Categories Galactic Heroes Warduke Aayla Secura Things from my collection

05/24/2008 Target Exclusive Star Wars Unleashed Battle Rancor Review

Star Wars Unleashed - a Lucas Arts video game that is scheduled to come out September 16, 2008. I say scheduled because I think this game is already past due by a year or a year and a half or so. It simply feels like forever to me. It has been so long that I forget about it from time to time.

Hasbro has been slowly releasing toys based on this upcoming game over the last couple of months. We have had everything from standard figures, to the small Unleashed scale to Evolutions sets. Here is our first store exclusive and it is a monster - figuratively and literally - the Target exclusive Battle Rancor with Felucian Rider.

This is a massive package to contain all of this big toy. It is a lot of window which makes it particularly vulnerable to shelf wear but it also looks spectacular. It is well lit and you can see all around the toy. The back drop takes you there to the planet of Felucia. There are a ton of wires holding this in the package and lots of layers of tape just to get it out of the package. Bring some tools and/or some patience to get this freed from the package.

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Once you get it free from the package, you will find out how big it really is - really alomst too big. You need to be a dedicated collector to make room for this rancor. This is an all new sculpted rancor. I was half expecting a repaint of the 1998 rancor. It is made mostly of rotocast plastic which made it a little bit of a challenge to stand but I was able to get by easily enough. Using a forearm as a tripod helps a lot. I like the additional color pattern to the rancor.

The rancor has a harness attached to it. It is a loose fit and I did not find any obvious snap point on it where you could take it off with. There is a small post on the top where the saddle attaches.

The saddle also attaches to the rancor by a set of reins. Each rope hooks via a hook to a nostril. They don't fit in very deep and can come out easily.

I don't think the reins are quite long enough. Because of this combined with the loose fitting harness, I too often ended up with a pose like this one. The saddle ends up sliding forward and down.

The saddle is pretty much just that, a saddle. There is a spot on the back where you can place the bone sword if you want. There are two foot pegs on it to keep the rider figure attached.

The rancor is articulated in an average way - hips, shoulders, upper arm, wrist, neck and lower jaw. They did add a decent ankle articulation point to help posing. I wish it would have had some sort of finger articulation.

The Felucian Rider is completely alien to me and that is why I like it. I can't even tell if that is a face or a mask - let alone guess what might be eyes or a mouth. Don't get me started on those bizarre arms and legs. Even the skull bone sword weapon is crazy. I love figures like this one that really challenge the imagination.

This is available now at Target. It might not be on your local Target shelves yet but they most likely have it in the back. I had to ask for this one and they brought it out to me. I think it is due to hit shelves anytime however.

This is going to run you $39.99. I am not going to lie - that is pretty steep. Do you need this? Probably not but it is pretty cool. The price point could easily persuade you not want it however.

I am giving each of these figures a *** rating out of five stars. It is really big and cool looking. It looks completely alien which is why I like it so much. The price and the size are drawbacks however. Not everyone has room for something like this or should. It is really for the most hardcore of fans.