Sculpt--4/5
The abominable snowman of the Star Wars universe gets remade in plastic form once again, and this is undeniably the best sculpt yet. You can tell the sculptor took their time with the beast's fur and face; there's tons of detail there. The problem is that Hasbro chose to make the Wampa in two distinctly different types of plastic--the normal harder type for the head and body, and a soft vinyl-like plastic for the arms and legs. The head and body look great and the details are nice and sharp, but on the arms and legs the details are smoothed out and soft because of the softer plastic. This was a terrible choice on Hasbro's part and it's a shame that so much detail was lost in the arms and legs. Another casualty of using the soft plastic is that the Wampa's grip isn't as good as it could be; more on that later. Going back to the head and body, the headsculpt looks fantastic though the face looks a little on the cute and cuddly side. The body has a nice layered-fur look to it which helps give the fur a bit of depth and added detail--it is also useful for the articulation...

Articulation--4/5
The Wampa has six points of articulation: neck, shoulders, ball-jointed waist, and hips. These are all pretty standard except for the ball-jointed waist which is extremely useful for creating different poses. Since it's a true ball-joint, you can move his upper body in any direction. So you can make the Wampa stand straight up, have him hunched over, or make a walking pose. The layered fur of its body helps hide the articulation and keeps the fur looking natural when in different positions.

Features--4/5
The Wampa features a removable right arm so you can recreate the scene where Luke cuts of the arm of the Wampa in The Empire Strikes Back. It is easy to remove because of the soft plastic. The only problem I have with the feature is that I would have rather had the peg be in the arm instead of it sticking out of the body; for some reason I'd rather see the clean cut on the body.

Accessories--5/5
You get the Wampa's cave base and a Tauntaun part. The Tauntaun part is sculpted well with a little chunk molded to look like it's being torn from it. With the right pose, you can make it look like the Wampa is biting off a piece of that meat. The Tauntaun part is meant to be held in the right hand and is molded to fit perfectly in it. Unfortunately, it falls out of his hand easily. The grip on the Wampa's left hand is tighter though.

The cave base is great with nice details such as some bones and the Wampa's footprints. There is also a little hole where you can put Luke's lightsaber hilt. The icy column is nice and solid and made of translucent plastic. If you have Hoth Attack Luke Skywalker, you can attach his base to the top of this pillar. The stalagmites on the top of the pillar interlock with the stalactites of Luke's base which was a great way to be able to connect the two bases without resorting to obvious holes and pegs. At any rate, the cave base really completes the figure and looks great when displayed.

Paint--4/5
Good job on the paint. The Wampa has a light yellow wash to help bring out the detail in his fur. Unfortunately the yellow is only on the front of the figure and the Wampa's back is practically plain white plastic. There also appears to be a bit of pink brushed over certain areas that I suppose is supposed to be various blood stains from his many meals. The Wampa's face is painted well with good detail in his eyes and mouth. There's also some blood around his mouth and his chin but I think they overdid it just a little--the blotches of blood could've been smaller. The cave base looks great as well with a good mix of blue and white paint to create a cool, cold looking environment. The bones on the ground are painted well and they still have some blood on them.

Overall--4/5
Out of the initial three Ultra figures released (General Rieekan, C-3PO with Escape Pod, and the Wampa), I feel this set gives the most bang for the buck. You get a large monstrous figure and a nice, decently large display base all in one package. The interconnectivity of this set with Hoth Attack Luke Skywalker is another plus which expands on the playability and fun-factor of this set. The cheap, soft plastic of the Wampa's arms and legs are the only thing terribly wrong in the set, but I still feel that this set is a must-buy.

--Photos and review by Garett Yoshimura
garett@carrotnetwork.com