Tag Archives: Mandalorian

#3979: Mandalorian Warrior – Holiday Edition

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

MANDALORIAN WARRIOR — HOLIDAY EDITION

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Twas the night day before Christmas…for the people reading this.  It’s sometime the week before Christmas my time, because I wrote this in advance so as to go easy on myself in preparation for the holiday.  I’m trying to be nice to me like that. And I appreciate it, I assure me.  The last few years, my festively-themed reviews have centered on Hasbro’s admittedly kind of hokey Holiday Star Wars: The Black Series figures, which they skipped doing last year.  There are new ones this year, but I didn’t end up snagging them, so I’m falling back on an older one again this year.  Let’s get festive and look at the Mandalorian Warrior…Holiday style!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Holiday Edition Mandalorian Warrior is one of the 2022 Holiday Star Wars: The Black Series figures.  He was number 4 out of the 6 released and was available exclusively at Target.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  All of the Holiday figures are repaints, and this guy in particular is a reuse of the Clone Wars era Mandalorian Loyalist from 2020, who was of course himself a re-use of a lot of parts from Jango Fett.  By 2022, this was a rather dated mold, so it was kind of crazy to see them trot it out again, but I guess a repaint’s a repaint.  While more recent years have gotten more inventive with their color schemes and holiday themes, the first two years pretty much just decked everyone out in garish holiday colors, and threw a tacky Christmas sweater detail on the front of the chest.  This guy specifically gets the Manalorian sigil, as well as a pair of helmets.  Honestly, the whole thing doesn’t look too awful, and I do quite like the chest pattern.  The Mando is packed with a long rifle in Nerf-style colors, and a recolor of the Bogling creature mold, which I don’t think got much use.  Bafflingly, despite the mold’s sculpted holsters, he doesn’t include any blasters that can fit in said holsters, which is annoying, but also not the first time it’s happened with these figures, so I guess it’s just a quirk that you have to accept.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never gone out of my way to find any of these guys, and in 2022, I was able to get the Protocol Droid through work, so I just figured that was good enough for the season.  That said, a bunch of these got traded in loose throughout the years that followed, and I picked them up as they caught my eye.  I’m a sucker for the hokey, gimmicky nature, and love having something silly to drag out with the decorations every year.  This one’s not really noteworthy within the whole set-up, but he’s still fun.

#3539: The Mandalorian – Glavis Ringworld

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

THE MANDALORIAN — GLAVIS RINGWORLD

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0018:  There have been 14 versions of Din Djarin released in The Black Series, and 6 of those releases have been some variation on his fully kitted-out Beskar armor.

My investment in Star Wars: The Black Series has dwindled a bit more recently, because I’m honestly starting to get ever so slightly Star Wars-ed out at the larger scale.  So, rather than get *everything*, I’m instead focusing a bit more on primary looks of heavy hitters.  There’s a bit more revisiting there than you might think at first go, which is kind of what we hit with today’s offering.  Early into the first season of The Mandalorian, main character Din Djarin upgrades to a full set of Beskar armor, which has been more or less the consistent look of the character since.  It doesn’t make for a ton of variation with figures, I guess, but they make do, and there’s enough minor tweaks to justify it, right?  Right.  So, here’s another Din Djarin.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Mandalorian – Glavis Ringworld is figure 08 in the Book of Boba Fett sub-line of Star Wars: The Black Series‘ Phase IV incarnation.  He’s based on Din’s ever so slightly tweaked look when he reappears in Book following a period going solo after handing Grogu over to Luke at the end of his own show’s second season, which is honestly a good look.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  We’ve had a general Beskar Din sculpt floating around in Black Series for a while, but it was kind of cobbled together and had a fair number of inaccuracies.  This figure gets an all-new sculpt to replace that, which is a really strong offering.  Of particular note, we’ve finally gotten a proper new helmet sculpt, after working with the slightly off one that went all the way back to the very first version.  The new one is pretty spot-on, getting the proper shaping down, and sporting sharp, clean detail work.  The articulation scheme is also tweaked, following the newer style; it works fine, but it does lean into the “no double joints” thing that Black Series has gotten into, which is at times reductive.  His armor construction has a bit more overlay to it, with more free floating parts.  Din’s cloak is also now a proper soft-goods piece, rather than the thicker rubber piece from the first release, which means he can finally wear the cloak and the jetpack at the same time, as he does in the shows.  That’s a definite plus.  Din’s color work is pretty solid; the paint application is all rather clean, with minimal slop and bleed over.  The silvers in particular are nice and sleek, and they’ve also added in his appropriate blue accenting, which gives him a nice degree of pop.  Din is packed with the Darksaber, his blaster pistol, and vibro-knife.  The Darksaber sports a modified hilt, which now has a loop, so it can hang from his belt, as seen in the show.  The knife is small, and he can’t really hold it…and also, there’s not really anywhere to keep it.  Still, I guess it’s cool that they included it at all.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I was pretty excited for the original Beskar Mando…and then he hit and he was kind of a let-down, honestly.  Still, I kind of pushed it off and called it a day on that look.  When this figure was announced, I was initially planning to skip this one, but the more I looked at it, the more it looked like the figure I wanted the first time around.  Simply put, that’s exactly what he is.  He’s the best Din Hasbro’s done, and just one of the line’s better figures in general.

