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Year Released: 2004
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Retail Price: $6.99
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Asst: 85221 / 85003
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UPC: 76930 85221
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Card # 6304580700
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Insert # 6309990000
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Exclusive: Target
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Figure Includes:
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• Weapon
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• Figure Base
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| Sculpt: |
| Durge, an original character created for the CLONE WARS storylines and designed by the Skywalker Ranch Art Department, is seen here in his animated incarnation from the Cartoon Network micro-series. His basic look has been very streamlined and stylized. Although his body proportions are correct when compared to the cartoon versions design, his is woefully undersized in comparison with the rest of this line. Durge was enormous, easily nearly double the size of Obi-Wan during their intense, climactic battle on the planet Muunilist in the first season of CLONE WARS. The action figure, however, is only half a head taller than the animated Count Dooku figure. Unlike the "movie-realistic" Durge from the Saga-derived CLONE WARS line, this Durge's rocket-pack is folded in on itself, similar to the Deluxe Durge. The sculpt is very true to the cartoon design, but because he's been so drastically undersized by Hasbro, this figure only rates an 8 out of 10. |
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| Paint: |
| The paints in the animated line are rather flat, reflecting the two-dimensional look of the cartoons. Like the majority of the animated characters, Durge's costume has been simplified into a more monochromatic scheme. Light blue is used to simulate the metallic colors of his armor, with darker blues on various details. The stylized symbol on his chest is still blue, and the markings on each shoulder are now a very bright red. As the figure is molded in light blue, only the two darker blues, the red, the black on his helmet, and the gray on his neck count as paint, making for a total of 5 paint applications on the figure. True to the coloring of the animated character, he rates 8.5/10. |
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| Articulation: |
| The entire CLONE WARS Animated line suffers from a lack of all but the most basic articulation, but Durge here gets just a minor tweak in this area. Like most of the rest of the figures in this line, he has the standard shoulder, neck, and waist articulation. Added to this figure are planer-cut wrist joints, which enhances the number of poses, especially considering his battle-lance accessory: 8/10. |
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| Accessories: |
| Included are Durge's electro battle-lance a figure stand. The twin blasters in his holsters are not removable, thus they can't be considered accessories, but are costume details (like the sculpted-on lightsaber of the Outlander Club Obi-Wan from the Saga line). The figure stand is the same for all the animated figures: the STAR WARS: CLONE WARS logo with one peg for attaching the figures. Had the figure's blasters been removable, or had his rocketpack had its wings extended, he might have rated more than just a 7/10. |
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| Packaging: |
| The same CLONE WARS card as the rest of the line, complete with profile-view Clone Trooper helmet and orange fireball on the front. The back has a full-figure shot of the character, plus some sketches in a "film strip" display on the back. Each cardback has the same description of the CLONE WARS animated series on the back, as well as tiny pictures of all eight figures from waves one and two. The inserts are die-cut portraits of the individual figures, and the one for Durge is, well, appropriately massive. I'm taking a half-point off because, by wave 2, we were getting tired of seeing nothing but these figures at Target while the Saga basic figures were impossible to find: 8/10. |
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| Availability: |
| While these were hard to get when first hitting the shelves in early January, they are rather common now at all Target stores: 8.5/10. |
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| Conclusion: |
| The animated line is something that you either are into, or you aren't. Some collectors aren't at all impressed by the cartoonish depictions of the familiar STAR WARS characters from ATTACK OF THE CLONES, while others feel that the limited articulation doesn't justify the $6.99 price that Target is charging. I liked the other versions of Durge, and while I like the style of the animated Durge, I'm disappointed by his being shrunken down to size in comparison with the rest of this line. It's like making an Incredible Hulk figure that's the same height as Bruce Banner. 8/10. |
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