles with the dial on his chest more interesting and “Star Warsy” than the cartoony Battle of Geonosis with it’s XBox 360 quality CGI lighting. So yes, while I will go to my grave telling anyone who will listen that Attack of the Clones is the worst tent pole movie in history, I do find some of the characters interesting, and Wat Tambor ranks among them. 

This Wat Tambor figure was actually difficult to find in 2003 and the proportional supply is reflected in the secondary market value to this day.  That’s pretty remarkable for a character that appears on screen for under three minutes and whose head looks like a green bicuspid.  The figure itself is another example of a Collection 2 display piece.  All of the articulation seems purposely engineered for one end result.  The figure can be posed fiddling with the voice modulation knob on its chest.  Aside from walking past Obi-Wan who peers in on the procession, that is all the character does on screen, yet it’s somehow memorable.  So once again, we are left judging a figure based more on aesthetics than on its viability as an action figure.

Just like with many of the other Star Wars “Saga” Collection 2 “salt shaker” figures, it’s hard to argue that the figure doesn’t succeed as a decent display piece especially when you consider the war room console accessory.  Similar to drawing feet for comic book characters, getting realistic CGI walking locomotion was exceedingly difficult when Attack of the Clones was made.  In a Rob Liefeld-esque cheat, the CG modelers covered Tambor in a floor length garment to avoid having to animate the character’s legs.  It’s better than hiding Tambor’s legs behind conspicuously placed rocks in every scene.  While Hasbro went the extra mile and sculpted distinct legs from the “costume” elements, they are essentially meaningless to the figure.

While scarcely more than a statue, this does everything I want a Wat Tambor figure to do, which is to look accurate and fiddle with the dial on his chest.  The war room console is a nice inclusion, but oddly includes the wrong holographic display.  It should come with the display for the plans of the Death Star, but instead includes a holographic Starship. The Geonosis War Room Cinema Scene three pack includes the Death Star holograph, but should have the Starship. Either the accessories were mistakenly swapped, or this was Hasbro’s attempt to incentivise collectors to “buy them all”.  Despite this strange mix-up, I still think this set ranks at 5 out of 10 which is where all of the Colletion 2 display figures seem to live.

Updated Review by Bret 5/1/2020

I re-read Chris’s review prior to writing this, and noted that he seems very satisfied with this figure as a salt shaker, since it accomplishes everything he would want it to.  Please remind me to punch him in the crotch the next time I see him.

To be fair, we really don’t need the figure to do much, and absolutely don’t need JLA.  But at a minimum, even a salt-shaker needs to have better upper body articulation.  You do get ball jointed shoulders along with swivels at the top of the gloves/gauntlets.  It’s not awful, but it does allow for it to achieve the one singular intended pose; that moment when Tambor adjusts the knob on his chest armor.  Further to the point of fairness, this is his “iconic” pose.  But additional upper body articulation should be incorporated, while still being able to replicate that pose if so desired.  He is generally fairly awkward when posed to do anything else.

Also, it seems that once again, we have a character that doesn’t just stand there.  First, he walks (or rolls) by the concealed Obi-Wan on his way to the council meeting with Dooku and the CIS leaders.  Second, only moments later, he’s sitting at the council table.  Granted, it would probably be difficult to tweak the sculpt of this figure so it could also sit, as it seems it would likely have to be completely re-engineered from the waist down in such a way that it might be entirely too damaging to the aesthetic.  It’s a rough balancing game, but it may be that this was the correct choice by Hasbro. 

Hasbro did add much value to Wat Tambor by including a Geonosis War Room console, complete with a hologram of one of the CIS ships.  It works great, and goes very well with the War Room 3-packs which included several Separatist members and the holographic war table, as well as the Arena Playset.  Hasbro did a great job of accessorizing the whole extended scene, and this offering was no exception.

Interesting looking figure with a nice accessory.  More importantly, it’s a minor character that helps flesh out the bad guys.  I’m very happy it exists.  It gets a solid 5, despite the poor articulation.