IG-11 w/ SPEEDER BIKE

STAR WARS: MISSION FLEET (HASBRO)

After following the line for a good chunk of last year, I finally dove into actually reviewing Hasbro’s current, more all-ages aimed Star Wars line, Mission Fleet, in January of this year, and I ended that review by saying that I should probably go back and review some of the others…well, I haven’t gotten to that yet, and I’m not starting it today.  However, I do have another Mission Fleet review just the same, of a non-back-log item.  As The Mandalorian is the main event for Star Wars right now, the line has taken something of a focus on it, and we’ve already gotten a handful of show-inspired sets, with plans for more.  I looked at the main version of Mando in January, and now I’m looking at one of his compatriots, and certainly my favorite portion of the show, IG-11!

THE TOYS THEMSELVES

IG-11 with Speeder Bike is part of the first crop of Mission Fleet sets to be added to the line in 2021.  The set is officially dubbed “Protect the Bounty” and is another Expedition Class set.  It’s specifically patterned on IG-11’s retrieval of the Child from the Biker Scouts at the beginning of the first season finale.

IG-11 is the core figure of this set, and is presented here in his slightly dressed down appearance following his rebuilding by Kuiil, where he drops the twin bandoliers from his earlier appearance.  The figure is about 2 3/4 inches tall and has 10 points of articulation.  IG-11 is also available in the “Defend the Child” boxed set, with the bandolier, which hit at roughly the same time, if not a little bit earlier.  It’s the same core figure, just with the extra piece.  It’s a pretty solid sculpt; IG is hit a little less heavily by the stylization of the line, being a non-human character already.  In a rather amusing fashion, because of his hands actually having IG-11’s proper adjusted manipulators, this IG-11 sculpt is currently the most-show accurate version of the character we’ve gotten from Hasbro.  How about that?  Beyond that, it’s a very nice sculpt.  The detail work is quite sharp and in depth, and the articulation scheme works best for him out of all of the figures I’ve gotten so far in the line.  IG’s paint work is pretty nicely handled.  The bulk of his coloring is molded plastic, but there’s a surprising amount of paint apps, and he’s nice and cleanly defined.  IG-11 is packed with his two blasters, like the ones seen with earlier releases of the character.  He also includes another version of the Child, this one less of his own figure and more of an accessory.  He’s in the bag he was in during the finale.  It’s molded to sit on IG’s shoulders, and is scaled well to the other version of the character.

The vehicle component of this set is another speeder bike, this time the Imperial one that IG steals during the finale.  Like Mando’s vehicle, this one’s about 6 inches long, and scales well to IG and the Child.  The detailing’s all pretty solid, and it does a nice job of capturing the classic speeder bike design in the smaller scale.  It’s been adapted to add a couple of ports to it for use with the line’s various canons and such, which keeps the play style for the line going pretty well.  The color work on the bike is generally pretty basic, mostly with just molded colors, but there’s a touch of accenting on the main body of the bike, which is pretty impressive.  The bike is packed with a large missile launcher and corresponding missile, which can be mounted at any of the port points on the bike.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I knew of the “Defend the Child” set thanks to an in-hand photo late last year, and I knew of several of the other early 2021 offerings for this line, I didn’t actually know this one was coming.  My first knowledge of it came from Max finding two of them in-store, and texting me to find out if I wanted one.  Since IG’s my favorite part of the show, and this is one of my favorite sequences in the show, I was definitely down for this set.  It’s another nice little contained package set.