This set is a gamble on the part of Lego: that kids & collectors would buy a set based on the obscure, hard-to-see, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo it makes in the Special-Edition version of Episode IV.

Video review included!

While the V-19 made its on-screen debut in the made-for-TV cartoon mini-series “Clone Wars” just before “Revenge of the Sith” premiered in theaters in 2005, it makes its feature film debut in the all-CGI “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”.

Video review included!

The V-19 Torrent is a single-seat starfighter designed and built by the Republic in the early months of the Clone Wars. Meant to fill in gaps in anti-fighter & anti-vehicle roles, it needed to be both fast and maneuverable. Its two large main wings and vertical stabilizer are filled with strong repulsorlifts, which makes ideal as a V-TOL craft to place in remote bases. Its wings & tail were also designed to fold up vertically above the main body together in order to save space on the hangar deck of Venator-class Star Destroyers, which could carry at least 192 of these. While the two main engines placed directly between the main hull and the wings provide more than enough power, a smaller secondary engine was built into the vertical stabilizer to give it an edge in dogfights in an atmosphere. The V-19 is armed with two wing-mounted laser blasters, and a pair of missile launchers.

The V-19 is, what I consider, a pinnacle design in the Lego “Star Wars” line. Very simple to play with, yet providing a good time in building and admiring, and it also remains faithful to the source material. While the V-19 made its on-screen debut in the made-for-TV cartoon miniseries “Clone Wars” (2003-05) just before “Revenge of the Sith” premiered in theaters in 2005, it makes its feature film debut in the all-CGI “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”. One of the largest inspirations for the V-19 comes from the real United States-built F4U Corsair which fought in the skies during World War II. The F4U- a carrier-based heavy Navy fighter- had wings which could be retracted backwards when it was not flying, allowing many more to be packed into the limited space of a carrier than other earlier aircraft, and a trend which would continue into many modern-day designs.

Landing Mode

The three large wing surfaces- one actually being a vertical stabilizer- rest suspended above the main chassis. This is, of course, very reminiscent of the [chronologically-]later Theta-class shuttle, and Lambda-class shuttle [aka Imperial Shuttle (Set #7166)]. Each main engine is nothing but circular segments joined together from within, and then mounted to the inner wing surface. I recognize at least one of the largest solid black parts used in there as the engine nacelles seen in recent Lego City-themed jet aircraft [such as the small Airplane Mechanic (#7901) accessory set]. And inside each engine is the longest Technic rod I have ever seen- a white #16! This runs the majority of the length, starting at the intakes on the front. (I don’t know if the #16 rod has appeared before this, but it’s crazy-long! And when assembling it, you have to be sure you don’t put too much pressure on it, lest is snap in half- and I’m pretty sure something shorter would not work in its place!) The exhaust nozzles are both capped off with a single small transparent-blue dish. Beneath each wing hangs a single flick-powered missile launcher. (In the “Clone Wars” miniseries, the missile launchers were located in the space between the fuselage and main engines, but obviously that wouldn’t have been workable here.) When you press on the black tab in back, the short rod pushes forward, and the projectile shoots out depending on how hard you press. Four projectiles can be made, though the set can carry only two at a time; one under each wing in the launcher(s). When in landing mode, the V-19 rests on two landing gear assemblies. Because of how top-heavy the toy is, the landing gear intentionally & noticeably tilt it forward a degree-or-two, which allows it to rest comfortably without tipping over in any direction. (In the miniseries, the V-19 had three small landing pads.) Because of the mechanisms that move everything around, the mid-wing spacing between the fuselage and the main engines are completely exposed. The cockpit canopy can slide open by pulling gently on two small tabs projecting from the nose. This is perhaps the most obvious deviation from the film version of the V-19- the nose is pronged; whereas here, it is flat. Inside the cockpit is just enough room for the Clone Trooper pilot provided. The control panel is the same one used for previous Rebel Alliance spacecraft- notably the X-Wing Fighter (Set #6212).

