VAL — VANDOR 1
STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)
“A no-nonsense and occasionally prickly woman who is a crack shot with a blaster rifle, Val may be the most even-headed and capable member of Tobias Beckett’s ragtag crew of scoundrels.”
One week into my Post Christmas reviews, I’m going to be kicking off a theme week. There was one large subset of gifts this year, and that subset was Star Wars: The Black Series. So, for the first of my slew of Black Series reviews is going to be based on last year’s Solo. I looked at Tobias Beckett back at the beginning of December, and now I’ll be moving onto his crew of bandits. First up, the Zoe to his Mal, Val!
THE FIGURE ITSELF
Val was released in the latest assortment of Black Series figures. She’s figure 71, thereby making her the first figure in the line-up numerically. Val is dubbed as being her “Vandor 1” appearance, which is the location of the ill-fated train heist that starts out the movie. She’s got this look and the Imperial disguise, and this one’s the more character specific, as well as being the one that matches up with the prior Beckett figure. Val stands 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation. Val’s sculpt is a unique offering, which is to be expected, seeing this is her only figure, with no prior variants or anything. It’s a pretty solid offering. The head’s likeness to Thandie Newton is very close, certainly closer than I’d expected based on early production shots. The body does a good job of matching her proportions and appearance in the movie. Unlike Beckett, who had some weird articulation worked awkwardly into the sculpt, Val’s is actually pretty cleanly worked in. The movement on the arms is somewhat restricted by the tube thingies, but that’s not really the fault of the figure, so much as it is the character’s sort of odd design aesthetic. That being said, the amount of movement they *do* have actually did surprise me somewhat. Val’s paintwork is pretty standard for the line at this point. She’s got the printed face, which continues to impress, and the application on her costume is clean and pretty eye-catching. The use of clear plastic for the tubes and her goggles adds some nice dimension. Val is packed with her blaster, which is a unique piece. It’s a decent enough piece, though I’m a little saddened that she doesn’t have anywhere to keep it when not using it. It also seems a little on the light side, especially given the slightly smaller stature of the figure.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
Val was a combined gift given to me by my parents and my Super Awesome Fiancee. There was sort of a bit of concern about her and her assortment-mates showing up in time for Christmas morning, but they were there waiting for me, so it worked out for me. Val is a more minor character in Solo, but one I enjoyed nonetheless, and I’m pretty happy with her turn as a Black Series release, even if she is a little light on the accessory front.
Without question, everyone who has ever owned more than one Nerf blaster has thought “I wish I could stick these together and make one super blaster.”
The Demolisher was released in 2014 under the N-Strike Elite line in their bizarre switch from the standard phthalocyanine blue and titanium white color scheme to a sort of burnt sienna and ivory (blue and white became orange and white). It features 2 separate firing mechanisms that allow it to fire both Elite darts and the same big rockets that the Thunderblast uses. It sounds interesting and complicated at first until you realize they stuck the Thunderblast on the underside of a scaled up Stryfe and painted it orange.
People that know me know that I spend more than a fair bit of time playing Warframe. And if, like me, you too play more Warframe than you should, you probably know that the Soma rifle from the game is a boss and I’ll fight you if you don’t like it.
The Rukkus ICS-8 was released right at the end of 2018 as part of the N-Strike Elite series of blasters. It is yet another entry into the list of ratcheting clip-fed blasters like the Battlescout but this time the clip feeds vertically rather than horizontally. Additionally the clip on the Rukkus is curved slightly and is not removable from the blaster. It holds 8 rounds and is capable of slam-fire. The blaster also uses a top priming slide rather than a pump grip or bolt. This isn’t unusual for a smaller Nerf blaster at all but it does play into my next bit so sit tight. If recent news has told us anything, it’s that Nerf is not shy about license deals with upcoming products for both Overwatch and Fortnite. At this point, I would like to submit for consideration, Nerf Warframe. Just extend the clip, put a stock and proper barrel with maybe a pump grip, and you have a decent analog for the Soma, at least in form. Hasbro, if you’re listening, just think about it. Anyway, the Rukkus has no 
attachment rails or lugs of any sort so, sadly, your options for customization are essentially nil without getting into mods. Personally I start with a Hornet Strike and Pistol Gambit to boost the critical- wait… different mods, sorry. The ergonomics of the Rukkus are decent, nothing really remarkable but it’s all comfortable and functional. Likewise, performance is solid without being mindblowing. There are some shots that feel like they don’t hit quite as hard as others but it’s not consistent so it’s hard to nail down what the cause is.
The Figure In Question 