swCollector - Yarael Poof

Yarael Poof - 069

: Published on Monday, 24 October 2011 17:49

Yarael Poof ™

The Saga Collection

	Year Released: 2007		Retail Price: $5.99
	Figure# 069		Collection: Jedi High Council
	Asst: 87355 / 85770		UPC: 53569 21945
	Card# 6495806500		Insert# 6616360000

	Figure Includes:
	• Figure Base		• Lightsaber
	• Random Hologram Figure

Sculpt:

Jedi Master Yarael Poof is a Quermian and a member of the Jedi Council, present at the session where Master Qui-Gon Jinn brings Anakin Skywalker before the council in THE PHANTOM MENACE. As with all members of his species, Master Poof has two brains, which makes him especially skilled at Jedi mind tricks; although, he's equally as skilled with a lightsaber. A puppet-rendered character in TPM, this figure was first produced as part of the STAR WARS Saga line's "Jedi Council" Screen Scene sets. The sculpt is very faithful to the bizarre alien, with its long neck and small head, making it somewhat resemble the Kaminoans from ATTACK OF THE CLONES. Many fans once referred to the character as the "Q-Tip Head Alien." In Expanded Universe literature, Yarael Poof dies before the events of ATTACK OF THE CLONES. This sculpt rates an 8.5 out of 10.

Paint:

The figure's head, hands, and legs are molded in a pale gray, with a medium blue wash. The eyes are white with red irises and black centers. The torso, pelvis, and arms are molded in medium brown, with a dark brown paint application at his colar. His belt has a dark tan paint app, with silver detail decos. His upper legs have a nedium brown paint app to match his robe, and his sandals are a dark brown. His softgoods lower robe is a medium brown. His lightsaber is the same as the Saga McQuarrie Concept Stormtrooper's, molded in light blue with a silver paint app, with a thin, glow-in-dark core. A straightforward, accurate paint scheme that rates 8.5/10.

Articulation:

The shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, and hips are all planer-cut joints, with ball-jointed knees. There is no head or neck articulation. However, the hips are a single piece, limiting poseability: 8/10.

Accessories:

Character-specific figure stand, lightsaber, and mini-hologram. The stand is wrong; it reads RETURN OF THE JEDI when it should be for THE PHANTOM MENACE: 7/10.

Packaging:

The same The Saga Collection card as the rest of the series, with a character-specific background image--in this case, the interior of the Jedi Council Chamber. The insert image is a nice close-up shot of Yarael Poof, and has The Saga Collection logo to the right of the character image. The figure's name is just below TSC logo, with its collection number (Saga #069) just to the right. To the left are the five white-orange triangles, indicating the position of the enclosed mini-figure. The cardback features a small film image of Poof, with text that explains his role in TPM, along with the diecut display area for the Exclusive Hologram Figure: 8.5/10..

Availability:

As of this writing, the figure has been appearing at retail for about two months. Although it initially sold out quite quickly, it soon showed up in greater quantities; it is also available from most online sources: 8/10.

Conclusion:

Collectors love the Jedi Council, as do diorama builders. However, some lesser-known council members never got their due as figures until the Jedi Council Screen Scenes, some of which were Toys "R" Exclusives. With the single-carded release of Yarael Poof, those who missed out on the council sets at last get a chance at him ... plus, this is his first release that includes a lightsaber. Perhaps, eventually, we'll get single-carded releases of other council members, such as Oppo Rancissis, Yaddle, and Even Piel. 8.1/10.

Review Date: 2/25/07