Tag Archives: black series

Aug 9 2023

Star Wars Black Series (Knights of the Old Republic) Bastila Shan by Hasbro

Somewhere along the way, Hasbro’s Black Series has lost me. Sure, some of it has to do with Disney curb-stomping the brand into the gutter these last few years, but I’m kind of tired of so many repacks and repaints when there are still so many of the old Kenner figures that still need to be done. The 40th Anniversary of Return of the Jedi should have given us so many figures, and instead we got a couple new ones and a bunch of old stuff repacked on vintage style cards. Case in point, I haven’t looked at a SWB figure here in eight months! Sure, in some cases I get backlogged, but in this case, I just haven’t been buying any of the figures. But, I did pre-order Bastila Shan and she showed up, so let’s do some Black Series today!

I’ve expressed my undying love for Knights of the Old Republic several times here on FFZ, and even the mere act of checking out this figure has me thinking about it being time for yet another replay. And I will forever be bitter that Hasbro didn’t get to do a big marketing push alongside the game. I mean, here we are twenty years later and we still have only seen a few characters released as figures. It’s a crime, so the least I could do was support this release of Bastila Shan like I did back when Darth Revan was released. Anyway, Shan comes in the fully enclosed plastic-free packaging with the GAMING GREATS logo on the front. You get some character art on the side, and everything here is collector friendly.

Straightaway, this release is such a huge improvement over the 3 3/4-inch Bastila we got way back when. It’s not so much just the new opportunities that come with the jump up in scale, but just the coloring and accuracy of her costume as well. There’s a great sense of layering here with the tan bodysuit being the figure base and the burgundy tunic being cast in soft plastic and worn over the body. Even the top edges of the boots convey a very nice sense of depth, like the figure is actually wearing them. The flaps that drop from her waist on the front and sides are made of pretty pliable plastic and I’m pleased to say that they tend to work pretty well with the articulation. A lot of the coloring here looks like it’s done through the plastic, but the paint lines are nice and sharp too. AND YES, THAT’S A GODDAMN CAT HAIR ON HER BOOT IN THE SECOND PICTURE WHICH I DIDN’T NOTICE UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE!!!

The head sculpt is solid, but maybe not exceptional. The facial details are printed on and look fine in hand, while breaking down a bit as you punch in with the camera. The hair sculpting is excellent, but I just don’t see a whole lot of likeness there for the character in the game. I gather that Shan has been in a lot of other media since the game, so maybe this portrait is based more on one of those? Either way, it’s certainly not bad. Maybe a little less shadowing under the eyes would have helped.

The articulation here is mostly great, with the one throwback being the arms. We get the usual rotating hinges in the elbows instead of double-hinges and bicep swivels. Yup, Hasbro loves doing this with the ladies and I have no idea why. Normally, I’ve come to except it, but it hurts a bit more here when trying to get her to wield her lightsaber with both hands. Other than that, you get some great range of motion in the hips, there are double hinges in the knees, swivels in the thighs, and the ankles have hinges and lateral rockers. The ball joint in the waist has some decent range, and you get a ball joint in the neck. She’s fun to play with, but I’ll be happy if the rotating hinges in the elbows get retired.

Her lightsaber is her only accessory and it comes with two yellow blades that can be pegged in and removed. The hilt is pretty big as far as lightsabers go, and you get some nice silver paint on the ends and black for the grip in the middle. I really hate how gimmicky and ridiculous the lightsaber designs have become, from the spinning blades to whatever the hell grimdark Rey had in whatever movie that was. Still, I kind of have a soft spot for this one, since it reminds me of how badly I wanted a Double Brand in Phantasy Star Online.

I like this figure a lot. No one thing about it is particularly amazing, but it all comes together into what is a very solid Bastila Shan figure, and that’s what I’m here for. And maybe that sums up a lot of my feelings for the Black Series lately. It’s almost always totally competent, with the occasional flourish here and there, and that’s fine when it’s turning out characters I want. But as Hasbro continues to milk previously released figures with Carbonized and Christmas repaints, I’m left waiting for characters we should have had ages ago. Where were my Skiff Guards for the RotJ 40th Anniversary? Where are the rest of my Ewoks? Where’s my Crix Madine? That’s fine… my wallet is happy for the reprieve.

Jan 6 2023

Star Wars Black Series: Figrin D’an by Hasbro

I know, I just checked out Jazwares Millennium Falcon a couple days ago, but I guess I’m in a Star Wars mood this week, so let’s return to A Galaxy Far, Far Away one more time before heading into the weekend. As someone who has been frequently complaining that we still don’t have Black Series Hammerhead, Snaggletooth, or a number of other Cantina Aliens yet, I was a little bitter to see Figrin D’an jump to the head of the line and make an appearance. But then I reasoned it out that Hasbro knew they could make collectors buy the same figure six or seven times and it all made perfect sense.

I was actually thinking about skipping this figure, because it’s not terribly exciting for a $20+ purchase, and I knew I wasn’t going to buy the whole band. But then Figgy started turning up at a few online retailers for $9.99 and I decided to go for it. Luckily, the retailer I bought it from had a three-figure limit, so they stepped in where my better sense would have failed me. So, yes the figure in the package is billed as the lead performer of the Modal Nodes, Figrin D’an, but he comes with three different instruments, and apparently all Bith look alike, so you can use him as several different members if you buy more than one.

Here’s Fiery Figgy out of the box, and while he look pretty good, he’s still a pretty bland figure with just a black tunic, black boots, and gray trousers to make up his costume. The only thing really distinctive here are his big Bith hands and his bulbous Bith head. But, hey, that’s not the figure’s fault as it’s still a pretty good representation of the character. A lot of the Cantina aliens were just about giving people monster heads and monster hands. It was pretty casual. Hell, even Greedo was wearing high heels most of the time. You get some sculpted rumples and wrinkles in the tunic and pants and some seams, but not a lot else noteworthy… heh, see what I did there?

