I'm A Grown Man And I Bought This: Lego Star Wars Boba Fett Alarm Clock

Last year I bought myself a Lego Stormtrooper Alarm Clock from the always cool thinkgeek.com website. I liked the Stormtrooper clock a lot, but was disappointed that it and a Darth Vader clock were the only ones available. What about Boba Fett? Why no love for him?

Finally my toy prayers have been answered! Behold the Official Lego Star Wars Boba Fett Alarm Clock!

I've been a huge fan of Boba Fett since his very first appearance in The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 (yes, I'm aware that his first appearance was technically in the Star Wars Holiday Special on TV in 1978, but the less said about that the better). Ever since then I've been collecting every piece of Fett merchadise I can get my hands on.

So what is it about the character that appeals to me so? Maybe it's the cool armor. Maybe it's his funky looking ship. Most likely it was his mysterious background. Boba Fett was a mystery; we knew next to nothing about him, which was no doubt a large part of his appeal.

But George Lucas couldn't leave well enough alone, and had to give us a lame origin story in the Prequels, showing us Boba's childhood and his motives for becoming a bounty hunter. Some things are best left unseen, George. That's OK, I still like the character.

Anyway, as you are no doubt aware, Lego has been making Star Wars sets and figures for quite a few years now, and this is a large sized replica of one of their Stormtrooper figures, but with a digital clock in its chest. As near as I can tell it's an exact duplicate of the smaller figure, scaled up to around 9".

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It has a battery compartment on the back, as well as time setting and alarm buttons, which look somewhat complicated here but are actually pretty simple to operate.

If you look closely here you can see what appears to be a flesh colored head underneath the helmet. That's just the way the figure's sculpted; the helmet is not removable and there's no head underneath (thank the Maker!).

The clock in the chest is a standard LCD clock screen, which is an odd choice for an alarm clock. One generally looks at an alarm clock in a darkened bedroom and LCDs are invisible in the dark. Seems like it wold have made more sense to stick an LED clock in there.

Maybe Lego realized that, because when you push on the figure's head the clock lights up for a few seconds, allowing you to see the time in the dark.

Best of all, it's not just a solid lump of plastic--it's articulated just like a small Lego figure, so you can pose your clock in various positions. Here you can see Boba participating in a sit in, and then going out for a stroll.

These are fairly large figures, around 9" tall, as you can see here as Boba poses with a can of Coke Zero.

By the way, the targeting scanner (the thing on the stick on the right side of his helmet) is also movable. It can be tilted down in front of his face.

All in all it's a very cool figure and I highly recommend it if you're a fan of Star Wars, Boba Fett, Lego or alarm clocks.

There's just one thing missing, that I wish they'd have included: a gun. Boba Fett needs a gun. He seems naked without one. In fact now that I think about it, none of the other clocks come with a weapon either. Definitely something that should have been included.

 

Here's a group shot with all the Lego clocks I've bought so far. One cool feature: the alarm clock back lighting is color coded to the figure. Darth Vader's clock glows a sinister Sith red, Boba Fett's glows a mysterious green, and the Stormtrooper glows a yellowish white.

By the way, the ThinkGeek website has a feature that sent me an email notifying me the instant the package was delivered to my doorstep. I buy a lot of stuff online and this is the first time I've encountered this. I think it's a really good idea and one that every online store (I'm lookin' at you, Amazon) should offer.

Pros:
• It's a fully articulated giant Lego Boba Fett Alarm Clock! What decor wouldn't be enhanced by one?

Cons:
• Although it's definitely a cool looking figure, as an alarm clock it's pretty useless. The clock is virtually invisible in the dark. You can illuminate the clock face by pressing on Boba's head, but if you're like me you put your alarm clock on the other side of the room to force yourself to get up and shut it off, so a momentarily lit display is no help.

• Also when the alarm goes off, it emits a barely audible "teep teep" sound that wouldn't rouse me from even the lightest of sleeps. It's best used as a desk clock and conversation piece, rather than as a functioning alarm.

• No gun!! Would it have killed them to include a little plastic gun for him to hold?