Just got my Anakin solo figure. I wasn't expecting it until November, but I guess amazon got them early. I wasn't able to get the two pack, so this is my first time with it, and I have to say, it's incredible! The sculpt is really nicely textured and proportioned, the hair has some good strand detailing, and the likeness is fantastic! The print is spot on, perfectly applied, and it just looks so much like Hayden. The hair did need a wash though, they did not add it.
The articulation is honestly fantastic as well, it's really easy and fluid to pose, and I love that they added boot swivels. He stands easily in deep crouching poses as well. He has a great ball jointed waist, better that any black series figure I own at least. It reminds me of Mythic Legions a bit. They used this really nice and soft pvc for the tabards (?) and "skirt" pieces, it bends out of the way of the legs easily but doesn't feel like they will get damaged. He can do two handed sword wielding poses quite well, but some are limited thanks to the large black tabards, they just have nowhere to go for the arms to cross over. Some sort of pull-out butterfly joint would be needed for that. He doesn't have thigh swivels but this time I don't really feel like he needs them, the legs get some good twisting at the ball hips and the knees swivel the rest of the way. The elbows bend so far that I have mafex figures with doubles that bend the same amount, they did such a good job with them.
I loved how easily the lightsaber plugs out of the hilt, no worries there. But the hilt is kinda thick, looks kinda toy-like, funnily enough. But it's well painted, shiny silver, and the blue of the blade is real nice. He grabs it really well, his hands are a softer plastic but he does grip onto it good.
However, I do feel incredibly disappointed that they didn't even include the extra force-wielding hand. It literally wouldn't have costed them anything to include it, since it has no paint and it's just one tiny piece of plastic. It's probably already part of the mold, so I just don't understand how they could have not included it. The lack of accessories really hurts this figure; no robes, no extra head, no extra hands, no lightsaber swooshing effects, nothing but the lightsaber. It kinda dampers my excitement overall, but I do see hasbro putting Anakin out again but with the other head, a robe and the extra hand, to represent "Darth Vader" more accurately. Honestly, if they do this I might just get it, the figure is that good. Overall it is a really impressive figure, it shows what hasbro is capable of doing when the proper care and love is put into the design of the figure, but the lack of accessories really do show the other, darker side of hasbro: so greedy they wouldn't even add the extra hand they already made.