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.

#3534: Pre Vizsla

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

PRE VIZSLA

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0013:  Despite sharing Jon Favreau as a voice actor and both being Mandalorians, Pre Vizsla and Paz Vizla are actually *not* directly related.

While I was certainly interested in Clone Wars during its first season, it wasn’t until the second season began the first mainstream delve into Mandalorian culture that I really got interested.  It helped that it was a pretty heavily Obi-Wan-led.  Central to the story was Jon Favreau’s *first* Star wars character, Pre Vizsla, who served as a notable antagonist.  I obviously snagged Pre’s first figure, during the show’s tie-in run, but I’ve been hoping to see him crop up in Black Series for a little while.  Hey, would you look at that?  He cropped up in Black Series.  Well, might as well review him.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Pre Vizsla is figure 17 in the running Clone Wars sub-set of Star Wars: The Black Series‘s Phase IV incarnation.  He’s part of the last assortment from last year, the lone Clone Wars figure in a largely Ahsoka driven set.  While the show tie-in Pre was based on his “Phase I” design, this one (and the VC figure that hit at almost the exact same time) is based on Pre’s later run design, which has previously not gotten toy coverage.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  Pre Vizsla is based on the modified Jango Fett body used by the two prior Clone Wars Mandos.  Given that both of them are supposed to be remainders of Pre’s men after Maul and Bo-Katan split them, it does make a degree of sense.  It’s a slightly clunky body, especially in terms of articulation, but something about the QC on this particular release does feel a little slicker than the prior two I’ve gotten.  He gets an new head, helmet, and belt piece, in order to suitably change him up for Pre.  The helmet is a solid recreation of his later design, and gives him a more unique shaping than the others, which I quite like.  The underlying head is okay; it’s not the best work, and winds up looking a little oddly shaped in profile, but from the front it looks pretty good.  I think it’s slightly thrown off by being on the slightly stockier base body, which contrasts with Pre’s rail-thin appearance in the show.  Pre’s color work makes use of a surprising amount of paint.  It’s all pretty cleanly applied, and the armored portions are particularly sleek looking.  The underlying head again gets the short end of the stick, with a particularly wonky hairline.  The work on the scar is pretty cool, though.  Pre is packed with his rocket pack, two blaster pistols, and the Dark Saber.  The rocket is a new piece, with a removable rocket and posable boosters, and it even has a loop on the back to hold the Dark Saber hilt, which is cool.  The Saber is the same mold included with Moff Gideon, but it’s been painted differently.  I think the white outline really works a lot better, and gives the whole thing a nice bit of pop.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I’m not gonna lie, I waffled a little on this guy after his announcement.  I wanted him all that time, and then I saw him, and I just wasn’t sure.  I think it was the re-used body.  But, I saw him in person, and I liked him enough to jump in.  I’m glad I did, because he actually wound up being a bit better than I’d 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.

#3366: Mandalorian Police Officer

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

MANDALORIAN POLICE OFFICER

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS (HASBRO)

“Mandalorian officers maintain order on Mandalore. Because this planet of warriors has become a world of peace, the guards are seldom needed for more than minor issues. But the Death Watch group has begun committing acts of violence, so the officers are prepared with riot shields and weapons, in case all peaceful solutions fail.”

