{"id":24614,"date":"2013-08-23T00:59:40","date_gmt":"2013-08-23T05:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24614"},"modified":"2013-08-23T01:13:26","modified_gmt":"2013-08-23T06:13:26","slug":"star-wars-black-02-darth-maul-review-18-pics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24614","title":{"rendered":"Star Wars Black #02
Darth Maul Review (18 Pics!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> I was kinda putting this review off (I took the pictures over a week ago; hope I didn\u2019t forget anything) because once I knock this guy out, Star Wars Black is done! Kaput! At least until Wave Two hits in a few months. Cue the \u201cAwwwwww.\u201d <\/p>\n

Overall, the first five figures seem to have gone over really well. I\u2019ve gotten a blast out of all the ones I picked up and Vault tells me the Boba Fett is pretty sweet (even though he won\u2019t let me near it…). The funny thing looking over the first wave is that it still seems like anything but a first wave. On a tooling level, it does make sense \u2013 an Astromech, Sand(Storm)trooper gear, X-Wing Pilot Gear, Jedi Robes \u2013 if this line is going to be like the 6\u201d lines we\u2019ve come to love, I imagine we\u2019ll be seeing a lot of these parts again. But the side effect was a really quirky and fun first wave. <\/p>\n

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One thing that made the wave fun is that there\u2019s not a stinker in the bunch. I hadn\u2019t originally intended to pick up all four, but I\u2019m always a sucker for a good action figure even if it\u2019s not a property or character, I\u2019m familiar with). In Wave One, R2 was originally my only surefire pick-up, but I ended up with Luke despite my not really having a need for X-Wing Pilots. I have two Sandtroopers even though they\u2019re not quite as iconic as the Stormtrooper. <\/p>\n

And I have Darth Maul. I wouldn\u2019t have guessed that. <\/p>\n

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It\u2019s funny because I enjoy all six Star Wars movies. It kinda comes with the territory of finding things to enjoy rather than hate \u2013 maybe it\u2019s all that jargon about not giving into hate that\u2019s actually in the Star Wars movie, but I digress.<\/em> And Darth Maul is admittedly a pretty cool part, one of the coolest parts probably, in The Phantom Menace. (Along with Qui-Gon Jinn. Though it didn\u2019t work out too well for them, did it?). <\/p>\n

But I still never bought a Darth Maul in 4\u201d scale. I\u2019m not sure why \u2013 the horns, the tattoos, the striking red face amid that see of black robes. He\u2019s visually stunning, but he never made it into my collection \u2013 and I was there at TRU the night Episode I toys hit (though I was working and trying not to give any of the people grabbing at the cases a box knife cut while I opened \u2018em up). <\/p>\n

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Like the other figures in this first wave the sculpting is top notch. The robes are well done and well detailed for Maul\u2019s first foray into this larger size. The layering is done smartly as to not obstruct the articulation. I\u2019m always a little iffy when it comes to using that cheap nylon-type cloth for capes and robes on toys, but it works here for Maul just fine, particularly when coupled between the soft plastic layers. <\/p>\n

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The great thing about Maul\u2019s robes though is the option Hasbro gave us on them. They could\u2019ve stiffed us (like most toy companies normally would do) and decreed that a hooded Maul & regular Maul be two separate releases. Instead, they stepped up to make the 6\u201d Black version a little more iconic by giving us both his signature looks. When you get the hooded Maul out of the package, first check out how well sculpted the hood is with the implied horns, and then simply pop the outer robes and head off the figure and add the included unadorned head. It is essentially like having a second figure. Some uber-Maul fan no doubt bought two of these just to have him represented both ways. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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The shining example of the sculpt is the face though and it\u2019s funny because Maul is pretty much the opposite of Luke. Whereas Luke came out a little animated\/soft because of the goopy paint, Maul\u2019s sculpt is eerily lifelike and better captures the promise of this scale. He\u2019s like a \u201cnot-as-little\u201d version of the real Maul staring back at me from the shelf. <\/p>\n

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Very little paint work was required on the figure\u2019s body, but the head is no small feat. Unfortunately, that almost meant I ended up with some issues on my Darth Maul. I think they’re kinda lost in the complexity, but the crookedness of the nose tattoo and the slightly askew left eye can be distracting. It’s not as big a dealbreaker as some of the slop I’ve gotten on recent figures, but I might be tempted if I run across a better Maul at retail. Of the ones I\u2019ve seen in the wild, the smudge factor has varied, so keep an eye on those tattoos if you run across him. Similarly the horns just aren\u2019t quite as fully painted as they should be. It also more or less blends out, but I kinda want to go back and repaint them to down to the base of the skull like they should be. <\/p>\n

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While Maul isn\u2019t as articulated as the Sandtrooper (I really want bicep swivels, darn it!), he probably makes most of the articulation used on the first wave. The ball-jointed head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, torso, hips, and ankles combine with the double-hinged knees and the swivels at the thighs to give Maul some of the best range a figure can get. It\u2019s a blast to get some signature Ray Park moves out of him! The range is good throughout, but I think it\u2019s the really well done (and well concealed) torso joint that makes the figure really come alive in certain poses. Right now he\u2019s balanced on one foot getting ready to do a helicopter kick. He\u2019s just a lot of fun to play with, though there is just one thing I really wish the figure could do…<\/p>\n

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Like the other figures in the wave, Maul comes with a bunch of cool accessories. There\u2019s the aforementioned extra head that transforms the figure between two lucks, the binoculars he used when he first landed on Tatooine, and this his trademark dual-bladed lightsaber. This is the cool piece of course and it does just about everything you want but light-up. It splits into two pieces, the blades are removable, and it can be stored on the belt. The only drawback here is that\u2019s a little softer plastic than I would like and does contort a bit in dual-handed poses. <\/p>\n

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Overall, Maul is just another excellent figure in a star-packed first wave. I know I\u2019ve been a bit gaga in the reviews so far, but it\u2019s good praise. Marvel Legends, DC Classics, even MOTU Classics, all came strong with their first offerings, but there were lessons to be learned. Improvements need to be made. And while Black could use a few tweaks (bicep swivels!), Hasbro is seemingly far ahead of the game, learning lessons from Mattel and their own foray into 6\u201d Marvel toys and applying them here. The shared tooling is basically well-hidden. When new pieces are needed, Hasbro is anticipating that sales will be good enough they can go for it (it still blows my mind how many parts will differ between the Storm & Sandtroopers) . The scale is good, the articulation is good, there are accessories (remember those?). It\u2019s just a fun line. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s been predicted that I will become obsessed with the line and… I’ll be the first to admit that I’ll probably be buying more of these than I originally intended, not all, but more. And I\u2019m definitely excited for my favorite characters in this scale. So while it may not quite push me into completism, it definitely feels like this line is the shot-in-the-arm 6\u201d action figures need right now. That’s something for all of us to be happy about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \t

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