This year we get the other half of the drum with Ak-Rev. Cool, the Rebo band rhythm section is complete. I really feel bad for the folks that rushed out and got two Umpasses to get the full drum.

Ak-Rev is a Weequay. There seemed to be a few of them hanging around Jabba’s Palace. Most notably, one of his species makes Luke walk the plank on the skiff.

Appearance:

This is figure that even after re-watching the film, I can’t be 100% sure looks like his movie counterpart. He’s mostly in the background, and he’s got a lot of shadows around him in the film.

However, in general he appears to be a good rendition of the drum beater. His colorful garb fits better with a musician than one of the palace guards.

Actually his colorful outfit is one of the highlights of this
figure. He has a number of stripes on this chest and back, as well as plenty of tassels. While the tassels seem a bit thick, they are colored well, enough. I’m sure is they were any thinner, they wouldn’t hold up to some safety regulation. Ak even has some extra color patches on this shoulder pad and gauntlets.

The other thing that impressed me was the leather look of his skirt. While the color on the top of his shirt doesn’t give as good a look, the wash on the skirt gives it just enough sheen and texture to make it look like leather.

Another high spot is his trademark braids. I think they pulled it off fairly well here. The top, where they attach to his head, has a bit of wash to keep it from look like a glob of light colored paint.

Now for a couple of less than perfect areas. The first is his pants. The padding on the tan parts is sculpted fairly deep. However, there is no wash over it.This gives Ak-Rev’s pants a looks similar to the padded areas of the vintage Hoth Rebel Trooper. A little wash would serve the ankle wraps well, too.

The next two things that I was less than excited about, both revolve around his his head. First, what is with the eyes on this figure? The Star Wars Databank show a picture with eyes visible, but not nearly that much white. Most of the Weequay we see on film have such small eyes, you cant make out any detail. I have to say I’d have rather seen them black like most of the previous members of his species.

There is something just not quite right about his face as well. I can’t put my finger on it, but most of the Weequay have a face that just looks mean. This guy look more like an old man than a tough alien thug. I think the nose and ridges around the eyes are off just a little. In combination with the eye paint, I’m sure that’s enough to throw the look off. Since he’ll be facing a drum in my display, I’m not overly concerned with it, but the face could be better.

Fun:

From the waist up, Ak-Rev isn’t a bad figure, from the fun view point. He’s got all the arm articulation you could want to beat on drums, or aliens if a fight breaks out at the Palace. Ball jointed shoulder and elbows with cut wrists.

From the waist down is another story. His pose is pretty much limited by the fact he has no knee joints. And his legs were put into a pose that looks more like he’s a left handed fencer than a drummer.

Like Umpass Stay before him, I’m guessing some articulation was removed to cut costs. And just like Umpass before him, the pose is a bit goofy. Ak-Rev has a cymbal to the left of him on film. He alternates between the big drum and the cymbal. This pose is pretty much intended for the big drum.

One of the bigger problems with his pose is his feet are just in strange positions. There’s ankle articulation, but it’s not real useful, as it’s limited by the ankle wraps. I really would have rather had knees than ankles.

Ak comes, as already mentioned, with the second half of the large drum. I’m glad to say this is an exact duplicate of the Umpass Stay piece. I was a bit concerned, since it’s packaged backwards in the blister. But, upon getting home, I was happy to learn that it matches perfectly with the other piece.

I had visions of colors being off and was glad to see Hasbro got it right. I still contend this drum is way too small (see the screen capture at the top). It’s a diorama piece, and I’m grateful for that, but it could be just a little bigger.

Ak-Rev also comes with two drum sticks. These appear to be short sticks with toasted marshmallows on the ends. If he hadn’t came with the drum, I’d have no idea what these are. I do like them better than the one that came with Umpass, though. And yes, Ak uses two in the film.

The last thing that came with Ak-Rev is a droid piece. As part of the Build-a-Droid series, he has a R2 unit leg bundled with him. As a I stated in Yarna’s review. I imagine at the end of the year, I’ll have a box of half finished droids collecting dust somewhere.

Overall:

I’m glad they released Ak-Rev. I just wish they had released him
and Umpass together. A year apart for figures that each have part of the same accessory is too much.

Ak-Rev, like Yarna before him, is a good figure for one particular purpose. If you are trying to fill out a Max Rebo band display, he’s perfect. If you’re looking for a figure to stand on his own merits, he’s not it. Again, like Umpass before him, great concept for a figure, just a little off of the beat on execution.

Engineernerd Score: 80/100

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