Count Dooku - TCW [R] - Basic (CW27)

Count Dooku, the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, talks via a holographic projector to Asajj Ventress. Dooku is crafting a plot that will destroy credibility of the Jedi and enhance the influence of the Separatists.

Admittedly, the first two waves for the The Clone Wars line released in 2008 were pretty good, but they didn’t capture all of the magic that the vast Star Wars action figure line brings. This was so because very few collector-based characters were included in them. Collectors look for dynamic sculpts and beautiful paint jobs on figures, and brown Jedi outfits and white clones do little to color the Star Wars universe (as needed as they are). It was the third wave that showed collectors that Hasbro meant business, and they released a nice subset of figures that stood out from the ones released up to that point. This third wave introduced us to very thin (and delicate...and tiny) features on the figures, as well as "extra" awesome sculpts and beautiful paint jobs that were pretty much unexpected but a joy to own. Hasbro executed top notch attention to detail and somehow possessed the savvy to remain faithful to both the likenesses seen in the live action films as well as the animated series (that is, creating recognizable visages). Count Dooku, although technically released in a running chnage wave 2 remix case, was a fantastic example of the power that the animated The Clone Wars line was going to bring to kids and collectors. In all honesty Count Dooku is a tiny masterpiece. He doesn’t come with the greatest articulation, but his sculpt and paint job will wow you. He is a major character in The Clone Wars television show, and Hasbro thought it was time to re-release him in The Clone Wars [Red] line look. Expect The Clone Wars line to contain repacks as these amin characters need to get out to retail again and again. Besides, Count Dooku certainly warrants a re-release. We’re glad he is here for another time.

Count Dooku is first and foremost a brilliant sculpt. He has exaggerated geometric features in his face in addition to other parts of his body. These shapely areas are very triangular in appearance. He has a frown that looks so good that we almost want to question him with what’s the matter with him? When an action figure gives off this attitude you have to know it is an obvious success. His eyes have ominous dark circles around them solidifying his role as an agent of evil. His hair and facial hair are distinctly colored in white with lots of gray highlights and the shadowing created by the paint application or final gray wash is breathtaking. Count Dooku does not come with any soft-goods, but his molded cloak is beautiful. The cloak chain hugs right underneath his elongated beard and throws back the cloak to a beautiful drape (or whatever drape can be attained by a plastic mold – but we think you know what we mean here) with stunning illusion. Dooku comes with his sleek curved lightsaber (lit) and can be held in his hands without issues. He also comes with an interchangeable right hand (one normal and one shooting out Force-lightning) and Hasbro has done a fine job of making this a very effective accessory for this figure. His costume is very brown and shiny and he has a cummerbund that is in a similar shade to his cloak, although it has a very rough brush-stroked look to it (it looks very cool). When you remove Dooku’s cloak, you will realize how lean and muscular his frame is. Hasbro decided to create him with a very conditioned and toned body frame and it works very well. Sporting a slightly limited amount of articulation, Count Dooku can be posed interestingly, like with his hands behind his back and really the only mobility he needs here is arm movement.

Seemingly in a passive-aggressive relationship with Asajj Ventress (although others sources clearly claim a love affair between them), Count Dooku also comes with a holograph projector that includes a miniature removable clear blue figure of Asajj Ventress. Symbolic of his manipulative nature, he clearly has Asajj Ventress in the palms of his hands. The holograph is extraordinarily tiny and we are so impressed with the detail it has. Hasbro has come so far with making tiny accessories and we honestly don’t really know how they do it so well. You can actually make out specific features of Asajj on the tiny blue accessory. And collectors for the most part love anything “holographic." We have to voice our opinion that little holographic items like this are so much cooler than a figure cast in clear blue plastic. And if you assess everything as a whole here, we really do get a lot of bang for our buck here. Count Dooku is really refreshing in this light. The Clone Wars line seems to be utilizing the first concept much more often and it is the way to go for us! Hasbro has without a doubt hit a home run here and it ceases to amazes us how awesome Count Dooku looks and is. We really can’t take fine feats of art and sculpting like this too lightly. It must have been painstakingly difficult to get it just right – and they succeeded. This in and of itself is worthy of your praise. But obviously Count Dooku offers a lot more to you than this miniscule accessory. As one of the finest examples of action figure art so far in The Clone Wars line, Count Dooku will be an amazing addition to your collection. And, we expect him to be a lasting and important character in the continuing saga of The Clone Wars. He was a wise choice to reissue.