. . .

If you wish to store the V-19 set, but don’t have the vertical room to spare, the wings and tail can be separated from their rotation joints (though this is not in the instructions, obviously)

Transition to Flight Mode

To operate the mechanism, the heavier tail is used as the lever upon which everything works; the wings and landing gear are tied into it rather than the other way around. To prevent the entire works from unintentionally activating in Landing Mode, a small swiveling catch lever is located at the base of the tail in back- when turned 90° to either side, the tail will not move. (A clever and simple solution!)

The tail is leaned backwards to activate the transition mechanism. At the same time that the tail and wings are moving, the landing gear will swing back and upwards closer to the mid-wing section between the fuselage and engines- so you have three parts moving all at the same time!

Because of the weight of the wings & tail, and the ease with which they would suddenly flop downwards, Lego incorporated a safety mechanism to prevent this- two air-compression pistons, located above the landing gear in the mid-wing sections. These forcibly slow the tail from dropping suddenly. Besides, once moved past a certain angle backwards, gravity takes over and pulls the tail downwards the full 180° anyways. This is a safety feature that really only applies to switching into Flight Mode, so even though you’ll still feel the resistance as the tail is pushed back upwards, it won’t fight you nearly as much.

Now, if you’re thinking to yourself, “I don’ need no stinkin’ safety feature!”, and you disconnect the pistons so that the tail just drops all on its own, you should think again. The tail really whips around- so much so that when it reaches the end of the line, with enough force the tail will fly straight off! Plus, you have no control over it and/or reaction time, and you may pinch yourself! If you want to hold the tail all the way down, then that’s your choice, but I would strongly recommend that you do not remove the pistons.

(Obviously, with enough use, the rubber plungers inside the pistons will eventually wear out, and this feature will become less-and-less reliable.)

Flight Mode

(The black stands made of Legos that you see are MOC, and are not included with this set!)

In this form, the V-19- for lack of a better word- blossoms out to unexpected proportions! The wingspan zooms out to 19” (48cm), but this measurement is false in a way... Though the wings are correctly hanging down diagonally, they are actually being pulled down by gravity. The flexibility in the wing joints are just enough that they can bend down like that, but- with the wings disconnected- the joints actually hang on their own directly horizontal. (So, if you were to turn the set upside down, the wings would then hang horizontally because their weight, once more, would be dragging them downwards.) So don’t be deceived- it is because of their weight that the wings hang down like that, not because the joints position them like that! The other thing is that, unlike in Landing Mode, the tail does not lock into place; it just hangs there. The landing gear retract up and backward, but do not disappear from sight entirely like their animated and film counterparts do.

In this form, a few new features make themselves more easily apparent- notably the wingtip-mounted laser blasters, and the tail-mounted secondary engine. The latter does not have much substance to it compared to the main engines above it, except for intake and exhaust nozzles- again with a small transparent-blue dish for the glowing exhaust. The air-compression pistons are also easier to see up close, and the cockpit can be accessed easier.

One thing that I must stress is that the V-19 cannot possibly support its own weight in Flight Mode- the wings are too flexible, and the main engine nozzles are too fragile with just that one Technic rod in there to hold all those segments together; both could break if too much weight is put on them. And even though the retracted landing gear can still move a little bit, they are not meant to be pushed around, so just leave them alone.

Lego Set #7674 comes with a Clone Trooper pilot (identifiable by the yellow marking on his helmet), and a single blaster rifle (which has appeared in many “Star Wars” sets before). Beneath the helmet is the clone’s real flesh-toned face (though no replacement hair piece is provided). It’s actually kinda creepy how close his face is to the clone’s genetic donor- the intergalactic bounty hunter Jango Fett (actor Temuera Morrison). The helmet is also notable for having all of the colored highlights being printed on, instead of having a black head piece underneath to provide the black visor as has been the tradition up until now.

