Tag Archives: Bad Batch

#3668: Clone Captain Rex

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

CLONE CAPTAIN REX

STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Remember two weeks ago when I ended a lengthy hiatus from Vintage Collection with a review of a Bad Batch-based Captain Rex figure?  Did you know it was almost a review of a *different* Bad Batch-based Captain Rex figure from The Vintage Collection?  I mean, probably not.  I don’t tend to let other people know about my planned reviews in advance.  Anyway, there was the new Rex, so I hotplated him, but I didn’t want to just forget about the other one, so, two Rexes in one month?  Is that really so bad?  I don’t think so.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Clone Captain Rex was released as part of the Amazon-exclusive Bad Batch-themed Star Wars: The Vintage Collection four-pack, alongside three other non-Batch troopers.  He’s numbered VC208, making him numerically the first of the four included figures.  He’s based on Rex’s incognito look from the show, just like his Black Series figure from the same time. The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  Rex is built on the previous Clone Trooper base body, which was first introduced in 2011, and is…well, it certainly shows its age.  The articulation is the earliest implementation of “super-articulated” in its more modern sense.  There’s a lot of movement, but it’s not as intuitive, and it’s a little floppy.  He’s also rather lanky, made only more evident by the removable helmet, which bulks the head up.  He gets a new belt piece and pauldron, as well as a cloth kama and poncho.  The pauldron is a curious oddity, since it’s not the full thing, due to being based directly on the animation models, which had tweaked it so that it wouldn’t clip through the poncho.  It’s not actually meant to be seen, and was swapped out for the full version in all of the scenes without the poncho present.  The helmet is also tweaked to add his extra visor piece.  It’s articulated, but it’s also connected to the range finder, so they both move in tandem, which looks a little weird.  Under the helmet we get an unmasked head, which is just a standard clone head re-used, meaning it’s got too much hair to be Rex, since he had his close cropped hair still in Bad Batch.  The color work is decent enough.  Not too far removed from the more recent one, though the blue paint seems a little more wobbly.  There’s some slop on the hairline, but otherwise, application is decent and pretty clean.  Rex is packed with his twin blaster pistols, which he can hold or holster, as per usual.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I like Rex a lot, but I wasn’t rushing out to buy three other figures just to get this one, especially because its a Vintage Collection release.  So, I opted to play the waiting game.  It worked out, because I was able to snag a loose one through All Time, when it was traded in a couple of months ago.  He’s a rather dated figure, and far moreso than he should be, given he’s only actually three years old.  But, he’s at least a more unique design, and he’s got the poncho to hide some of the worst of it.  Ultimately, it’s another Rex, and I can certainly dig that.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3658: Clone Commander Rex – Bracca Mission

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

CLONE COMMANDER REX — BRACCA MISSION

STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION (HASBRO)

“Presumed dead at the dawn of the Empire, Rex operates in the shadows – helping any clone brothers who remain separate from the Imperial ranks.”

