Imperial Royal Guard - TBS [P3] - Six Inch Figures (38)

Resplendent in crimson robes and armor, the Imperial Royal Guard protected the Emperor. Secrecy shrouded the Guard, with rumors abounding about the sentinels' backgrounds and combat capabilities.

What the heck is an Imperial Royal Guard? Longtime collectors are absolutely resistant to change, but between AT-AT Pilot and Imperial Royal Guard, Hasbro is going to send us off of the deep end. (We aren’t serious. That’s all meant to be a joke. In all seriousness however, it's not an incorrect name for this character.) We do concede that the great sculpts in The Black Series 6” line help to sublimate our sarcasm for these figures into loving and flowery words. And that’s about where we are with the Imperial Royal Guard. Expect a very positive review for this figure. Forever known in the Star Wars collecting community as the Emperor’s Royal Guard, Hasbro now renames the character as the Imperial Royal Guard perhaps in an effort to cover the various other characters that tend to look like them. We don’t know. It’s just a guess. There are slightly differing versions of this characters throughout the official cannon and Star Wars Legends that have little nuanced updates and changes here and there, so may that’s the intention behind naming this a more general type of Royal Guard here. The Imperial Royal Guard will undoubtedly become one of the hottest 6” figures Hasbro has ever produced. If The Vintage Collection’s Emperor’s Royal Guard (VC105) and the reissued TBS [P3] Emperor’s Royal Guard Walmart exclusive figures are any indication, people will be army building this figure for a VERY, VERY long time. Until those solid case packs get produced and released, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to find one for a reasonable price for the foreseeable future. If you see it, grab it. End of story.

Hasbro has approached the Imperial Royal Guard very similarly to how they have approached so many previous Royal Guard figures in the past but this release comes at an elevated level. The soft-goods robes are SUBLIME. Look at their drape, color, texture and fabric. This is premium weaving at its best and we're ecstatic with the final results. Underneath the flowing crimson red and stunning soft-goods robes is a fully detailed figure with exquisite armor. This armor suit was seen throughout the old EU comics like Crimson Empire and others. The detail is unprecedented and we’re thoroughly impressed with the work Hasbro has done here. There is something striking about a figure that is all red. Aside from the black visor, the Imperial Royal Guard is exactly this. The robes seem as if they could have been tailored in a more streamlined way, but they work and have a very attractive drape. The soft-goods aren’t rugged and stick out and look like those of a paper doll, so Hasbro did well here. The Imperial Royal Guard has a stunning head sculpt. We are really thankful that Hasbro doesn’t attempt too many removable helmets in The Black Series 6” line. So as you’d expect the Imperial Royal Guard doesn’t have this feature either. You’re able to nail scale and detail when you don’t have to worry about allowing a human head sculpt to fit underneath of it. The portrait also comes with the same articulation as most other figures in this line. For that matter, the articulation system is nearly identical too. Ou sample has loose joints in the lower body, but we just can't deduct anything for that. This figure is too darn good.

The Imperial Royal Guard doesn’t come with enough accessories in our opinion. But this has become commonplace with most of the figures in the 6" range. We would have loved to see the same accessories that came with the 3.75” figure also get made for the 6” version. Again, these figures are $19.99 each (with an expected aftermarket overcharge for this character in particular) and should come with a variety of accessories (i.e. more than one or two) to outfit the figure. We should be able to make a Crimson Guard as well as an Emperor’s Royal Guard because Hasbro provided enough accessories to make this possible. The first included accessory is the standard force pike. In our opinion, it feels like Hasbro has been making these accessories too short. They also seemed a tad too stubby for some reason. But for the Imperial Royal Guard it seems to interact nice with it. The other accessory here is a Biker Scout’s blaster pistol. It can be housed in a holster on the leg when not in use. And that’s all we get here. An interchangeable alternate helmet sculpt (maybe even a human head sculpt) would have been warmly welcomed here. And the double-bladed staff not available here (that came with multiple 3.75” figures) just feels like bad form. We don’t understand why Hasbro appears to be so stingy with including multiple accessories with these figures. Not too many figures need a ton, but the ones that do should get them. But aside from that, this release couldn’t be stronger.