The head sculpt is decent enough, albeit maybe a little soft. When we were kids, my brother and I used to call these guys Hiney Heads and that made us giggle because their heads looked like butts. It kinda still makes me giggle. Keep in mind, it was quite a bit later until any of us knew that these guys had names and that their race had a name. We sure as hell didn’t know their music was called Jizz, which is a shame because that would have made us giggle too. I do think the paint job for the portrait could have been better. Maybe a little bit of a wash or some shading? I mean, the costume was simple enough, they could have done something special with the head, but like the rest of the figure, it’s perfectly passable. It even has a little hole in its maw to stick the various instruments into.

The articulation is solid enough. You get rotating hinges in the shoulders and elbows, with hinged pegs in the hands. The legs have ball joints in the hips, rotating hinges in the knees, swivels in the thighs, and hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles. There’s a ball joint under the chest and the neck is ball jointed as well. All they did was stand there and sway in the movie, so this level of articulation has them more than well covered. Except for the elbows, which definitely could have used better than a 90-degree bend to work better with their instruments.

As mentioned earlier, you get three different instruments, the first of which is the kloo horn, which I believe is what Figrin D’ar played…

Next up is the fanfar…

And finally, the fizzz. Each of these instruments vary in detail with the fanfar and kloo horn having the most and the fizzz having the least, but they all seem to be good representations of the on screen versions. Each has its own challenge when it comes to getting the Bith to hold it so that the mouth piece is actually sticking into the tiny mouth hole, which should be evident in some of the pictures. Double hinged elbows would have sure helped in this department, as well as maybe getting a set of hands specifically made for each instrument. Considering the simplicity of the figure, I don’t think one of those two improvements would be asking too much.

I’m happy to have some Bith musicians, but the cynical side of me says that these are just more evidence of Hasbro trying to stretch figure molds to the max. Yes, it’s a new sculpt, but it’s basically a musical troop builder, which is just one step better than the endless carbonized and credit series repaints that Hasbro has been pouring into this line. Now, if you want to get the remaining instruments to complete your band, you have to buy the Deluxe Nalan Cheel figure, which is a Hasbro Pulse exclusive and comes with the three larger instruments but runs close to $40. You will then need to buy at least two more Figrins in order to display one band member with each instrument, BUT… I believe there were two kloo horn players, and a little research tells me that there was an eighth member that wasn’t playing, but I think he was dressed different so I won’t count him. So, by my reckoning that would be a total of six Figins and one Nalan to complete the band. I haven’t decided to take that plunge yet, especially since Figgy is back up to $20 at most retailers. Maybe, if he drops to ten again, I’d consider it, but until then my Cantina band will remain a trio.

Dec 7 2022

Star Wars Black Series: Cassian Andor and B2EMO by Hasbro

A friend of mine once argued that beyond The Original Trilogy, Star Wars was incapable of any real depth and new ideas. I proffered that Rogue One shattered his argument, but he insisted that even Rogue One was just propped up by familiar imagery that we’ve seen over and over again. We had to agree to disagree on that one, but I understood his underlying point. And then came Andor, a series that even he had to agree expanded the Star Wars franchise beyond the same old, same old. Andor is so well-written that it’s almost unbelievable that it came from the same production company that gave us Obi-Wan and Book of Boba Fett. It introduces us to characters that are motivated and relatable, showers us with finely crafted and memorable dialogue, and does more to expand the Star Wars Universe than well, almost anything I can think of. Of course, all this comes at the cost of a lot of action. The show is slow and plodding. It’s deliberate and measured. So did I actually want action figures from this kind of show? You bet I did!

And Hasbro answered the call with this initial offering: A two-pack featuring the titular Cassian Andor and his droid B2EMO. This set started life as a Pulse Exclusive, but just this week it was offered up as a wide release by other online retailers. As far as I can tell, the retail release is identical to the exclusive, but if you went with Pulse, you got the figures in hand at about the same time it was going up for pre-order elsewhere. So, I guess that’s something!

The packaging here is very nice! You get what looks like an enclosed box, but it’s actually a slipcase holding two windowless boxes that slide out of opposite ends. Each of the figures is secured with twisty string, and they look quite striking against the red trays. And yeah, B2 looks a little awkward levitating in the middle of his human-sized tray. Let’s get them out of there and start with Cassian himself!

Well, I actually didn’t expect as much color as we got on this figure. Not that it’s all that flashy, but the blue shirt looks nice, as does the gold buckle and fixtures on his smuggler-style belt. The overcoat is a reddish-brown and the tunic is two-tone green. All in all, for a show that is pretty drab on screen, I think the deco on this figure pops pretty well. The sculpt work that went into the costume is very impressive. We get all sorts of stitching, rumples, and layers. It perfectly characterizes Andor as the common rabble that he is, with maybe just a hint of swashbuckling flare.

I’ve gone back and forth on this portrait. It’s definitely a huge improvement from the Rogue One versions, and I think the likeness is good from certain angles, but maybe not from dead on. The hair sculpt is especially well done, and the facial hair is pretty good too. The printing makes the details look rather blurry up close, but it looks fine as long as you don’t punch in too close.

The articulation here is a bit better than I was expecting, and by that I mean the bulky plastic costume doesn’t really inhibit anything. Alas, there are no double hinges in the elbows or knees, but instead rotating hinges. You do still get thigh swivels, but no bicep swivels. It’s not ideal to me, but it works OK, although the elbows can only manage 90-degree bends. The ankles are hinged with lateral rockers, there’s a ball joint at the waist, and the neck rotates at the base and has a ball joint further up in the head. Andor features two trigger-finger hands, which is kind of strange since he only comes with one gun.