I haven’t reviewed a Vintage Collection figure since February of 2022, which is quite a while ago. To be fair, I haven’t bought any VC in that time either. I found myself experiencing diminishing returns as the price increased and the figures got more complex, but not so much more fun. But, well, there’s a new Rex, and he’s on my short list of characters that could get me to buy a VC figure. So, you know, that’s what happened. Thrilling, right? Well, let’s review this guy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Clone Commander Rex (Bracca Mission) is part of the latest assortment of Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Vintage Collection, which is a mid-summer release. He’s figure VC317, and officially hails from the Bad Batch sub-set of the line. I was intrigued by his “commander” rank, which he was granted during the Battle of Mandalore in Clone Wars, but which I’m also pretty sure Jesse stripped him of when Order 66 kicked in. I suppose with the whole Republic Army dismantled and the whole dying thing, Jesse may not have officially filed the necessary paperwork, so I guess Rex gets to keep the higher rank? It does at least help to further differentiate from the other two VC Rex figures (though one of those is *also* from Bad Batch, which just further confuses whether he kept the promotion or not).  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  Rex’s largely built from the most recent revamp of the Clone Trooper body, introduced last year.  It’s a good starting point.  The articulation scheme here is more in line with where the larger scale was a few years ago, which is good for range and stability, especially at this scale.  I found it much easier to get him into poses and also keep him standing than typically is the case with Vintage Collection figures.  That’s a very welcome improvement.  He gets a new head sculpt, which is just the helmet.  It’s a good recreation of Rex’s modified helmet from later in the show, improving even on the earlier small-scale Black Series sculpt.  He also gets a new pauldron and belt.  The pauldron’s a little floaty for my taste, but the helmet at least helps keep in place in a lot of poses.  The belt also gets a fabric skirt piece, which is much better for posing than the sculpted one from the earlier Rex.  It sits a little odd on the front, but generally looks okay.  Rex’s color work isn’t too bad.  It’s more on the basic side, going for a cleaner Rex than we’ve seen previously.  We do still get his tally marks, since it’s a Phase II model, and they’re nice and clean.  I counted 161 this time, which is down by two from the smaller Black Series…I think.  I may have miscounted on one of them, though, so don’t quote me on it.  Rex is packed with an alternate unmasked head, as well as his twin blaster pistols.  The head does get his slight scar on the temple, indicating it’s a post-Order 66 Rex, as it’s meant to be.  It still looks a little weird to me to have him with the Morrison likeness, but it is what it is.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Every time I’m tempted by a Vintage Collection figure, I try to remember that it’s generally not a line I’m super into, and that I don’t tend to enjoy the figures once I get them in hand.  As such, I wasn’t initially planning to grab this one.  I am, however, weak.  Once I saw him in person, I had a hard time saying no.  I felt like I was gonna regret it…but I actually don’t?  I don’t like the pauldron.  It’s floaty and the exact sort of thing that bugs me on this line.  That said, it’s a small thing, and the rest of the figure’s enough to offset it.  He’s actually a lot of fun, and a lot more sturdy than I expected.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3544: Tech – Mercenary Gear

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

TECH – MERCENARY GEAR

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0023:  Tech is my favorite member of the Bad Batch‘s titular team (if you’re curious, the order I’d go with is Tech, Echo, Wrecker, Omega, Crosshair, Hunter.  That’s right, Hunter’s my least favorite…he’s bland.)

Bad Batch is a show that I really enjoyed at its start…and then it just sort of fell off for me.  I liked the more “impending doom, on the run” vibe of the earlier episodes, but once they settled into the “mission of the week” set-up, it kind of lost momentum for me.  It’s second season kind of continues that, with the added bonus of also writing out the two characters I most cared about.  But, hey, there’s more Hunter, right?  Okay, in actuality, it’s a good excuse to give us updated versions of the team in their modified Mercenary gear.  I’m not really down for buying the whole team all over again.  But, for Tech, I’ll make an exception.  And, hey, so I did.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tech – Mercenary Gear is figure 16 in the Bad Batch sub-line of Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Black Series‘s Phase IV incarnation.  As with almost all of the Season 2 merch, this figure is a Walmart-exclusive, and hit in the fall of last year.  The figure is a little over 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Tech is largely built out of the same bank of parts as the first season Tech.  Most of the figures in the set follow suit, since the Mercenary Gear looks are largely just minor re-skins of their earlier looks.  Tech’s sculpt is one of the best the Batch had to offer, so I’m hardly hurt by the re-use.  The one main change-up is actually a fix to the one notable issue I had with the first release: he’s got his goggles!  In the show, whenever Tech takes off his helmet, he’s got goggles on underneath, but the first figure lacked them, which threw off his overall look.  This figure has a modified head sculpt, which now has the goggles permanently affixed.  The helmet, likewise, has been modified to leave a space for the goggles to slot in when he’s wearing it.  It definitely takes a lot of doing to get the helmet on and off, but the end result looks better in both set-ups then the prior release.  The other change-up to this guy is his paint work, which goes for a slightly more colorful look.  It’s not bad; not drastically different, or anything, but it’s a little more vibrant.  Like his prior release, this Tech includes a small blaster, three different tools, and a back pack.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t mind the choice to go exclusive on the Mercenary Gear Batch, since I didn’t really want them….and then I saw that they fixed the goggle issue on Tech, and suddenly I needed one.  Thankfully, Max was there with the assist on this guy, and managed to snag me one after a bit of searching.  He’s fun.  I loved the first figure, and I love this one.  Not sure what to do with two Techs, but there are worse problems to have.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3183: Imperial Clone Shock Trooper

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

IMPERIAL CLONE SHOCK TROOPER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Originally founded during the Clone Wars as security police and bodyguards, the group of clones known as Shock Troopers now operate as elite forces of the Empire.”

