Pros : Excellent likeness. Cap, Helmet and Armour are well engineered and fit perfectly
Cons : couple of paint blemishes on uniform and armour. Factory fault on shoulder joint
The release of a Star Wars Black Series General Veers came as somewhat of a surprise, particularly as it hit UK and Far East sellers just a few weeks after the release was confirmed. The figure is exclusive to Walgreens in the US, and around the rest of the world is available as a shared exclusive to most retailers.
Being exclusive the figure is not numbered, but everything else about the packaging is identical to the Phase 3 releases. I am not overly impressed with the Titus artwork on this box, ironically the figure has a better likeness.
This artwork is repeated on the rear of the box alongside the bio text. The text talks around Veers as a cold and efficient officer. It then gets very specific, confirming Veers involvement in the Imperial Assault on Hoth.
The white sticker you see on our review figure confirms it as supplied by Hasbro's Far East distributor. It is not easy to remove.
Out of the box we get General Veers in his inner tray. Be warned that this is the first figure for quite some time that has twisty ties around the arms & legs - I pulled him straight out not expecting them and risked damage to the paint. To the side of the figure is the Helmet, Blaster and the Chest Armour.
I mentioned the likeness on the figure was, for me, better than the Titus artwork. It uses the face print technology and that gives the figure a very strong likeness to Julian Glover - although it is not a dead on look. The figure is wearing his Imperial Peak Cap out of the pack which is decorated with a single silver button.
The look of the uniform is excellent, a flat grey with glossy black boots and black gloves. The belt is black with a silver buckle and either side of the chest there are those canisters to his left his Imperial ranking insignia. The colouring of the uniform is a plain grey but does have a few blemishes which is a shame - they look like watermarks as though the figure got wet before the paint dried. Thankfully they are not overly visible.
I guess once one Imperial Uniform has been sculpted, Hasbro were enabled to bring us multiple officers. The legs and arms have come originally from the Krennic figure from Rogue One, and have gone on to be used for Tarkin, Veers and I would assume the upcoming Piett figure. The chest section is not a direct reuse but I suspect some molds were tweaked.
The peaked Cap is removable, and once off the likeness to Glover is much stronger. The hair is sculpted but is very flat to allow the Cap to sit in place. The Cap is made of a soft rubber and it is well engineered to sit so flush to the head and not look oversized - a problem with a lot of figures with removable head gear.
You don't need your Imperial Officers to do much in terms of action posing, but despite this Veers still has the usual 16 points of articulation. The head is ball jointed, as is the waist which rotates and pivots forward and backward. Arms are ball jointed shoulders, rotating single joint elbow and pivot peg wrist. Legs are ball jointed hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and ankle rockers.
Veers thankfully stands easily. I was concerned he may be a touch unsteady as the legs are from Krennic, a figure that falls over far too easily with its floppy ankle joints.
It is worth noting that Veers comes with a factory fault on his right shoulder. There is a pull or something in the mold that causes this unsightly defect, and this seems to appear on all the originally released figures. If this bothers you then you may want to wait for later stocks and hope it is corrected - or at least check your Veers if you can to see how bad it is on that particular figure - there are varying degrees of damage.
Now up to this point the Veers figure has really not been the one we have seen on screen, although he was seen briefly in his dress uniform whe Vader ordered him to ready his troops, We are of course more used to seeing the General in his attack armour leading the AT-AT assault on Echo Base.
This armour is supplied as a separate piece that is cast in hard plastic on the armour with soft plastic belt and holster. The armour first goes over Veers head and then there is a black flexible belt that goes round his waist and clips into a socket underneath the holster.
The second part is the helmet which like the Cap is a well engineered piece that slots snugly over Veers' head. The chin strap is flexible that wraps under the trim.
Like the uniform, there are a few paint niggles on the armour. The details are neatly done with a repeat of Veers' rank insignia as well as led and controls down at the base. To the side of this however is what looks like patched up paint.
Veers comes with a blaster and this is cast in a black plastic with no other paint or details. This slots into the right hand with a trigger finger slotting into place.
When the blaster is not in use it can be fitted into a working holster. The holster works similar to the one that comes with Han Solo. The weapon slots into place and then a strap goes over the top of the blaster and slots into a socket to hold it in place. The fit is tight but with no paint on either blaster or holster you needn't worry about paint rub.
Veers looks awesome, but even more so posed with the Imperial Hoth Troopers like the AT-AT Drivers and Snowtroopers. I predict a rush on these Imperials now Veers is out so collectors can build an impressive force for their Hoth assault.
General Veers is essentially two figures in one, and Hasbro could have released the basic figure and a second with armour as a later exclusive. Instead they have given us both, albeit at a little premium to normal - which I think is acceptable. The figure likeness is great and the uniform, even with the reuse, looks great. My only problems with the figure are the odd few paint blemishes on the uniform and amour, and that disappointing. shoulder fault.
I score General Maximillian Veers an almost there 4 out of 5.