The gun is a simple pistol, which was showcased a few times in the series. I like this boxy no-nonsense design. It’s not as flashy as some of the weapons of the Star Wars Universe, but it fits the pragmatic nature of the series to a tee. All in all, I’m very pleased with the way Cassian came out. There’s definitely some room for improvement, but overall not bad. I wish I could say the same about B2EMO…

Yeah, this guy is just a huge disappointment. Granted, the design doesn’t offer quite as much to work with as an Astromech, but this little salvage droid deserved better than what we got here. My biggest complaint are the feet, which are rubbery and not really straight. Hasbro couldn’t even throw this poor droid some actual wheels so he could roll. Instead he just has sculpted treads under the feet. All this makes him feel really cheap. I do like the rusted finish on his body, as well as the sculpted pitting, but he could have used something to bring out those panel lines. I may have to bust out a Sharpie and do it myself. You get one orange foot, suggesting that it was replaced at some point and Cassian couldn’t be bothered to paint it. It’s also really hard to make out any of the detail around the inside of his head, although I’m happy they gave his lens a little red to help make it out better.

In terms of articulation, B2 can close up into a box and then open up in three stages. He can turn his head and he can extend his feet out, which is something I didn’t even notice him doing in the series. The big disappointment here is that his head isn’t on some kind of ball joint so it could angle upward. If this were a 3 3/4-inch figure, I would have been OK with all these nitpicks, but… I don’t know, I was just expecting something a lot more impressive than what we got for a 6-inch scale figure. Maybe if we got his charging station, that would have helped him feel a little more substantial.

I got this set for 25% off when Hasbro was running their Pulse sale, and that certainly helps me accept B2 for what he is. Needless to say, I’m a lot more impressed and satisfied with the Cassian figure. I certainly don’t have any buyer’s remorse, but now that the set is available at multiple retailers, the chances of it turning up at deeper discounts or clearance is a lot better. Personally, I want to support the figures Hasbro releases for the Andor series so we will get more, otherwise, it probably would have been prudent to wait for a better price on this set.

Nov 9 2022

Star Wars Black Series (The Mandalorian): New Republic Security Droid by Hasbro

Today is sort of Friday for me, as I have the next three days off. I plan on sleeping, boozing, and playing some video games, but for now I’m stopping in to check out a new Star Wars Black Series figure from The Mandalorian! It’s the New Republic Security Droid! And the title already told you that! So, let’s go!!!

These fellas were first seen in the season one episode, The Prisoner… Have we seen them since? I honestly can’t remember, but I do hope we see these Droids again in some sort of prominent capacity. Indeed, the entire episode’s character roster has been woefully underserved by the Black Series, or even the Vintage Collection for that matter. All we got so far is Zero, and I still have to get around to reviewing him. Anyway, I don’t have a lot to say about the packaging, except to note how much space there is for stuff I would have liked to see included. But let’s put a pin in that for a moment.

I really dig this design a lot! It’s distinctive, and yet has a flavor that certainly fits the Star Wars Universe. The design is trim enough to look like they would be fairly agile in combat, and yet the design still looks sturdy enough to endure a fight. The reinforced chest armor perhaps shields his CPU and important bits, while he also has a fairly beefy groinular region, perhaps to protect his other important bits. The limbs are thin, but not quite spindly, and the joints are slightly evocative of the familiar Imperial Security Droid design, with the same type of jointing and fairly similar feet and hands. The sculpting here is pretty sharp and a nice mix of angular and rounded features. Most of the Droid’s chassis is left as bare matte plastic, while you get some nice silver-gray paint in the compartment around the neck. He has two New Republic insignia, one on left side of his chest, and the other toward the bottom of his recessed backpack, and some additional matching orange panels. There’s a stray spot of silver dry brush on his chest, which I assume is a flub, but it actually looks like a bit of weathering and I would have liked to see more of that.

The head is a no-nonsense, functional design. You get a slab of gray with a yellow visual sensor across the top. These guys clearly aren’t designed with personality in mind, but simply to substitute for organics in battle. I find it interesting that the Imperial Security Droid’s portrait has a lot more expressive personality over this New Republic fighter, but that’s probably because we were first introduced to the K2 Droid in Rogue One as a character we were supposed to like and relate to, whereas these fellas were technically the bad guys of the episode. He has one stubby antenna protruding from the top of his head.

The articulation here is excellent, with all the usual points you would expect to see in a human character. There isn’t quite as much lateral movement in the shoulders as I would like and his elbows can only do about a 90-degrees bend, but all in all I’m very pleased with what we got. The joints are strong and not at all gummy, and he’s surprisingly fun to pose!

You get one accessory here, and that’s the DH-17 style Blaster. The weapon is cast in black plastic and has a silver painted muzzle. The sculpt is a little soft, but there’s still plenty of detail to be seen. The right hand is designed to hold the gun, and includes a trigger finger, while the left hand is designed to cradle or steady the weapon. And herein comes my main complaint with this figure… I think there should have been more in the box, namely a battle damaged head and chest plate.

I was very happy to see this figure released, but at about $25, the price seemed really steep. A little patience turned them up at $15 a pop at an online retailer, and that made me grab three. It’s very cool to finally get some army-builder soldiers for the good guys, and the fact that they’re Droids sweetens the pot! These guys are surprisingly fun to play around with and pose, and they are sturdy and well balanced. With some battle damaged parts, I would have jumped at the retail price, but thankfully the deal allowed me to build a little squad of these New Republic Clankers. If they turn up again at that price, I may grab a couple more, and I wouldn’t mind seeing a Vintage Collection release to add to my carded 3 3/4-inch Mandalorian collection.

