| |
| |
Review |
| |
| Sculpt: |
| The Emperor's Shadow Guards were elite members of the Imperial Royal Guards, as seen in THE FORCE UNLEASHED. These are re-issues of the REVENGE OF THE SITH Royal Guard (III #23) sculpts, and are essentially the same figure with the exception of a new lightsaber-pike accessory. The sculpt has held up well, and is put to good use here. However, the cardback art shows that the Shadow Guard armor is a bit different from the typical royal guard uniform, making it an inaccurate sculpt. Rating: 8 out of 10. |
| |
| |
| |
| Paint: |
| The Shadow Guard is molded in black plastic. The helmet has a bright red paint app across the view slit. The torso, pelvis, arms, and upper legs are all molded in a black. There are silver paint details on the belt. The sidearm blaster is molded in black. The lightsaber-pike is painted silver, with black accents. The removable blade is molded in translucent red. The softgoods robes are black: 8.5/10. |
| |
| |
| |
| Articulation: |
| The figure has ball-jointed shoulders and knees. The head is attached with a ball joint that is essentially useless, as the helmet shape severely limits poseability. The waist, hips, and forearms are all standard planer-cut joints, while the elbows are angled planer-cuts so they can be posed straight or bent, allowing it to hold the pike in two hands: 7.5/10. |
| |
| |
| |
| Accessories: |
| The Shadow Guard comes with sidearm, lightsaber-pike, softgoods robes, and a character-specific action figure stand: 9/10. |
| |
| |
| |
| 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. Shadow Guard is 2008 figure number 14, from THE FORCE UNLEASHED. The card front image is a concept art rendering that looks like a retouched photo from ROTS. The cardback has a retouched screen shot of a Shadow Guard, and has text that explains the character's role in the game and a "Character Profile": 8.5/10 |
| |
| |
| |
| 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, and its desirability by army-builders seems to be making it that much scarcer: 6/10. |
| |
| |
| |
| Conclusion: |
| The Shadow Guards are a decent game concept, but toy collectors may have had their fill of black-repainted action figures (Utapau Shadow Troopers, Shadow Stormtroopers, etc). However, Imperials are always welcomed by army-builders, and this could lead to all sorts of new, interesting display possibilities for dioramists. Still, the recycling of the ROTS Red Guard mold without a single bit of retooling could turn off some: 7.9/10. |
|
|
|
