Senate Guard

July 23, 2011 | By More


As movie characters, the blue Senate Guards never did seem to do much, other than parade and stand at attention, but that didn’t prevent the designers at Hasbro from crafting a fairly dynamic action figure for the fourth wave of figures in the Star Wars Vintage Collection.

Under the double layers of robes, the Senate Guard (VC36) has the exact same torso and leg pieces we saw a few years ago used for Kir Kanos and Carnor Jax in the Crimson Empire Comic Pack. The arms and head are evidently new pieces, although it seems to me that Hasbro also reused the hand molds from the 2005 version.

The chief difference in the arms is that this time the shoulder protections are asymmetrical, with a larger plate for the one on the left side (similar to the design seen in the Senate Commandos from the Clone Wars TV show), also, this time the old angle-cut elbow joints were replaced by proper pegged hinges.

The helmet design is the one used for the Episode I movie, with the double crest and without the black visor. I think the color is a bit too dark, but the overall hue is consistent with the rest of the figure.

The face is a separate piece, although it is pretty obvious that the helmet is not intended to be removable. The face of the Senate Guard is fully sculpted, but the rest of the head is just a smooth rounded cone shaped to fit very snugly inside the blue helm. It can be removed, if you really want to, but I don’t think it’s worth the effort.

The thing with Senate Guard figures is that you don’t really get a lot to judge the figure by seeing it in the package. You see the deep blue robes, but don’t get much else in terms of fit nor finish.

The Senate Guard comes decked in a light blue inner tunic, and a dark blue outer cloak. The inner robe is little more than a smock with holes for the neck and arms, made from a fabric very similar to that used for the cape that  comes with the General Lando Calrissian figure. The outer robe, however, is where the money clearly went.

The garment is made from a really nice, soft, suede-like material, stitched to drape perfectly over the armored figure and with openings for both arms at the front. The tactile sensation of this piece of garment is extremely pleasant and might have you picking the figure up time and again just to tweak a pose.

The articulation given to this Senate Guard doesn’t quite match the super-articulated standard, but it’s certainly enough for the character.

 

• Ball jointed neck.

• Pegged hinge shoulders.

• Pegged hinge elbows.

• Upper forearm swivels.

• Swivel waist.

• Swiveling hips.

• Pegged hinge knees.

This articulation model works well for the character and provides enough variety for play or display, although at times the bulk and length of the robes does get in the way of certain poses.

The Senate Guard is armed with a small blaster pistol, a ceremonial blaster rifle and a newly tooled force pike. Both the pike and the rifle have black and silver paint applications on them, but the pistol is left unpainted.

Talking about the rest of the paint applications on the Senate Guard would be futile since all you really see is the outer cloak and a little bit of the gloves and the eyes, but the helmet was given a nice glossy finish that contrasts quite nicely with the deep blue cloak.

Overall, the Senate Guard looks like a really expensive figure that would add a touch of class to the shelf you put him in.

Errex Score: 95/100.

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Category: Featured, Star Wars, Toy Reviews

About the Author ()

I've been collecting action figures since the original Kenner Star Wars days. Nowadays, I still collect pretty much anything that catches my eye.

Comments (1)

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  1. Engineernerd says:

    I actually saw this figure today. Pretty cool. I have 3 or 4 of the originals, so I passed. If you were an Imperial Guard fan, he’d be pretty cool.