wlswarts's Full Review: Hasbro Ig 88 13'' Star Wars (Power of the Jedi Act...
It seems like good kismet that I began reviewing my "Star Wars" 12" doll collection right before Epinions made a contest that rewards contributions to the Kids & Family category. Luck be a lady today, I suppose! As it is, it's about time I wrote a review about a bounty hunter that left me searching for something to pan. IG-88 it the bounty hunter I can't find fault with and the best one I have reviewed to date.
Like most of the dolls in the 12" Star Wars action figure line, IG-88 is a faithful plastic replica of one of the infamous bounty hunters seen briefly in the Trilogy. It does not have a cloth outfit because it is a droid which is only briefly seen. IG-88, like many of the bounty hunters, was not a speaking part and he appeared in a single scene in "The Empire Strikes Back" (reviewed at: http://www.epinions.com/content_64646909572 ), which is pretty much known as the bounty hunter scene in that movie. For those not versed in "Star Wars" lore, that's the very brief scene aboard an Imperial Star Destroyer where Darth Vader hires a group of bounty hunters to capture Han Solo in his attempt to trap Luke Skywalker. There are several bounty hunters standing in a line and IG-88 is the tall, thin robot standing next to Boba Fett when Darth Vader admonishes the bounty hunter with the line "No disintegrations!" I suppose it's enough to grab the imagination of "Star Wars" bounty hunter fans like myself.
Basics
IG-88 is a robot bounty hunter that had perhaps five seconds of screentime in "The Empire Strikes Back." The figure stands 13 3/8" tall to the top of the head unit. IG-88 is a droid augmented by a bandoleer and various tubes in the legs and it comes entirely assembled and ready to go. The figure is made of hard plastic and after four or more years out of its packaging, it shows no fading or wear from light or air sources. The top half of the head, unlike the main body of the figure, is made of a slightly more elastic (or rubbery) plastic, though the coloring is consistent with the rest of the figure.
This toy is a pretty incredible sculpt, looking precisely like the bounty hunter. IG-88 is amazing in its coloring detail, including pivoting gun turrets on the front of the face. These tiny guns are present in the actual IG-88 and that Hasbro was that attentive to detail with this sculpt is impressive.
Accessories
IG-88, intergalactic assassin droid, is so confident with its killing abilities that it does not need clothes. It's a robot; what does it need with clothes?! It does come with three essential accessories, though: the weapon's bandoleer, a blaster and a blaster rifle. The bandoleer is a plastic sash with detailing of a few items that look like ammo cartridges or grenades and this level of detail is very cool. Instead of being a solid black plastic sash, the bandoleer is detailed with gray/silver for the details like the buckle and the grenades.
The blaster is a four and a half inch firearm that looks a lot like the guns the stormtroopers use throughout the original "Star Wars" trilogy. It is sufficiently detailed to look menacing and it fits in either of IG-88's hands.
IG-88, like any bounty hunter worth his salt, comes with a firearm. This is an eight inch plastic blaster rifle that fits perfectly in either of its hands. The blaster rifle is detailed well as far as containing all of the nooks and crannies the firearm appears to have in the film! There is no detailing that makes it look worn or more realistic, though, as this is simply solid gray plastic. Still, it is a fairly faithful replica of what appeared in "The Empire Strikes Back" and it is different from any other firearm as it has an almost harpoon-like middle section! This is identical to Dengar's blaster rifle, save that it was cast in solid black plastic.
Playability
I don't know who plays with these twelve-inch figures. As far as displaying, though, there is much to recommend IG-88. First, this is a well-articulated action figure. IG-88 is impressively posable, whatwith its eleven points of articulation. This bounty hunter has joints at the knees, groin, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and neck. The neck is a ball-and-socket joint, which allows the droid (which is slightly taller than the other bounty hunters) to look down on the other bounty hunters with superiority. As a result, IG-88 can turn its head left to right, as well as front to back in a nodding motion. However, the shoulder joints and groin are both simple swivel joints, so the hunter's arms and legs move only forward/back. As well, with the wrist flexibility, IG-88 can pose in some pretty sophisticated poses with its firearms.
As well, IG-88 is surprisingly well balanced. When posed in a flatfooted position, it stands stable and with its guns raised, it is still stable (in fact, the only problem in that instance is that the hand has slight grip issues with the blaster rifle. IG-88 easily stands stable and it does not wobble or shake at all from vibrations near one's display. IG-88 can be situated such that he does not fall over.
Collectibility
IG-88 is part of the Power Of The Jedi twelve-inch series, a series of "Star Wars" action figures that were released during a time that they were largely being mass produced. IG-88 was actually fairly common, which tended to devalue the figure quite a bit (though most of the "Star Wars" figures have taken a hit from overproduction and the sheer number of them that have not been taken out of their packaging on the hopes that someday they might be an investment that pays dividends).
In other words, IG-88 is only truly worth something to people who have a fetish for bounty hunters; he is not going to be a gold mine for anyone's collection.
Overview
IG-88 is an astonishingly well-made bounty hunter figure, in fact it might be the perfect bounty hunter between the balance, detailing all the nooks and crannies and badass accessories. Anyone who likes "Star Wars" bounty hunters will be bound to like this one!
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