The Shock Troopers first showed up very near the end of Revenge of the Sith, as re-decoed Clones whose red coloring served as sort of a precursor to the Imperial Guards.  The similarities were taken a bit further when they were further used in Clone Wars, which established as the Coruscant-based police force, far more directly loyal to Palpatine and his cronies.  Their loyalty gave them more to do during Clone Wars’ direct follow-up, The Bad Batch.  Though effectively replaced within the show by the Elite Squad, they’re still present as the Empire’s initial enforcers.  We got a Shock Trooper on the old style Clone body, but now we’re also getting one on the new body.  Whooooo!  New body!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Imperial Clone Shock Trooper is figure 7 in the Bad Batch sub-line of The Black Series Phase IV.  He started as a Walmart-exclusive, but he’s set to get a slightly wider release later in the year.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  This Shock Trooper is, as noted in the intro, built on the newest of the Clone base bodies.  Like, actually the whole thing.  No weird combo of parts, or anything.  So, I guess there’s that.  It’s a good sculpt, it poses well, and it just makes for a good figure.  This guy in particular is based on one of the officers, meaning he’s got the shoulder pauldron.  It’s a nice piece with a lot of great texture work.  It’s fixed in place on the shoulders which, if I’m honest, seems a bit short-sited, since it means he can’t just be the standard Shock Trooper.  But, I suppose they might have done that on purpose, since this was an exclusive release, and it’s possible they might be saving the standard trooper as a main line release.  Whatever the case, it’s at least not loose and flopping about as such pieces tend to do in these figures.  The paint work on this guy is pretty straight forward, but it does what it needs to and the application is all pretty clean.  It’s a striking color set-up.  The Shock Trooper is packed with both long and short versions of the standard clone rifle, which makes for a decent selection of options.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Much as I like a good Clone variant, I wasn’t exactly looking to rush out to Walmart for specifically this figure.  Thankfully, I didn’t have to, since we got a small stack of them traded into All Time.  Boom, easy way to get one.  He’s fun.  Not breaking ground or anything, but fun.  And sometimes, that’s all you need.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3117: Omega – Kamino

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

OMEGA — KAMINO

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Born and confined to the cloning facility on Kamino, young Omega serves as assistant to Chief Medical Scientist Nala Se. Offered an opportunity to escape, Omega joins the Bad Batch on their adventure”

Let’s just keep this Black Series week going, continuing off of yesterday’s specifically Bad Batch focus, with another member of that particular team.  I noted yesterday that the team got two additional members after their initial appearance.  The first was Echo, the clone they rescued during their mission in The Clone Wars.  For their own show, they took fellow “defective” clone Omega under their wing.  In light of losing one of their members to Order 66, Omega winds up stepping into a far more integral role for the team as a whole, and is in many ways the focal point of the show.  Season 2 looks to only be building on that more, so, you know, pretty important.  Certainly important enough to justify an action figure, and that’s what I’m looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Omega is figure 10 in the Bad Batch sub-set of Black Series‘ Phase IV incarnation, placing her before Echo chronologically, though they’re side by side in terms of actual release.  She’s the other of the two Bad Batch figures in the set, which makes sense.  The figure stands 4 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Quite an impressive selection of articulation for a figure as small as she is, and the range is all pretty solid too.  Omega is sporting an all-new sculpt, specifically based on her design from the earliest episodes of the show, when they’ve just fled Kamino.  It’s a good starting point for her, but also allows some room for additional designs later down the line.  Omaga is notable for being our first time getting a kid in this line…well, a human one, anyway.  Obviously, with their experience on smaller scale lines, Hasbro handles a smaller figure just fine, and it does a nice job of paving the way for young Anakin and Boba, should the demand be there.  The sculpt is pretty solid; she definite sticks close to the animation model, more like Hunter did.  It works a bit better here, since she’s already supposed to be a bit further removed from the others in terms of design anyway.  It captures the spirit of the character pretty well, and the details are all nice and sharp.  The paint work on Omega is nicely handled.  It’s a bit brighter and bolder than other figures in the line, which is a nice change of pace.  Omega is packed with her Zygerrian energy bow, rebreather mask, and Ruby, the pet lizard that the Batch transports.  The bow is only in its fully extended version, with no option to collapse, likely due to the logistics of making something like that work.  All of the accessories are rather on the simple side, but at least they help her to feel like a pretty decent value, even with the smaller stature of the core figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

