General Grievous ShFiguarts – Collectors You Need This One!

Bandai probably just dropped one of the best Star Wars figures in recent memory with their General Grievous ShFiguarts action figure.

Make no mistake, the company may be known for their action figure renditions of franchises like the Power Rangers and Dragon Ball’s Son Goku.

But their licenses go far beyond that.

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Bandai Hobby Star Wars 1/12 Plastic Model General Grievous “Star Wars”

“Top-Notch Sculpt and Paint!”

Our Rating: 4.5

Case in point: we collectors are graced with Bandai’s various lines, from their Tamashii Nations Sh figures to their Bandai ShFiguarts series.

Action Figure Hit

The General Grievous ShFiguarts toy accompanies the likes of Queen Amidala, Emperor Palpatine, and the Clone Troopers.

Bandai has found yet another surefire hit in their action figure line!

We are not exaggerating when we say that this version of the popular prequel trilogy villain might be one of the best Star Wars figures yet.

In fact, we’d even claim that the General Grievous ShFiguarts by Bandai blows away its Hasbro Star Wars Black Series counterpart by a HUGE margin!

Praising it Much?

Yes, we instantly went over the moon when we got our hands on the General Grievous ShFiguarts action figure.

And you know how hard it is to please our team!

For one, this version of the federation general shows exactly what Star Wars figures should be, so well done, Bandai.

With this one, most of Star Wars the Black Series’ figures seem like hack jobs and Mcfarlane toys—just don’t get us started with Mcfarlane toys (ugh!).

So, without further ado, let’s start by looking at this Bandai shfiguarts Star Wars figure’s packaging.

The Pretty Package

Given the General Grievous ShFiguarts 1:12 scale, you’d think that it’ll be just along the lines of 6 inches, which is the standard for these action figures.

However, this Tamashi Nations Bandai shfiguarts release goes above and beyond when scaling their figures, with Grievous standing at about 8 inches tall.

It comes in the usual window box with all the Star Wars, Bandai SH, and Tamashii Nations SH branding.

So you MIB and MISB collectors out there could still display it.

But no disrespect to you O.C. fanboys out there: the General Grievous ShFiguarts toy is meant to be taken out of the box and posed in different ways!

Speaking of, let’s start with the wonderful articulation you’re getting with this amazing figure.

All the Poses!

We were honestly a bit skeptical when they revealed General Grievous at Tokyo Comic Con, the toy fair where brands like Bandai showcase their upcoming releases.

Given the lanky stature of the character we thought it was going to be flimsy.

Very much unlike the Luke Skywalkers and Scarlet Witches that Bandai and Tamashii Nation had released before—

Thankfully, we were proven wrong the moment we unpacked it, as the General Grievous ShFiguarts action figure is sturdier than a clone trooper’s helmet!

Unlike their popular model kit line, this Tamashii Nations Bandai figure has both heft and articulation to create the perfect rendition of the character.

Like we said earlier, this figure blows Hasbro’s Star Wars the Black Series and Vintage Collection figures by a huge margin.

Let’s Get Posing

Similar to the Hasbro Star Wars Black Series line, the General Grievous ShFiguarts action figure employs ball joints in most of its articulation points.

However, Bandai does a more than suitable job of making these joints smoother and, as we’ve said earlier, sturdier.

This makes for a very easy and hassle-free posing experience for us collectors.

And we haven’t even told you about the addition of double-joints and butterfly joints in the figure.

And although the Figuarts Star Wars line is pricier compared to other Star Wars figures out there, you’re surely getting your money’s worth with this one.

Even better, it’s not a Tamashii web exclusive, so you could easily find it online or at your local collectibles store.

The Grievous Head

General Grievous’ head stands on a ball joint.

So 360 degrees of movement is easier than shooting a Clone Trooper, whether you’re going for side to side movements or vertical ones.

What’s more interesting, though, is it has something that other Bandai SH figures don’t—like their Figuarts Son Goku or Figuarts Captain Phasma.

That’s a ball joint extension.

By that, we mean you could literally pull on General Grievous’ head, which then allows it to extend a centimeter or two farther.

Now, that’s attention to detail: something that the Hasbro Star Wars Black Series and today’s McFarlane Toys are SORELY missing.

Those Grievous Arms!

If we’re to nitpick, a very minor gripe we have with this General Grievous SH Figuarts toy is how hard it is to manage his numerous arms.

However, two arms are so boring; we’d have simply bought an Emperor Palpatine or Power Rangers figure if we wanted to play with two-armed figures.

As such, you’re always dealing with Grievous’ four arms, and that’s no problem at all: it’s what George Lucas wants us to do anyway Ha ha!

The main arms attached to his torso are on a double-jointed socket.

That means aside from the standard full rotations you get from it, you’re also getting more than enough lateral shoulder joint movement.

And it’s perfect if you’re going with poses that try to touch both arms together (again, this is something that Star Wars the Black Series lacks).

Those Lower Arms

As for the lower arms, they’re attached to a single ball joint, so you’re getting the easiest and smoothest 360-degree movement with it.

There aren’t any double-joints on it, though, so careful when you try to squeeze those lower arms together.

Despite that, this Bandai Sh Figuarts release has very long extremities, so doing those double-handed lightsaber holds would be no problem at all.

Plus, they’re easy to remove and replace.

Bandai and Tamashii Nations blew us away yet again with this articulation setup.

It’s something we haven’t seen even in their Bandai Spirits Sh line (those high-end mecha releases).

Arms and Hands

The General Grievous SH Figuarts action figure’s four arms are all set up the same way from the elbow down, in that they’re on single ball joints.