One new feature must be pointed out here that I have never seen before, and that is the double-printed torso. Since the creation of the modern Lego minifig decades ago, they now always have some kind of printed pattern on their the front of their torso part; leaving the back the original plain coloring of the plastic. I don’t know how widespread this is throughout the Lego System yet, but this Clone Trooper definitely has a printed pattern on his back which recreates the back of the character(s) from the film! Quite a historical achievement for the Lego System, eh?

I don’t get a Lego set unless I look at it and say “Wow” a moment later. I also haven’t seen “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” yet. Yet in both cases, I was immediately drawn to this set upon first glance. It didn’t have a lot of accessories or extra needless minifigs & droids, or a display stand, and really it doesn’t need any of those. Whereas in the past with fighters with large movable sections, you had to do them one at a time, or there might be a lever you had to twist or push to make that feature work. Not here. You just trip the safety catch, and the whole thing deploys all by itself (provided it’s upright, of course). The other thing is that the ship itself- despite its source material!- really looks like it comes from the Star Wars universe, and that to me is equally important. It has those traits of the [future] X-Wing, B-Wing and A-Wing Fighters, but it’s not a Rebel ship either. But then placing the tail underneath the fuselage means that this is a very advanced ship. My only beef comes from how pathetically-weak the missile launchers are (they fall out at the earliest possible conveniences!), and that the main engines are unnerving in how fragile they are despite their outward appearance. I was also a bit disappointed that the wings are pulled down to that angle by gravity rather than shifting via the internal gears to that position. (But I’m sure MOC-ists are already working on the problem...) I was also expecting springs of some kind in those pistons rather than rubber seals that will eventually wear out [knowing how rubber in Lego sets gets beaten up very easily]. Am I disappointed that the nose was solid as opposed to having to prongs? Ch-- I’m not that concerned about authenticity! The sliding canopy was pretty cool too despite it being the only manual feature in the entire set!

One piece of advice: when you’re happily flying your V-19 Torrent through the hallways, be careful that you don’t clip a door frame with the wings!

The Legacy Collection Millennium Falcon is every Star Wars collector’s wet dream. It’s almost perfect – so close to perfect that it makes you wonder why they didn’t go the extra mile.

I really shouldn’t complain though, the thing is all sorts of awesome.

Includes 20 minute Hi-Def video!

I told myself that there would be no toys on vacation. It would be a nice relaxing week at the shore in our beach house, sipping margaritas.

We invited good friends Shogundan and his wife, Shogunnadia, down for the night. Dan says, “I’ve got a surprise for you”

Dan goes out to his car and comes back holding the new Star Wars 3.75" Legacy Collection Millennium Falcon.

Damn you.

But I suppose, while the wives are out shopping, why not shoot a quick review?

We took a 20 minute video showing you all of the features in High Definition - check it out

Thus ended my toy-free vacation, just hours after I arrived.

The Legacy Collection Millennium Falcon is every Star Wars collector’s wet dream. It’s almost perfect – so close to perfect that it makes you wonder why they didn’t go the extra mile.

I shouldn’t complain though, the thing is awesome.

The first thing you notice about the new Falcon is the size – its 2 ½ feet long! This toy was designed to be more in-scale with the 3 3/4” action figures.

The Outside

From the outside, it is immediately clear how much effort went into this ship. All of the details are crisp and clean, and the paint and decals add more realism to the ship.

The gun turret on the top of the Falcon is activated by a lever on the side. Slide the lever up and down and the turret moves left and right, also moving the gunner’s seat inside. The turret fires the bottom two missiles when either the left or right side hits the posts on either side of the turret. Motion and missile firing is accompanied by sound effects.

Moving a bit forward, you have the Radar Dish. The dish is controlled by a knob on the side. Rotate the knob, and the dish moves. What’s more, the knob controls the arm for the training droid inside the falcon.

