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Review |
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| Sculpt: |
| General Rahm Kota escaped Order 66, only to confront Darth Vader's secret apprentice during the time period of THE FORCE UNLEASHED. Kota was a warrior on his homeworld, and was noticed by Mace Windu during peace negotiations. Windu sensed the Force in the eighteen-year-old fighter, and convinced him to go to Coruscant to be trained as a Jedi. Grand Master Yoda became Kota's mentor, but the older Padawan gained few friends at the Temple. A loner, his fierce courage was his most outstanding feature. During the Clone Wars, the battle-hardened veteran often volunteered for the most dangerous assignments. Never fully trusting the clone troopers that comprised the Grand Army of the Republic, Kota escaped Order 66 and fled to the Outer Rim. His faith in the Force shattered, he lived in solitude for many years. Finally, he saw an opportunity to strike a blow against the Empire, orchestrating the seige of a TIE fighter construction facility over Nar Shaddaa. This would bring him to the attention of Vader, who sends his secret apprentice out to destroy the aging Jedi and his band of would-be Rebels. Kota is an all-new sculpt. The design is heavily influenced by Japanese Samurai traditions, and early concept art for the character was labeled "Samurai Jedi." The character was voiced and motion-capture performed by Cully Fredrickson in the game, and the facial sculpt has a passable resemblance to the actor. It rates an 8.5 out of 10. |
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| Paint: |
| Rahm Kota's head and forearms are molded in a medium flesh tone. The head has a dark gray paint application for the hair, then dry-brushed with a medium gray that is also used for his beard and eyebrows. His eyes are white, with black lashes and pupils. His topknot is tied with a brown-painted band. His arms Are painted silver at the gauntlets, with dark gray, fingerless gloves. His torso and arms are molded in brown. There is a black paint app at the kneck for his undertunic, and a flesh app at the neck itself. His shoulder armor are separate pieces, molded in metallic gray, with dry-brushed copper wear marks. His belt and sash are molded in dark gray, with an olive paint app to the sash and brown and silver accents to the belt.His pelvis and legs are molded in medium gray, witrh dark brown apps to his lower legs and feet at the boots. His lightsaber bandolier is molded in brown, with black and silver paint decos. His lightsaber is molded in translucent green, with a black handle that has silver and brown accents. His softgoods sleeve extensions are made from brown fabric. Nice detailing, although the face would've benefitted from a brown wash to bring out the scars over his right eye: 8/10. |
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| Articulation: |
| Rahm Kota has ball-jointed neck, shoulders, elbows, knees, and ankles. His waist, forearms, and hips are planer-cut jointed. His non-removable shoulder armor severely limits poseability, to the point he can't even hold his lightsaber in a two-handed grip: 8/10 |
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| Accessories: |
| Kota comes with a green-bladed lightsaber, removable lightsaber bandolier, removable chest armor, and a character-specific figure stand. The lightsaber bandolier is a tad bizarre, because the lightsaber blade isn't removable. Putting the ignited blade into the sling for it looks cool, but makes no sense, as it SHOULD cut through and kill him: 8/10. |
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| Packaging: |
| The new 30th Anniversary Collection card uses stylized "painted" imagery of the characters on the individual cards, with the new STAR WARS logo in stark white and cut in on an angle. It's a design that initially had collectors divided: you either loved the new look or hated it! The film each figure comes from is at the bottom right edge of the card, while the character's number in the collection is on the blister insert. Rahm Kota is 2008 figure number 13, from THE FORCE UNLEASHED. The card front image is a concept art rendering that looks like a battle-ravaged version of Kota. The cardback has a what appears to be a screen shot of Kota that greatly resembles actor Fredrickson, and has text that explains the character's role in the game and a "Character Profile": 8.5/10 |
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| Availability: |
| As of this writing, the figure has been appearing at retail for just over a month, and is also available from various online sources. It's still scarce in areas where 2008 waves 1 and 2 haven't shipped in quantity. Many collectors have still not managed to find this one at retail, yet in other regions, it's already readily available: 7/10. |
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| Conclusion: |
| Rahm Kota is an interesting design for a Jedi, and what little is known of the character so far sounds like a good idea for THE FORCE UNLEASHED game. While there are some minor flaws, and a pretty substantial "Huh?"-factor with that lightsaber sling, it still rates an 8/10. |
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