Sideshow 12-inch Tusken Raider SE Shipping Notices Hitting - UPDATE

I must admit, I am conflicted, the Tusken Raider is an iconic character from SW and they seem to have done a pretty good job capturing it, but I'm sooooo broke coming up. I knew preordering it there was a chance I wouldn't keep it, but now that it's nearly here I'm just not sure what to do. Just the other day I was looking at the page to see if it'd hit into my next pay period so I could keep it, but it's going to fall at least a week short of that and I am looking at heavy expenses right now. And in a few months it's the Snowtrooper, which is going to hurt quite a bit.

I've decided to pick this order up for sure, I just moved my money around to ensure it will get to me in a timely fashion. I really hope it's excellent, the prototype looked great.

So, is nobody else getting this piece? Nobody else excited? To me, the reason I pulled the trigger is because the Tuskens are the first real alien life we meet in Star Wars (ok, after the Jawas, but they're "cute" aliens so somehow it loses impact, also the only features they have are that they're short and have robes) and they're not exactly villainous but they're definitely hostile.

I'm very excited about this one, and yes, I'm keeping this order.
Was it the prototype that you saw at SDCC? The pics from that did look great and I'm hopeful the production piece will deliver.
To paraphrase what you mentioned, the Tuskens are a truly iconic part of "classic Star Wars". Their first appearance is exciting, and they really gave off an intriguing vibe, making one wonder "what are they?" Some "native" species? Primitive beings, tribal warriors, aggressive nomads...it all fit the bill...add to that their distinctive howl and you've got one of the most memorable creations in the saga.

The figure looks terrific...one main aspect that is exciting to me is the versatility there will be in displayed and photographing it. The many layers of the outfit will lend themselves well to creating multiple warriors with just one figure, depending on how the robes are worn, shaped, draped or maybe even some layers removed for effect. It's the first figure we've seen in a long time that will lend itself to so many different looks. Some of that was apparent in that fine display Sideshow had at SDCC this year...very cool!

Sideshow has had great success with the alien species of SW...and they have also hit the bulls-eye with textiles and outfits/gear as well. Here's hoping this Raider ends up among their best efforts...can't wait!

I don't know if it was a proto or a production piece at Comic-Con. I'm guessing proto or hand-painted test-shot only because they had several there and they were still months away from production at the time, but they are odd about such things - they didn't mention it in the panel.

The layers of the outfit also allow you to display it as the Ep 1 or Ep 2 Tusken, I believe. I ain't buying 2 though.

I dunno if you read my article post about this, but the exclusive accessory that you and I are getting isn't actually a gun stock, it's a second kind of totokia war club. I think that's pretty interesting, moreso than the way they propose it. They did the same thing with SE Vader actually in misidentifying the exclusive accessory, he was listed as having a Force-choke exclusive hand and it was actually the "you are part of the Rebel alliance and a traitor and a very naughty young lady, now take her to her room!" posed hand.

Holy crap, your comment just made me realize that this will be MY FIRST ALIEN IN THE LINE!!! I'm not counting Maul or Ventress obviously. Is that right? I think that's right, that's kind of exciting.

Just updated this article after an email I got from Sideshow saying cards were going to start charging tomorrow. I'm eager to get my figure, I've gotten all my ducks in a row on this order so it'll be on my doorstep no matter what.

Sounds great! I can look forward to (hopefully) seeing this one hit my door next week!
Really looking forward to this one....let us know what you think when you get it, JT!

No shipping notice today, but they did bill so hopefully early next week it'll arrive. And you KNOW I won't hold back on my opinions.

My account was charged on 10/11...still no Tusken in the mail. SSC cust. service rep told me they were having "issues with customs"...just an F.Y.I.

Jon, I just saw in my account that the charge fell off my card, so I contacted Sideshow and they said the same thing - held up in customs - and that the pre-auth fell off but it won't affect anything, and that the pieces are now in the warehouse and are expected to be shipping and full billing starting today.

I asked if the issue was Homeland Security having to pat down all the Tusken Raiders as they entered the country, she said it was but that the Sandpeople persevered.

Got my shipping notice today, so the Raider'll show up this time next week for me...

My Tusken arrived yesterday evening, but my grandfather's passing has taken up most of my attention. I did however open it up late last night to make sure everything was in order (and at first it wasn't, the left forearm was entirely detached and wouldn't go back on, eventually I was able to clear out all 4 sleeves over the joint and push hard enough to get it reattached but for about 20 minutes it was seeming like an impossibility). These are my very early impressions...

The box is terrible. I've had enough of this. This box looks cheaper and has more mistakes than my $50 Sideshow figures from 7 years ago.The mailer has no caps or oversized cardboard, it's just a very thin bubblewrap and then tight thin cardboard. The box is a 5th-panel magnetic-clasp gatefold single rather than the double boxes of old, which means it's small. The bio is horribly written and has a few mistakes like "Jund land Wastes" and mismatched capitalization on "Droids/droids" - for $135 I really think this should be a better presentation. Opening the box shows just the figure and a few hands, the accessories are in a tray under the main tray, it's quite an underwhelming effect. The trays do have softer saran-like material around the head and at the tip of the rifle though.