Take a step backwards and open the flap on the side. The falcon makes a mechanical whirring noise as you lift up the door to reveal a small ship. This mini-fighter is a new addition for the toy and not seen in the movie. The falcon makes another sound effect when the ship is removed. The ship features an opening cockpit, slide out guns, and a firing missile. It’s not bad, but a lot of effort and resources went into this that I think could have been used elsewhere (see the section about the landing gear).

From the front you have a set of three missiles set between the two “mandibles”. There are three buttons to launch the missiles, but only the center one has sound effects. Just below at the bottom is a pull-down missile launcher that can rotate. Very awesome.

The front of the mandibles feature small, light up headlights that activate when you fire up the engines.

We’ll skip the cockpit to talk about it all at once. Be patient.

The right side has the feature that sold me on this toy – the boarding ramp. Hit a small button on the side and the ramp activates automatically, including lights and sounds! It’s a thing of beauty to see in action.

Around the back of the falcon are the engines. The panel on the back where the black vents are is removable and reveals where the batteries are stored. The engines light up and they light differently depending on what sound effects are being played. There is the regular running sound, the not-starting sound, and the hyperdrive sound. All are activated by pressing buttons on the side.

The underside of the falcon is similarly well detailed, and features a moveable gun turret as well. Unfortunately, there is only one gunner chair inside.

The landing gear is the source of the most disappointment here. It is true that this version of the falcon has more accurate landing gear than the classic version, but this landing gear does NOT retract. Instead, it is removable. The thing is, they are TOO removable, and often fall off if you handle it wrong, or push it along the floor. I’m not sure what the rationale here was, because the design of this toy appears to have the room for the landing gear. Instead of spending all that time and resources on the mini-fighter, why not figure out how to make landing gear retract? It’s like having a bat mobile that does all the cool stuff, but then the wheels don’t turn. It just seems like a basic function that was ignored. If you decide to hang the falcon, or fly it around, you can just pop off the gear but then you are left with ugly holes. Another compromise would have been to supply panels to cover up the unsightly gaps left behind.

The Cockpit

The cockpit is our gateway to the interior from the falcon. The lid lifts up just like the classic one does, and actually comes off quite easily. The interior of the lid is detailed and has stickers.

The cockpit is spacious and now features room for four figures. The two pilots’ seats can swivel and slide forward and backward, while the rear seats just swivel. The instrument panels are detailed and the figures can grab on to the controls. The cockpit is also illuminated by two lights behind the passengers. The cockpit area looks great, but when taken in context of the rest of the falcon, is much too large. This is a toy after all, and we are aiming for fun-factor here, not movie accuracy. There is no passage from the cockpit to the interior of the ship, another major oversight.

The Inside

To access the interior of the Falcon, you need to remove the panel nearest the cockpit first, then the panel near the radar dish. The interior is broken down into two compartments.

The first compartment, the area with the boarding ramp, has a few cool gimmicks. There is of course the aforementioned ramp, a smuggling compartment in the floor, the gunners’ station, a large storage area and the medical bed. The medical bed has an area that looks like something plugs in there – maybe the cuff for Luke’s severed hand as seen in ESB? I can’t help but think we will see a different version of the falcon for each movie. The area features tons of sticker detail and pegs on the floor for various figures.

Remember those buttons on the outside that activated the engines? Well, when the cover is removed, those buttons activate dialog from the movie. These sounds are largely, Han, Chewie and Luke when fighting the tie-fighters. I should also mention that the sound fidelity is AWESOME. The back of the compartment features dual doors that are a pain to open if you have fat fingers and no fingernails like me. Inside is just another storage space.

The other compartment also has a smugglers compartment, pegs on the floor, and sound effects. In addition, the holographic chess table lights up and has small holographic characters. Luke’s training ball is also represented here, and moves when the knob on the outside is turned. The focus of the sound effects on this side is the Chess match between Chewbacca and R2-D2, as well as Luke’s training with Obi-Wan.

