So surprised to see this guy at my door today. After having in hand a few pros and cons.
Robe color, this one will be up to debate. I personally feel somewhere in the middle would be perfect- The Sideshow being too dark for my tastes. I did see a Jawa costume on display at the Smithsonian ages ago, and I will admit the likely faded costume was closer in color to the new Hot Toys figure. It also gives me a Kenner figure vibe.
Weathering is way heavier and realistic in person. The hood with the wires is one of the bigger improvements.
The eyes are such a mixed bag. Thankfully they are a more orange/amber in person than red like in some blogger pics. They are so dim. I appreciate what Hot Toys was trying to do. The Sideshows are just a bit too bright. The jawas in ANH didn't have bright headlights for eyes, they were more subdued. However I do think having a two LEDs instead of just one may have helped this figure. I did look and the neck pegs to the Jawas are different if you wanted to use the Sideshow head instead.
Bandoliers- Sideshow's are far and away better. They feel like real leather, the new ones not so much. I did try switching them, unfortunately the older Sideshow bandoliers are a bit undersized - something I had not noticed on the slim sideshow body. The Hot Toys is a bit broader, and he just looked like a stuffed sausage wearing the Sideshow ones.
The best improvement is the body. Though I've heard later releases are better, my sideshow jawas can not stand on their own. Not to mention the hands that constantly fall out. The Sideshow Jawa is way more fiddly, it can look great especially with a water treatment to the robes and some futzing + crossing your fingers it stands up.
Hot Toys is basically good to go with very minimal futzing.
This release is a bit of a mixed bag. If I wasn't such a fan of the little guys I'm not sure I'd have purchased it. I am going to try and pose him some more, but as of now he's grown on me.
