Ahsoka (SCUBA Gear) - SW [TPM 3D] - The Clone Wars (CW15)

Ahsoka fights aqua droids in the waters of Kamino when Separatists attack the Republic's cloning facility. With spinning lightsaber strikes, Ahsoka battles her way past the underwater droids to reach Tipoca City, where she leaps into the fight to stop the enemy's assault.

We hope that before you begin reading this review that you tuck away any personal emotion or preconceived notions about the latest figures in The Clone Wars line. We urge you to have ears to hear what we have to say because so many of you have become bitter with the lack of articulation that the latest offerings have been given. We’re not trying to say that you aren’t correct for or entitled having feelings of resentment, disappointment, apathy and even anger towards the latest decisions Hasbro has made about “kid-focused” figures, but if you can take a moment and see what good actually has resulted with these said figures, we believe that you may be a little more softened to consider these figures for your own collection. Would you believe us if we told you that Ahsoka (SCUBA Gear) is perhaps one of the greatest iterations of her in 3.75” scale yet? Before you scoff or think we’re clinically insane, let us explain. Ahsoka (SCUBA Gear) has an incredible portrait, a stunning paint job, an aesthetically pleasing and extremely accurate sculpt. Its one and only downfall is its lack of articulation. And don’t mistake our affection for the figure for being on board with Hasbro’s current platform that figures in The Clone Wars line do not need super-articulation necessarily. We don’t agree with that at all. But we also can’t deny that a figure like Ahsoka (SCUBA Gear) exceeds our expectations in how incredibly accurate she looks when compared to her appearance in the television show.

We still would love to see a great figure like Ahsoka (SCUBA Gear) this get a plethora of articulation. Don’t get us wrong. But there is something warming about holding an action figure without any brokenness from articulation points but instead has a smooth contour and accuracy beyond measure. Oh, and then on top of it all it has a stunning paint job. Besides, there are other things to be happy about as well. For example, where Ahsoka lacks in articulation, Hasbro tries to make up for in accessory count. This may or may not make a difference for you, but no matter what you certainly can’t complain that she isn’t well-equipped. Ahsoka comes with removable flippers (that fit like a glove by the way), a removable SCUBA tank, a removable SCUBA mask, a lightsaber, a shoto and something for the kids: a “spinning” lightsaber complete with launcher. And let’s not forget about the Galactic Battle Game card, stand and die. The accessories interact flawlessly well with her and we couldn’t have asked for better. Both the lightsaber and the shoto fit perfectly in her hands and you can pose he wielding them quite believably (even despite her lack of articulated wrists). And even though she also doesn’t have a waist joint of any kind (wait, don’t cry “Sacrilege!” yet), Ahsoka (SCUBA Gear) can be configures in ways that make it OK should you decide to pretend she is floating in a body of water somewhere. She is loaded with a lot more positives that you may realize!

Where Ahsoka (SCUBA Gear) scores incredibly high marks for us is her paint job. Her facial details and her horns are unbelievably perfect. Some have criticized her orange skin tone is off, they may be correct about that, but we love how it looks nonetheless. He SCUBA outfit is amazing too. It’s colored in a very dark purple color and is accented with silver outlines and contrasting dark gray ribbing found on the underside of her arms and the front of her midsection. Her belt and gauntlets match her belt and vest and Hasbro even bothered t add some depth to the feature son her gauntlets like tiny red squares to add some additional accuracy to her costume. Again, the work put into the paint operations are astounding. Her scale couldn’t be more accurate either. She is in perfect proportion to recent figures like Anakin Skywalker (CW1) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (CW12). You may not be fans of those figures either, but at least Hasbro has maintained relative consistency in the 2012 version of The Clone Wars line. Despite our efforts, perhaps Ahsoka (SCUBA Gear) is a figure you won’t be able to reconcile owning for your own collections. It’s your fundamental right to pass on figures that don’t meet your every standard, but if you’re wanting some form of her from the opening episode of season 4 of The Clone Wars, this may be your one and only opportunity. The Clone Wars multimedia event is slowly fading into oblivion. It won’t be around forever and Hasbro has already proven that it’s no longer a priority for them. If you ask us, it would be a travesty to pass on this action figure. She may be missing a lot of necessary articulation, but we still like it very much.