Two figures are included – Chewbacca and Han Solo. I don’t know if these are re-releases or not, but they are well-suited to the ship, with Han having the communications gear on, and Chewie with the super-articulation.

The biggest problem with the Falcon is where to put it. This is a no-brainer – If you love Star Wars you NEED this. You just do. Just be careful when hanging this from the ceiling – Dan tried twice and both times it came crashing down on the floor. Fortunately, and this is saying something about its construction, it survived both falls unharmed.

I think this falcon will be under many Christmas trees this year. At around $160 USD it’s not cheap, but we Japanese toy fans have paid a lot more for a lot less toy.

Get one, you won’t regret it.

Video:

Sideshow Collectibles' latest release is called Luke Skywalker - Rebel Commander - Bespin, the Empire called him a Terrorist and the Rebel Alliance called him a Hero in the Battle of Yavin but I like to call him - Lefty.

Luke (as he appeared in The Empire Strikes Back) has always been my favorite version of the character. Back when I was a kid, my Kenner action figure was always in the middle of my backyard/beach side adventures no matter what the scenario was.

I’m not sure what it is about him at this stage of his Hero’s Journey that appeals so much to me. Perhaps it is his altruistic notions of good and evil and the youthful ideal he represents, then again it might be the fact that those same ideals are shattered at this stage of his journey as he recklessly rushes off to confront (unknowingly) his father.

I do know that the same revelation that shocked Luke in his confrontation with Darth Vader also shocked me as a kid, so much so my father and I debated for years whether he was telling the truth or lying. It would be three years after all before we would know for sure.

For whatever reason he appeals to me; he does - so when I heard that this version of Luke was in the pipeline at Sideshow Collectibles for their 12 inch line I was pretty excited. Sideshow Collectibles has been scoring an A+ as far as I am concerned with the quality of their previous 12 inch pose-able figures.

Sideshow Collectibles has been doing 12 inch, high-detail; highly pose-able figures from Star Wars for almost 2 years now. Each character they do comes in both a Standard version and Exclusive version. Both versions are limited, meaning when the character is gone, it’s gone (Trust me, I begged for them to reissue the Jedi version of Luke I missed. Not happening.) The Exclusive version is also limited (usually less than half the number of the Standard edition run) but will also include an exclusive accessory. In the case of Luke here it is an Auto Tourniquet for his handless limb.Exclusive versions are only available thru Sideshow Collectibles.

Luke comes in what is best described as a book style package with two window boxes that close in on each other. The flap that folds over the side of the box has magnets built in to hold it closed. A little detail that shows how much attention Sideshow puts into this line. If they are putting magnets in the box lid what could they possibly be doing to the figures?

Included in the box are :

• 4 sets of hands - 2 for gripping the Lightsaber, 1 for the pistol and 1 open/casual hand
• 2 Lightsabers - 1 ignited, 1 not
• Sideshow Exclusive Auto Tourniquet (Bacta/Wound Unit for hand)
• Hand Stump (yes a cauterized stump to put on the end of his arm)
• Pistol
• Stand

The weapons that are included in the box are as detailed as the props from the movies. Seriously, look at these.

The hands do pull off and are swappable, so yes... you can make him earn his nickname, Lefty.

Luke features over 40 points of articulation allowing for a full range of motion and pose-ability options. There are joints just about every where a real human body has including little details like a neck that can look up or down to shoulders that slide forward and back.

The head sculpt is a dead on likeness of Mark Hamill and dosen't look too big or too small.

The outfit Luke wears is made completely of cloth and even appears to be made of the same material used in the creation of the costume making for a very sharp looking figure. I have found in the past with other manufacturers this outfit in the 12 inch scale has looked ill fitted. That is not the case here with Sideshow Collectibles version and has nailed the fitted look just right.

Luke’s outfit comes with the following:

• Pants
• Boots
• Tank Top
• Jacket
• Utility belt with Lightsaber hook and holster

Only the boots and utility belt are made of plastic with the Lightsaber hook on the belt being made of metal.

