Captain Antilles (Tantive IV Invasion) [Fans’ Choice #5] - SW [S - P3] - Basic (’04 #15)

Antilles was the captain of the Tantive IV when stormtroopers overran it in search of the stolen plans for the Death Star. Although the Royal House of Alderaan claimed that the Tantive IV was a diplomatic vessel, it was an integral component of the Rebels' fight Vader strangled the unfortunate captain while interrogating him about the stolen plans.

There are some Hasbro Star Wars action figures that stand out from the among the rest. Count Captain Antilles (Tantive IV Invasion) is definitely one that fits into this category. We should probably mention right from the start that the figure is not perfect, but it’s excellent for a number of reasons. And we are choosing to focus on the figure’s strengths rather than its weaknesses. The Star Wars “Saga” collection really changed the way Hasbro approached action figures for us. Sure, the Power Of The Jedi line was truly the first basic figure assortment that abandoned bulky sculpts far behind us and instead concerned itself with accurate proportions and scale, but a whole new level of excellence was seen in the Star Wars “Saga” line first. Hasbro began making it habit to incorporate multiple types of articulation for optimum functionality, as well as pay close attention to the finest detailing like the wrinkling of clothing or how the bottoms of pants bunch up around shoes and/or boots on the sculpts. All of these fine points and more were carefully addressed with Captain Antilles (Tantive IV Invasion). Granted, the figure isn’t perfect as we’ve mentioned earlier, but it brings forth enough goodness that it will be “definitive enough” for most collectors until Hasbro can bring us a truly super-articulated version in the future. A great likeness and almost perfect costume make this a very strong action figure that will show difficulty aging throughout the years.

There are some incredibly excellent parts of Captain Antilles (Tantive IV Invasion) and then there are a few bad parts. The sculpt, save for the arms, is hands-down excellent. He is tall like he should be as well as athletic and his costume has been replicated beautifully. The figure has been designed with a ball-socket head sculpt. This doesn’t give limitless movement, but his head can look up and down and left to right and a few other angles that will please you. The expression on his face has been executed very well too. Captain Raymus Antilles has a very concerned look on his face (which was done deliberately for a special pose this figure an attain and this will be discussed in more detail in a few moments) and his hairstyle (if we could see it without a helmet covering it in Episode IV) looks about as accurate as you could imagine. Hasbro has sculpted this removable helmet very nicely. It’s well-proportioned and nicely decorated. They’ve also sculpted a separate jacket shell that looks unbelievable (in our opinion). The helmet locks in place with the chin strap and hides most of the hairline, but you are still able to see the worry on his face of something elsewhere and elusive. Captain Antilles has also been sculpted with a functioning holster (that is hidden for the most part thanks to the three-quarter length jacket) and his right hand has been sculpted flawlessly to hold the blaster with the finger on the trigger. (The left hand is cupped for the “Darth Vader is strangling me” pose. See next paragraph.)

You know that we despise swivel articulation, but it was needed in this case for Captain Antilles (Tantive IV Invasion) to “hold onto” the arm of Darth Vader when he is getting choked by him. Yes, this figure can recreate the scene where Darth Vader is demanding where the plans to the Death Star are perfectly. (Editor’s Note: See just how awesome this looks in THIS IMAGE.) This took some clever engineering to ensure that Captain Antilles (Tantive IV Invasion) and a separate Darth Vader action figure could interact with each other. We very thrilled with how the two action figures work with each other. We’ve neglected to mention an important fact about this action figure. It has a special designation and Hasbro commemorated this fact by placing a “Fans’ Choice Figure #5” sticker. For those that like trivia, Captain Antilles (Tantive IV Defender) wasn’t the sole winner. Because Captain Antilles only one by a marginal nine (9) votes, Hasbro also decided to make General Jan Dodonna (Battle Of Yavin) (‘04 #12). While not entirely a tie, it was a blessing that Hasbro decided to knock out both characters at the same time. There is one more point we would like to make. We have already gone through Captain Antilles’ articulation, but you may not know that many of his parts can be fully disassembled into an almost “build a figure” manner. Of course this didn’t come to pass in the Star Wars “Saga” line, but the method of creating this figure was interesting. Until Hasbro redoes this character, we highly encourage you to make it a part of your collection.