Welcome to our review of Starlord from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This is the 2nd Star-Lord released from the movie - the first coming in the Titus BAF wave with his shorter jacket. This second version was part of the Mantis BAF wave that brought us the rest of the Guardians Vol. 2 crew including Gamora, Nebula, Rocket & Baby Groot.
Packaging 3/5
The packaging for Star-Lord is the standard Legends scooped sided box. For the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 line the colour scheme is a very muted purple that doesn't really stand out too much against the black. The front of the box carries the movie logo as well as the confirmation of the character in a pale purple bar and on the top hanging flap the confirmation that the build-a-figure is Mantis.
There is an odd choice down the two side panels as it shows Star-Lord in his helmet, something not actually included in the pack. The art is not a re-use as far as I can see so the decision is a little odd unless you assume that the helmet is more iconic than Chris Pratt's mug?
The rear of the box follows the usual format with a posed image of the figure alongside a short piece of text. This text is a little odd in its wording using the opening wording of "cosmic calamity". While I agree Guardians has its humorous side, it feels a bit disappointing that Star-Lord is described this way. Under this sits the build-a-figure checklist showing how all 6 parts of Mantis are split across the 7 figure wave (Deathshead not carrying a part).
"Cosmic calamity! When Star-Lord blasts into battle, it's not a matter of if things get weird but a matter of when."
Sculpt & Paint 3/5
Out of the package and you can see that this isn't a simple re-use of the Pratt head we got in the previous wave. This is a new sculpt which aims to capture that grin of Star-Lords .While the expression is good, the face print is not at strong as seen in other figures in the wave and the whole head looks a little off. The worse part is the chin line as the beard stops too early and you are left with a line of skin tone as an edge. The hair feels a little lazy too being one tone of light brown and it would have benefitted from a wash.
The outfit is based on the long coat Star-Lord is wearing when he arrives on Ego. The coat is separate piece cast in a burgundy plastic but it has been well painted and weathered and it fades darker as you go down its length. Under this is the Yeah Baby T-Shirt which again is well done via a transfer print of some kind, it is however a lot lighter blue than we see on the earlier figure. Star-Lords hands are updated so he is wearing gloves, which is good from an accuracy perspective. I am not convinced by the scarf which is a separate piece also - it is much less intrusive on screen, where as on the figure it covers the whole front of the shirt. Thank fully being removable you can choose to ditch it if you wish.
It is great to see tht Hasbro have kept neck pegs the same on both 2017 Star-Lord figures so the head options can be moved around. That means the more solemn (and arguably nicer) head or indeed the helmet head from the Titus wave can be used on this figure. Impressively the same neck pegs in used on the 2014 Star-Lord too opening up that figure to some head swaps if you wish.
Articulation 4/5
Star-Lord weighs in with an impressive 21 points of articulation, 2 more than the usual standard for most male key characters in the line. As usual we get the ball jointed pivot head, and below this a ratcheted chest piece and a rotating waist. The arms are ball jointed with a bicep swivel, double jointed elbows and wrist pivots.
The legs are ball jointed at the hips followed by the thigh cut swivel. Knees are double jointed and under these there is a further swivel where the boots meet the trousers. We finish with a solid set of ankle rockers. Star-Lord has no issues standing.
While movement isn't an issue from these numerous joints there are a couple of negatives. The first is the elbows and these are very stiff on the upper joint so treat these with care. And of course the coat does come into play with the leg articulation - and while it doesn't stop any movement it will make any kneeling or crouching poses difficult.
Accessories 3/5
The first accessory for Star-Lord is his walkman. This is a simple black casted piece with no paint apps. This then has a socket on the back that corresponds with a peg on his belt. This piece is sadly not great in a number of ways. It doesn't stay on particularly well and I don't understand why it wasn't glued in place or part of the belt other than letting Star-Lord hold it? It also fails to stand out once attached, being the same dark colouring as the trousers. I'd have liked to see this cast in blue with perhaps a white stripe to make it stand out.
Thank fully the blasters are much more impressive. These are identical to the ones in the Titus wave and are cast in a harder plastic and then painted with gold and silver detailing. The fit into the hands isn't the easiest or most natural, but once in place they are in, and with that wide ranging arm movement, there are a good few firing poses to get Star-Lord into. When not in use the figure employs the same pegs on the hips as its predecessor. In this iteration however they aren't as intrusive, being hidden by the coat. It takes a bit to work out how they clip in place, but once done they are quite solid and will stay in the holstered position.
Summary
As the main character from the GOTG Vol. 2 movie it is good to see Star-Lord getting a couple of different figures. However this release might have been better served as being included with the Ego figure in the 2-pack? This release has a poorer head sculpt than its predecessor, it is missing a helmeted head and it also sports a slightly odd look because of the scarf which may put people off when they see it in the packaging.
If you get past these issues the rest of the figure is pretty impressive and with interchangeable parts between the figures you can tweak your Star-Lords look if you have earlier Star-Lord figures. The articulation is good and the guns are decent accessories, even if the walkman is a bit meh!
I score the Mantis Wave Star-Lord an average 3/5
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