Star Wars Action Figure Reviews

Yet another instance of a figure based on a scene that never made it to the final cut. From what I've read, the droid factory scene was a last minute addition which cut down on the arena battle scene. This also explains why this Anakin and Hangar Duel Anakin have his proper blue lightsaber, even though he would have lost it by the time these scenes came about. Of course, it may just be that Hasbro wanted the figures to come with Anakin's hilt so kids won't be complaining about him having two generic lightsabers. Read on for the review and 11 photos!

Anakin Skywalker

with Lightsaber Slashing Action!

"Battling for their lives in the arena, Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi clash against thousands of Geonosian Warriors in a grueling confrontation. As Geonosians attack, Anakin uses the Force to retrieve a second lightsaber and prepares to defend himself at all costs." --Excerpt from the card back

	Sculpt--1/5 This is quite possibly the ugliest Star Wars figure ever. Geonosian Rescue Mace Windu looks incredible compared to this Anakin. Ugh. First of all, Anakin's headsculpt is hideous. His eyes are big and opened wide, his eyebrows are big and black, and his screaming mouth looks worse than GR Mace's. Next on the ugly list is Anakin's arms. The left arm is alright, I suppose, but the right arm looks broken and is posed very awkwardly. It would have helped if Hasbro had the sense to give him bicep-cuts, but as it is, this Anakin is doomed to look strange no matter how you pose him. No, the ugliness doesn't end there. Anakin's belt is a separate piece due to the "soft goods" surcoat. The belt is extremely bulky-looking and looks like some sort of harness instead of a belt. The pleather surcoat also doesn't look good because it's cut too wide, covering up Anakin's biceps when it should stop at the shoulders. The surcoat is not connected to the figure permanently, so you could pull it out of his belt and make some alterations, but it may be hard getting it back under his belt. The legs are probably the best-looking thing about the figure as they aren't posed too extremely and have nice detail. Unfortunately, that doesn't make the figure any better-looking than the poodoo that it is. Articulation--1/5 This figure continues to amaze me. Just when I thought it couldn't be any worse, Hasbro proves me wrong. Anakin has six points of articulation: shoulders, wrists, and hips. The shoulders are pretty worthless, only there for the action feature. They are only hinged and swing inward; you cannot move his arms up or down. The wrists are the most useful points and vary the angle of his lightsabers. The hips are standard fare. There is no waist articulation, I guess because of the separate belt and soft goods surcoat. Most amazing is the lack of neck articulation. Unless I've got a faulty figure, the head is permanently looking forward. I've used quite a bit of force, and it doesn't even budge. It appears that since the action feature takes up so much of the chest space, there was not enough room for proper neck articulation. Features--1/5 Anakin has a lightsaber slashing attack. Basically, Anakin imagines what it's like to be a pair of scissors and "slashes" inward with both lightsabers. You're supposed to be able to chop up the included Geonosian but I haven't been able to do it; it's just not strong enough. Take the lightsabers out of his hands and it looks like he's flexing ("I am Hanz and this is Franz and we're here to clap PUMP YOU UP!!"). I can't help but feel that this action-feature is the root of everything wrong with this figure. If it didn't have the feature, it wouldn't need the soft goods surcoat, thus it wouldn't need a separate belt, and the arms would be poseable, etc...But then again, the action feature is the only reason this figure exists, as there wouldn't be any reason to make what is essentially another Hangar Duel Anakin. Accessories--3/5 Possibly the best part about the figure. You get a Geonosian Warrior and two lightsabers. The lightsabers are of interest because they don't have removable blades. This was probably done so the blades won't bend when you try to use the action feature. Anakin's saber looks better than the one that comes with Hangar Duel Anakin. The details are sharper and the paint job is better. The green saber has a generic handle that looks like the metal hilt that comes with HD Anakin, except it's plastic. The Geonosian Warrior is somewhat nice, but doesn't look as good as the other two Geonosians we've seen thus far (single-carded Geonosian Warrior and the one that comes with the Massiff). He's a very bright green in color on the front side of his body, and it makes him look too plain. The other Geonosians looked cool because of their varying colors which make them look all the more detailed. This Geonosian doesn't have such variation and looks less realistic because of it. The Geonosian is articulated at the neck, wings, and shoulders. He can also be cut-up into many pieces; you can pull his arms and wings off, he separates at the waist and diagonally across his chest. It's quite gruesome, as you can see his bloody innards at the separation points. He is held together by the use of pegs and will fall apart easily, although I haven't been able to get Anakin to cut him up proper. Paint--3/5 The paint is decent on Anakin, although I don't like the big eyebrows and wide eyes. The Geonosian is too green in my opinion and just doesn't look right. Anakin's lightsaber is painted well however and looks great. Overall--1.5/5 This figure is positively the worst Star Wars figure I've ever owned. The Geonosian is kind of neat since you can separate him into pieces, but other than that this set is just pure bantha poodoo. There's also not much that makes him "deluxe". I guess Hasbro considers two sub-par figures to equal a deluxe figure. Anyway, I do not recommend this figure...unless you want the lightsabers and the Geonosian. He is simply not worth it if you are looking for an Anakin figure.