General Information: Images:
Text from Hasbrotoyshop.com: Your fierce Jedi warrior figure is more than his enemies could possibly guess! In robot mode, your ANAKIN SKYWALKER figure comes with two lightsabers, one for each fist. But when it’s time for a screaming chase or a fast getaway, convert him to vehicle mode! It’s all the galaxy-saving action of Star Wars and all the converting action of TRANSFORMERS in one awesome figure! Figure comes with lightsaber accessories. Ages 5 and up.
Out of the first wave of figures in this line was the "Jedi Starfighter" aka the Eta 2 Actis Class Light Interceptor. This ship was partly based on the Delta 7 "Jedi Starfighter" which has been used as the vehicle mode for many Jedi in the larger scale of Star Wars Transformers. This time out the character being featured is Anakin Skywalker, the young Jedi heavily featured in the Star Wars prequel film "Revenge of the Sith" and the current Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV Show who would later go on to become the malevolent villain Darth Vader.
Vehicle Mode: The Eta 2 Interceptor also has many design aspects that would later inform the design of a ship that came after The Clone Wars, namely the famous Tie Fighters seen in the original Star Wars trilogy. Among the features it shares with that vehicle are:
There's some nice detailing on this figure. This includes a pattern of jagged and angled lines on the top and several raised, trapezoid shaped areas on the side panels. Perhaps my favorite detail is the tiny R2-D2 sculpted into the left side of the figure in the slot set aside for Astromech Droids. You can see R2's head and part of his chest and legs sticking out. The head has several of the rectangular indentations along the outer edge that fans have come to expect (but oddly not the central "eye" R2 is famous for). The top of the dome has several of the indentations on the top of R2's head (in some cases representing panels that can open up to reveal tools and claw arms in the fiction).
The ship design looks really cool, but fans who are sticklers for details may not like the fact that the two panels forming the front "forked" end are not particularly flat as they are on the CGI models of the same vehicle. Instead, they're fairly thick since there are robot mode parts integrated into those sections. For me this isn't a big deal, but it does take away a bit of sleekness from the look of the vehicle and it's worth noting. Anakin is cast in silver, yellow and red brown plastic. The silver color makes up a majority of the panels that form the outer shell of the vehicle. The S foil panels are cast in yellow. You'll see plenty of the red brown plastic parts on the underside of the vehicle as they make up a lot of the robot mode parts. Paint applications are done in yellow, brown, black, white, silver and blue. The yellow is the most heavily used color, forming patterns and details along the top of the vehicle. The brown is found on the sides of the "forked" sections in the front. Black is used to paint the windows on the cockpit section. The white, silver and blue colors are reserved for R2-D2, with his body painted white, the dome silver and the small shapes on his head painted blue. Several tampographed details are found along the top of the vehicle including circular yellow designs near the cockpit and the symbol of the Galactic Republic near R2-D2. It's a nice deco job and matches up nicely with the yellow patterns as they have appeared in various bits of fiction showing Anakin's Eta 2 Interceptor. A quick last minute look also reveals some gunmetal around the two engines in the back. Functionally speaking fans can increase or reduce the ship's profile by expanding the side panels out or collapsing them down. I'm glad these are movable parts and not locked down in one position or another. On the bottom there are clips on the "forked" sections that allow you to store the two Lightsaber accessories included with the figure. The vehicle has no landing gear to speak of on the bottom, but on the robot chest there is a small panel that flips out the center, looking almost like a ramp of some sort. I can't really think of any other function for this vehicle so that's what I'm calling it for now. Transformation to Robot Mode:
Robot Mode: The primary detail that makes this mech a representation of Anakin is the head sculpt. Though it contains elements of a traditional Transformers head, it looks decidedly human in design. The "helmet" section for instance has a crest in the center and circles on the sides, but when looked at against the face, you can see the "helmet" is actually meant to represent Anakin Skywalker's hair. The face is a standard one with two eyes, a nose and mouth, looking very human without tons of greebles that would make it look too alien. The rest of the body is a rather standard robotic body which I am sure we will see in redecos repeatedly if this line expands. I do like some of the more robotic details such as vents on either side of the chest, ridged lines along the arms and the way the panels from the vehicle mode seem to form armor over his legs. Overall it's a cool looking sculpt, just not one necesarily I'd associate with Anakin Skywalker right off the bat. The colors on this mech are largely based on the armor worn by Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars. This focuses heavily on the use of grey and brown colors. On this figure that translates into silver, grey and brown colors alternating as you go from the top to the botom of the figure. Two shades of brown are used here. A more reddish brown is used on his upper arms and legs while the armor over his lower legs is a more neutral brown color. Silver and brown paint is used on primarily on the torso to provide extra detailing including a symbol resembling one of those associated with the Galactic Republic (more knowledgeable Star Wars fans will probably be able to tell me exactly which iteration of this symbol he has. The head is painted three colors: gold, silver and blue. The gold is used for the helmet section, simulating the brown color of Anakin's hair. The silver face is a nice backdrop for the intensely blue eyes. A final touch I appreciate a lot are the forearms, which are cast in black plastic. This is inspired by the gloves worn by Anakin, which are also black in the animated series. In robot mode, this fiure has twelve points of articulation. Though I believe the head is on a joint that allows it to turn ever so slightly, because the head is right u against the cockpit/engine section of the vehicle, it can barely move at all. Anakin's mech can hold a lightsaber weapon in both hands and the side panels form the vehicle mode form what look like shields on the forearms, which is a really neat touch.
Final Thoughts:
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The Star Wars Transformers line has continued to grow over the years. Though not as complex or intricate as their mainline Transformers cousins, the pure strength of the Star Wars brand has helped this brand not only go on in its semi-Deluxe-almost Mega Class price point, but now the series hasinto a smaller size class. Not quite big enough to be a Scout Class and not small enough to be considered a Legends Class, this new scale of Star Wars Transformers offers a nice and compact series of figures for Star Wars and Transformers fans alike.
