Sunday, December 25, 2011

A Pretty Lousy Background Alien Figure, Saelt-Marae Is Not An Essential Star Wars Figure!


The Good: Good sculpt, Good accessory
The Bad: Very unflexible, Terrible balance, Terrible coloring, Low collectibility
The Basics: The Power Of The Force Saelt-Marae action figure is poorly rendered by Kenner, but given how obscure the character is, it is unsurprising Hasbro has not resculpted it.


Saelt-Marae is a figure that I am having more and more trouble getting excited about writing about. After a few good days of writing about surprisingly cool Power Of The Force Star Wars figures, I have hit Saelt-Marae and the more I consider him (it?) the less I think I like it.

If you don’t know who Saelt-Marae is, this is no surprise. Saelt-Marae is one of the many, many, giant puppet alien creatures seen at Jabba’s palace in Return Of The Jedi (reviewed here!). Saelt-Marae is seen on Jabba’s Sail Barge drinking and talking with Ree-Yees, but is otherwise utterly unmemorable.

The 4" Saelt-Marae figure is pretty lousy and it is the Power Of The Force rendition of the figure that was originally released as Yak-Face. Why Kenner thought this was an indispensible figure to get right out again when they revamped the Star Wars toy line is an utter mystery.

Basics

Saelt-Marae is one of the many, many background aliens who appears in Jabba’s palace. It was tall, furry and did not have any lines, though it was prominently seen on Jabba’s sail barge. The figure stands 4 3/8" tall to the top of its head. This Saelt-Marae figure is coifed in his long orange robe and he looks all right. Saelt-Marae is molded entirely in hard plastic, save his robes which are softer, more rubbery plastic.

This toy is a decent sculpt, looking as much like Saelt-Marae did in the when one considers the character was furry and had many whiskers. The faint whiskers have become a full-blown mustache, but it looks pretty decent! Unlike many of the other Star Wars figures from this part of the Power Of The Force line, Saelt-Marae is cast in monotonal colors as opposed to having any sense of realistic depth or shading. As a result, this is a mediocre figure in terms of coloring and it barely resembles the photograph of Saelt-Marae that is on the package. Most damning is that the photo clearly shows the character in brown robes, not the bright orange robe the figure has him wearing!


Accessories

Saelt-Marae, hanging out in Jabba’s Court, needs only one accessory, his Battle Staff. The 4 1/8” plastic staff is black, thin and has a very cool top piece that looks like it could shoot some form of ray. Cast entirely in black plastic, it is unique to this figure. It only fits in the figure’s right hand because of how Saelt-Marae is cast, but it is in proportion to the rest of the figure there!

Playability

The four inch toy line was designed for play and Saelt-Marae is fair in that regard. The figure is poorly-articulated and has poor balance. This figure features six points of articulation and falls right over, even when he is standing flatfooted. Saelt-Marae has joints at the groin socket, shoulders, neck, and midriff. All of the joints are simple swivel joints, including the shoulders. Saelt-Marae looks somewhat ridiculous when its head is turned, because the figure’s elongated neck is actually articulated at the bottom of the neck/top of the chest!

Saelt-Marae has holes in either heel to make him stand on the pegs that adorn some of the Star Wars playsets.


Collectibility

Saelt-Marae is part of the Power Of The Force four-inch series, a series of Star Wars action figures that was exceptionally overproduced. Saelt-Marae appeared on at least two cards and despite the fact that it has not been recast since, its value has never appreciated. This remains one of the cheapest alien figures to find on the secondary market even now!

Overview

For those looking to flesh out their collection of alien support action figures, the Saelt-Marae action figure is a pretty lousy choice. There are vastly better figures to spend your money on.

For other Return Of The Jedi Power Of The Force figures, please check out my reviews of:
Chewbacca As Boushh's Bounty
Princess Leia In Ewok Celebration Gown
Gamorrean Guard
EV-9D9
Weequay Skiff Guard
Jedi Luke Skywalker
Bib Fortuna
Emperor's Royal Guard
Imperial Speeder Bike
Nien Nunb

1.5/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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