Sora Bulq - TSC - Basic (SAGA 015)

Sometimes there are just some obscure characters made for the action figure line. One such example is Sora Bulq, a character that is hard to see, but visible during the Battle of Geonosis in Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. Despite his obscurity in the film, Hasbro developed a remarkable action figure with some great (but not perfect) articulation. The sculpt borders on flawless for us and specifically, Sora Bulq’s portrait is simply stunning. Amazingly, Sora Bulq has been designed in way that he appears to be moving, yet the figure looks just as good still and posed. From the magnificent paint job to the excellence of the sculpt, Sora Bulq instantly becomes one of the crowning achievements of all the figures in The Saga Collection for us. It’s not too often that we get action figures of Jedi that are based on the species that remind us of the aliens in the Chalmun’s cantina or Jabba’s palace. Old timers tend to associate these creatures as “bad” so it is initially alarming to think that a Weequay or a Nikto could be “good”! (See how easily we were programmed as kids?) Thankfully, Episode II has taught us to not be so ethnocentric in the Star Wars universe and older fans (including us) have unlearned what we have learned and embraced the fact that all species can be Jedi. (Well, we guess if you’re George Lucas, a Wookiee cannot be a Jedi. But we’re not going there.)

Sora Bulq is certainly an action figure that is instantly likeable. In particular, there is something very engaging about the posture of this action figure. Sora Bulq is slightly leaning forward and is head is ever so mildly looking down. These attributes work extremely well for attaining very believable poses and awesome action stances for the figure. Thanks to ball-jointed elbows and shoulders, the figure has limitless options for swinging a lightsaber. And the hands have been molded excellently to assist in the process. Again, Sora Bulq is one brilliantly designed action figure that is aesthetically pleasing in every way. We know some will complain about the lack of knee joints. We would have to agree with those people, but thankfully they are posed very statically and with the help of ball-jointed ankles, you should be able to work with the hip joints quite well. It doesn’t offer limitless movement below the waist, but this figure is good enough in our own estimation. Of course ball-jointed knees would have been sublime here, but this figure works well as is. The plastic molded skirt absolutely inhibits full movement of the hip joints, but it is wider than most others so you do have more free movement than you might expect. The wash on the lighter portions of his costume (the parts colored light tan) is gorgeous and it highlights every wrinkle and crinkle in the outfit. Hasbro did most excellent work with the brilliant paint job.

We need to focus your attention back to the head sculpt again. It’s excellent. The Weequay species doesn’t often make its way into the basic figure line, but it has here with Sora Bulq. And Hasbro obviously tried to impress us with its quality and authenticity. They exceeds twofold here. The paint job is simple on the face, but the details inherent in the sculpt are quite impressive. You’ll find lots of bumps and wrinkles and a lot of character in his leathery face. And we’d like to point out again that this portrait works incredibly well when posed in a downward position. But Sora Bulq is excellence from head to toe and shines brilliantly in the basic figure line. We absolutely would advise you that this is a must-have for your collection. He has a cool back story too. For example, you may be interested in knowing that Sora Bulq is another renegade Jedi who eventually joins Count Dooku and the Separatist Invasion. He eventually confronts Mace Windu but is ultimately defeated by Quinlan Vos. (It’s a shame that these stories didn’t somehow make it into the films. Then again, Anakin turning to the dark side shouldn't be overshadowed by another Jedi’s fall.) We like remembering Sora Bulq’s fight against the Separatists better and his actions to fight for good in the Geonosis Arena merits his worth as a key fighter in the Clone Wars. This all translated beautifully in the action figure and as a result, Sora Bulq is worthy of your dollars.