You can’t really have the rest of the Batch without Omega.  I was quite a fan of Omega’s inclusion in the show, and I’d been hoping to see her turn up sooner than later.  I’m glad that she and Echo showed up together to fully round out the team in one swoop.  Obviously, there’s some room for more variants with more stuff, but this figure’s a good start, and rounds out the line-up very nicely.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3116: Echo

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

ECHO

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Echo was a soldier in the Grand Army of the Republic, known for his strict adherence to orders and rules — hence, his nickname, which was sarcastically gifted by his clone brothers”

After a lengthy period of virtually no Black Series stuff to review at all, I’m suddenly finding myself with a bit of a surplus of them, which is certainly far from the worst thing.  So, how about a whole week of them?  I’m picking back up with yet another addition to the titular team of last year’s The Bad Batch.  While all four of the initial members were covered last year, over the course of their Clone Wars arc and their own show, they picked up a few auxiliary members as well.  The Batch’s first mission concerns locating Echo, a member of the Domino Squad who was presumed dead during the events of “The Citadel.”  The Clone Wars Season 7 revealed that Echo had survived, but in a heavily wounded state, which left him with extensive cybernetic replacements, and more than a little bit of trauma.  After being rescued, Echo joined up with Clone Force 99, and served as a full-fledged member for their own show.  He got a pretty kick-ass new design in the process, and that’s always fun for toys.  Let’s check out how that went.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Echo is figure 11 in the Bad Batch sub-set of Black Series‘ Phase IV incarnation.  He’s one of two Bad Batch figures in this specific assortment, and the whole bunch of them are technically the second assortment of the year, and are just starting to trickle out to retail now.  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  His articulation is largely the same as the other Batch members, minus the wrist joint on the right arm for obvious reasons.  Additionally, the hip joints are a bit more restricted here, due to the rubber kama, though I did find them a bit more mobile than I’d expected at first glance.  As far as construction goes, Echo has a bit of re-use, with the legs being the same as the updated clone body, albeit with a new set of knee pads.  Beyond that, Echo is an all-new sculpt.  He’s closer to Tech in terms of how he adapts the show design, removing it a little bit more from the animation design, in order to keep it closer the the main line’s more realistic style.  He still retains all of the major design elements, just a little more realistic, which works out pretty well.  I really dig all of the texturing and small detail work, as well as the fact that they’ve actually kept him a little more svelte than the rest of the team, as he was always depicted post-rescue.  Like the rest of the team, Echo gets a removable helmet, though it’s a bit more of an accomplishment this time than the other team members.  On the show, Echo’s built-in headgear actually interfaces with his helmet, in a way that’s such a cheat that they never actually show him taking off the helmet on screen from any angle other than straight ahead (i.e. the angle that doesn’t actually show how the parts interface).  I was honestly expecting either just an alternate head, or some sort of a tweaked design for either the helmet or the head.  Hasbro actually did a pretty solid job of making it work, in almost exactly the way it should work, as seen on screen.  Echo’s paint work is pretty much on par with the rest of the team.  The paint on the face is convincingly lifelike, and there’s some respectable wear and tear on the upper armor.  Echo is packed with his helmet, back pack, a blaster pistol, and a grapple attachment for his right arm.  The pistol can be stowed on his left side, which is appropriate, but he’s unfortunately still without a trigger finger on the left hand, so he can’t quite hold it right.  The grapple is a fun piece overall, but there’s no actual line connecting the two pieces.  It still works as a cool power arm looking thing, though.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

