ISABET REAU Republic Elite Forces
30th Anniversary Collection Entertainment Earth Exclusive Mandalorians & Clone Troopers Set
Item No.: Asst. 87467 No. 87454
Number: n/a
Includes: Helmet, blasters, backpack, 6 more figures
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $39.99
Availability: November 2007
Appearances: n/a

Bio: Isabet is eager to train the clones in the ways of her people, from their battle tactics to their cultural beliefs, so that the greatness of the Mandalorian people will once again sweep across the galaxy with all its power and glory. (Taken from the toy's box.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' photo gallery.

Commentary: I hear that her face matches that of a Hasbro employee (past or present, no idea). But since I've never met this person, I can't tell you how authentic Isabet Reau is to the real person, but I can say it's a good figure. The face was stripped of makeup, which is what you'd expect from some nomadic warrior lady. She has very little color in her face, aside from her eyes and lips she's actually pretty pale. Which, I guess, makes sense given she wears a helmet a lot of the time. Her hair is mostly tied back into a couple of big ol' strands, so the helmet fits pretty nicely. She's stern, and she could probably break me in two. But the same could be said for most people.

The armored body was sculpted to be super-articulated and had an immediate reuse. Isabet shares a body with Rav Bralor, and the only real differences between the two outside of deco are the head, the weapons, and the cape (or backpack). Oh, and the waistcoat/kama/skirt. That's different. Body the body is pretty much the same.

Isabet is essentially super articulated. She has the token 14 points, exactly as you would have asked for them in the Summer of 2007. There's a ball-jointed head, ball-ish shoulders, elbows, ankles, and knees, and normal hips, waist, and wrists. In short, she's just about perfect. Her skirt prevents her from sitting too easily, but that's to be expected when such a piece is present. She's pretty great about posing or standing, which are the two criteria most fans will judge a figure on when it comes to articulation. The armor's detail is about on par with the better of the Boba and Jango figures, except there's little to no sculpted battle damage. It's obvious the figure was designed with at least one repaint in mind, so Hasbro no doubt wanted to make her as a blank slate to repaint as needed in the future. Which is, of course, the smart move. She has some spikes on her boots, a rocket on her back, and twin pistols. In short, she's ready to train some clones.

Yellow is the flavor of the day on this Mandalorian lass, with a hint of grey and a yellowish orange mixed in to add some flair to a warrior colored not unlike a crayon. The bright colors actually look pretty nice on this design, showing off the armor quite well in a situation in which a black armored figure might have lost some of the detail in the shadowy plastic. The zigzags are a little weird, but given how few Mandalorians we've seen, it's not unthinkable that each character would have some unique style in their shells. While not perfect, the paint job is very good and there's just a hint of battle damage and scraping to make her look interesting. She'd look even more interesting if they added some dirt-- because, as it is, it looks like someone decided to get their armor waxed after a battle without fixing the paint-- but it's still neat. As a toy, she's fun, as a collectible or a Mandalorian shrine object, she's pretty spectacular. With any luck she may make it to the carded line some day, but until then she's an exclusive at an online retailer.

Collector's Notes: The deco on Isabet's helmet changed pretty significantly. Not only was the mold changed, but the deco was as well-- the original helmet lacked the grey zigzag markings and was a slightly more mustardy color. Some of the early test shots (such as those shown at Comic-Con '07) also had a different paint job on the armor. Full disclosure: I work with Entertainment Earth and had a role in the greenlighting of these sets.

Day 759: June 3, 2008