Vault Review: Star Wars
The Clone Wars Embo

Vault

Some of the more intricate designs are the various symbols and patterns that mark his body. On the upper left of his body armor is a red symbol that has such an organic feel that it looks like it was painted by hand. This same symbol is also painted very small on the side of his crossbow. The detailed work on the soft plastic of his skirt is also nice, but I’m even more partial to the yellow stripe that runs down the fabric and the symbols that break it into two.

His arms have been washed in this very light green that’s so faint, yet it adds levels to the sculpted texture. Out of all the paint apps, I was most impressed with his eyes. He actually has red around his tiny yellow pupils, and there’s even a super tiny line of red that outlines where his eyelashes would be. I tried to capture this on camera, but it’s just too small.

Embo has a ball jointed head and feet. His shoulders, elbows, and knees are all swivel hinges, while his waist, wrists, and hips are swivel joints. This high level of articulation is what I’ve pretty much come to expect from my modern Star Wars toys, and I’d be very disappointed if it ever went away.

Sadly though, this is where I have to lodge my one complaint. Embo doesn’t just dress like a space samurai for fun, everything he has is a weapon including his body. In the Bounty Hunters episode we see him in full action, a lot of which includes kicking, jumping, and flipping through the air. So when I discovered he only had swivel hips I was truly disappointed that my figure would never be able to do those space martial arts moves.

Embo technically comes with three accessories: his bowcaster rifle and two small knives. I’m going to say he actually comes with four accessories and claim his hat is also one. After all, he uses it as a shield to deflect blaster fire and a throwing weapon similar to Captain America’s shield. Like I said, everything on this guy is a weapon, including his hat. Not only that, but I love the design. The hat really ties together the samurai look and it has these great sculpted cracks and dents.

Embo’s other two weapons are equally nice though. I was shocked and amazed to discover his bowcaster is articulated. Two tiny joints allow the arms to fold back for easy storage. His two throwing knives have holes in the end that can actually fit around his fingers. The fact that his bowcaster and knives can all be stored on the back of his armor just makes them even more perfect.

Embo’s sculptor did a fantastic job, and really deserves thanks for such a great figure. Hasbro also deserves a lot of kudos for this figure and going the extra mile when it came to tooling and paint apps. They put a lot of work into every part of him, and it definitely shows. That’s what ultimately got me to buy him. It wasn’t just because I liked the character, but the more I studied the figure the more impressive he got. He’s definitely worth the eight dollars and is going to be one of my candidates for this year’s best figure.

-Vault

P.S. – If you want to see Embo in action, check out this Youtube clip.

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18 thoughts on “Vault Review: Star Wars
The Clone Wars Embo”

    1. Is there a way to edit posts on this site? I hit enter by accident.

      Anyways, the episode alone is the reason I originally got him. After opening him up I was surprised by all that he had and came with. I’d honestly say he’s a contender on my list as well for one of this year’s best figures. I hope he shows up in the show again.

      P.S: If I’m correct, the name of his race, Kyuzo, is homage to one of the seven samurai’s names.

      1. Sorry, no edit button. I know I could use one sometimes.

        Yeah, I actually really liked that group of bounty hunters. I’m glad Sugi showed up again in the Chewbacca episode. It’s just too bad Embo wasn’t with her.

        You’re right about the name, it’s definitely inspired from the movie.

  2. star wars jedi sith lucas tatooine lightsabre hutt solo millenium falcon r2-d2 x-wing yoda mace old republic?

  3. Vault, you’re gonna get me collecting Star Wars figs again, dammit! 🙂

    Isn’t it amazing how Hasbro can do all this, all those paint apps over complicated shapes, all the spot-on accessories and all the new tooling, and Mattel can’t put biceps on the right way or paint eyes correctly?

    I bet Hasbro spends money on QC people on-site at the factories…

    1. Not to mention Hasbro’s working on a canvas that’s a fraction of the size of Mattel’s.

      1. I know, you’d think Mattel would have the advantage here. But if they do have one it seems to have been squandered down the line somewhere.

    2. While they’re not immune from paint problems (see early Iron man 2 figures), the fact that everything is put together correctly and the fact that they try to fix things (see the much improved paint on the Thor movie figures) makes the issues forgivable.

      Now if Mattel had a history of recognising problems and fixing them down the line, they might get some more slack.

      Back on topic, while I would love to get into these SW figures, the fact that they are true 3 3/4 scale and not 1/18 like the Marvel or Joe figures hurts them in my eyes. It’s a very small difference in height, but at this scale it becomes very noticable. And I’ve also been spoilt by the stronger articulation model on Joes and the various Marvel figures. Doesn’t stop me from picking up the occasional SW figure like kid!Boba though.

      1. This is something I’m really learning to appreciate in Hasbro. They actually work with the fans and collectors in trying to improve their products. It’s not that mistakes don’t happen, but that Hasbro actually admits and tries to rectify those mistakes.

        It would be cool if they could all be the exact same scale, but I think are too far in to change now.

    3. Sorry Steve, if I’m going down the Star Wars road again then I’m taking as many people with me as I can. 😛

      Yeah, I didn’t want to name any specific companies in the review, but you all know exactly what I alluding to.

  5. Damn, those swords look pretty cool on him. And you’re right, Samurai’s should have swords. I might have to pick up that Snake Eyes now.

    Thanks for the pics Fire.

  6. Cool review Vault. Great figure and one of the few CW characters I actually liked – the 7S reference is nice. More like this guys.

  7. I don’t often buy Star Wars figs, but will every once in a while go on a streak and pick up five or so, then go for a SW dry spell for a year. I just picked this guy up, and he is crazy cool. I just think he is a really cool design, and comes with some fun weapons. I love the battle damage on his hat/shield. This makes me want to give The Clone Wars series another chance, I’ve never been able to get into it.

  8. I was going to pass on him to save some money, but my wife picked him up for me and I was amazed at how cool he was. One of the better clone wars figs yet.

  9. Great review!

    Thanks to the consistency in quality that the Clone Wars series has been putting out, I’m clearing out my more realistic collection of the prequel movie figures and concentrating solely on the animated Clone Wars ones. The only exceptions being of course the realistic versions of the original animated ones (by Genndy Tartakovsky) that have been put out: Obi-Wan in clone armor, Yoda on Kybuck, Padme the SnowBunny, etc.

    @Vault: If you’re going to get swords for Embo, go for the POC Desert Battle Storm Shadow. He has 6 blades(!) and they have a slightly more sci-fi vibe than Snake Eyes…

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