With the core Batch completed earlier this year, I was definitely very excited to get to the add-ons.  Echo is a character I liked from his first appearance way back in Clone Wars, and I loved seeing his character arc evolve through Bad Batch.  His updated design is one of my favorites from the team, and I think it made the jump to toy really, really well.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3033: Wrecker

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

WRECKER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Wrecker has brute strength that makes him capable of lifting a clone gunship without any help. His muscle and size are matched only by his temper… and an equally pronounced sense of humor.”

Hey, how about this weekly Bad Batch thing I’ve got going?  Pretty cool, right?  Boy, you guys are gonna be real disappointed when I don’t actually do it next week because I don’t actually have anything more Bad Batch to look at yet.  Sorry, did I let the wind out of your sails a bit?  I don’t mean to be a downer.  Would it make you feel better if I actually got to actually reviewing this toy, instead of all this weird meta crap that I keep falling into?  Okay, I’ll get away from the weird meta crap that I keep falling into.  Away from the weird meta crap, we’re going to be talking about Wrecker, who fulfills the Batch’s archetype role of “the big guy,” by being, well, big.  Good for him.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wrecker is figure 5 in the Bad Batch-sub-line of Hasbro’s Black Series Phase IV.  He’s a deluxe-sized figure, and is the last of the original core members of the titular team, though they will be joined by both Echo and Omega later this year.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  In terms of movement, Wrecker is pretty similar to how Zeb worked out, meaning he’s got quite a good range of motion on most of the joints, notably the shoulders and elbows.  Given how restricted he *could* be given the nature of the design, I’m quite impressed by how well Hasbro has managed to make this work.  Wrecker gets an all-new sculpt, which is unsurprising, given how much larger he is compared to the rest of his teammates.  Like Tech, I find that Wrecker’s sculpt does a better job of hybridizing his design from the show with the real world stylings of The Black Series.  There are certainly some more animated elements on the armor design, but there’s also a good balance to how things work.  His armor is well defined, with sharp lines, as well as a little bit of sculpted damage.  As with Tech, a number of the pieces are separate overlays from the main body, which gives him a little more depth.  Wrecker, like the rest of the Batch, includes a removable helmet.  It sits quite snuggly on the underlying head, and is generally quite well scaled to the rest of the body, and does a great job of capturing the design from the show.  The underlying head has enough of that generic Morisson likeness to pass him off as a clone, but keeps his as unique as the others.  It’s a pretty strong sculpt, with a lot of character.  I love the slight smirk, and the scarring turned out quite well.  It’s probably my favorite of the unmasked Batch heads thus far.  Wrecker’s paint work is pretty decently handled.  The base work is all pretty strong, as well as being consistent with the other team members.  There’s some slight wear to the detailing of the armor, as well as some additional scraping and scuffing details.  The unmasked head gets the printing on the face, which works well with the sculpt.  In general, just a solid offering on the paint front.  Wrecker is packed with his blaster (shared with Hunter), knife, and back pack.  It covers the basics for a battle-ready Wrecker, but I wouldn’t have minded seeing his small doll, or even a set of alternate hands in fists.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been waiting on this guy to complete my team for a little bit, since I actually got Tech a bit before I got around to reviewing him.  This guy definitely feels a lot like Zeb in terms of quality, and that’s a good thing.  Tech’s still my personal favorite, but Wrecker’s a strong figure in his own right.  After a slightly softer start with Hunter and Crosshair, I feel like the team filled out well, and I’m very excited for Echo and Omega to wrap things up!

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3028: Tech

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

TECH

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Tech is the computer and weapons specialist, the most talkative of the group.  His genetically enhanced brain can puzzle through technical issues at speeds even faster than some droids.”

