Review: 5004406 First Order General
Posted by CapnRex101,
5004406 First Order General is one of eight polybags based on Star Wars: The Force Awakens revealed so far and is the second to an include an exclusive minifigure. We do not currently know when it will be made available, although there is the possibility that it might be the May the Fourth giveaway.
There are still a number of interesting characters from the movie which have yet to be recreated in minifigure form and the First Order General is not one I would have chosen. Nevertheless, all of the minifigures released so far have been splendid, so hopefully this one continues that trend.
Minifigure
The First Order General shares his headwear with General Hux and it looks great, with the First Order logo printed on the brim and flared sides which are appropriately imposing. His uniform matches the cap nicely and features a new design on the front and back. This simple tunic and belt is a little less grand than Hux's trenchcoat-like jacket, perhaps indicating the inferior rank of this officer.
The head is new as well and is particularly detailed. I like the furrowed brow, although this is hidden beneath the brim of the cap when it is worn, while his grey eyebrows suggest that this might be a general who is old enough to have served under the Empire. I hope to see this idea explored further in future Star Wars media.
However, by far the best part of the minifigure in my opinion is the printing on his left arm which represents a wristband displaying the name of an Imperial official in Aurebesh text. Unfortunately this level of detail cannot be captured at this scale so we must instead make do with a stitched design, but this still looks superb and the inclusion of arm printing makes the figure feel a little more special.
I have done some research and not been able to find a character from the movie which this minifigure is clearly based on, although it bears resemblance to several. Lieutenant Mitaka is seen wearing a similar uniform in the film, albeit with some code cylinders affixed to his chest, but he is significantly younger than the character portrayed here. Presumably this is simply a background character which has yet to be assigned a name.
Overall
I love the General Hux minifigure included in 75104 Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle but this minifigure is even better in my opinion, with the addition of the wristband printed on his arm. It is nice to see a fairly generic officer which could fit into almost any First Order scene and I am glad to see some new printed designs used on the torso and head.
Assuming this is not the May the Fourth polybag, which Star Wars: The Force Awakens character would you most like to see? My vote goes to the 'Crimson Corsair' himself, Captain Ithano.
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29 comments on this article
Nice review of a lacklustre minifig, even if he is a new exclusive minifig. Setting up all the First Order minifigs I already have from the sets (and I've got all currently released sets), I really don't see a lack of higher ranked characters; in fact I'd rather see some more Stormtroopers. Still, if I can get my hands on him, I will!
Really hope this is not the May the 4th polybag - very poor choice if it is!
LEGO won't be able to pull off another Revan. He was the best May the 4th promo fig so far. All the others were just some variants or obscure characters seen for a few seconds. Revan is a core character of whole games/books with a large fan base. Show me a fan of Yularen...
If this is not the May the 4th promo, I hope it will be Nien Nunb! Thanks for the review!
^^ Me, in TCW he was a great supporting character.
Still hoping he's a May the 4th so I don't have to worry about getting him and Old Luke can turn up somewhere accessible. I'd happily take a TRU Old Luke who comes in a polybag with a 4 x 4 green plate and a couple of bricks for rocks.
Cool. The Crimson Corsair would be a cool May the 4th promo, as would Meetra Surik (she'd go great with Revan...).
@inversion - How in the world is Revan not an obscure character?? I know way more Star Wars trivia than I can to admit, and I have no idea who he is. Being a core character of games and/or books pretty much defines him as an obscure character to me.
I'd love a Nien Numb or a Aunt Beru!
@ Inversion
Hello, that's me.
The best part about that fig, in my opinion, was how closely he resembled a Pellaeon.
I'm hoping that this is not the May the 4th polybag. I'm really hoping for a old Luke or old 'snow jacket' Han or even someone we never got before like beru, ithano...etc..
But I'm really hoping we get an old Luke soon! Come on Lego pleeeease!! I really hope this isn't the May 4th polybag but still easily accessible or cheap on eBay.
Nice review! Looks like an awesome figure.
Ok, on a completely unrelated note, I really want to enter the Mighty Micros contest, but I don't have Flickr or Instagram accounts, and I won't be able to make one. Could I post the entry on Mocpages.com? Or email pictures to you?
Sorry, I know I've asked this before, but you never saw my comment.
@Dare_Wreck
I am making assumptions based on fan base, not source material. He was protagonist and core character of mainstream SW media, not movies though. He had a role in the cancelled TCW episodes anyway. Your attention was restricted to the movies, that's fine, however that does not mean any mechanic/random general/bloke would be a more popular choice just because he/she appeared in the movies themselves. Main characters of relatively popular media will always have a much larger following than totally irrelevant side characters.