When Mandalorian culture was brought into Clone Wars‘ second season, there was a great focus on the divide in the two sides of Mandalore; while the antagonistic Death Watch were violent and warlike, the masses at large had attempted to take on a more peaceful stance.  The toys, of course, largely focused on the more visually exciting Death Watch side of things, but we did at least get some token coverage for the peace keepers, in the form of the Mandalorian Police Officer.  They’re ultimately a minor part of the show, but a cool look is a cool look, especially when it comes to Star Wars.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Mandalorian Police Officer is from the second wave of 2010 offerings for the Clone Wars tie-in line.  He’s figure #9 in that year’s line-up, making him the second figure in his assortment, following up the similarly-themed Pre Vizsla figure.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  While the line was generally improving on the articulation front at this point, this guy doesn’t quite benefit from that.  Instead, he’s using the early line non-trooper articulation scheme, meaning he’s got decent movement on his arms, but only the basic hip movement, with no knee or ankle joints.  I suppose, given his more peaceful nature, that this isn’t as horribly limiting, but it’s a little bit of a bummer.  His sculpt was an all-new one, and one which would remain unique for this figure.  It’s generally pretty solid, capturing the knight-like design from the show rather well.  He’s a bit more angular and stylized than some of the line’s other figures, and his proportions look a little strange, especially with the arms being as long as they are relative to the other parts of the body.  The visor is also rather loose fitting, and doesn’t quite sit the way it’s supposed to when it’s down.  Beyond that, though, he does what he needs to.  His color work is more on the drab side; in the show, the police sported variations of grey (fitting the generally off-white colors of the peaceful Mandalorians), and that’s what we get here.  Application’s generally pretty good, and he looks like he should, which is the important thing.  The officer is packed with his baton and riot shield, as well as a missile launcher and missile, which can be mounted on the back of the shield.  There was also a display stand, as had become standard for the line at this point.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This guy wasn’t my main want from this assortment back in the day (that was Pre Vizsla), but he was a close second.  I always thought this was a pretty cool design, and it’s a shame they never did too much with it.  I picked this figure up new, just before starting my freshman year of college.  He and Pre were two of the last items I got before moving into my dorm, and were in fact picked up while I was shopping for dorm stuff.  I intended to use these two to slow down my figure buying, but that…didn’t happen.

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.

#3361: Pre Vizsla

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

PRE VIZSLA

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS (HASBRO)

“Pre Vizsla is governor of Concordia, the moon orbiting Mandalore. Vizsla appears to support peace and criticizes the Death Watch, a violent group of Mandalorians who want to return to their warrior past. But when Obi-Wan discovers the Vizsla is actually the leader of the Death Watch, the governor tries to silence the Jedi in a duel — darksaber to lightsaber.”

If you’re going to try recreating Boba Fett at regular intervals, I suppose sometimes it just pays to go back to the source.  In The Clone Wars‘ second season, that’s what the franchise did, giving mass audiences their first glimpse at the Mandalorians.  Oh, sure, it’s all very passé these days, since they now make up a very large chunk of the franchise’s offerings, but this was back before that, when we were just learning about it all.  Leading the villainous contingent of Mandalorians was Pre Vizsla, voiced by none other than Jon Favreau, who was not yet involved in Star Wars.  Oh how times have changed.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Pre Vizsla was released in the second wave for the 2010 incarnation of Hasbro’s Clone Wars tie-in line, a wave which, in what would become fairly standard for the line, had been preceded by one entirely populated by repacks of main characters.  Vizsla was figure #8, making him the first of the new figures in his assortment, numerically.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  Hasbro was getting pretty serious about actually articulating these figures by this point, and Pre represents the line at its peak in terms of mobility, rivaling the ARF Trooper, which was the best of the Clones.  It grants him quite a bit of playability, which is always a plus.  The figure’s sculpt was all-new; parts of it would be re-used for the standard Death Watch trooper later the same year, but for the start it would be unique.  It’s a pretty strong offering.  He’s notably skinnier than the clones, which was true to the character.  His helmet was a removable piece, with an unmasked sculpt beneath it.  The unmasked head is a touch on the small side, but not terribly so, and it matches up well with Vizsla’s earlier appearances on the show.  His half cape piece is cloth; it’s a little bit oversized for the scale, but it’s certainly a better set-up than a sculpted piece might have been, as it preserves the articulation.  Vizsla’s paint work is decent; the base set-up is all there, and he certainly captures the color scheme from the show.  You can see that they were intending the body to be re-used for standard Mandos from the start here, though; the Pre-specific elements are largely painted over the standard armor.  Pre is packed with the Dark Saber (making its toy debut here), as well as two dual pistols, and a display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

By the time of Clone Wars‘ second season, I was actually starting to get a bit more invested in it, and I remember the trailer that showed off Vizsla and his Mando goons for the first time.  It was very cool, and I was very excited.  This figure was one of the ones I was most looking forward to from the line, and I recall getting both him and the Mandalorian Police Officer while I was out buying things for my first college dorm room.  They were meant to be my last toy purchase for a while but…uh, I didn’t stick to that for long.