The holster is made of a leather looking material and features a magnet built in so the strap sticks to the holster. Which brings me to my one complaint. The material is so fragile that I ripped the strap right off of the holster trying to put the pistol in the holster the first time. It's easily fixable with some crazy glue or a hot glue gun. So note to future buyers be careful with that holster when putting the pistol in it.

In case you can't tell yet I do really like this figure. Sideshow Collectibles continues the fine tradition they have set for themselves in keeping that Quality bar set real high. If you are a fan of Star Wars and have a favorite "iconic" character from the Saga, you owe it to yourself to pick one up. It will look real sharp added to your collection, I promise.

Now if they could just hurry up and do a Darth Vader and a Yoda, I would be one happy fan boy.

The Luke in this review is the sold-out limited version with the Bacta Unit for his arm (limited to 1980 pcs - get it?)But you can still get your hands on the regular edition.

I have also included a quick video review as I think it's best to see these guys in motion.

Here’s another one of my favorite childhood characters done right in modern toy form.

Here’s another one of my favorite childhood characters done right in modern toy form.

I won’t go into how great of a movie the Empire Strikes Back is, but I will talk a bit about the Bounty Hunters. How is it possible that these creatures who only get seconds of screen time can captivate me for over TWENTY YEARS?

Toys, that’s how. Although Boba Fett, Dengar, Zuckuss, IG-88, Bossk and 4-LOM only appeared briefly in the movie, they have had numerous toys made over the years, and have even been given fleshed-out backstories. That all makes it cool now, but as a kid, I was mesmerized by some of the best designs in the trilogy. (Aside from Dengar – what is with that guy?)

Zuckuss instantly became my favorite character in the movie. That grey metal body with the insectoid head and that gun, oh that glorious large gun! What was his story? Well, come to find out, his name isn’t Zuckuss at all, it’s 4-LOM. Apparently Hasbro made a mistake on the packaging and got these two mixed up. It’s still tough to think of this guy as 4-LOM. To me, 4-LOM is the bounty hunter that you had to mail away for, the one that Ricky Michaud stole from me and gave to some other kids near his house. Of course, I think I stole it from someone else, but I digress….

Hasbro is actually now Rockin’ the star wars line with great representations of their classic figures. This guy is articulated like crazy – a far cry from the vintage figure, or any of the subsequent releases. As far as I am concerned, there is the vintage version and this one. That’s it. The only 2 you need.

4-LOM is very articulated for a droid, with joints at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles. The only thing lacking is some kind of side motion on the hips to allow the figure to spread his legs out a bit.

Included is his signature gun, which actually has paint detail. Unfortunately, 4-LOM has a hard time holding the gun in any position except for how he holds it in the movie.

Also included is a collector’s coin. You know, for the collectors. They like to collect things, so why not give them a coin?

Kotobukiya brings this phenomenal kit of Ralph McQuarrie's concept of the Luke vs Vader duel. Not only is this a concept design brought to life, but it is a re-creation of an actual painting used to pitch the movie.

The look and feel of the Star Wars saga can largely be attributed to the work of one man - Concept artist Ralph McQuarrie. Ralph worked closely with George Lucas to create the look and feel of the Star Wars universe. It was his paintings that helped sell the Star Wars saga to the movie studios, and without his work the Star Wars universe would look very different indeed.

As with any design process, the appearance of the Star Wars characters changed many times before the final design was settled on. Star Wars fans have been drooling over these designs for years, wondering what could have been...

Now, as most characters have been done to death in toy form, manufacturers are looking back into these concept designs as a source for new merchandise. Ralph McQuarrie's designs are now about to be seen in a whole new light.

Kotobukiya brings this phenomenal kit of Ralph McQuarrie's concept of the Luke vs Vader duel. Not only is this a concept design brought to life, but it is a re-creation of an actual painting used to pitch the movie.

