The Good: Great sculpt, Wonderful detailing, Good articulation, Decent investment value.
The Bad: Poor balance.
The Basics: The obscure Achk Med-Beq figure is surprisingly cool and worthwhile for Star Wars fans!
As I work through my collection of Attack Of The Clones figures, I am pleased to discover I still have a few figures from the second Star Wars prequel film that were not part of the Attack Of The Clones toy assortment. One of the ones that amused me to discover I had was Achk Med-Beq. When I started working at the comic book shop, however briefly, my wife shelved an Achk Med-Beq figure and excitedly asked, "Do you have this one?" I said, "No," but then I discovered one in a huge box of my toys in the attic! There was no big story, I could find, to how I got the figure, but I could understand why I bought it. I like figures that are obscure and are from the seedy underbelly of the Star Wars universe!
For those unfamiliar with Achk Med-Beq, he was one of the bounty hunter or scoundrels seen in the night club in Attack Of The Clones (reviewed here!). Seen in the background for only a few seconds, Achk Med-Beq was a tattooed patron of the Outlander Club on Coruscant.
The 4" Achk Med-Beq figure is wonderful in every aspect, save his balance. His coloring detail, accessories, and articulation are all pretty cool, but still, he tips over when off his stand.
Basics
Achk Med-Beq is a distinctive background Star Wars action figure and while he is not instantly recognizable, save for the die-hard fans, he fits in exceptionally well with a wide variety of Star Wars figures. Achk Med-Beq stands 3 5/8" tall and he is dressed in the navy blue uniform he was seen in in the film. The Achk Med-Beq figure is cast so that may stand, despite having the apparent articulation to sit. Unfortunately, the softness of the plastic that makes up most of the figure is not enough to resist the soft below-the-waist portion of his shirt and that "skirt" is too stiff to allow him to sit.
This toy is an incredible sculpt, looking precisely like the tattooed bounty hunter seen in the bar. He is sculpted in the exact outfit he wore in the movie, complete with harnesses and belts and it includes the holster for his blaster pistol! The boots are molded with such detail that they include the straps and this sculpt is so detailed that Achk Med-Beq has molded fingernails! Even the character's face looks precisely like the picture on the toy, and not just because he is a black man with a tattoo over his left eye! The facial sculpt gets the eyes, nose, goatee and overall head shape just right!
As for the coloring details, this Achk Med-Beq is precisely colored, if in monotonal increments. So, his face, hair and uniform all are correctly colored, but the skin tones on the figure's face and hands lack any sense of realistic depth or shading. However, the detail work is exceptional. The tattoo is painted on over Achk Med-Beq's left eye and his lips are even highlighted pink. His eyes have both the brown irises and black pupils, setting them apart from the quality of the earlier figures. Even so, this is a very clean version of Achk Med-Beq's uniform. So, while it has the yellow rank stripes painted on, it does not have any coloring to indicate wear or battle.
Accessories
The Achk Med-Beq figure is appropriately armed with a blaster pistol, though he comes with the glass and table set as well. Achk Med-Beq is outfitted with a blaster pistol, which is a 5/8" long blaster pistol much like Han Solo's, but with a drastically shorter barrel. It has an elongated scope and is monotonally gray. It fits in either of Achk Med-Beq's hands, though better in his left and it fits nicely in the holster on the figure's left side.
The drinking glass accessory, on the other hand, fits best in the figure's right hand, which is posed more open to accommodate the 1/2" tall blue translucent cylinder. The bell ends of the plastic accessory make it clear it is intended to look like a wine glass or similar beverage container, which is authentic to the character.
Finally, Achk Med-Beq comes with a very cool stand, which is a Coruscant Outlander Club table and floor piece. Shipped in two pieces, this is a mini-playset-type stand and it looks quite good. The 3" long floor piece attaches to the 2 1/4" tall table section. The table, 1 3/4" in diameter, is colored to look like the seedy Outlander Club and is a good place to rest Achk Med-Beq's glass when he is not holding it. Other characters may stand around the table and look good, too. Achk Med-Beq features holes in the bottom of each of his feet, which fit perfectly into the pegs on the floorpiece!
Playability
The four inch toy line was designed for play and Achk Med-Beq is good in that regard. The figure is very articulated and the only real drawback to him is that he has poor balance when off his stand. In fact, I could not get him to stand unaided very long, so the fact that he does come with a playset stand covers a real defect with the figure!
Achk Med-Beq comes with twelve points of articulation, all of which are simple swivel joints, except the knees, which are appropriately hinged! He has joints at the groin socket, shoulders, shins, knees, biceps, wrists, neck, and waist. The elbows do not extend, but the figure's biceps rotate, so he can realistically make drinking motions in conjunction with the shoulders and wrists. Given how this is a support character, this is not a serious liability for the figure. Otherwise, the joints are fine, and with its stand, he becomes a decent display or play piece.
Collectibility
Achk Med-Beq is part of the 2003 Original Trilogy Collection four-inch series, a series of Star Wars action figures that was not very common at all, but largely recast figures that had been previously released by Kenner. Achk Med-Beq was one of the few wholly original figures and he has not been recast in any subsequent toy lines! Released as 2003 Assortment figure #37, this figure is a great toy for fleshing out the full range of Star Wars characters.
Overview
Achk Med-Beq is an surprisingly cool sculpt with decent accessories that will enhance anyone's Attack Of The Clones Outlander Club diorama or Star Wars play experience!
For other 2003 Original Trilogy Collection Star Wars figures, please check out my reviews of:
#01 Hoth Rebel Trooper
#03 Hoth Attack Luke Skywalker
#13 Hoth Rescue Han Solo
#17 Executor Meeting Dengar
#18 Executor Meeting Bossk
9/10
For other toy reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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