'05 | #02  Anakin Skywalker - with Lightsaber Attack (Reviewed 05-18-2005)

Includes:
• Removable Hand
• Removable Hand w/  Blue Lightsaber
• Removable Hand w/  Red Lightsaber

Click thumbnail for large image Spice: Our first taste of evil begins with Anakin Skywalker with Lightsaber Attack. You can see the same use of detachable hands in an effort to generate an action feature that is worthy of making Star Wars collectors pay for. You can almost feel the heat through the package, and what you see isn't truly what you get. You get much, much more for this six dollar dent to your wallet.

Click thumbnail for large image The head sculpt was a slight improvement over the Obi-Wan Kenobi #1. You can see a few new battle scars from a reckless student who can't seem to obey. A brilliant move, I think a little mystery is the best thing in the world for a character. Especially one so much is written about.  The main problem isn't so much in the face, but the elbow joints. You can do a number of poses but it just seems like they could have done a more simple elbow joint and perhaps even the G.I. Joe swivel arm battle grip. The job still gets done, and the Lightsaber Attack works incredibly well as I have found in some field testing with Padawans of my own! It certainly beats the hell out of the arm falling off from the elbow down every time you touch it.

Click thumbnail for large image If they fell short, it was on the hair style. A funky mullet with a comb-over so bad, only a man in his fifties could do worse. It just seems like they might have tried to do a little more with the wardrobe, this reminds me a lot of the first two Episode I figures. So much lack of detail, and cloths make the man.  There wasn't too much put into this version as far as the outfit was concerned. I think the focus was more on having fun, which is why I can look past this bad hair day for our favorite Canadian. Did someone bump the real-scan machine again? It's not a complete let down, a far cry from the vintage Luke X-Wing pilot, but overall a disappointment.

Spice - I'm sure they'll make plenty of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader figures to compensate for the few short comings of this incarnation. These few flaws are not enough to make me point the thumb down due to the many improvements over the Saga Anakin. (Either of the first two!) Thinking about those figures really pushed the thumb up!

(Figure '05 | #02, Asst. No. 85173, Item No. 85274, Backing Card P/N 6394131700, Window Insert P/N 6394141700 ) 

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