The "kit" really isn't much of a kit at all. It's more like a statue that you have to assemble. All of the parts are cast in vinyl and pre-painted, only the most basic of assembly is needed. For example, with Vader, you only attach the arms, head, lower legs and cape. Once assembled, the statue is sturdy and there is really no trace that this was ever a kit.

Vader and Luke come packaged in a mammoth box, with product art on one side and Ralph McQuarrie's concept art on the other. Inside the box is a giant plastic tray, with parts secured with twist ties.

The figures are 1/7 scale, and each comes with its own base. Kotobukiya's motto is "Craftsmanship" and it shows. The sculpt, fit and finish are spot-on. I did find a small defect though - there is a rub on the paint on one of Vader's feet. It looks like it occurred in packaging.

The Vader figure is enormous. looking at the figure, it is clear Ralph McQuarrie had a strong idea of what Vader was going to look like. This concept design is very similar to the design seen in the film. Darth Vader's helmet is a bit more angular, and the armor is a bit different. Vader is also seen with a pistol at his side in addition to his blue lightsaber (as opposed to red in the films).

Luke however looks more like the space smuggler Han Solo than the farm boy from Tatooine. His breather mask and goggles cover a determined face, much different than the young Luke who dreamed of joining the academy.

Luke features a clear visor and a gas mask. You can pull the mask down to reveal his face, but you cannot remove it. The mask connects to a well-weathered unit on his back. Luke's weaponry consists of a blaster at his side and a yellow lightsaber.

Each figure comes with a display stand, but only Vader's stand has pegs to secure the figure. The 2 stands line up, but there are no clips to lock them together.

At almost $200, this isn't cheap, but you get what you pay for. This makes for one impressive display piece and would be at home in any Star Wars collectors home. And hey, It's from Japan, so technically it is a Japanese toy also!

This is a limited edition set. It's not so limited that you can't get your hands on one, but just enough that it is something special. The McQuarrie Luke vs. Vader set is limited to 1977 units in Japan, 3030 in North America, and the remainder of the 7097 in Europe and Asia.

I’m ashamed to admit that this is my first Sideshow Star Wars 12” toy. What the hell was I thinking? This thing is awesome!

I’m ashamed to admit that this is my first Sideshow Star Wars 12” toy. What the hell was I thinking? This thing is awesome!

I’d seen a lot of the characters come and go, but none of them had really made me that excited. The Star Wars characters that I really enjoy are the Bounty Hunters, Droids and Aliens. The minute they make a 4-LOM, I am so there.

Boushh was one of my favorite Star Wars action figures as a kid. I almost resented the fact that it was actually Princess Leia in disguise. I mean, the character just looked so cool, with the mask and the giant weapon. In my world, Boushh was a bad-ass bounty hunter just like Boba Fett.

Sideshow’s 12” Leia as Boushh is about a great of a Boushh toy as you are going to get. It features realistic clothing that uses the appropriate material to match the film. Included garments are:

• Jacket
• Undershirt
• Pants
• Waistband
• Belt
• Traditional Ubese Boots
• Ogygian Cloak
• Bandolier
• Impact Armor Mantle with canister pack

Accessories include

• Boushh helmet - interchangeable with Leia portrait
• Thermal Detonator
• Electrostaff
• Gloved hands with spike detail
• 12-Inch Figure Display Base with Star Wars logo

The toy comes in a fantastic box. It opens like a book when the magnetic flap is released. On one side is a tray with all the accessories, the other side has the figure. I like that you don’t have to do anything destructive to the packaging to get the figure out.

Leia as Boushh is a fully articulated action figure, not just a display piece. She can hold the Electrostaff in one or both hands.

The head can be swapped for an unmasked version. The likeness to Carrie Fisher is uncanny. The bandolier features removable cartridges, and included are additional cartridges that you can place where you like. The Canister Pack attaches to the back to complete the ensemble.

