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Hey, everybody, it’s DrunkWooky back with yet another action figure review. Today, I’m taking a look at the Wal-Mart Exclusive Force Spirit Black Series Yoda. This figure shares a lot of parts and similarities with the Archive Black Series Yoda, and I compare and contrast below. Yoda is one of my all time favorite characters, but I try to stow my bias below and remain objective.
You can still grab a 6″ Wal-Mart Exclusive Force Spirit Yoda from the following links:
Packaging
Classic Black Series window box fare here. I do like when exclusives and special editions get a different pop of color like Yoda’s ghostly blue Gregory Titus illustration in the lower right-hand corner there. Like always, collector friendly. There’s a single piece of tape keeping the top flap down. Cut it or carefully remove it and you’re into the packaging without much damage. There’s also a second piece of tape keeping Yoda’s cane in the tray. This probably wasn’t necessary, but that’s nit-picking.
Sculpt
Upon comparison, I’m pretty sure we have the exact same mold as the classic or Archive Black Series Dagobah Yoda that we received in year’s past. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because I think that figure had all the detail it needed. Most observers will focus on the face and that as all the complex wrinkling this going-on-1,000-year-old has developed.
If anything his face is sculpted a bit placid and stoic for the trickster we saw in the Last Jedi.
But, then again, if you see this “Force Spirit” Yoda as the Return of the Jedi version, he was a bit more contemplative at the end of that trilogy. I guess I am just wishing for a little more expression here.
Paint
Unlike some of the “carbonized metallic” Black Series releases this year, applying shimmering metallic paint to a force ghost actually makes quite a bit of sense. Compared to the former Archive Black Series release above, the shimmering paint provides highlights bringing out the shadows in Yoda’s wrinkles and facial features. I think there is probably a wash of shadow paint applied before the shimmering force ghost paint as well. The eyes on my example are applied straight and centered without much smudging to be spoken of. The eyes appeared to be the main update on this figure between the original Black Series release and the Archive release earlier this year. Check out Jedibusiness.com’s reference shot below for the original Black Series eyes.
The new photo printing tech has softened up Yoda’s previously wild, wide-eyed, glare!
The paint fades as you make your way to the extremities of Yoda’s appendages and he becomes translucent. This makes sense and it’s much them same treatment as Obi-Wan received in the past.
One thing to look out for is that there were reports of metallic paint flaking from the Mandalorian figure’s rifle butt. Removing Yoda’s head, I noticed the same thing where there was an area of heavy contact and friction.
Articulation
Yoda has a ball neck joint, ball and swivel shoulders, a double swivel elbow, a rotating post with a swivel wrist, a ball waist, ball hips, a rotating bisected thigh, and a ball and swivel set of feet. He has no knee joints. This is probably due to his short stature and limited space on the figure. This is all to say that this release has the same articulation as past Black Series releases.
Yoda’s neck joint is limited by his hair in the back and his bulging neck in the front. His arms have the most articulation out of all the pieces of his body, and his legs probably have the least. Yoda’s lack of knees is one are where this figure is sorely needing an update. In Yoda’s ESB or ROTJ appearances, he mostly hobbles along the ground aided by his cane. But, if Hasbro ever wants to release a Black Series AOTC of ROTS Yoda, he’ll need knees to pull of his high-flying acrobatics. Strangely enough, most of Yoda’s ability to pose as if in locomotion comes from his feet being lifted slightly off the ground as he steps. Does Yoda need ultra-articulation? At 800-years-old, probably not. But, he might in other, younger forms down the road.
Accessories/Soft Goods
Yoda comes with the same accessories as his Archive Black Series release, minus the lightsaber and snake. Force ghost Yoda doesn’t really need a snake and a lightsaber, but in the real world, it is kind of a drag that they were left out.
Yoda’s belt has a small peg that fastens into a hole in the other side. Once removed, removing his robe is easy enough. The robe, like the previous release, has no hood. The remaining accessories, Yoda’s can and his little pan flute, are both well sculpted and somewhat interesting to look at.
I’m not sure how to fix this, but his robe is almost too translucent and shimmery. It must be hard to strike a balance between a translucent ghostly presence and a Christmas ornament, but this teeters closer over the middleground into tinsel-town.
Price/Value
I have a ton of love in my heart for this little green Jedi Master, but I have to say the value on this Wal Mart exclusive Yoda is a little underwhelming. Being somewhat of a Yoda focus collector, I personally have all types of Yoda iterations from the original Kenner release, through this latest one. For some Star Wars collector, this will be a buy just because it’s a 6″ scale representation of the legendary master as a force ghost. However, in an objective sense, the $20 to $24 retail price tag is a little bit of a stretch for what amounts to a 4″ figure with shiny paint, a tinsel robe, and less accessories than his regular counterpart. If you’re a completist, you don’t have much choice. It breaks my heart in light of my love for the character, but this is not the best value for your buck if you wanted just one 6″ Yoda figure. The Archive Black Series would be a closer fit to that bill.