It's using the prometheus 1.2 body (pretty sure it's that one due to the way the forearm had to snap into the elbow) and on mine the shoulders are not moving at all. The high amount of layers (2 layered robes, a cloak, and weft bodysuit or pants/sleeves, I haven't stripped him to be sure) doesn't hinder movement too much, but makes removing hands very challenging. The wrapped feet make standing a little challenging as well, only because they're rounded, the cloth seems to have enough grip. The joints on my figure seem fairly tight where needed. The inner shoulder joints wouldn't move though, so my figure can't get his arms up over his head much.

The overall look is good, but the outer robe and the cloak both don't look as good as the prototype did. The outer robe has painted splotches but they look a bit Hasbro-esque. The cloak's sew is fairly good at first blush, it has sleeves sewn around the forearms (in fact, this figure has 4 sleeves on each forearm and each one is pretty tight) and it raises, but the material seems thinner and cheaper than the prototype and a darker color - I'd not be surprised to learn this is exactly the same material that Hasbro uses for their Tusken Raider figures, and those are 1/13th the price of this so they can be more easily excused for that transgression than Sideshow can. The problem with Sideshow's cloak is that in the movie it's clearly a burlap material, yet here it's a gauzy chiffon that's overly wrinkled and too lightweight and too dark. Still, unlike Hasbro's use, at this scale it weighs enough to hold futzing instead of float off the figure so it's not terrible.

I didn't pay too much attention to the head, I was distracted by the messed up arm and other things. But the head sculpt looks fair, a little soft in the "mouth" sculpt perhaps, but the separate eye nozzles look good, the sculpted wraps look alright. The head has a separate piece for the canister and it at first blush seems slightly too big and moves around on its wire away too much, the leather on mine is wrapped with the seam forward so I'm hoping it rotates but it didn't seem to last night. There's also a separate fabric collar.

There is a belt and 2 crossed bandoliers, they look pretty good, a lot of attention went into getting them to have nice sculpts and parts and paint. The belt feels like it might be fragile with each pouch being attached separately so it can move more naturally, but it's possible there's just a lot of give in the belt itself and they attach firmly, didn't check. I don't think any of the pouches open despite most looking it.

The regular gaderffi looks ok, but has a big seam top and bottom, the paint is a bit simple, and it's very light and feels fragile (and pointy). The rifle has a fairly good sculpt and paint, it's as long as the figure itself thanks to a real metal barrel, although black paint in the muzzle would have been nice to cover up the shallow muzzle design - no idea why they didn't use a pipe instead of this solid piece. The removable sand base is rubbery and looks decent, I like these base-toppers and think every SW figure should have 'em at the price these figures cost. There are some hands, I haven't tried them all yet. Finally, the SE exclusive accessory, the alternate gaffi stick, it's got a nicer sculpt and paint except for the "metal" business end which is just matte black plastic without paint but that's fine - it's pointier than the other one and is so fine that it's probably very fragile as well.

I'm not ready to make an overall determination on it yet, my mood is not the greatest and that forearm situation didn't help my take, so I'm hoping it will strike me better when I have more time to reflect. Right now though it feels overpriced, a fair to good figure if it were in the $70-$90 range but it's more expensive than Cmdr Cody and Cmdr Bly yet with almost no sculpting and armor at all, and very few actual parts - and if we're paying a premium for 4 layers of clothing, then the outer 2 pieces really should have looked as good as the prototype rather than factory-issue cheap routes.

My condolences on the loss of your Grandfather, JT.

I'm expecting the arrival of the Tusken up my way around Thursday. Fall has set in around here and the weather's been windy and wet so I don't think I'll be getting any outdoor shots of this one on the rocks until next year, but we'll see what I can come up with....

Too bad about those first impressions....may seem like a small thing to most, but that sounds like a drag about the box. Part of the fun of getting a new Sideshow figure is the presentation...seeing what kind of character information they've come up with for the bio, opening up that gatefold box and marveling at the two trays of fun inside...a cool new figure and a tray full of accessories...sounds like Sideshow has stunted that bit of fun with how you've described it. Not fun to hear of text inconsistencies and a cheap approach to the box itself, especially as you mention, the cost of this one lends itself to some higher expectations...

Still looking forward to getting this one, even if it seems the effort might be a step back from what was presented at PO time...I'll see soon enough for myself. Curious to see if a little time and reflection improves your view on the Raider, JT....

Also sorry for your loss, JT. Expecting both Tusken & Neyo now on Wed.

