#37: Star Wars The Vintage Collection - Senate Guard

I'm still waiting to see figures from this wave in stores, but fortunately Hasbrotoyshop had it in stock for what I considered a surprisingly long time. Back during the Revenge of the Sith days, the senate/Imperial guard figures were pretty hard to come by, so I assumed that these guys would be as well. I have a feeling that they are disappearing from pegs in the areas where this wave is actually out there, but your mileage may vary. I'm pretty sure I've said before that I like getting figures of the senate and Imperial guards because I think they're cool looking characters. You know they've got to be badass, because they're protecting the top ranking guy in the government. I have a couple of the guards that have their faces completely covered by their helmets, so it's cool to have the earlier design with a partially exposed face. According to Rebelscum, the body is partially re-used parts with some new arms thrown in. The robes on this figure are a pretty good improvement over past versions. There are actually two layers of robe, which I suppose must be true to the onscreen costumes. Otherwise, it would seem pointless since you won't really see the inner layer most of the time. But the cut of it allows it to hang off the figure in a more natural way than on previous guard figures. The helmet isn't intended to be removable, I popped the head off while I was trying to find that out. It's just a simple ball joint, so it popped right back on easily enough. He's equipped with a small blaster that can be holstered on his leg, a rifle that slings over his shoulder, and the force pike. Unfortunately, he has to hold the force pike like a sword rather than leaning against his shoulder. It did come packaged in the proper position, but that was just rubber banded to his wrist, not in his hand. I think this is one of the cooler Star Wars figures to hit shelves in a while, so I'd definitely recommend picking one up if you come across one.