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<\/a> I hadn\u2019t planned on buying a Star Wars figure on my latest toy hunt. I was going to just use my TRU Rewards coupon to pick up a 6″ War Machine. But when I saw Embo sitting on the peg, the battle had begun. I came back to him three different times before surrendering and buying both him and War Machine<\/em>. <\/p>\nI had already taken a shine to Embo\u2019s character before I\u2019d ever seen the toy. He first appeared in The Clone Wars, season 2 episode 17, Bounty Hunters. A group of Felucian farmers hire some bounty hunters to protect them and their crop from pirates. When Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka crash nearby they form an uneasy alliance with the bounty hunters and agree to help. The story is your basic The Seven Samurai plot line, which I\u2019m a huge fan of. I enjoy everything from The Magnificent Seven to Soldier, so it was great seeing the idea adapted into the Star Wars Universe. <\/p>\n
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<\/center><\/p>\nEmbo is one of the bounty hunters hired by the farmers. He\u2019s a male from the Kyuzo race and seems to be a regular part of the bounty hunter Sugi\u2019s crew since the two have made a cameo in a later episode together. So why\u2019s a character that\u2019s only shown up in two episodes worth having a figure of? Much like his attire would suggest he\u2019s a badass with a certain code of honor. Out of all the bounty hunters and Jedi, Embo seemed to take down the most pirates on his own. Yet he threw down his weapon to fairly fight a pirate he\u2019d just disarmed. Little actions like this bring depth to his character even though we don\u2019t know anything about his history.<\/p>\n
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<\/center><\/p>\nEmbo\u2019s overall sculpt is really impressive and deceptive in its simplicity. His upper torso is covered in slatted body armor while his lower body is mostly covered by his skirt. This gives the impression of an almost flat figure, but as you get closer you begin to see these tiny details that were easy to overlook like the buttons on his wrist device. <\/p>\n
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<\/center><\/p>\nThe first thing I noticed was that his skin was actually textured and wrinkly. His pants legs are normal until you get down to his shins, which is where the wrappings start. This is one of those things I didn\u2019t notice on the show, but Embo is actually wearing metal sandal-like shoes and the wrappings only cover his actual feet.<\/p>\n
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<\/center><\/p>\nEmbo\u2019s head is just as impressive as his body. Not only are there textured wrinkles and bone plates, but his breathing device even has these tiny raised lines in its recesses. But in my opinion, these details pale in comparison to the look on his face. Embo has one of those wonderfully sculpted likenesses that can change in emotion with the angle you choose to put the head in. I love subtle features like this because it adds a whole new level to play and posing.<\/p>\n
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<\/center><\/p>\nEmbo\u2019s armor is a rubbery plastic which can be easily removed. Like the rest of the body, it seem simple at first, but then you begin to see all the sculpted nicks and scratches that decorate it. His upper belt and skirt are also a soft plastic, but Hasbro made the interesting choice to make his lower skirt out of fabric. I\u2019m not usually a big fan of fabric clothing on toys, but every time I seem to make an exception it\u2019s with a Star Wars figure. They\u2019re always able to blend the two mediums together better than anyone else it seems.<\/p>\n
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<\/center><\/p>\nLike the sculpt, the paint job on this figure is something you really begin to appreciate the more you study him. There are large swaths of various browns that cover the majority of his body, but this really helps those tiny little details to stand out. For instance, his mouthpiece, wrist device and metal sandals have been given a metallic shine. His armor has also been given the look of metal, but this time it\u2019s with a dry brush coating. This gives it a really great used and worn look. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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\u2019m even more partial to the yellow stripe that runs down the fabric and the symbols that break it into two.<\/p>\n His arms have been washed in this very light green that\u2019s 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\u2019s even a super tiny line of red that outlines where his eyelashes would be. I tried to capture this on camera, but it\u2019s just too small.<\/p>\n 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\u2019ve pretty much come to expect from my modern Star Wars toys, and I\u2019d be very disappointed if it ever went away.<\/p>\n Sadly though, this is where I have to lodge my one complaint. Embo doesn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n Embo technically comes with three accessories: his bowcaster rifle and two small knives. I\u2019m 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Embo\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Embo\u2019s 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\u2019s what ultimately got me to buy him. It wasn\u2019t just because I liked the character, but the more I studied the figure the more impressive he got. He\u2019s definitely worth the eight dollars and is going to be one of my candidates for this year\u2019s best figure.<\/p>\n -Vault<\/p>\n![](\"reviews\/advimages\/2011\/embo07.jpg\")
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