Comments on The Dork Dimension: Toy Review: Jabba's Rancor w/ Luke Jedi (Hasbro)

Well, finally got around to checking this thing ou...

2010-01-14T21:31:25.791-05:00

Well, finally got around to checking this thing out again yesterday. At first I couldn't find it, and then found one in a new clearance aisle. So it was $35 bucks then an additional 30% off! So I got him for $26 bucks and some change after taxes. :)
I hate the packaging for this thing, it is very large and awkward. I felt pretty lame walking to the checkout with a giant boxed monster in my arms.
I felt alot better when I was checking out! Usually you get those annoying Register Zombies. Either they ask silly questions about what your buying, or they take forever to ring up your purchase. But a young woman checked me out, and she said "Wow! That's some old school Star Wars right there!" I replied, "Yeah I know!" She then said, "When that thing died I always felt sorry for the trainer guy who started crying." :lol: I said, "Me Too! I always felt sorry for that fat guy!" So that was actually a fun little checkout process. :)

But too the purchase at hand. My Rancor has the same paint apps as yours. I think your pictures actually somehow make them look better than they really are. Possibly the lighting. But he is pretty neat.
The articulation is pretty good as you said, but I didn't have the POPPING problem with the shoulders. They actually sort of wiggle around, but aren't loose, or too tight. And I can move them pretty easily. He is surprisingly easy to balance too. I managed to get mine to stand on one foot. I also don't get that strange tackiness you mention in your review from touching mine.... So either the paint on mine cured better, or I don't fully understand what you mean.
And I'm not so bias toward the Luke figure now either. Both are pretty good figures, and I'm happy with the purchase all around. Still wish he was a Gamorrean instead, but I had him tame the Rancor, and together they will bring balance to the force. :P

My only complaint as mentioned is the packaging. I usually fold up and keep packing and boxes from my toys, but I cut the back off the box and threw out the rest. :( It's just very hideous, and a space waster.

Wow. That is a very large monster. Kinda reminds m...

2010-01-11T16:25:43.670-05:00

Wow. That is a very large monster. Kinda reminds me of when I first unpacked the D&D "miniature" that is my colossal red dragon and put it next to my other minis. Everything became soooo tiny...

And fantastic pictures.

Yeah, I'd love to see a Gamorrean Guard in thi...

2010-01-11T16:08:00.481-05:00

Yeah, I'd love to see a Gamorrean Guard in this set. I'd rather see him than Luke since I'm a "creature" guy myself, but in a best case scenario, I'd like to have both a GG and a Luke included. The OTC Gamorrean Guard isn't bad, and I might pick him up. But that's one character who's in desperate need of a resculpt.

And swallowing action would be awesome! Something along the lines of that Jurassic Park T-rex would be sweet!

You may be right Nathan! That ashy version may be...

2010-01-11T15:45:57.773-05:00

You may be right Nathan! That ashy version may be the one I have been seeing. And I agree, I don't think it has anything to do with the lighting. It's obviously a variation of some kind. You can really tell from the picture of the box scene.
I plan on heading out that direction this Wednesday, so I'll be able to confirm this if any are still in stock.

I'd also like to ask this. Do you think that this set would have been better if it were packed with a new Gamorrean Guard figure instead of Luke? I personally think so. And I think I can safely say that the cheesy Luke figure was part of the reason I passed on it last time. If memory serves me right the last Gamorrean we got was a repaint of the POTF2 figure. :( I'm pretty sure I would have easily purchased this set if it had a lovable Pig guard. And the lack of swallowing action sucked too.

Ok, you can keep it at 4. But I'll be watchin...

2010-01-11T14:05:56.380-05:00

Ok, you can keep it at 4.

But I'll be watching...ever vigilant for proper calibration.

I would argue that there's a difference betwee...

2010-01-11T11:15:54.639-05:00

I would argue that there's a difference between something that's cool enough to buy, and something that scores a 5 on the Coolness meter. The reason why this figure scores a 4 isn't because of the fact that it's a double-dip. So I'll expand a little on what I was talking about above:

On the plus side, the Rancor gripping hand is fun. And I admit the paint apps, which work perfectly with the incredibly detailed sculpt, forced me to double-dip. It looks fantastic on the shelf.