Thanks guys. I haven't taken it back out again yet, partly waiting to hear what others think (besides the Sideshow Freaks guys who always seem to swing overly hot or cold), especially you guys. I'm kinda hoping the next time I open the box it will feel more triumphant but I cannot yet see why.

One more thing about the packaging that bugs me, they used Episode I source images despite that Tusken being very different from this one - different head, different costume, 1 less bandolier - most of that can probably be faked here I suppose but it just doesn't make any sense as it looks noticeably different.

I've never understood why Sideshow gets so excited about extra hands, sure they're cheaper to include than other stuff but do you really think anybody wants to see them highlighted? They don't, they're extra hands, it's like showing a Ferrari and highlighting the lugnuts.

Just got him yesterday...been so busy with work that I really won't have a chance to really check him out until later, but...my first impressions are good.

Yeah, gotta put that price in the back of my mind or many of the things rightly brought up by JT start to press in (the trimmed-down box with it's double-tray action and sloppy description copy, mainly...and I wish Sideshow could come up with another "category" for characters...I don't see the Raider as "scum" or "villiany"....)

But the figure itself...looks like I lucked out. Body seems fine, no broken or "floppy" parts. The ankles are a bit loose, but I'd attribute that as much to the foot treatment here (the sock and wraps - no boot for support) as anything else. The head looks WAY better "in hand" than any shots have shown...really blends in with the fabric textures here. I really like it that the "distressed" paint treatment isn't over the top...it gives the proper appearance of cloth wraps without looking too "plastic". Very successful here, The open slits under the eye pieces are a cool touch too...can have some cool effects on the face with the right lighting.

I really like the textiles used here...all stuff we've seen before on these figures, but the combination makes a good foundation for creating different looks with the figure...the outer robe lends itself to some nice "sculpting" effects....very cool.

The weapons are all pretty well-rendered...especially the gun and he exclusive "paddle"-like club. I think the gaffi stick looks cool too...the seam doesn't look so bad to me and I like the little "solder" seams on the blades...looks a little crude and authentic.

I'm finding that the old "waist" support stand actually allows more dynamic looking posing options....that now-standard "crotch-grabber" kind of limits anything but some "standing straight" poses, and I think the Tusken lends itself to more feral, splayed-legged display...

Now, I have seem some shots around where folks have done the ole' "water treatment" to the robes...and I was initially considering this too but...while it may tame the robe's "billowing" appearance somewhat, I'm preferring the way it is.

JT also mentioned the extra hands...I appreciate having more display options, but the one set missing here that would have been a good display option are fists...this guy can be a scrappy fighter...where are his balled-up fists to strike a blow, should his weapons fail him?

Whew...guess I had a little more than a "first impression", eh? As I sit here just staring at this figure, spinning it around on it's "oatmeal cookie" sand base...well, I'm more impressed by the minute. I really like this one...so much that I may pick up a second one later...

Hope you re-visit this one, JT...it may not be perfect but...it's actually a pretty cool figure...makes me ready for some more desert dwellers....like some jawas....

Here's one quick shot from me...hope to have some more time to really play with this one later and take more...

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Here's some more shots of the Raider....liking this figure more and more...

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Haven't had a chance for outdoor shots yet...big storm comin'.....maybe later in the week...

I guess the Tusken qualifies as "Villainy" since they're portrayed as aggressive in the movies. It is a little odd that they went here. I had totally forgotten that they bother with these sub-lines.

Nice photos. Surprised you inverted the 2 gaffi sticks. They have 2 business ends each though, so it's not wrong, just surprised to see it. Good point on the little sculpted welds on the chief gaffi stick.

On the eye nozzles, keep in mind that the nozzle is unpainted at the end, so if you put more light in there you may expose that, whatever color you use will be what you see.

I don't like the waist stands as they require a LOT of thought and effort to get everything lined up just right, but you are definitely correct that they allow for more fluid posing in the legs. I had a lot of trouble recently setting up my Indiana Jones with waist stand just aligning the stand to the height of the pose, then readjusting when it got all settled. Yet I remember having trouble setting up Bly on his crotch stand because I wanted a more dynamic leg pose and the stand simply wouldn't drop down low enough.

Interesting point about the lack of fists, never occurred to me but they do scrap.

I haven't revisited mine yet, but the textiles were a big issue for me, the very cheap and inaccurate-looking cloak and the rather flat and cheesily-painted tan robe, so I'm surprised to hear your support for them.

Are the textiles perfect? No...I'll grant that. But for me, this is one of those rare instances where the execution (cut n sew) are so good, it just works despite that. I've this figure on my desk here at home now since I opened it...I can't stop futzing around with it...the robes lend themselves well to different draping and posing. I'm really enjoying this one....if it's still around after the first of the year, I may get another one...Tuskens look great in pairs...

Another couple of shots...

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Taking some time this holiday to realx and play with some figures....

Tusken on the attack...

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