#3257: Axe Woves

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

AXE WOVES

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“A skilled warrior, Axe Woves is loyal to Bo-Katan and is a member of a band of Clan Kryze Mandalorians striking back at the Imperial remnant”

When Bo-Katan Kryze made her first appearance in live action during The Mandalorian‘s second season, she was accompanied by two other Mandalorians: Koska Reeves and another guy.  Today, we delve into the other guy.  Okay, the other guy actually does have a name: it’s Axe Woves.  That’s a name that’s really just peak Star Wars naming, honestly.  And it really should be, since Axe was actually named by none other than George Lucas himself, who named Bo-Katan’s then un-named Lieutenant during a set visit whilst Season 2 was in production.  Unlike Koska, who re-appeared alongside Bo-Katan for Season’s finale, Axe has thus far only appeared in the one episode, but is rumored for a Season 3 return.  Perfect time for some action figure coverage.  Let’s take a look at that, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Axe Woves is part of the first main assortment of Star Wars: The Black Series‘s 2023 line-up.  Clearly, he’s a little early.  It’s okay, so’s pretty much everything else.  He’s part of the Mandalorian sub-set of the line, of course, and he’s figure 25 in that numbering scheme.  The figure stands roughly 6 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation.  In terms of construction, Axe is largely built on the bank of parts first seen on the Death Watch Mandalorian from earlier this year.  He keeps the same articulation scheme from that release, which is to say that he poses pretty well, and certainly on-par with a modern Black Series figure.  Axe gets two new pieces thrown into the mix, a new un-helmeted head and a new belt/lower abdomen add-on.  It’s otherwise just the Death Watch Mando, which is fair, since there are a number of shared armor pieces between the two.  The new head sculpt bears a passable resemblance to actor Simon Kassianides (who, it should be noted, has an oddly close resemblance to the Saga-era Jango Fett head sculpts), though it’s not as spot-on as other sculpts in the line.  Axe’s paint work pretty decent for the most part; it’s on par with other recent offerings, and there’s some rather nice weathering to the armor.  The only slight misstep is the face paint, which, at least on my copy, has the eyes set ever so slightly higher than they should be.  It’s not crazy, but it’s definitely off.  Thankfully, amongst his accessories is his distinctive Mando helmet, which is a re-use of newer Boba Fett mold.  It doesn’t sit quite as well on this figure’s head, but it overall works.  He’s also packed with his jet pack and a small blaster pistol, both of which are re-used molds.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Once we had both Bo-Katan and Koska, it was just a waiting game for Axe, since it’s not like they’re gonna leave one Mando undone, right?  Axe is exactly the sort of background character that would fascinate me in older Star Wars entries, and that came through on the newer stuff too.  I dig his look, I dig his name, and I dig the background behind it all.  He’s not a perfect figure, but he’s a pretty fun one, and a good by-the-numbers offering.

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.

#3136: The Mandalorian – Beskar

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

THE MANDALORIAN — BESKAR

STAR WARS: RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

“The Mandalorian, known to a few as Din Djarin, is a battle-worn bounty hunter, making his way through a dangerous galaxy in an uncertain age”

A little over a year ago, I took a look at Hasbro’s first batch of truly new figures in their Retro Collection line, inspired by The Mandalorian.  The figures were a pretty impressive set, and did a solid job of working as a believable continuation of the vintage line.  A year later, we’ve got a follow-up to that set of figures, this time with a focus on the show’s second season.  Headlining the second assortment is another version of the title character, this time decked out in his full-Beskar armor from later in the show’s run.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Mandalorian (Beskar) is the first of the six figures that make up the second Mando-themed series of Star Wars: Retro Collection, officially the fourth series within the wider Retro Collection set-up.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  He’s based on Mando’s look on the show post-Season 1 finale, as signified by the presence of the jetpack on his back.  The head on this one appears to be shared with the prior Mando, but beyond that he’s all-new, as every part is at least slightly different from the prior release.  While the previous Mando went a little earlier in the vintage line for his basis, this one is clearly going for a later in the Jedi line-style look, which is very much appropriate for what a potential vintage one would have looked like, given where the show falls in the overall timeline.  His build is a little thicker, and the details are a little sharper, all without quite being at modern standards.  Also, he’s actually got the cloth cape this time around, correcting the one notable “inaccuracy” of the last release.  The figure’s paint work is more reserved than the last release, but it’s pretty good.  The application is nice and clean, and all of the important elements are present.  As with the last Mando, this one is packed with both a long rifle and a blaster pistol, which appear to be the same pieces as the first time around.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I very much enjoyed the first series of these, and was immediately ready to grab more.  I was definitely happy about these getting announced.  The Beskar version of Mando isn’t exceedingly new, or anything, but I like that they’ve gone for different vintages in how the two designs were interpreted.  The end result turned out really well, and makes for a good starting point for the rest of the set.