Sep 21 2022

Star Wars Black Series (The Mandalorian): Dark Trooper by Hasbro

So far, The Mandalorian has been the only Disney+ series that I think has been worthy of my time. Book of Boba Fett went nowhere fast, Obi-Wan was ludicrous and boring, and while I desperately want it to be good, I’m not holding out hope for Andor. So, it sure is nice to look back on that amazing ending to Mando Season 2 and know that if they try really hard, Disney is capable of producing some cool shit. Oh yeah… and we got to see some Dark Troopers!

Now, it’s only fair to say that I was not all that smitten with these guys on the screen. They looked a bit too much like rip-offs of the mechanical Cylons from the Battlestar Galactica reboot and the way they took to flight reminded me a little too much of either Iron Man or the Cybermen in Doctor Who‘s Series 8 finale. They just looked kind of cheesy flying around, and while that works for Doctor Who, it doesn’t so much in Star Wars. For some reason, I also LOL’d when they started punching the bulkhead repeatedly. Now, with all that having been said, these guys have grown on me a bit, and I suspected from the beginning that they were going to succeed for me a lot more as action figures, so let’s see if that’s true!

Well, I don’t know where to begin. First of all, the glossy black finish on this figure is absolutely gorgeous. It’s like a beautiful new car sheen, which probably doesn’t come across as well as it should in my pictures on account of how prone to fingerprints these are. And it’s good that the black finish is so impressive, because there isn’t a lot else here in terms of coloring. You get some silver paint on the joints and servos, and a subtle amount of dry-brushing on the feet to denote wear, but clearly these guys are meant to look fresh out of the factory and spoiling for a fight!

The next thing that I really love about this guy is the way the upper body armor is layered onto the figure. It makes for a more complex feel and appearance than if it were all just sculpted as one piece. The articulation here is every bit as good as your average Stormtrooper, so don’t let that bulky armor and those Protocol Droid-style disk-joints fool you into thinking this guy isn’t agile. It’s kind of a shame that the hydraulics in his abdomen don’t actually articulate with the figure, but they are in fact static, and the torso articulation is confined to a ball joint below the chest. Still, they look great! You get two sets of hands with this fella, one pair of fists, and a pair to interact with his gun. Oddly enough, his fists look really small and puny.

The helmet sculpt is great. It’s a nice homage to the original Dark Trooper design, but updated to work with the modern series. The red eye lenses are surprisingly vibrant amidst that sea of black, but man, it would have been cool if we could have had some light piping up in there!

The blaster design is OK, but the trusty old E-11 Blaster doesn’t have to worry about this design becoming my favorite. I like my Star Wars guns to have a firm and obvious design nod to real world vintage weapons, and this one just doesn’t do it. But it sure ain’t bad. There’s nowhere for the Trooper to store the weapon that I can see, but his gun-hands work well to carry it, with the left hand sculpted to cradle the weapon’s foregrip. It might have been interesting to see these Troopers designed with an integral blaster, like the Super Battle Droids, but maybe they can save that for an upgraded design.

In addition to the Blaster, you get a couple of jet effect parts to stick into his feet. These look fine, but I think I would have rather these guys had jetpacks, than just jet boots. Again, it’s a little too Iron Man-y on the screen, but it looks a lot more credible and fun as an action figure.

“Hey… you notice that the new guy doesn’t say much?”

At $32, The Dark Trooper is priced a bit higher than your average Black Series figure, but he is a bit more complex than what we usually get. I will say that I expected him to be a bit bigger, as he isn’t really any bigger than the Death Troopers, which I included in a comparison shot. Still, I’m not complaining, because he’s a damn fine addition to my Imperial forces. I originally pre-ordered a pair of them, but I may wind up hunting down one more.

Jul 8 2022

Star Wars Black Series (The Mandalorian): Cobb Vanth by Hasbro

I doubt anyone as more surprised than me that I made it here for at least one review this week. On Saturday and Sunday I was so sick, I just wanted to die. Things got marginally better and than plateaued up until late Wednesday when everything downgraded to what felt like just the worst head cold I’ve ever had. Yesterday I shot some pictures and paid for it by lying down for a couple of hours. Today I’m feeling better, and I hope to be back at work tomorrow. I had a bunch of goodies hit my doorstep while I was laid out this week, so let’s have a look at one of the new Star Wars figures…

Cobb Vanth was introduced in the premier episode of The Mandalorian’s second season, and it still kills me that they didn’t call this episode The Ballad of Marshall Vanth, because I just think sounds all kinds of cool. Cobb’s big claim to fame was buying Boba Fett’s armor from some Jawas, running an evil mining company out of Mos Pelgo, and installing himself as The Marshall. I watched this one again while I opened the figure and really enjoyed it. It also reminded me that the drop in quality going from The Mandalorian to Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan is just shocking, but I’m not going to open that can of worms here.

Cobb’s Marshall space-western duds feature a dark brown trousers with lighter brown high-top boots, an orange shirt with Boba Fett’s cuirass and shoulder armor worn over it. He also managed to pick up the gauntlets, and one knee guard, in his deal with the Jawas. As a result, his outfit has a patchwork look to it, reminiscent of what characters in some RPGs look like when salvaging various pieces of armor from vanquished foes. It definitely fits the scavenger lifestyle on Tatooine.

There’s some very nice weathering on the chest armor, where most of the green paint has been worn down to the bare silver of the Beskar. There’s similar paint wear on the shoulder pieces, the gauntlets, and the knee piece. The back piece seems to have remained curiously unscathed, and I’m wondering if that’s just because Hasbro forgot to weather it. Cobb also sports an orange gunbelt, with a low slung holster hanging off his right hip.

