Pre-Cyborg Grievous

[jedibear]

Pre-Cyborg Grievous....another great figure from the best wave of the year...

Inspired by Warren Fu's concept artwork for "Revenge of the Sith" and from his segment in the "Visionaries", the design and look of the character's pre-cyborg incarnation fits rather well into the fashion pallet developed by Trisha Bigger for the prequels...in fact it would be interesting to know if she had any input in the design.
As with Bigger's work, Fu has managed to take a bit of various historical and ethnic cues in the look without any of it turning the design into caricature. Like the best Star Wars designs, it looks otherworldy and timeless while still looking somehow "familiar" from all the influences. A little middle eastern, a little tribal, a touch of african and more blend to create the truly intimidating warrior, Qymaen Jai Sheelal.
Another cool aspect of the design is how it contains some interesting visual hints as to what he becomes. His cyborg creators take several cues from his "current" form for thier creation, from the tall, lanky, overpowering form to the tribal-symbol adorned cape to the bone mask...it creates an intriguing look that only adds to his mystique.

The cardback text reads:
"A fearless warrior, Grievous is one of the greatest military soldiers of his people. As is the Kaleesh custom, he wears, during combat, a bone mask passed down from his ancestors. His outstanding military record catches the attention of the Banking Clan, who want to use his expertise for their growing Seperatist movement."

For more, check out "Visionaries" from Dark Horse...

Now, the figure.
He's a tall figure...stands well unassisted...fair articulation at the knees, hips, and waist. A ball jointed neck/head. One area lacking in the arms...he can't hold his weapon with both hands without looking awkward. The helmet/mask is removable, the cape and chest shields are as well. He features a short sword that fits securely in a sheath on his back. The rifle is a combination of hard plastic and soft rubber (the barrel). The paint apps are good (not great) with a little slop on the chest plates and leg wrappings...but not enought to ruin the overall look. The one area where it counts...the eyes...are sharp and well done.

I really appreciate Hasbro creating a figure of a cool character that covers a truly different aspect of him...it looks great.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

Just so you know, you have the mask displayed incorrectly on the loose figure. His "teeth" need to be over the bottom part of the mask, as on the carded sample. Then the mask fits much better and looks nicer.

Nice review, though.

[Blue2th]

I really like this figure as well.
Does this mean that in making him tall as he should be, that we get the same size Cyborg Grievous from now on?
I certainly hope so. Though I don't know if a corrected tall Grievous will fit into the new ship we're getting. Oh well.
I was hoping after seeing this Pre-Cyborg Grievous, we might see him in upcoming "Story of Grievous" Clone Wars, as maybe a flash-back episode. Though it's already been told in a comic right? Which one I don't know. (is that the issue you have behind him?)

P.S. Gotta get me some of that Petrified wood there JB. It looks perfect for displaying any size of SW figures.

[jedibear]

Just so you know, you have the mask displayed incorrectly on the loose figure. His "teeth" need to be over the bottom part of the mask, as on the carded sample. Then the mask fits much better and looks nicer.

Nice review, though.

Aacckkk! Nothin' gets by you, JabbaJohn...seriously though...thanks for the heads-up. Your'e right...the mask looks better when it's on rgiht...

New picture with corrected fit....

Oh and thanks for the kind word Blue2th...yeah I hope we see more of Grievous on the forthcoming show too.

[Kidhuman]

I was really surprised by this figure. It was one I was going to pass on and glad I didnt.

[Old Fossil]

How does anyone plan on displaying this thing? I've passed it (though I know it's a good figure) because I can think of no "theme" to display a loose one in, aside from an "Evolution of Greivous" assemblage of different Greivous figs (Pre-Cyborg, McConcept, the various ROTS incarnations, & Demise), which I do not care to do as Greivous just ain't "iconic" enough for me.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

Blue2th, Hasbro confirmed to me in person at CIV (and later on Q&A, I think) that any and all upcoming Grievous figures would be in the correct scale. So far all they've had is Concept Grievous and Pre-Cyborg Grievous, but I bet they'll at least have a new one for the cartoon next year.

Also, I find it somewhat ironic - the first tall Grievous figure they have is the Concept version, but he was originally planned to be 6'4" (or about as tall as the movie figures of him). Oh well.

[Cash]

I finally picked this one up yesterday and I have to say that I'm glad I did. The corrected size is a plus, but the figure itself is really cool. I leave my figures carded, but this is one of those figures that really tempts me to buy a second one to remove from the packaging...

[Luuuuuuke]

I really liked this figure. I thought the level of detail was very impressive. It reminds me of a Toybiz Lord of the Rings line figure in its level of detail and color. But smaller of course. I don't follow EU so I usually dont' sweat small discrepancies in these figures as long as they look cool.