The Good: Good sculpt, Neat novelty
The Bad: Low collectible value, Powers/base do not completely work, Terrible balance for Super Battle Droid.
The Basics: The Deluxe Yoda with Force Powers action figure is a cheap way to get Yoda, a Super Battle Droid and a Geonosis base whether they work well or not!
Sometimes, fleshing a character out does not do as much for that character as leaving them shrouded in mystery. In Attack Of The Clones, Yoda the Jedi Master exploded onto the big screen as a computer-generated action hero that was almost more laughable than it was cool. Sad to say, this led to more merchandising of Yoda and the results were often mixed. For example, in the Attack Of The Clones toy line, there was a deluxe Yoda figure and that action figure turned out to be more problematic than it was cool, leaving many fans disappointed. The Attack Of The Clones line had several deluxe figures which were hardly bigger than normal figures, like the Nexu figure (click here for my review!).
The Attack Of The Clones Deluxe Yoda action figure is designed to be an action Yoda, with an angry expression and more aggressive stance to him. This Yoda is more youthful in appearance and looks ready to kick the circuits of the Super Battle Droid this figure comes with in!
Basics
Yoda in this form is a Jedi Master posed in a dramatic action moment during the Battle Of Geonosis from Attack Of The Clones (click here for my review of the film!). He is posed with his legs in a solid stance, but spread. Yoda's robes are molded open so it looks like they are being swept back from the force of his movement. This Yoda appears ready to take on the Super Battle Droid that comes with this deluxe figure and that is a nice bonus. This Yoda figure stands only 1 3/4" tall and he is slightly hunched over. Yoda is appropriately coifed in his tan Jedi robes with his brown tunic underneath. Yoda's green head and hands are exposed, as the hood on Yoda's robe is down.
This toy is a decent sculpt, which is pretty easy considering Yoda is one of the most distinctive characters in Star Wars and it is very easy for toy manufacturers to get him right. He is easily recognizable and Yoda is impressive in his coloring detail, save that the character he is based on sometimes lacks realistic flesh shading details. The detailing on the figure's face is somewhat monolithic and the skin tones are nowhere near realistic for anything other than a puppet. Conversely, Hasbro made an effort to both mold and color the figure's hair (which is still remarkably thin on the back of my Yoda's head) and the finger and to nails are appropriately colored.
The Deluxe Yoda figure comes with a 6" by 4 1/2" plastic base that is just under an inch thick. This is sculpted to look like the floor of the droid factory on Geonosis and it includes a 5" tall crane with a 6 1/2" boom that is designed to be part of the combat functions of the toy. I always like bases as they give more structured play area and help to recreate key scenes from the films and this one is nice because it attaches to the Deluxe Anakin figure's base or the base of the Deluxe C-3P0!
Accessories
Yoda, being a battle-ready Jedi Master, might not need a lot of accessories, but this one comes with two accessories in addition to the base. This Yoda figure comes with a lightsaber (the "blade" detaches) and the Super Battle Droid with its laser bolts. The lightsaber is a one and five-eighths inch plastic green lightsaber that is translucent - like the one in the movie - to its base. This lightsaber is nicely cast in shiny silver plastic and the "blade" of the lightsaber may be pulled off to allow Yoda to appear peaceful. Unfortunately, because the base of the lightsaber blade is a thin pin that fits into the base, this accessory breaks real easy leaving one with a detached blade and a choking hazard. As it is, the lightsaber may fit into either of Yoda's hands and the right hand has a magnet in it which attracts the base of the lightsaber.
The Deluxe Yoda also comes with a Super Battle Droid as an accessory. This figure is a 3 7/8" tall robot that looks like a clean version of the Separatist killing machines. It is cast in blue and gunmetal-colored plastic and looks pretty good with its red light on the chest armor and arm gun. This super battle droid also comes with laser beam accents that plug into the gun on the figure's right arm. It is only articulated at the groin socket and shoulder socket with simple swivel joints and to try to make the droid look like more of an active robot, it is mid-step. Unfortunately, this makes it tip over constantly as it is not at all stable and the holes in the bottom of the droid's feet are not accompanied by pegs on the platform. If it stood up to begin with, this would be a vastly better figure combination.
Playability
The four inch toy line was designed for play and Yoda is not bad in that regard. First, Yoda has the "Force" hand function (the magnet in the hand is a neat enough idea and because the magnet and lightsaber are so small, it looks good, even when it doesn't work so well). Second, in addition to the fight-ready action pose, this Yoda moves around using a magnet and a lever under the base of the Geonosis landscape! As a result, one sets Yoda atop the magnet and he moves forward, backward and spins on the platform without having to use the hand on the figure.
Unfortunately, the Deluxe Yoda takes a lot to try to get him to swing with his lightsaber and it is very difficult for him to actually knock the Super Battle Droid over with his lightsaber. Moreover, the crane collapsing mechanism is erratic and the springboard - which is supposed to launch the Super Battle Droid when manipulated right - does not seem to work at all on mine. Combined with the Super Battle Droid tipping over constantly, this is hardly an exciting or highly playable toy in general.
Still, the general concept with the magnet and the moving on the base is all right and this Deluxe Yoda has excellent balance. Yoda figures are not known for wonderful articulation this Yoda is no different. The Deluxe Yoda is gifted with only three points of articulation and for a figure so small, this is more than enough. Yoda, as an action figure, has joints at the shoulders and neck. There is no articulation in the knees or groin socket and all of the joints are simple swivel joints.
Collectibility
Yoda is part of the 2002 Star Wars Attack Of The Clones collection of four-inch action figures. This series of Star Wars action figures was fairly common and the Deluxe Yoda figure was vastly overproduced. This Deluxe Yoda was largely clearanced and has not recovered in the secondary market since. As a result, this Yoda is a poor investment and is more ideal for collectors and children who actually want an interesting Yoda to play with!
Overview
The Deluxe Yoda is a better idea than he was executed. Instead of being intense and playable, this Yoda with playset is often more problematic in trying to get it to work. At least it may be found dirt cheap.
For other Star Wars action figures, please check out my reviews of:
Power Of The Force R2-D2
Original Trilogy Collection X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker
Legacy Collection Captain Needa
4/10
For other Star Wars toy reviews, please visit my index page!
© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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