The Emperor's Royal Guard. A very popular figure with many collectors, but personally I prefer the character to its figure. I think it's the soft goods cloak which just doesn't look right to me. A nicely sculpted plastic cloak can look so much better (as Hasbro eventually proved on about their fifth attempt at the figure), but perhaps back in Kenner's day this was as good as it was going to get? It's not that I dislike it; I just don't love it.
As for the figure itself, you might be forgiven for thinking there wasn't much scope for variants with it, but you'd be wrong. Across the Hong Kong and Taiwan versions of the figure, there are various shades of red used in the soft goods, different shades of dark red plastic used on the figure's body and limbs, and different shades of bright red plastic used on his helmet. There are also different sculpts to be found, and they're most easily spotted (perhaps unsurprisingly, since it's the most visible part) on his helmet (not that I'm advocating going about with a visible helmet, you understand... *snigger* :lol: ). The moulds are most noticeably different on the width of the visor, and at the base of the 'V' formed on the front of the helmet. However, as is often the case, nothing beats having the figures in hand to really appreciate the differences.
Here are my 5 different loose variants. It's been super hard trying to get the colours consistent across these pictures, as my camera will insist on changing the shades of colour on the same figure from photo to photo, so I've dragged them through Photoshop to try to get them as consistent and true-to-life as I could, with the close-ups being the most accurate.
The Big Red One - 01.jpg
The Big Red One - 02.jpg
The Big Red One - 03.jpg
The Big Red One - 04.jpg
The Big Red One - 05.jpg
The Big Red One - 06.jpg
The Big Red One - 07.jpg
The Big Red One - 08.jpg