The head sculpt here is excellent, and an all around solid likeness for Timothy Olyphant. The paint on his beard is a rather splotchy, and it doesn’t look like they used the half-tone printing for it, but the eyes and eyebrows look great and I have to say I really dig The Marshall’s coif. I may take a picture of him with me the next time I go to the barber and ask them to give me the Cobb. The Marshall also sports a sculpted plastic bandana, which hangs around his neck.

Extra Boba bits include the jetpack and the helmet. The jetpack pegs into the back of the figure, with two additional tabs to secure it. I’m not all that sold on the coloring here, although with the lighting in the episode, it’s hard for me to dismiss it out of hand. The blue bits looked more green to me, and the yellow and white too bright. Whatever the case, the paint here just looks a bit too bright and cheery. The silver weathering does, however, look on point. The rocket sculpt is certainly accurate to the one Cobb used to blow up the speeder full of Mining Guards, and it is removable.

The helmet, on the other hand, is just gorgeous in the way they recreated all the chipped paint and bubbling rust. I’m also very fond of the deep metallic red paint they used for the area surrounding the visor. The range finder is even hinged! Very nice!

Marshall Vanth comes with two weapons, the first of which is his pistol. This is really nothing special, as it’s a bit of a chunky sculpt with some soft details to it. The design at least retains the Western flavor, making it somewhat reminiscent of an old revolver. I like that it has a lanyard ring dangling off the bottom of the grip.

He also comes with a rifle, which is much more interesting. This one has plenty of detail and sculpted white wraps around the grip and up near the muzzle. and what appears to be some type of scope.

One of the things I dig about The Mandalorian so much was it’s steady stream of interesting and relatable side characters, and The Marshall is just another great example of this. Naturally, I was happy to see him get a figure in The Black Series, and doubly happy to see that Hasbro did him proud. I would have liked the jetpack coloring to be a little more sedate, and maybe have more detail in the pistol sculpt, but overall I think this figure turned out great. I’m not sure if I will pony up for a double-dip if Hasbro does him again without Fett’s armor, but I guess I’d have to see the figure first.

Jun 1 2022

Star Wars Black Series: Boba Fett (Tython) and Fennec Shand by Hasbro

What can I say about The Book of Boba Fett that hasn’t already been said? Aside from the two episodes of The Mandalorian that got shoe-horned into the middle of it, the show was a profound disappointment, and a huge waste of an opportunity. It had a few flourishes of greatness surrounded by a whole lotta nothing. It felt like someone playing a Boba Fett tabletop RPG and not knowing what to do with it. Someone visits Boba at his throne. Boba leaves his throne. He walks somewhere, he gets attacked or something else happens, then he goes back to his throne. Pepper liberally with flashbacks, and there ya go. With that having been said, at least the two figures I’m checking out today had their moments to shine in The Mandalorian, before their own series would sputter out of the gates.

These figures actually come from both series, with Boba billed as from The Mandalorian, and Fennec from The Book of Boba Fett, but they both work well as being from The Mandalorian: Chapter 14, The Tragedy. As usual, you get some nice character art on the angled side of the boxes. Let’s start with Boba.

I was funning around on Twitter with this figure by asking when Uncle Fester became a Jedi, because straight out of the box, I wasn’t all that impressed. The robe looked puffy, and with Boba’s bald head nestled on top, that was the image that came instantly to mind. But after fiddling with the robes and checking out what’s underneath, I really opened up to this figure quite a bit.

On more than a few occasions, I’ve beaten up on Hasbro for not using softgoods enough in this line, so to criticize them on one of the examples where they do, is probably a little disingenuous of me. With a little futzing, I actually think the robe looks fine. It’s well tailored, I like the rough edges, and the hood is a little tough to control when it’s down behind his head, which is pretty much where I want it to be all the time. I actually would have preferred if Hasbro stitched it down to make it look better, but I guess it’s nice to have the option to be worn up.

I was extremely surprised and delighted to see how much sculpting there is under the cloth. You get a tunic with flared shoulders, and textured with vertical stripes, and sculpted robes hanging down around his legs, with the same rough-cut edges as the cloth robe. He has a wide belt with cartridges for his rifle and a shoulder strap, and finally a working holster for his pistol hanging on his right hip. I think the boots are supposed to be the same ones he wears when he’s kitted out in the Mandalorian armor, or at least they look familiar.

I think the head sculpt is OK, with a solid likeness to Temuera Morrison. It makes use of the modern printing technology for the facial features, which looks fine to the naked eye, but gets a little blurry as you punch in closer. I think my favorite thing about the portrait is the scars, which are sculpted rather than just painted. You also get some whiter skin tone around them.

Boba comes with three weapons, the first of which is a pistol that fits into the holster. The design is pretty distinctive, with what I presume is a scope running along the top of the barrel. The grip is also painted wood.

Next up, you get his Tusken Cycler Rifle. This is a great looking accessory, with some decent detail in the sculpt. I like the gold painted bands that are spaced along the barrel. The stock is painted brown, and the scope is painted gray. The carry strap is a plastic, and does a good job at not being too obtrusive. On the downside, it’s tough to get him to assume an aiming posture by drawing the gun up to his cheek.

And finally, Boba comes with the Gaffi stick that we would later see him craft in The Book of Boba Fett flashbacks. I don’t have a lot to say about the stick, other than it is cast in very soft plastic and it’s prone to bending and warping. There’s a string tied around it at each end to serve as a carry strap. OK… Let’s move on to Fennec!