But looking great on the shelf isn't just what makes a figure cool. In this case, the Rancor's shoulder articulation is definitely uncool. I want to be able to move the arms without having to arm wrestle them, thinking that I'm going to break the figure. And there are no joints more important on the Rancor than the shoulders. It's the shoulders that let you move the Rancor to interact with other figures; if the shoulders don't move, then he can't reach out to grab Luke, he can't gobble up the Gammorean Guard, he can't raise the Power Sword and turn into He-Rancor, etc. The Battle Rancor wins in that respect; there are no problems with its movement.

Also, Jabba's Rancor feels... weird. The combination of paint apps and gloss creates a funky texture that's kind of slippery and tacky. A lot of what makes a toy cool for me is the tactile feel of the plastic. Remember that exchange in Star Trek: First Contact when Captain Picard came face-to-face with the Pheonix?

Data: Sir, does tactile contact alter your perception of the Phoenix?
Picard: Oh, yes! For humans, touch can connect you to an object in a very personal way, make it seem more real.

That's one of the reasons why I love the Armodoc so much. That soft, rubbery vinyl is awesome. And, similarly, the Battle Rancor wins over Jabba's Rancor in this respect. The soft, rubbery plastic makes me want to pick it up and play with it.

The Coolness score is a combination of a lot of factors, but part of it is the playability of the figure. I think the Battle Rancor is much more playable than Jabba's Rancor because of the latter's horrible shoulder articulation and the weird feel of its plastic. Still, the inherent coolness of the other factors, namely the paint apps that are good enough to convince me to double-dip, keep the Coolness score at a relatively high 4.

So, to sum it all up, I'd rather play with the Battle Rancor, but I'd rather display Jabba's Rancor.

Admit it Nate, you cheated on this review. You sho...

2010-01-11T10:43:01.085-05:00

Admit it Nate, you cheated on this review. You should have scored the Coolness with a 5. You had sworn off Rancors, but it was so "cool" that you bought it. The coolness of it forced you to buy it. I'm sorry, the score should be a 5. And don't you dare say, "I scored it a 4 because I didn't originally buy it – which would have made it a 5."

Hasbro has gotten out of control with their pricing – that's why you, and others, didn't buy it at $50.

There appears to be two different paint schemes fo...

2010-01-11T10:17:23.275-05:00

There appears to be two different paint schemes for this Rancor. Over at Yakface.com, you can see a Rancor with paint apps that are grayer and stone-like. I don't think the difference is attributable to the different lighting. Personally, I like my Rancor better; the colors are more organic and it has more gloss to it so it looks more alive. But that might be why you think this Rancor looks better than the one you saw in the store, URS. Maybe the one you saw was the gray variation.

Wow, this makes Battle Rancor look like an unfinis...

2010-01-11T01:06:45.683-05:00

Wow, this makes Battle Rancor look like an unfinished test model... Perhaps that's what it is and Hasbro released it by mistake... Nah, they are not dumb, they are just evil!

Sorry about your dignity, can't say I relate though... I've lost mine a long time ago and can't really remember it.

My friend Jason pointed out that Luke's lights...

2010-01-10T22:53:14.645-05:00

My friend Jason pointed out that Luke's lightsaber hilt can be pushed out of his belt, so my bad. That fact doesn't change any of his scores, but it does render some of my rantings about screen inaccuracy moot, so I edited the review to reflect that change. Whoops!

The pic with Beetlejuice cracked me up. I am not s...

2010-01-10T00:17:27.244-05:00

The pic with Beetlejuice cracked me up. I am not sure why.

Snagged this today at 24.99! Awesome deal for an a...

2010-01-09T20:59:13.027-05:00

Snagged this today at 24.99! Awesome deal for an awesome set!

I'm glad you reviewed this. I've been fig...

2010-01-09T19:12:31.031-05:00

I'm glad you reviewed this. I've been fighting whether or not to pick this guy up at the clearance price...if there are anymore left. Seeing I have yet to pick up any Rancors for my Star Wars collections yet, I'm not really sure where to start. Also the size has been an issue.
However I'm still leaving your review with the same mixed feelings I had before. And your pics just look amazing. I don't even remember the Rancor looking so good in person. I'll definitely have to stop in and at least pick this guy up again for a much closer look.
I know I would have bought one if it had fuller articulation. And although it might not make it look as good, I'd have eaten up some Ball Hinge arm and leg points.