Friday, October 8, 2010

Sometimes, A Decent Sculpt And Good Articulation Doesn't Sell A Figure: Jeremoch Colton Is Boring.




The Good: Good sculpt, Fine accessories, Good articulation.
The Bad: Painfully bland figure, Headpiece does not fit well.
The Basics: A frightfully dull action figure that still has good balance and incredible articulation, the Jeremoch Colton figure is a rare dud in the Legacy Collection of Star Wars toys.


Moment of truth. The other day, I reviewed the Revenge Of The Sith Mustafar Sentry (click here for my review!) which became my very first "Episode III" figure in my collection. The truth of the matter is that I had wanted to get the Mustafar Sentry, but I went on vacation with my wife to Michigan before I could pick it up. In Michigan, I found a figure I had never even heard of before, Jeremoch Colton! Jeremoch Colton, as it turns out, was in Revenge Of The Sith and without my wanting it to, he actually became my first "Episode III" figure, though my intent had always been to get the Mustafar Sentry first (and the Mustafar Sentry is actually on the Revenge Of The Sith card).

For those unfamiliar with Jeremoch Colton, this is not a surprise at all. Colton was the pilot of the ship Tantive IV in Revenge Of The Sith (click here to read my review!). He is in a single scene in the film, playing a message for Yoda, Bail Organa and Obi-Wan Kenobi from Mas Ameda and piloting the ship.

Honestly, the moment I saw the figure in the store, I said, "Wow, that looks like Jeremy Bulloch!" Jeremy Bulloch is the man who was in the Boba Fett costume in The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. He is a very friendly man and, as it turns out, he played Jeremoch Colton in Revenge Of The Sith, which makes for a nice cameo for those "in the know." This figure is the closest thing one will ever get to a Jeremy Bulloch action figure and, sad to say, despite the articulation and general accuracy of the sculpt, this is just too boring a figure to recommend.

Basics

The Jeremoch Colton figure is as detailed a figure as it can be. The male pilot in the simple uniform stands 4" tall as an action figure. Jeremoch Colton was released in 2009 as part of Hasbro's Legacy Collection with the Droid Factory bonus. The obscure character is cast in fairly soft plastic.

This toy is as impressive a sculpt as it can be, when one considers the uniform for Jeremoch Colton is exceptionally bland and moviegoers never truly see the character that well. Even so, Jeremoch Colton appears as he does in the film with a blue and gray pilot's outfit. The head is all right, featuring the wavy white hair of Jeremoch Colton, though the face is far too puffy and unlined to be that of Jeremy Bulloch. The figure's eyes are well-detailed with the blue irises and black pupils. Jeremoch Colton's skin is monotonally white (caucasian) and the figure lacks molded detailing at the knuckles, though there do appear to be very faint fingernails.

The costuming details are part of what makes the figure so bland. The pants look puffy and loose, the boots look clean and lack laces and the top looks bland. The racing stripes on the side of his outfit are present, but the outfit is otherwise unadorned by rank symbols. Even the wrist communicator on his left wrist seems underdetailed.

Accessories

Jeremoch Colton, lackey for a Senator as he is, comes with only two accessories: a blaster and a headpiece in addition to the droid part. The headpiece is a 1/2" wide by 1/2" tall plastic device that has three prongs. It fits onto Jeremoch Colton's head and is meant to look like a communication device. Unfortunately, it is too large and slips off the head of my figure and it looks goofy when it is present.

Jeremoch Colton also comes with a 3/4" long gunmetal colored pistol which fits into Jeremoch Colton's right hand. The gun has minor surface details, like the molded on trigger and detailing near the grip, but it lacks any other painted details. It does, however, fit nicely into the holster molded onto the right thigh of the toy, so it is perfectly in scale for the figure!

This figure was part of the "Droid Factory" line of the Legacy Collection figures and the basic premise was that for every six figures you bought, you'd get a seventh which would be assembled from parts in each of the six toys in the collection. Jeremoch Colton comes with right arm of the YVH-1 droid. This is a skeletal humanoid droid (it actually reminds me of a Terminator!) and the arm is articulated at both the wrist and the elbow!

Playability

The four inch toy line was designed for play and Jeremoch Colton is quite good in that regard. This Legacy Collection figure has impressive articulation as well as decent balance! Flatfooted, this is a very balanced toy and it is hard to tip Jeremoch Colton over. Also, Jeremoch Colton comes with twelve points of articulation, many of which are not just simple swivel joints. Jeremoch Colton has joints at the knees, groin socket, shoulders, elbows, wrists, neck, and waist and he twists at any of those points. The shoulders, elbows AND knees are all ball-and-socket joints with hinge joints, offering unreal amounts of articulation! The head is on a ball joint, which allows him to nod up and down as well as look left to right, at least as much as his stiff collar will allow!

And for whatever improbable poses one might find where he will not remain standing, there are playsets with foot pegs which fit into the holes in either of Jeremoch Colton's feet. And if one wants a pilot, his increased articulation easily makes him take a seated pose.

Collectibility

Jeremoch Colton is part of the 2009 Legacy Collection four-inch series, a series of Star Wars action figures that was not incredibly common and this is the only version of Jeremoch Colton to date. Fans of the toys saw an investment winner in this figure and because this Jeremoch Colton was not overproduced and because Jeremy Bulloch is still a favorite on the convention circuit, he is now usually only available on the secondary market. One suspects that the only real reason to get this figure is to have Bulloch sign it and that would be the only way I would otherwise have bought it, having been fairly underwhelmed now that I have removed mine from the package.

Jeremoch Colton is BD42 in the Legacy Collection.

Overview

As an objective toy collector, there is a lot right with the Jeremoch Colton figure. However, the face is underdetailed and the figure itself, despite having great articulation, is painfully boring. As a result, I can't recommend this for anyone, except the most die-hard of Star Wars fans (who undoubtedly already own it) or for those who are meeting Jeremy Bulloch at a convention and want something more distinctive than a Boba Fett 8 x 10 photograph to get autographed by him.

For other Legacy Collection figures, please check out my reviews of:
BD17 Princess Leia (Slave Leia)
BD39 Jawa with Security Droid
BD50 Wing Guard
BD52 R2-X2

5/10

For other Star Wars figure reviews, please check out my index page for a nice, organized list!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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