Overall, I enjoy Fennec Shand as a character. She’s stoic and seemingly bad tempered at first, but she softens up a bit as the series moves on. Unfortunately, she’s mostly written in the same key as Boba, and while she serves to offer him some contrary advice from time to time, I think their relationship could have used a bit more chemistry. With that having been said, I dig her character design, and this figure does a fairly nice job bringing that to life in plastic. Her outfit has a very layered look to it, with a sort of half-tunic over her shoulders and chest, and a skirt hanging off her waist down to about her knees. There’s a lot of great texture work going on here, with some opposing geometric patterns in both the tunic and skirt. She also has a control box sculpted onto her belt, and a smaller, simpler one sculpted on her right chest. The costume is a mix of matte and gloss black, with some orange accents and striping. The deco here reminded me of something, which I couldn’t put my finger on until I sat down to write this and realized it’s similar to the deco used for the evil Programs in TRON: LEGACY.

The portrait isn’t quite spot on, but it’s not terrible. There’s a passing resemblance to Ming-Na Wen, but I don’t think it’s a slam dunk. If you handed me this head out of context, I’d say I would have a pretty good chance of identifying who it’s supposed to be, so I guess that counts for something. They did a decent job with her hair, especially the few strands that are sculpted down the right side of her face, and the ponytail, which snakes from around the back of her neck and down the front of her right shoulder. My biggest gripe here is with the ears. They look weird and unfinished.

She comes with her helmet, which is cast in soft, pliable plastic and easily slides on over her head. It’s a perfect fit, with the eyes lining up with the slit right where they should. It’s painted black and orange, and it’s a simple sculpt that matches the simple design of the screen used prop, and reminds me of a cross between a knight’s helm and a motorcycle helmet. I do think it looks a little funny with the ponytail hanging out from under it, but that’s not the figure’s fault. With all the fighting Fennec must do, it doesn’t seem like a good idea for her to have something that an opponent could grab hold of in a scuffle.

I was a bit worried that the nature of Fennec’s costume would hinder her articulation, but the skirt doesn’t get in the way much at all, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that she’s a fun figure to play around with.

Other than her helmet, Fennec only comes with one other accessory: Her sniper rifle, with a plastic carry strap. I love the design of the gun, but the carry strap is rather awkward. It’s pretty chunky, and it’s hard to get it to sit right on the figure without it getting in the way. Fortunately it’s only pegged into the rifle, so you can take it off. I’ll most likely cast it aside and display Fennec holding her gun most of the time. As for the rifle itself, it’s cast in black plastic, with no additional paint operations, but you get some great detail in that sculpt! The scope is extremely intricate, and you can even see what looks like a fire selector just above the trigger guard area.

All in all, I think both of these figures turned out pretty well. This isn’t really the version of Boba Fett that I was jonesing for the most, even though this was how he looked when he had some real badass moments kicking the shit out of Stormtroopers on Tython. This figure will really just be a placeholder until I get the figure of him wearing his armor. As for Fennec, I don’t think there’s any need for her to get another figure, as this one does a fine job capturing the way she looks through most of the series.

May 6 2022

Star Wars Black Series (The Clone Wars): Cad Bane by Hasbro

I’ve never been a big fan of The Clone Wars. I’ve tried watching it a few times, but it just never clicked. I think a lot of it has to do with the goofy stylized look of the characters and the fact that it builds off the Prequels. Nonetheless, I became familiar with a lot of the new characters through osmosis and toy marketing, and it’s cool to see some of them bleeding over into other Star Wars media.

One of those characters is Cad Bane, although the figure I’m looking at today was released before his live action appearance on The Mandalorian. Cad tickles my fancy, because I’m a fan of Westerns in general and Clint Eastwood and John Wayne films in particular. It’s only natural that a character that marries The Old West and Star Wars would be right up my ally!

And boy did Hasbro do justice to this guy! The figure perfectly captures the essence of the intergalactic high plains drifter, with some excellent layering and wonderful attention to detail in the sculpt. For starters, the form-fitting trench coat is cast in soft plastic and has the sleeves sculpted as part of the arms. It cuts off at the waist in the front, but trails down to his ankles in the back. It’s a great design, as it not only seems practical in the way it gives him easy access to his guns, but it also doesn’t inhibit the figure’s hip movement. The jacket has a little texturing sculpted in, and I really dig the silver corners on the lapels and lower flaps, which look like reinforced steel tips. My only real complaint about the coat is that the arm holes are too large. At certain angles, it can ruin the effect that the arms are supposed to be sleeves.

As for the rest of the figure, Cad has a sculpted vest under his jacket with two rows of what I presume are power cartridges for his pistols, a satchel hanging on a shoulder strap, two low-slung pistol holsters, and some cool electro gauntlets on his forearms, which have assorted controls on them to access his flamethrower and all sorts of other fun gadgets. Finally, he has a pair of jets attached to the sides of his boots for when he has to skedaddle in a hurry, or head someone off at the pass! That’s western talk!!!

One look at the portrait, and there’s no mistaking that Cad is from Duros, with his bright blue skin, large red eyes, and absence of a nose. His squint and snarl are textbook Clint Eastwood, right off the poster for The Outlaw Josey Wales! He also has two breathing tubes attached to his cheeks, which connect to a control box behind his neck. His distinctive mug is topped off with a wide-brimmed hat, which is removable.

Bane comes with his trusty pair of LL-30 blaster pistols. These are great looking little accessories, especially if you like the smooth and simplified design of the older period Star Wars weapons. They fit perfectly in the holsters, and he has gun-toting hands so he can dual wield them. It would have been great to get his carbine too, but I could always find him something.

I tend to limit myself to only buying characters in the Star Wars shows and movies that I enjoy. These days, that’s The Original Trilogy, The Mandalorian, and Rogue One, but every now and then I have to make an exception. In this case, Cad Bane is not only a cool looking character, but Hasbro nailed this figure so well, that I couldn’t resist having him on the shelf. And now that he’s made an appearance in The Mandalorian, I do believe I’ll have him on display with that collection!

