Sculpt: Speeder Bike--4/5, Darth Tyranus--4/5
Unlike Anakin Skywalker and his Swoop Bike, Darth Tyranus and his Speeder Bike are two solid sculpts which compliment each other well. While the Geonosian speeder bike design isn't the most exciting thing in the world, the toy does a good job at replicating the look of its movie counterpart. The bike is very sleek and there isn't a lot of complex machinery showing like Anakin's swoop. The Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus figure is an almost perfect figure to compliment the Geonosian speeder bike. He sits in the seat very naturally and looks great riding the speeder. Tyranus also looks pretty good off the bike as well, which is a bit of a surprise. I actually like him better than the original basic Count Dooku figure! This figure works really well in action settings and will look pretty good battling your Jedi figures. Tyranus' cape is molded as if flapping in the wind and also looks great in when he is on or off the speeder. The headsculpt isn't perfect; I think it's a bit too long and/or skinny, but it does have a good resemblance to Christopher Lee. Articulation--4/5
Tyranus has ten points: neck, shoulders, wrists, waist, hips, and bend and swivel knees. It would have been perfect if they had given Tyranus a bicep cut on his right arm; then he'd be able to hold both handlebars on the speeder. As it is, the articulation does a good job at making Tyranus look good both on and off the speeder. Features--5/5
Tyranus has a lightsaber slashing action feature, but what has surprised me is how well it works when he's on the speeder. Off the bike, it's pretty basic; press a button on Tyranus' back and his right arm comes slashing downward. On the bike it works equally well. A button on top of the speeder causes the back of the seat to come out, pressing the button on Tyranus' back in the process. You need to have the seatbelt on to get the best results, but all in all the feature works and works well. At first I thought the action feature was a waste, but when it works this well it actually does become kind of fun to play with. I can see kids having lots of fun with this feature, having Tyranus slash down Jedi as he zooms by on his speeder. The speeder bike also has positionable foot pedals. Accessories--4/5
You get Tyranus' lightsaber and I suppose you can also count his removable cape. The lightsaber was one of the first things I noticed in the package because this has got to be the reddest red lightsaber I've ever seen. Seriously, this thing is an intense red. The detailing on the handle is very nice as well, with nice defined lines and details. Paint--4.5/5
The set has a pretty simple paint job overall, but despite that there are things I really like. The seat on the speeder bike has nice, clean, black lines on it, and the copper-colored paint on the speeder looks nice and metallic. I think I'm most impressed with the hilt on Tyranus' lightsaber; the black paint is just so clean and sharp that I'm really quite amazed. Packaging--3/5
The box is pretty average stuff. It has the slightly revised graphics of the 2003 figures, and the large window shows off the figure and speeder bike nicely. Overall--4.5/5
This is a solid set through and through. Sure, the Geonosian speeder doesn't look as cool as Anakin's swoop, but the fact that the Tyranus figure and the speeder bike work so well together makes this set the better choice overall. There is only one thing I would change on this set: adding a bicep cut to Tyranus' right arm. If he had that I would have given this set a perfect score. --Photos and review by Garett Yoshimura
garett@carrotnetwork.com | 
