Original review by Chris, 8/18/2014

This marks to date the only US carded General Veers figure that Hasbro or Kenner has ever released, and it’s only the second General Veers carded figure ever.  The first is the odd Sears-Canada exclusive General Veers figure from the vintage Kenner era.  That Canadian figure is identical to the vintage AT-AT Commander figure released in the US.  Hasbro also released a generically titled AT-AT Commander figure in the Vintage Collection in 2010.  That figure affectionately became known as “not-Veers.”  I have a true admiration for the character of Maximilian Veers.  He is the only imperial officer who did not wilt under the pressure of Darth Vader’s intimidation and did not have to apologize by forming a lifeless crumpled heap on the deck of the Executor. 

This figure is perhaps my favorite figure from the pre-super articulation era, which wouldn’t become the standard for two more years.  The arms sport three points of articulation at the shoulder, elbow and wrists, but each of those joints is a swivel joint.  The Death Star Gunner from the same collection also features swivel elbows, but that figure has ball jointed shoulders which help compensate for the inferior type of elbow articulation.  This swivel shoulders on this figure have the upper arms radiating away from the body at a fixed angle.  This is less than ideal for most poses where the figure is interacting with the blaster.  But as General Veers was never seen on screen using his E-11 Blaster, this can be partially excused.  The arms seem engineered to place the figure in a parade rest position which is ideal for the Major General to confidently discuss his orders with Lord Vader.  The legs only feature swivel articulation at the hips which is limited in range of motion by the plastic lower tunic.  Again as this figure seems purpose built for standing at parade rest; it seems like an acceptable concession for this era.

The head sculpt was the matter of some debate upon the figure’s release.  Some liked it and others thought it portrayed too youthful of an appearance for a grizzled ground forces general.  I personally like the head sculpt.  It portrays the stillness of the unflinching commander.  With the ball jointed neck, you can give the head a slight upward tilt which conveys an air of confidence for a general who competently executes his orders under enormous pressure.  Of course where this figure really shines is in the removable armor components.  While wearing the chest armor and helmet, the figure represents General Veers in the cockpit of the AT-AT,  With those pieces removed, the figure represents Veers while on the Executor awaiting deployment (and condemning Admiral Ozzle to an early demise).  I always love this type of optional configuration packed into a figure and this is the type of feature I would have had a blast with as a kid.  It’s the Frosted Mini-Wheats of figures. The removable armor pieces solidly earn back a point that would otherwise be lost from the lack of and inferior articulation.  6 out of 10.

Updated review byBret, 2/28/2020

14 years after its release, this is still the only General Veers figure in the modern line.  While it is inferior to today’s figures in almost every way, it manages to maintain enough good qualities that it doesn’t scream, “Please hide me in the back of your display!”  Not saying it’s good enough, because it isn’t. But it’s a scrappy figure that should eek out an existence in the forefront of your Imperial displays.

As Chris stated in his earlier review, the articulation is definitely lacking.  Other than the neck, it has swivel joints all around.  Worse yet, it has no articulation in the knees or ankles.  Even the swivel hips are hindered by the hard plastic lower tunic, but even full range of motion would be useless with the knees or ankles.  The arms, for their part, do pretty much only one thing well, which Chris stated quite well already.  He’s great at standing around confidently.

Unlike later Imperial Officers, Veers does not have a removable hat.  Yes, I said “hat.”  I never called it a “cover.”  Why?  Because it’s a hat.  Yet, Hasbro did a nice job of still creating a removable helmet/goggle combo that fits fairly well right over that hat.  He also comes with a clip on chest armor piece.  It fits perfectly, and is easily added/removed.  This basically gives you the vaunted “twofer” figure.  You get Veers in the AT-AT (pronounced @-@) cockpit, or you can leave him in is standard officer uniform so that he can interact with his idiot peers.  Finally, Veers comes with a blaster that he can actually hold nicely in a relaxed THWG (Two Handed Weapon Grip), or it can be stowed in the boxy-but-good holster.

One note about the hologram pack-ins:  This would have been a great opportunity to have a proper mini-Vader.  The one we actually got is an action oriented version, wielding a lightsaber.  I used it in the gallery above for image #22, but had to frame the shot in such a way as to eliminate the lightsaber.  It would be a nice accessory for an updated TVC General Maximillian Veers.

We could definitely use an upgrade to this figure, although the priority isn’t necessarily even above the halfway mark of resculpts that we need in the line.  I think most collectors would agree that if an Imperial Officer were to be considered for a new figure, that would have to be Captain/Admiral Piett (We would need both!!).  While lacking in many areas, the articulation and accessories definitely make this a better figure than a basic 5POA by a mile.  It keeps Chris’s grade of 6/10.