Dec 1 2021

Star Wars Black Series (The Mandalorian): Remnant Stormtrooper and Artillery Stormtrooper by Hasbro

The Mandalorian may be in hiatus, but that’s not stopping us from getting some great figures from the series. I’ve checked out a few figures from Hot Toys offerings, but I’ve also got a small stack from Hasbro’s 6-inch Black Series and 3 3/4-inch Vintage Collection. And some of them are Stormtroopers! I LOVE STORMTROOPERS!!! I don’t open the Vintage Collection stuff, but I’ll get around to showing it off one day when I’m short on time, but the Black Series is all fair game to tear into!

At the beginning of the year, I took a look at Hasbro’s excellent new Black Series Imperial Stormtrooper from The Mandalorian. These new recruits are basically variants built off of that updated figure. The Remnant Stormtrooper has been out for a little while, but the Artillery Stormtrooper just arrived and as far as I know is an Amazon Exclusive! I’m going to start with the Remnant Trooper since I don’t have a whole lot to say about him.

As expected, The Remnant is just a dirtied up repaint of the updated Stormtrooper, and that’s fine! I’ll refer you to that earlier review for all the improvements on articulation and tweaks to the sculpt that this Stormtrooper body introduced. Here, the once pristine white armor is now marred with chipping and some very light brownish-orange spray. Everything just looks delightfully flatter and grungier than the regular Stormy, and shows off what happens when you can’t hop on The Empire’s website and order fresh replacement armor for your goons. The chipping is heaviest on the helmet and left shoulder, as well as the upper thigh pieces. There’s also a smattering of it elsewhere. I think the chipping looks great, but I thought it odd how little there is on the back. Indeed, apart from the heavy chipping on the back of the left thigh piece, the back of the armor is almost totally clean. It kind of looks like Hasbro just forgot to do the back, except for that one piece.

The newer helmet sculpt still looks great, although I’ve spoken to a few people who preferred the older one. To be honest, I don’t really have a preference, and I’m fine intermingling my Black Series troopers with each other. The painted details are pretty sharp, and as for accuracy, I’m not enough of a Star Wars gearhead to notice a lot of the subtle differences. Not to mention, I would imagine there were lots of variations in the screen used props over the years.

Hasbro has been pretty good about making The Mandalorian Stormtroopers accessible. And I was able to pick up three of these guys without any difficulty. It’s not nearly as many of the regular Stormies I got when they released, but this was a rare case where my good senses told me to be happy with three. It would have been cool if they varied up the distress to the armor, but I can appreciate how that would be costly for a mass-produced action figure, and the fact that these three suits just happened to chip in all the exact same spots doesn’t really phase me. I still wish they had kept the holster for the E-11 Blasters from the original Black Series Stormies, but otherwise I love these guy a lot! OK, let’s move on to the star of the show… The Artillery Stormtrooper!

This guy made his appearance in Episode 14, The Tragedy, and as his name suggests, he’s basically a mortar specialist. Once again, we get the new Stormtrooper with improved articulation and the lack of an E-11 holster, and distinguished by both the yellow markings on his armor and the yellow officer’s pauldron on his right shoulder. It may be an unpopular opinion, but I am not a fan of carrying the specialized armor markings from The Clone Wars over to the Imperial Stormtroopers. It felt like a cheap excuse to sell toys back then, and it still does. It’s the kind of thing I expect to see in a video game so the player can tell what kind of enemy they’re dealing with. And it’s especially weird to see it just appearing now in The Mandalorian after never turning up in The Original Trilogy. I think the yellow pauldron would have been enough, and it’s the main reason I’m skipping the Hot Toys releases of this guy and the Incinerator Trooper. And yet with all that being said, I still dig this guy well enough.

There are no notable changes to the helmet, apart from the added yellow markings, which looks like he’s dipped his face in a bucket of mustard. I do really like the sculpt and coloring on the pauldron! The subtle creases where the strap is pulling at it is a really nice touch.

His specialist equipment consists of a backpack and the mortar. The pack holds four “mortar shells,” which I think are just supposed to be the thermal detonators that the regular Stormtroopers wear on the back of their belts. Three of these are sculpted into the pack, but the one on the far right can be removed and loaded into the mortar. The horizontal yellow cylinder looks like it could be some kind of specialty shell, but I’m not sure. The pack plugs into the “O I” on the backpack and it stays put pretty well. There are some fixtures on the sides, which look like brackets, but it doesn’t appear to be designed to hold the mortar, which is a shame.

The mortar is pretty big and features a ball joint at the base and a hinged bi-pod. It stands pretty well and I love the fact that you can load it. “Fire in the hole!!!” Normally, I would have preferred to be manning the WEB Blaster, but after seeing how that thing can be taken out with one well placed shot to the power source, I’m thinking these mortars might be the better way to go. Your far from the action, and accuracy doesn’t really count as much. You really just have to worry about one of those filthy space wizards using The Force to toss the shell back at you. But what are the odds of running into one of those these days, right?

In addition to all the mortar gear, this fellow also comes with a standard E-11 Blaster, which is the same one issued to the Stormtroopers, both Remnant and otherwise. But seriously, is there a petition somewhere to bring back the holsters?

For someone who ran out of space a long time ago, I sure love to troop build! It’s totally irrational, but I just can’t help myself. I think it stems from back when I was a kid and the biggest pie-in-the-sky dream I could have was to have a dozen Stormtroopers for my Rebels to fight. And here i am now with no one to stop me! I’m content with just the one Artillery Stormtrooper, but I can’t say I wouldn’t pick up a couple more Remnant Troopers if they cross my path. Either way, these are great figures and a fine addition to anyone’s Imperial Forces!

