Starkiller

February 23, 2013 | By More


 

Let me start by saying that I like Star Wars. And I like video games. And, obviously, I also like action figures, so it is pretty much a given that I would have more than a passing interest in whatever exists in the intersection of those three sets.

 

However, there had not been a lot of action figures produced for original characters from Star Wars video games. There were a few characters from the Dark Forces series of shooting games, and a few more based in the multimedia push for Shadows of the Empire back in the 90’s, but until a couple of years ago, there was very little to collect that filled the above criteria.

 

The first Force Unleashed video game spawned a whole wave of figures based on the game designs, and proved popular enough to warrant a sequel, and that also meant more action figures. While these figures were mostly released as exclusive battle packs, Hasbro released the figure I’m reviewing today in a single card as part of the Star Wars Vintage Collection.

 

Starkiller (VC100), comes attired in what appears to be the uniform he uses in the early stages of the game, which is basically a charcoal gray pilot jumpsuit with Imperial crest at the sides of his shoulders. The look is fairly casual, with tunic partially open and showing a piece of blue t-shirt underneath, although he still has a pilot’s back plate and utility belt with straps hanging from it.

 

However, this Starkiller also comes with extra pieces to change his appearance to a more combat-ready look. These pieces are upper torso plate armor, gauntlets and a different belt piece with leather straps and a tabard.

 

The basic body sculpt is slim and has a lot more detail sculpted than I would have expected, considering that a good deal of it is to remain covered by the extra accessories. Starkiller’s face is sculpted to (supposedly) look like actor Sam Witwer, who also provided the voice for the character in game, but even though I don’t quite see the resemblance, I will concede that this version of Galen Marek does resemble Mr. Witwer a lot more than any of the Starkillers from the Vader’s Apprentice Evolutions set.

 

Articulation is quite nice and adheres to the Vintage Collection standard, consisting of:

 

• Ball jointed neck.

• Pegged hinge shoulders.

• Pegged hinge elbows.

• Swivel wrists.

• Swivel waist.

• Swivel hips.

• Pegged hinge knees.

• Pegged hinge ankles.

 

On the figure alone all of these joints work flawlessly, but the extra accessories do get in the way of some. The shoulder pads limit somewhat the arm’s upward mobility, and both belt pieces have elements that impair somewhat the range of movement at the hips, but as a whole that was to be expected given the character designs.

 

The paint applications on the figure and the accessories are neat and precise, which is great news since Starkiller is a character that is very unlikely to find multiples of to compare in stores.

 

As far as weaponry goes, Starkiller comes armed with a pair of bluish lightsabers with differently sculpted hilts, as well as deactivated versions of both hilt stiles to hang from either one of his belts.

 

Even though I would have liked that the 100th spot in the Vintage Collection was given to a more iconic character from the Star Wars Universe, Starkiller certainly deserves to be amongst the best of the figures Hasbro produced in 2012.

 

 

Errex Score: 97/100

 

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Category: Featured, Other Games, Star Wars, Toy Reviews, Video Games

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.

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