Holographic General Grievous - TCW [B] - Basic (Exclusive)

General Grievous, the leader of the enormous droid army, keeps in constant communication with Separatist ships to coordinate their battle strategies during the Clone Wars. The general's holographic image appears before one of the many battle leaders in the Separatist army to transmit new combat orders.

Hasbro has taken good advantage of holographic versions of figures. If you have one, you essentially have them all, although there have been changes to the blue plastic recipe Hasbro uses to make them over the course of the line. Welcome the first The Clone Wars character to get this treatment. Instead of the plastic having some glittery effects, Hasbro opted for a solid clear blue. It’s certainly not as effective as the latter, but it does catch more light because the earlier holographic figures were more opaque, thanks to the “glitter” (or whatever it is). Most holographic figures are not the most exciting action figures, but collectors and fans (and even some kids) really seem to like them. In order to commemorate the latest multimedia event, The Clone Wars, Hasbro delegated certain basic figures as store exclusives. Holographic General Grievous made its home at Toys R Us and had a retail price of $0.00 if you spent $30 or more of qualifying product. If you just wanted the figure, it cost 9.99. There were plenty of products to buy at the collection’s launch so most were able to take advantage of getting this figure for free. Interestingly, it eventually disappeared and then those who initially passed on it scrambled to find it on the secondary market. It still isn’t the easiest figure to find.

Holographic General Grievous is a rework of 2008’s TCW [B] General Grievous (No. 6) figure. Grievous comes with all the same accessories as his non-holographic version and we’re not sure if this was the wisest decision. The Holographic General Grievous honestly just needed one or two lightsabers and the droid blaster and that would have been plenty. But depending upon your own desire, you may have wanted more or less than this. The figure has been packaged well and did not become misshapen in the package from the bands and trays holding it into place. And the figure can stand erect unassisted, something that always makes collectors happy. Grievous didn’t appear that often as a holographic image in The Clone Wars series, so we didn’t think this figure would cause quite the buzz that it did. Still, there is something cool about having a clear blue General Grievous in your Star Wars collection. But cool may not just be enough to persuade you to pick his one up. We have an admiration for holographic figures. For example, we think that the 2008 TLC Count Dooku (Holographic Transmission) (BD 21) figure is very neat. But we probably feel that way since it is from the Tartakovsky Clone Wars series.

The Clone Wars line started off with a great collection of core characters. Hasbro cleverly dispersed the secondary character>s as store exclusives and this was a great idea so that attention was taken away from the main line. It seems that holographic figures are taking a respite from the basic figure line. We think the core characters that need a holographic version have been made in the realistic line. But it seems that we do need quite a few additional figure updates in The Clone Wars line. Many characters have been seen in the television show in holographic form and since we only have Grievous so far, we have a while to go. The Clone Wars version of General Grievous is good but not perfect. It needs a few more points of articulation. But while this is necessary for the regular version of him, no other articulation is needed for his holographic representation. It is perfect as is. Whether this is a figure you love or have skipped, we can say it is great for what it is and there is nothing different Hasbro could have done to make it better. Holographic General Grievous is a “yes” or “no” figure. But just because we said “yes” doesn’t mean you will. This is really a figure for “completists” only.