Apr 23 2021

Star Wars Black Series (The Mandalorian): Beskar Armor Mandalorian and The Child by Hasbro

A few days ago I reviewed a trifecta of action figures from The Mandalorian, and as promised I’m back to end the week with a couple more. And while last time was all about supporting characters, this time we’re going straight for the Dynamic Duo themselves: The Mandalorian and The Child! Yeah, Yeah, these are long overdue. I have a huge backlog. Get over it!

I don’t have much to say about Mando’s packaging, as it’s pretty standard Black Series fare. So let’s check out The Child! This box is so tiny! And it’s actually kind of bloated compared to the size of the figure itself! And here’s where I’m going to go off on a rant over WHAT WERE THEY THINKING??? Why, Hasbro, would you not include the Hover Pram and a stand in this set and beef it up to $15 or $20? Ten dollars isn’t a lot of money to me. I’ve blown more than that on questionable plastic purchases in the past. But even I was put off by plunking down ten bucks for the contents of this box. Was it all part of your evil scheme to make people buy another Beskar Armor Mando and another Child figure to get the Pram? Was it also your plan to make that version so hard to get that it’s selling for over $100 on the scalper market? Honestly, I don’t understand any of this! Let’s look at Mando.

So, this is the second version of Mando to be released in this format (I reviewed the first back in 2019), and as indicated it represents the character after getting his hands on some of that tasty Beskar and decks himself out with some new armor. I have to admit, I was disappointed that they changed his look so early in the series. I liked raggedy Mando. It really played into the whole Mando With No Name Spaghetti Space Western vibe that the series was going for. If it were up to me, I would have held off on the armor upgrade until the second season. But what do I know? Now with all that having been said, I still dig his Beskar look, and I absolutely love the way this figure turned out! Yes, it does reuse some parts from the first figure, but only where appropriate.

And to be fair, he does still have a bit of a rag-tag look to him. He upgraded his cuirass, shoulders, gauntlets, and added a few nice pieces of thigh armor. The rest of his costume is still pretty low-rent and I like that. With how costly Beskar is presented as being, it makes sense that he couldn’t afford an entire suit of it. Actually, I’m not even sure both of the thigh pieces are supposed to be Beskar. It looks like the left one is, but he ran out and so he just painted the right one to match, and the paint is already half worn off. If that’s meant to be the case it’s a wonderful little touch. I also like his newly earned signet, which is sculpted onto his shoulder. The lower legs are recycled, as is the shoulder strap and gun belt. The cape is also the same one we got with the previous figure, but the gauntlets are new sculpts, with the Whistling Birds launcher clearly present on the left gauntlet.

In addition to getting the Beskar upgrade, he obviously sprung for the wash and wax on his helmet. The head is recycled from the previous figure, which makes sense, as it’s the same helmet. But all the brown grime has been cleaned off and it looks nice and shiny to match the Beskar armor. A few smudges have been added here and there to the armor and helmet, but I really do love the metallic paint they used for these pieces. The finish is so rich and luxurious!

In terms of accessories, most of what we get here is a trip down memory lane from the first release. His trusty pistol is once again included and fits nicely into the holster on his right hip. The pistol is the same accessory, but it’s been given a brighter silver coat of paint. Hey, you’re throwing down some credits to get your gear improved, might as well detail your gun too! Now with that having been said, I actually prefer the pistol from the first figure. The duller finish brought out the details in the sculpt a lot better.

Mando also comes with his Disintegration Rifle. It can still be tabbed into his back when not in use, and the figure’s articulation works really well with it, allowing him to hold it pretty close to his cheek and sight his target through the scope.

The new accessory here is the jetpack. It’s certainly a necessary item, but it’s kind of bland and dull. The sculpt is kind of soft and there’s no paint applications at all. There’s some weathering sculpted into it, but it kind of looks more like a one of my cats got at it and chewed it for a while. The jetpack plugs right into the back of the figure, and while you can kind of put it on with the cape, it’s best to take the cape off entirely. Maybe this would have been a good opportunity for softgoods, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea to be wearing a cape with a jetpack. It seems like a good way to set yourself on fire.

Any nitpicks I have with this figure are pretty minor, and I come away actually liking it as much, if not more, as the first release. Yes, I still like that more weary High Plains Drifter kind of vibe earlier Mando had, but this one has actually become more iconic to me. The figure itself is a great mix of old and new, it looks fantastic, and it’s loads of fun to play with. Let’s move on to The Child!

So, I really have very little to say about The Child. Yes, this figure is tiny, but overall I think Hasbro did a great job with what they had to work with. Indeed, the sculpt and paint executed for the portrait are rather outstanding for a figure this size. The body is just a solid piece of sculpted plastic robes, although his feet are visible from the bottom. I’m surprised they got ball joints into the shoulders, neck, and hands, although the arms do pull out rather easily and have to be snapped back in.

He does come with a clear plastic case with three accessories: A bowl, a delicious froggy, and the control knob from the Razor Crest. These accessories are so tiny that I haven’t even bothered to remove them from the case, and I’m not going to do it now either. I sure as hell don’t want to drop one and wind up making a 2am run to the Pet ER because one of my cats has a Baby Yoda soup bowl in his or her throat.

And there you have it! Besker Armor Mandalorian is a superb figure and one that I’ll likely have on my desk for a while. The Child is impressive for how small it is, but it still galls me that Hasbro put this tiny figure out as a solo release. I think the proper way to go would have been to bundle him with Beskar Mando as a regular retail release in the first place. Or, at the very least they should have given him his Hover Pram as a solo release. There’s no way I’m paying $100 just to get that Pram, but if that set does get a re-release, I’d probably go so far as to pick it up for $30. And oddly enough, just as I was writing today’s review, I got shipping notice for the Hot Toys Deluxe Mando and Child. It should be arriving early next week, and I’ll likely bump that set to the head of the line, as it’s been a while since I’ve done a Hot Toys review!