Hasbro Star Wars Episode III Royal Guard (Blue) Action Figure
Written: Apr 15 '05 (Updated Apr 26 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cool looking
Cons: hard to find. Um what role has this guy played in the movies?
The Bottom Line: A nice looking, detailed toy or collectible piece of the movie. If you collect the figures get it.
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| some_guy5's Full Review: Hasbro Star Wars Episode III Royal Guard (Blue) Ac... |
I collected as many Star Wars figures as I could get my hands on as a boy. As an adult, I can afford them all (dirty looks from my wife not withstanding). I compromise by trying to buy the ones that seem rare, since I can get the commons any time. Figure #23, Royal Guard is the crown jewel of rare Star Wars action figures in my 1 week old collection.
I leave my figures in the package, so I won't be able to provide much in the way of tactile information. That also keeps my wife from leaving me and my friends form scorning me for playing with dolls. I can only feel mostly silly for buying toys since I am a collector. No, I do not dress up for the movies. I am only half crazy. Royal Guard, figure #23 is part of collection 2 of the Revenge of the Sith series. This series of figures is not recommended for children under the age of four because the small parts are a choking hazard. And now for the figure himself (or herself I guess, it is completely covered by the outfit).
The text in this paragraph will be common throughout all of my reviews of Star Wars Episode III basic characters. As far as the durability of these figures, well I don't open them. But I did open some from Episode I and I can tell you from past experience that the small weapons and accessories will get lost. As a boy I tried so hard to keep track of them and just failed. Slowly but surely the guns and lightsabers disappeared. By and large the figures are durable. The heads can be popped off by abuse or a determined push, and the hands can be chewed until they no longer function. That is my best guess as to how well this series will hold up.
The Royal Guard stands 3.75 inches tall. He is clothed form head to toe in blue. The blue helmet, reminiscent of old Roman helmets, is made of hard blue plastic, as are the arms. The arms have joints at the shoulders and elbows. The body itself is also made of hard blue plastic but is covered by a cloth cape. One thing Hasbro has learned about making figures over the past three movies is how much better cloth capes are than hard plastic. In the Episode I figure collection everyone wanted the Darth Maul, Obi Wan, and Qui-Gon Jinn figures with the cloth capes. The shelves were full of the ones with hard plastic capes. I notice this time around there are a lot more figure with the nice capes. This particular cape hangs perfectly and there are no awkward, lighter than air, hoods or flaps that don't lay correctly because the figure is 50,000th scale (or whatever it is). The arms can optionally be covered by the cape, or outside of it by means of slits in the sides. The arms have nicely contoured "folds" in the hard plastic that simulate cloth folds nicely. Royal Guard is armed with a pistol and shoulder slung rifle. Finally, the figure comes with a terrain base, for standing and posing. Does anyone else remember what a chore it was to stand the old ones? The box stands OK on its own.
These guys have been mostly a non-entity in the plot of the movies thus far. I will tell you how they fit in according to the box....
The Royal Guard is Curuscant's most elite security force. During his rise to power, Palpatine seized control of all senate security, consolidating the blue senate guard and his own crimson personal guard under his direct authority.
I kind of like the little bones these boxes throw the fans. When they first started re-releasing these toys I was still in college and started buying them for my little brother. Yes, they were actually for him. Well the Darth Vader box way back then described how he lost a lightsaber dual to Obi Wan Kenobi and that was the reason for the robotic getup. All those years ago I knew the big episode III secret.
So do I recommend this figure? Well only if you like Star Wars figures. As a collector I recommend that you buy it. As a toy, this should be one of the last ones you buy, since there are dozens of figures much more relevant to the plot, up to this point anyway. Maybe these guys figure big in Revenge of the Sith. We will find out soon.
Please also see my other reviews of Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith basic figures
Figure 11 Darth Vader
Figure 32 Aayla Secura
Figure 13 Count Dooku
Figure 20 Agen Kolar
Figure 24 Mon Mothma
Figure 31 Luminara Unduli
Figure 29 Ki-Adi-Mundi
Figure 34 Clone Pilot
Figure 30 Saesee Tiin
Figure 6 Clone Trooper
Figure 10 Mace Windu
Figure 35 Palpatine
Figure 4 Super Battle Droid
Figure 22 Kit Fisto
Figure 21 Shaak Ti
Figure 3 Yoda
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 5.24
Type of Toy: Action Figure
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some_guy5
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