I love finding unexpected toys when I’m out shopping for essentials (unless I have no extra money, then it sucks), but fate was on my side Thursday evening and I was there to grab Star Wars The Clone Wars Barriss Offee from my local Wal-Mart.
Barriss Offee is one of those tertiary Star Wars characters that mostly show up in background appearances, yet contains that mysterious quality that makes fans latch on and want to know more. At least that’s how I felt when I first discovered her back in Episode II. So I was pretty happy when they made her a reoccurring character on The Clone Wars animated series. Not only did we get to finally learn more about her character and personality, but she and Ahsoka developed a cute friendship and a kickass team.
I haven’t picked up the Vintage Collection figure yet, but it’s going to be hard pressed for any of the Barriss figures to beat this Clone Wars version. The animation in The Clone Wars has a simplified feel to it, so it’s really surprising to see so much detail pop up in the sculpt of those characters. Not only does Barriss’ bodysuit have its signature ribbed pattern, but her cowl and capelet are encompassed by an inlaid pattern. Her belt contains a sculpted buckle and pouch, and her left arm has an extremely detailed design with raised electronic buttons.
What’s even better is how well the paint has been applied to all these tiny sculpted bits. Her cowl and capelet have been painted with a dark wash that really makes the sculpt stand out. Even the tiny painted buttons on her gauntlet are clean and slop free. My favorite part of the paint job is her face though. Not only are her freckle-like tattoos perfectly applied, but her eyes actually have a realistic and expressive look to them. Definitely better than those large soulless orbs they gave the new Ahsoka.
One really interesting design element to Barriss is her fabric skirt. I’m not sure what kind of fabric was used, but it’s very thick. I thought this would be a hindrance at first, but the skirt has been hemmed in four places to give it a more natural look of folded fabric. There’s also been some sort of shiny coating given to the outside which allows the skirt to be twisted and fashioned, but still hold its shape. You can even lean her against it and it will hold her up. Continue to page 2…
Nice to see some clone wars love on here! (I am sure the drought it due to there being very little new toys on the shelves and not any reflection on you Noisy) I am big fan of these toys. The movie based ones seem to be hit or miss sculptwise (the heads tend to seem too small to too big), probably cause they are based on real people as opposed to the simpler cartoon faces. I have only been picking up jedi, sith and clones so I am excited to see all these Jedi being made, even when they have little screen time. Is it just me or have the shelves been lacking new Clone Wars toys? Maybe with the new season starting tonight, we will see more and the holidays coming out. That new Ashoka (i snagged the last one at TRU Times square of all places) is awesome and blows the original one away!
It’s been hard to find anything new from Hasbro around here lately. I’m not sure if it’s because of the tornado we had or if it’s just the pre-christmas drought. But I’m sure glad I was able to find the new Ahsoka and Barriss. That puts me at a bit more ease when it comes to hunting.
speaking of round soulless orbs… those are some ah… very pointing looks assets on those chicks… you could stab a sith w/ those things!
I dont understand why the articulation is so acrooss the baord on SW toys some figures have great almost joe like articulations ans some have terrible articulation they need to get their act together over there…but at least the poses in the box dont warp the figures…lol
especially since hasbro is doing both lines DrRampageo… you’d think the lessons that the left hand learns would inform the right… and you’d apparently think wrong. i don’t get it either.
Its weird right? Toy companies jsut cant seem to get it together!
on a side note I hope you dont take this the wrong way but your pic always makes me thing your wearing an andre the giant style one piece for some reason
if only… it’s just hair. i don’t really have the mass to make a singlet work for me. you really got to be a damned big dude to make that look work.
lol
Great review. I have the Vintage Barris and only collect the Fully articulated CW Jedi but it looks like this fig is now going on the “get” list too. CW stuffhas been real thin on the ground for months though so I don’t know how big a pain in the ass it’s going to be to find her.
TOTALLY AGREE ABOUT ARTICULATION! All Star Wars figures should be fully articulated and there really isn’t any excuse in 2011 beside Hasbro saving a few pennies for them not to be.
The “Vintage” collection Barris Offee has the superior articulation we all seem to crave. Only problem is, her cape and skirt are done in a les-than-ideal manner. Still, one more customising challenge to rise to . . . .
I’ve been looking for the Vintage one also. Haven’t been so lucky though. I did watch a review of her, and for some reason she didn’t look very good in it. But I’ll probably have to wait and decide when I actually see her in person.
Yeah, while the articulation on Vintage Barriss is what we all like to expect these days, her skirt is about an inch too long and falls in piles around her feet like a wedding dress. And her hooded cape is moulded plastic, which as far as I’m concerned, is a no-no in the Vintage figures. And as a result of the moulded cape and hood, her neck is a bit too long and thin.
If you’re a customiser or a Mint-On-Card collector, no biggie. If not, expect minor disappointment.
I could be wrong but I think some (read many) of barras is recycled from Aajj ventress, which wouldn’t be soo bad but the fact it looks like the vintage one actually recycles from another version of Aaja ventress, which is not only weird but also kind of cheap.
Of course Hasbro has become the kings of recycling the past few years.
Hmm, I’m not sure. Their outfits are similar, but I don’t have Ventress to compare her to. Might have to hunt around on some Star Wars boards for that answer.
An excellent review! It’s convinced me not to get this figure.
My feelings on animated-style figures range from dislike to irrational loathing (apart from my Marvin the Martian and Wile E. Coyote figures, which rule), and I only pick up Clone Wars characters that I might need as reference material, get packed in with vehicles I was going to buy anyway, or to take parts from for my (admittedly stagnated) customising hobby. I was thinking of picking up this Barris for the Geonosian brain-worms, but the excellent photograph shows I could achieve the same effect with Sculpy and/or snot, and save myself the (ever-increasing) price of an action figure.
Thanks, Vault!
No prob, glad to be helpful 😀
someone pointed out to me that this barriss offee figure seems to also be inspired by genndy tartakovsky’s clone wars micro series. it’s kinda like a hybrid of both shows.
Yeah, she does have that Genndy look to her. Maybe that’s why I like how she turned out. Now if they’d just do a better version of Padme in her snow bunny outfit and the super cut Shaak Ti 😛
What was wrong with the 2008 Sonwbunny Padme? Take off the weird blue cape and plastic hood it came with, pop on the white hooded cape from the Ambush on Ilum Battle Pack: boom. Perfect Snowbunny Padme in 30 seconds.