Remember all the way back in April, when I took a look at the first two members of the titular team of clones from The Bad Batch?  Well, hey, like 10 months later, I finally have another one of them to talk about!  Shway!  In my review of the team’s second member, Crosshair, I discussed how the team members all really fall back on classic action movie team archetypes.  Hunter is the fearless leader, Crosshair is the cold marksman, and today’s focus, Tech, is the resident smart guy.  Go smart guy, go!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tech is figure 04 in the Bad Batch sub-line of Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Black Series‘s Phase IV incarnation.  He’s the third member of the actual team in this set, and the second to last of the initial line-up for the crew.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  While the other two members of the team shared a good number of parts with each other, Tech’s more removed, more Scout Trooper-inspired design means that he actually gets an entirely new sculpt.  Thus far, it’s my favorite of the three team sculpts I’ve looked at.  While Hunter and Crosshair stuck a little closer to the actual animation design, Tech does a better job of sort of hybridizing things, meaning he retains all of his distinctive elements from the show, while still really fitting right in with the rest of the standard-release figures.  The only part I’m not crazy about is how they’ve worked the knee joints into the sculpt; I feel like they’re too low on the leg when he’s posed.  Beyond that, it’s all really strong.  There’s a ton of detail work going into his costume elements, and whole bunch of depth to the sculpt.  A number of the armored pieces are separate overlays, adding to this depth quite nicely.  As with the others, Tech features a removable helmet.  It follows the show design quite well, and even includes a posable visor, which is fun.  Under the helmet, there’s a head that looks remarkably like Phil Collins, if I’m honest.  He’s not sporting his signature glasses from the show, but that’s honestly one of those in-show cheats, since he wouldn’t be able to have them under the helmet anyway.  Tech’s paint work is a pretty decent set-up, improving on the other two a bit.  There’s just a lot more going on with the layout of the color work here, and it gives him a lot more to work with.  The underlying head gets the printed technique, which looks good on the sculpt.  Tech is packed with a small blaster, three different tools, and a back pack.  The blaster’s standard issue, and doesn’t actually have a spot for storage, but I’d rather have it than not.  The tools can all be stashed on his belt, where they stay nice and secure.  The back pack is a little loose when plugged into the back, but otherwise it’s a cool piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Of the core Bad Batch team, Tech was definitely the one I was looking forward to the most.  I just really like his design, and I was looking forward to seeing it in toy form.  It was a long wait to get him, but I’m really happy with the end result.  Definitely my favorite of the team so far, and just generally one of the best Black Series figures of the more recent offerings.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#2754: Elite Squad Trooper

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

ELITE SQUAD TROOPER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“After the formation of the Galactic Empire, a small group of highly skilled enlisted recruits is tasked with neutralizing anti-Imperial insurgents throughout the galaxy.”

I see a Trooper and I want to paint it black! No colors anymore, I want them to turn black!

It’s a pretty well-established thing that you can make anything in Star Wars better by, as The Who said, painting it black.  Well, it mostly applies to troopers, I guess, but there’s a lot of those, so that’s a high percentage of Star Wars things.  While mostly an excuse to sell some more toys, the concept of painting a trooper black has also found its way into the Star Wars ‘verse proper, with all sorts of different rationales behind it.  In the case of the Clone Troopers, the latest excuse for them being all dark and monochromatic comes in the form of the Elite Squad Troopers, who will be playing some sort of role in the upcoming Bad Batch show, though specifically what, we don’t know quite yet.  It does mean we’ve got the toy, though, which is good an excuse as any to trot out the Clone Trooper molds in swanky all-black.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Elite Squad Trooper is figure 03 in the Bad Batch sub-set of Black Series, and is the third and final of the three Bad Batch-related figure in the most recent assortment of the line.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  This guy is completely built out of re-used parts, though, in contrast to how things may look at first glance, they’re not all from the new Kamino Trooper mold.  He uses that figure’s upper half, combined with the legs of the previous Clone Trooper body.  It’s…different?  I’m admittedly not sure why exactly they’ve made the change here.  The range of motion was certainly better on the newer legs; the old ones are rather restricted in the ankles and hips.  The only thing I can think of is that there were concerns of long-term durability with the construction of the new knee pads.  I suppose there’s also potentially some aesthetic benefits to the older legs, but I’m not entirely sure it’s worth the trade-off, if I’m honest.  I mean, it’s still generally better than just using the whole older Clone Trooper body; at least this one can more properly hold his weapons.  In another instance of looks being deceiving, the paint work isn’t just a straight all-black set-up.  In addition to the green visor, it’s also worth noting that the armor proper isn’t straight black, but rather more of a slate color, while the body suit is a straight black.  It’s a subtle, but well done contrast, which also keeps him from being too visually bland.  This guy’s packed with one single accessory, the DC-15A blaster.  It’s a shame he just gets the one, since prior clones have gotten both the 15A and 15S versions.  I’m guessing this might be a show-accuracy sort of thing, but it still makes the figure feel a little light, especially since he’s all repaint.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

