Bio:  http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Kara_Thrace
Wave: BSG Series 2
Body style: new styled female pilots flight suit (female)

    Some purists were upset when Starbuck was changed into a female for the re-imagined BSG series.  I on the other hand loved it!  I was actually a bit surprised when she wasn’t released in the first wave with Apollo, but I guess it does follow suit with how DST normally builds its character list for a single wave.  So with much anticipation….the review of Kara Thrace!

The first thing I would like to say is that looking at this wave as a whole, Starbuck is the not the best of the bunch.  DST did such a phenomenal job on Kat and the Cylon (look for upcoming reviews for both!) that this Starbuck figure just doesn’t live up to the other two.  However, Kara does have an overall nice figure that fits well with the other BSG releases.

This figure uses the standard BSG packaging that conveys elements of the show and has visually appealing colors and logos.  However, the packaging itself is pretty subdued in its overall presentation and doesn’t have as much visual appeal as the TOS or TNG packaging.  MOC collectors may find these packages to be lacking, but one positive is that the packaging does do a good job of displaying the accessories of the figures.  Overall, the packaging for the most part does its job while still conveying a sense of the BSG TV show.

This figure utilizes an entirely new body sculpt for the female pilot in flight suit.   There is something very sleek about this new sculpt.  The proportions seem to have been designed perfectly for the character.  The sculpt itself heavily draws on the sculpt of the male figure with the same basic elements.  The one difference between the female and male pilot is the addition of a sculpted undershirt where the zipper unzips. This zipper comes down all the way to the stomach whereas on the male figure the zipper is completely zipped.  They have also eliminated the metal ring collar around the neck that is primarily used for when the helmet is on.  In short this figure looks better without the helmet on as opposed to the male figure looking better with the helmet on. I think it is also great that the metal ring around the neck was eliminated.  The male figures just didn’t look right with it on and I believe it is a great improvement in eliminating it.  I also like the addition of the dog tags hanging down from the un-zippered neck collar.  I think it adds to the overall portrayal of the character.  There are also multiple add on pieces to the basic sculpt.  The flak jacket is once again used, but scaled down to fit the female form.  A moveable belt with gun holster is also present that once again has multiple storage compartments sculpted to match the BSG costumes.  My one complaint here is that the gun isn’t staying in the holster very well. 

The flight suit itself uses the same color scheme as the male figures.  It has a slightly metallic green sheen to it.  From the day I saw the prototypes from series one, I always thought the flight suit should have a slightly gold shimmer to it to match the metallic green shimmer.  The rest of the flight suit is once again superbly painted.  I have been pretty impressed with the level of detailed paint apps applied to this line of figures.  The BSG logos are very tight, the little buttons are painted perfectly, the flight plans in the leg storage have multicolored lines on them, and the flak jacket has the buckles painted and a paint wash applied.  Overall, DST has really outdone itself with the level of detailed paint apps on this figure.  More impressive is the fact that all are applied near perfectly.  Most other companies sometimes have issues with hitting their marks so to speak, but this figure doesn’t at all! 

My one biggest problem with this figure is that the likeness just misses what I see when I think of Kara Thrace.  I see hints of it here and there when I look at the face from different angles.  I see the typical Starbuck smirk, but something is just missing.  I think the face itself may be too thin and some “chubbiness” needs to be added to the cheeks.  In my opinion the sculpt is best when looking straight at the face and significantly deteriorates when looking at the side profiles.  The hair is spot on and I think the sizing of the head compared to the body is good.  Like I said, the likeness is right there but something is just missing

The articulation for the figure follows the same standard set by BSG’s first wave.  These figures have all of the same points of articulation and the figure I received had no flaws in the production process.  I’m still trying to figure out the added leg joint at the upper thigh.  For some battle poses, this joint is useful, but it also adds an extra unsightly line to the figure.  Overall I like the points of articulation chosen for the BSG line as a whole and this new body type has kept up that standard.  Another note is I believe that DST has fixed the problem with the hands ripping in the joints when trying to switch between gloved and ungloved hands.  The hands thus far have been easily switched in and out whereas on the male figures I literally had to add oil lubrication to make sure that they didn’t rip, and 2 sets still did so anyway.  I’m glad to see DST addressed the problem and seems to have fixed it on the female figures.

The coolest part of this figure (as with most DST sci-fi toys) is the cool accessories they have added.  Starbuck comes with the standard BSG pistol.  As I said before the gun doesn’t fit well in the holster nor does it fit well in the smaller female gloved hand.  However it does fit nicely with the ungloved hand so if you are planning on displaying Kara with gun in hand, it’s probably best to do it with the ungloved hand.  I think a slight modification to the gloved hand (a slight cut between the index and middle fingers) would solve that problem.  One of the coolest new accessories are a third set of hands, one of which holding a cigar and the other holding playing cards.  Being that Starbuck’s known for her time spent doing both; this was a perfect addition to the figure.  Kara also came with the Arrow of Apollo that is fully painted down to the 6 jewels on the arrowhead.  She also comes with a two-color pyramid ball.  All of these accessories are pretty cool and are very character specific.

In conclusion, this is a very nice figure is a very good representation of Kara Thrace.  The new female body sculpt is great and really fits in well with the male flight suit characters.  The accessories are once again top notch with great detail and paint apps.  The paint apps on the figure are also very impressive with my only complaint coming with the lack a gold sheen added to the metallic green sheen.  At this point though, I wouldn’t want the gold added because I’m a big believer in having uniforms match.  If DST added the gold I’d be unhappy because the female wouldn’t match their male counterparts.  The only major flaw in this figure is the likeness not being spot on.  I can see Kara Thrace lurking in the sculpt, but it’s not obviously apparent.  A few little alterations to the sculpt would probably make it perfect.  Overall, I would say that this is a very nice figure that is pretty near perfect outside of the likeness issue.

Positives:

Detailed accessories that are character specific

Multiple paint apps that are all near perfect

Good choice of points of articulation

Negatives:

Likeness doesn’t capture Starbuck perfectly

Issues with gun being held in gloved hand

Rating: out of 5 stars.

As Always

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