So, if you want to move them left to right or up and down, it shouldn’t be a problem at all.

And as we mentioned, this isn’t a flimsy figure, so you won’t have to be extra previous with it for fear of breaking these joints.

If you ask us, feel free to observe the same care you put in your Force Awakens Rey or Queen Amidala figure when playing with Grievous.

Going down to the hands, you’re dealing with yet another ball joint that allows for full rotational movements and poses.

However, a minor imperfection in this figure is the lack of extra hand accessories, but we’d let that slide since this figure is well made.

The Robo Torso

One of our favorite features in the General Grievous SH Figuarts version of the character is its torso’s butterfly joint.

For those of you that don’t know, butterfly joints are amazing. 

They not only allow horizontal 360-degree movements—something Star Wars the Black Series largely employs—but also tilting.

By that, we mean you could tilt the torso and hips from one side to another and front-to-back.

That may not seem like a big thing, but believe us: it is!

This means you’re getting more posing possibilities as opposed to, say, a McFarlane Toys Jon Snow, which has no torso joint whatsoever *groans*.

Creepy-Ass Legs

Yep, it grosses us out a bit when we think about General Grievous’ insectoid features underneath that mask and armor.

Don’t get us wrong, though: we love every bit of it.

This Tamashii Nations Bandai release features a double-jointed knee for maximum bends perfect for this Star Wars villain.

And the feet are on single ball joints, so articulation there is as good as any of the other parts we’ve already told you about.

Speaking of its feet, let’s go and talk about how stable the General Grievous SH Figuarts toy is.

Atten-hut!

For all its positive traits, one pet peeve we have with this character is the lack of a base.

That feature is missing in all of the Tamashii Nation and Bandai Sh releases.

It doesn’t matter if you could contort and twist a figure into amazing poses, if it can’t stand on its own.

However, the General Grievous SH Figuarts action figure naturally has wide feet, so stability is no issue here.

Those clawed toes that are less insectoid than they are amphibian acts as a proper stabilizer, which is something most Star Wars figures can’t brag about.

Suffice it to say that in spite of not having a proper base, General Grievous could stand on his own with no problem at all.

Top-Notch Sculpting

Now, if there’s something that trumps the articulation features of this toy, it’s the sculpt that Tamashii Nations SH figuarts are known for.

Seriously, from the helmet right down to tip of Grievous’ toes, this figure is on par with those large, mecha Bandai Spirits SH releases.

In fact, we’d even dare to say that this is just a step down from what companies like Hot Toys or Kotobukiya are doing, sculpt-wise.

And the paint job on this is simply movie accurate.

Not a lot of General Grievous figures could confidently tout that their inner torsos are painted neon green (it’s his power source).

So, if you ask us, this definitely deserves ALL THE STARS if we’re simply talking about sculpt and paint apps.

Federation Accessories

Of course, no self-respecting Star Wars figure would deny us collectors the necessary accessories to complete the experience.

The General Grievous SH Figuarts version has a decent amount of accessories that comes with the package.

Now, when we say decent, it’s only because—as we’ve said—there aren’t any extra hands on this one.

However, what it lacks in alternate hand sculpts, it more than makes up for in the variety of lightsabers that it comes with.

Despite the fact that Gen. Grievous is no Sith or Jedi, you’re getting four lightsaber accessories in this package, each with a differently designed hilt.

As for the lightsaber blades, you get a couple of blue and green ones, and that’s just the right amount of variety for us.

Villainous Capes

And lastly, Grievous isn’t Grievous without his cape, and this version of the character from the Bandai SH line gives us one made of thin fabric.

Is it the best Grievous cape out there, you ask?

Probably not, but it’s way better than the one we got from the Hasbro Star Wars Black Series Grievous.

Especially since that one was less fabric and more felt-like material.

The General Grievous SH figuarts figure’s cape has no articulation to it (similar to the ones MAFEX figures use).

But it’s more than enough to satiate you Star Wars figures sticklers out there.

Background

The Star Wars Prequel trilogy is a rather divisive series among fans, in that it has its fair share of great and bad elements in it.

On one hand, we get crappy stuff like Jar Jar Binks, Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker, and midichlorians.

On the other, though, it gave us the likes of Queen Amidala, the Clone Trooper, and of course, General Grievous.

Suffice it to say that Grievous is one imposing son-of-a-Rathtar: an antagonist that combines the military smarts of a soldier and the combat skills of a force user.

And, oh, did we mention that he likes to keep the lightsabers of the Jedi he’s killed?

Yep, we’d take General Grievous over your Luke Skywalkers and Emperor Palpatines any day of the week!

Manufacturer: Bandai

Bandai has more than half a century of history behind it, and its efforts have been rewarded by becoming the third largest toy company in the world.

It includes lines made up of their Bandai Spirits SH; Tamashii Nation; and Tamashii web exclusives among others.

The Japanese manufacturer’s offerings are a mainstay in many a collector’s shelf.

Whether they’re figures based on Son Goku or Queen Amidala, Bandai’s licenses go far and wide.

That allows us collectors to have more than enough options when toy hunting.

So, expect to see us review some more of their offerings in the near future; Bandai simply rules!

General Grievous ShFiguarts: The Conclusion

With Tamashii Nations, Bandai has given fans of the Star Wars franchise another reason to celebrate with the release of this Grievous figure.

If you’re looking for a version of the character that has a generous amount of articulation without all the brittleness in its makeup, then this one’s for you.

And if you’re looking for the most screen-accurate depiction of the character in toy form without breaking the bank, then this is the perfect choice.

Suffice it to say, the General Grievous ShFiguarts action figure takes the character—and the whole Bandai line— to another level that surpasses its competitors.