An all-black repaint of any new trooper mold is effectively a given, so I was sort of expecting this one to crop up at some point, though I wasn’t expecting it quite this quickly.  The mixed mold is a little weird, especially this soon after establishing the new body, and I wish they weren’t cutting accessories, but I will admit this figure is really slick looking.  Sometimes, I’m just very easy to please, and this is one of those times.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for Black Series, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2753: Crosshair

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

CROSSHAIR

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“The Bad Batch, technically known as Clone Force 99, is the result of Kaminoan experiments to create specialist clone commandos. Crosshair is the team sniper who displays superior accuracy.”

The Bad Batch is, admittedly, a team primarily built out of action movie team archetypes.  Hunter’s the team’s leader guy, specializing in…uhh…leading?  So, he’s got that role covered.  But where would the team be without some sort of of dark loner guy who keeps to himself and snipes from afar?  Fear not, they’ve got Crosshair for this role.  He’s dark!  He’s a loner!  He snipes!  What more could you want?  Hopefully it’s action figures, because that’s what we’ve got here.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Crosshair is the second figure in the Bad Batch-sub-line of Star Wars: The Black Series‘s Phase IV run.  He’s another figure in the fourth assortment of the line, and the second of the three Bad Batch figures included therein.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  Crosshair’s articulation scheme is the same as Hunter’s, largely because he’s built from a bunch of the same parts.  It’s sensible, since they do have a lot of the same elements in the show, and, unsurprisingly, have the same build.  He does get a new head, helmet, shoulder pads, upper torso, and bandolier/belt overlay pieces in order to set him apart, as well as ditching Hunter’s more character-specific under-arm knife (though there’s still a hole in his forearm where the sheath plugged in on Hunter).  Hunter’s sculpt was pretty decent, but I like Crosshair’s even more; I think it’s partially just that his design translates to toy form a little bit better, but it also feels like they had just a little more fun putting him together.  His new upper torso gets its own slightly tweaked wear and tear, and his un-helmeted head has that slightly Clint Eastwood-ian look that goes well with the character.  His hair’s been slightly changed up in the transition to a more real-world set up, presumably because his animation style hair just looked a bit too silly on a real face.  The helmet again sits nicely atop the head, but unlike with Hunter, I do find myself actively preferring the helmeted appearance on this one.  His helmet’s even got a moving range-finder, which is definitely cool.  Crosshair’s paint work is pretty much on par with Hunter’s.  It’s not bad from a basic stand point (although he’s missing his little painted crosshair over his helmet’s visor, which is a shame), but it does lack in the way of weathering or any major accenting.  It would definitely help these sculpts to stand out a little bit more.  As it stands, he still looks okay, but it’s not much to write home about.  Crosshair’s accessory selection is pretty solid, as he gets his own back pack, his sniper rifle, and a small blaster pistol.  Unlike Hunter, he’s actually got storage for all of his weaponry, with the rifle breaking into two pieces for stowage on his back, and the blaster fitting into the holster on his belt.  Definitely a nice set-up.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Hunter’s kind of the blandest member of the Batch, so while he was pretty cool, he lacks a lot of that flair that the others have.  Crosshair is our first real taste of that more individualized set-up, and I think it does the figure a lot of favors.  From a purely technical standpoint, both figures are well executed, but Crosshair’s definitely a little more fun, and certainly my favorite of the two.  I look forward to seeing the show, and I certainly look forward to getting the rest of the Batch.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for Black Series, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.