Review – Sideshow 12″ Endor Rebel Commando Pathfinder

Here’s the second Endor Rebel Commando to be reviewed here. It’s the Pathfinder modeled after Lieutenant Nik Sant who can be seen in the Endor sequence in The Return of the Jedi. The trio of commandos have certainly brought some limelight onto a group that would have been otherwise easily overlooked in the Star Wars movies. Most of the time, audiences were only noticing the wise-cracking Han or being irritated by C-3P0’s complaints!

Nik Sant’s white beard and bald pate is certainly a welcomed feature as it puts in the portrayal of experience, from the long weary struggle between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire, in an otherwise rather young Endor Commando line-up. You can be sure that there will a distinct difference between the trio of Commandos should you have all of them in your cabinet.

Let’s get on with the review!

 

 

Bottomline:

Similar to Sideshow’s Endor Rebel Commando Infantryman in good construction quality, this Pathfinder figure is also very poseable and stable. While the nude body underneath takes credit for these positive points, it feels rather loose especially at the hip area. The sculpt has a good resemblance to the fleeting appearances of Nik Sant in The Return of the Jedi. Accessories also possess good details and not all of them are similar to the Infantryman.

What’s good:

• Good sculpt.
• Good overall construction for clothes & accessories.
• Some difference in clothes from the Infantryman.
• Nice overall details.
• Stable and poseable figure.
• Finally a 12″ version of a Endor Rebel pathfinder!

What could be better:

• Eyes may look cross-eyed.
• Box art could be better.
• Body feels rather loose.

Review Details

Packaging

The boxes out of Sideshow are very much well designed. They sport a magnetic flap, easily accessible trays and great box art. Once again, the box art is the only factor that eludes praise – similar to the Rebel Infantryman. To be more precise, it’s the art of the front flap that is really… dull. The two slanting lines separating the black and grey lacks aesthetic visual appeal.

The back of the box continues with the Sideshow design practice of showing movie scenes that the character may have appeared in. This is a nice touch to the box design – tapping into the movie genre. I believe expectations in the area of box design will inevitably rise if other producers are designing magnificent box art such as -> this!

Headsculpt/Resemblance

While I was unable to get a clear view of Nik Sant in The Return of the Jedi, I was able to identify the character in the movie rather quickly. This was due to… well… the white beard Nik had. It’s quite distinctive among the other Endor Commandos.

Anyway, the sculpt of this Rebel Pathfinder is good. Nice take on the white full beard and bald pate. The eyes, however, are too alert for me. They looked very much caffeine induced – wide-eyed staring straight. The common problem with such a gaze is that they can look turn out cross-eyed sometimes at certain angles. Of course you can think of Nik Sant in the midst of a night operation which will warrant this expression.

Quality of Product

While the quality of the choice of materials used and construction is in the same vein as the Commando Infantryman, Sideshow has made a point to differentiate these two figures. For instance, the Pathfinder’s vest comes without the hood, the side pockets on the pants start at mid-thigh level and the Pathfinder does not have the camouflage top. The Infantryman’s hard pack is absent, replaced by a soft backpack. These differences make each Endor Commando figure unique in its own way and encourage fans to buy all 3 in this series without the feeling buying a re-hashed product. Well… at least it gives us more reasons to justify our purchase.

 

Uniform for the Pathfinder is well sewn and fitting. Sideshow has so far done well in this area rather consistently. Add this to an articulate body and you get a great figure. However, I still found Sideshow bodies too loose generally as compared to bodies from Medicom or Hot Toys. When removing Nik Sant from the plastic tray, his legs drooped readily under the pull of gravity. The task of holding up the legs seem an arduous task for the hip joint.

 

 

Stability

Although the figure’s body is rather loose, it is still very capable to hold still in different poses. Sideshow’s nude bodies are pretty articulate these days. The main challenge for them now is to make the joints stronger and tighter. Adjusting a loose body in a standing position is tougher as a small push here and there will often see the respective joints over correct. As such, it will take more time inevitably to get a pose right.

Accessories

This Rebel Pathfinder comes with the following accessories:

• Endor Rebel Commando helmet
• Rebel Commando soft-pack backpack
• Bandolier
• Blastech A-295 blaster rifle
• Belt with pouches
• Display stand with Star Wars logo

The majority of the accessories are similar to the Endor Rebel Commando Infantryman. The only difference is the soft-pack backpack. This backpack can be worn over the back of the Pathfinder snugly. Very fitting, no worries of it dropping easily. The locking mechanism of the back flaps is nicely detailed and constructed to illustrate the parts of a backpack.

The only weapon is again the A-295 blaster rifle. I begin to wonder if this was the only weapon Rebel Commandos are issued with. No close quarters combat sidearm or a melee weapon? For a special force, this is hard to believe. The only reason I can think of is that the Rebel Alliance is on a really tight budget.

For more details on the other accessories, please see the review on the Infantryman.