Just look at the prices of SW promos on eBay and you will find out: Hoth Han Solo $12 (since he is variant only), Yularen $20, Revan $50.
Hope we get a great SW character for May the 4.
@inversion - By no means was my attention focused solely on the movies. I read a bunch of the novels (for better or worse) back in the '90s, and I loved the Clone Wars TV show. I still have no idea who Revan is (yes, yes, I know - I can certainly look him up on Wookieepedia if I choose to).
"He was protagonist and core character of mainstream SW media"... That's my main disagreement with you - I would by no means call the games and books "mainstream SW media." And prices on eBay are not the sole reflection of a character's popularity. The rarity of their figures certainly contribute to that, too.
Huh... so I looked up Revan on Wookieepedia, and it turns out he was the main character in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic? I actually completed that game way back when, and I still didn't recognize his name. And honestly, I can't remember much about that game now, other than the assassin droid HK-47.
Interesting figure, but I could pass on it if it were May the 4th. I have tried getting all of the figures since 2012 when I first got into SW LEGO, but I missed Revan because of a lack of funds at the time and have regretted it ever since (and in no way can I afford $50 for one figure). So that is upsetting, but with the less interesting figures being May the 4th recently, it isn't as big of a deal to skip it this time.
The printing looks great. The headpiece is interesting. I still have yet to see the new movie, so I don't have a lot of motivation to pick this up unless it is easily accessible like TRU or somewhere.
If this is a May 4th set, I should save up money to buy something that day.
@Dare_Wreck
I would pretty much regard a game played by millions and still regarded as one of the best games ever made as mainstream. I mean, I am sure many more people know who is Revan than who know who is Yularen. I am a SW buff and first heard his name when the fig was released. Totally insignificant bio display character.
Lastly, I was comparing recent May the 4th promos with each other, all of them having similar availability. I am convinced that the higher price reflects higher demand.
@inversion - Totally agree on it being a mainstream game. I just don't see it as mainstream Star Wars media, as you described it. A bit of an arbitrarily fine line there in my mind, I suppose.
I hope we can have Zuckuss, 4-LOM or Garindan for May the 4th; all 3 of them have been in the films and Lego videogames but never appeared as actual minifigures.
I'm holding out for a special stormtrooper with Daniel Craig's head underneath (the Pre Vizsla head's pretty close)! Either that or Finn with bloodied helmet. If TLG can produce an 'arena' Ep II Padme with bloodied claw marks on her back then I think they could do that.
Pretty sure this figure is based off of Colonel Kaplan, played by Pip Torrens. He's the officer on the observation deck over the docking bay when Finn and Poe are escaping in the stolen TIE. His line is "Alert General Hux and stop that fighter."
I'd like to see an OT character for May the 4th... one of the bounty hunters or someone from the cantina that hasn't been released as a minifig.
The last word I would use to describe the laughable First Order headgear is "imposing". It looks more like something a female air steward or female member of some U.K. police forces might wear.
I believe on Eurobricks a few people spotted this guy in a promotion in a ToysRUs magazine. So he will most likely not be the May 4th fig. Hopefully we get a unique fig from Episode 7 for this year's promotion.
I really like this general dude and I hope I will be able to add him to my collection.
Yularen is my favorite May the 4th promo. There are very few high-quality named Imperial officer figures (Tarkin, the most recent Veers, Piett, and Kallus are really the only ones). There's an entire 7-seat imperial conference room in the death star set, yet thus far including Yularen only 3 character sitting there have been released. He's an OT background guy, a cool Imperial officer, an important Clone Wars character, and he includes a nice ISB torso, which (if you aren't a stickler for rank badge accuracy) could be used for a Thrawn minifigure.
Don't get me wrong; I thought Revan was cool, but I'm not a fan of Old Republic stuff; I'm more movies-and-clone wars/rebels kind of guy.
I think everyone agrees the Han Solo promo was lame. Shadow ARF trooper was cool, but no such character exists in the star wars canon (the closest thing being the imperial storm commandos). TC-14's decent because she's chrome and she's a minor background character, but certainly isn't very interesting.
I do have a biased affection for Imperials, but regardless, I think Yularen's a good figure, and a bit more mainstream than Revan (and I know there will be people who dispute that, but it's just my opinion).
I know it's never going to happen but I'd love to own a LEGO Prune Face or Yak Face. I can hope :P
I do have to agree with others that it would be great to get some of the other bounty hunters from ESB, especially 4-Lom or Zuckuss. Aunt Beru should really be released with a LEGO Lars Homestead, which hopefully will eventually be made.
Why haven't they done a C-3PO figure from The Force Awakens?
EDIT: Oh, apparently they did. I didn't recognize him with that red arm.