Boushh also comes with a thermal detonator!
So I really like the detail, the articulation and the accessories. However, there were a few things I didn’t care for:

1. The helmet looked too green on mine, it should have been more orange.
2. Leia’s head looks too big
3. The extra canisters – where do they go? What are they for?
4. I couldn’t get the bandolier to stay on the shoulder, it kept sliding off.
5. Grips on the hands are VERY tight, making holding the staff difficult.

These are nitpicks, I know, but that is what I am here for. I still think it is a great figure despite these flaws, and urge you to pick one up at Sideshow Collectables.

Anakin Skywalker Sideshow Collectibles 1:6 Scale, say that 5 times fast. Here is my review of Padme’s baby’s Daddy, Anakin Skywalker.

Consistent with their previous releases, Sideshow Collectibles makes yet another HIGH QUALITY figure. The body of the figure is solid and well articulated, featuring 15 points of articulation with ample rotation and degree of movement. The body is well proportioned without looking bulky.

The costume detail is extraordinary with no expense spared to get all the details in. The tabbard looks like leather, and materials used in the tunic and pants looks just like the film.

The head sculpt is excellent but not quite as life like as the Darth Maul or Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Of course being rash and impulsive leads to lost limbs in the Star Wars Universe and Sideshow Collectibles has got you covered, with not only a removable limb but the cyborg replacement as well. Detail is fantastic however the hand is in a fixed pose but will rotate.

The figure is loaded with accessories; 2 Lightsaber hilts (one ignited, one turned off), gloved arm, cyborg arm, comlink, rebreather, holopad. Pouches open to store all the items, yet another nice touch.

And last but not least, every Jedi gets a cool long flowing robe. Anakin is of course no exception, with vents built in to give you that flowing look and of course the hood features a small thin wire to get the look “just right.”

As always another one well worth picking up, if Padme’s baby’s daddy isn’t your thing be sure to take a look at the line as they continue to make different characters. If there not doing one you like, odds are they will. They are well worth the price of admission.

Next up in my series of Sideshow Collectibles 1:6 scale Star Wars figures is Obi-Wan Kenobi. Video Review included.

Sideshow continues to impress me with another high quality, super pose able figure. The body is identical to the Darth Maul except it’s a wee bit taller. The body has 16 points of articulation and has a nice solid feel to it.

The head sculpt is fantastic and a dead on likeness of Ewan MacGregor. It even has the little strands of grey mixed in the beard and hair.

All of that is fantastic, but where these figures really shine is the accessories and the outfits. No detail is spared and the materials used in the tunic, pants and robes are identical looking to that used in the making of the film. He comes equipped with 2 Lightsabers (one ignited and one not), 2 sets of hands, electrobionoculars and a stand.

It’s a no-brainer if you’re a Star Wars fan and like this scale. If you’re not a fan of the scale these are a good line to try out.

For a complete review and to hear me babble watch the video.

When it came time to review this figure, I couldn’t help myself. I took the AT-AT out into the woods and brought along a speeder bike. I was like a little kid in heaven.

While I don’t pick up each and every star wars figure, I am a sucker for the Star Wars vehicles, particularly the ones I had as kid.

The AT-AT toy has been reissued several times since its first release in 1981. Even back in those days, the AT-AT was an expensive toy, coming in at $47.99. My parents didn’t have a lot of money, but for Christmas 1981 they found a way to get it for me. I remember that Christmas morning, unwrapping the large box. Upon realizing what was inside, I pumped my fist in excitement. I LOVED THAT TOY.

Unfortunately, I don’t remember what happened to it. When the AT-AT release came out in 1997, the price had bumped up to $79.99. Not too bad considering it had been 16 years since the first one came out. Still, for me eighty dollars was a luxury I couldn’t afford in 1997. This version of the toy used the original molds, but added weathering, missile firing cannons, redesigned light up cannons, and a whole electronic sound m