In my defense, I've been looking forward to a Whipid figure for years, but I thought him too obscure to ever see plastic. At last my wish is fulfilled... but maybe it's just "too little, too late".
Company: Hasbro
Size: About 4" tall
Price: Pennies under $5 at Walmart
Packaging: Carded
Pics: For some sweet, detailed pics, I refer you to Rebelscum.com's review of J'Quille.
Looks: 2.5 out of 5
J'Quille seems like he would be a very difficult character to sculpt well, but Hasbro does a commendable job. The head looks cool, and the legs are realistic enough to show folds in the actor's suit, ala Bandai vinyl Godzillas.
Unfortunately, the sculpt is marred by weird points of articulation in his arms. No attempt is made to either hide these POAs, or to incorporate them in the sculpt. They seem to scream at you, distracting you from appreciating an otherwise sweet sculpt.
The paint application seems sloppy, and the wash is too much of a contrast to work well with the brown plastic.
Articulation: 2.5 out of 5
The distracting POAs would be acceptable if they functioned well, but since they are all swivel joints, they do very little to make dynamic poses. J'Quille is also articulated at his shoulders, waist, and hips (all swivel). The hip articulation is essentially useless, as 1) he can't hold another pose given his sculpt, and 2) his pouches restrict his legs from raising high enough for him to sit.
Accessories: 1.5 out of 5
The Whipid comes with a blaster rifle and the standard base. The blaster rifle, being thin and flimsy, doesn't go well with the bulky alien. And the standard base is just that: standard. Nothing particularly interesting there.
As a side note, I'm warming up to the concept of standard bases. When you link them together, they look pretty cool. But they should be available in packs of 10, perhaps as a fan club exclusive. I'm a firm believer that a figure should come with character-specific accessories.
Value: 3 out of 5
$5 for Star Wars figures is basic, but as I said in my previous reviews, not a particularly good price given what we've gotten at the same price from the Star Wars line in recent years.
Coolness: 4 out of 5
Despite the complaints, I really dig Jabba's Palace aliens. J'Quille is not only one of the coolest-looking Jabba aliens, but also exotic enough to give some great character to a diorama.
Overall: 2.5 out of 5
All these years waiting for a Whipid for... this.
Although J'Quille isn't a particularly good figure in its own right, I'll keep it anyway for the Jabba diorama. If you don't have a Jabba diorama, don't bother with this figure, as it's a pain to find in the stores anyway.Thus ends another "Star Wars bee-eye-itch Fest", courtesy of Nathan. Despite my complaining, I'll probably continue to buy Star Wars figures, although I'm not exactly sure why. Perhaps I'm desparately holding on to the line, hoping that I can recapture the fun of Star Wars collecting from past years, like during the cool Freeze Frame line. Maybe since Star Wars was the line that originally brought me into serious toy collecting in 1996, I'm unwilling to let it go.