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.

#3120: Death Watch Mandalorian

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

DEATH WATCH MANDALORIAN

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“An extremist clan that attempted to take over Mandalore during the Clone Wars, the Death Watch Mandalorians are tenacious warriors embracing the ancient traditions of their people”

The first “mainstream” follow-up to Boba and Jango Fett in terms of depictions of the Mandalorians in Star Wars was in The Clone Wars, where the terrorist group the Death Watch appeared as antagonists of the Republic forces, attempting to take Mandalore back to its warrior roots.  The Watch took on a number of different forms over the course of the series, as they took over control of Mandalore, and eventually had their own splintering following Darth Maul’s machinations within the Watch.  Though the Watch are classically seen as antagonistic, The Mandalorian casts a slightly different light on them, placing them in the role of a young Din Djarin’s savior’s during the Clone Wars.  Well, at least one of them, anyway.  Since their appearance in the flashbacks in Season 1, the live action incarnation of the Death Watch has been slowly finding its way into toy form.  Today, I’m taking a look at the Black Series version.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Death Watch Mandalorian is figure 21 in the Mando-sub-set of Phase IV of The Black Series.  He’s both the final Mando themed figure in this assortment, as well as the final overall figure in the assortment.  He’s the fifth army builder to come out of The Mandalorian, as well as the third time we’ve gotten some form of Mando Warrior army builder in Black Series.  He’s based on the Mando that saves Din during his flashback in the Season 1 finale, but all of the other Mandos in that sequence appear to be wearing the same armor, so it works as any of them, really.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation.  His articulation structure is about what you’d expect for an armored figure in the modern incarnation of the line.  He’s got quite of mobility, and can generally pose pretty nicely.  There’s a little bit of restriction at the shoulders and hips, but other than that, everything’s pretty great.  This figure is sporting an all-new sculpt.  At first glance, he appears to share the head/helmet with Boba, but this one’s actually a single solid piece, with no actual underlying head.  There’s a chin and such sculpted under there, but it’s not fully designed.  I suppose there’s no real need for it to be a separate piece if there’s no chance of ever taking it off.  The rest of the body sculpt is pretty nicely handled.  The armor plates are separate pieces mounted in place, which gives it a nice, properly assembled feel.  The paint work on the Death Watch Mando is a decent set-up.  He’s much cleaner than a lot of Mandos, but that’s accurate to what we see on-screen; guess they had more time for armor upkeep in those days.  It’s a cool color scheme, which is rather unique.  I very much dig all of the blues.  The figure is packed with a larger blaster rifle and a small blaster pistol, which are both pretty fun pieces, as well as a jet-pack, which appears to be an all-new one, different from the others we’ve seen.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I dug the Death Watch look during Clone Wars, and I definitely dug the updated version of the design that showed up in The Mandalorian.  Given it’s short appearance, I wasn’t expecting to see it show up particularly soon, but it’s also not something I thought was entirely unlikely.  I liked the Clone Wars version that came out in 2020, but it was built on an old mold, so I was glad to see the all-new version show up here.  He’s a really solid, really fun figure, showcasing all of the advancements that Hasbro’s worked into this line in the last few years.

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.

#3030: Koska Reeves

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

KOSKA REEVES

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“A master of hand-to-hand combat, Koska Reeves is loyal to Bo-Katan and is a member of a band of Clan Kryze Mandalorians striking back at the Imperial remnant.”

The Mandalorian‘s first season crafted a lot of new lore (or at least lore that was new to a wider audience) for the Mandalorians, leading some people to question how this would fit with the lore established in the likes of Clone Wars and Rebels.  The second season in turn brought that previous lore to the forefront, reintroducing Bo-Katan, and with her, a few other Mandalorians from her version of the culture.  Introduced alongside Bo-Katan’s live action debut were her two lieutenants, Axe Woves and Koska Reeves.  Koska seems to have been the one to take off a little bit more, since she re-appeared alongside Bo in the second season finale, and she’s also the first one to get a figure, which I’m taking a look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Koska Reeves is figure 12 in the Mandalorian sub-set of Hasbro’s Black Series in its Phase IV incarnation.  She’s the second of the two Mandalorian figures in this particular assortment, and is thus far the trickiest to acquire from this particular round, likely due to her being the short-pack for this set.  The figure stands just under 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Structurally, Koska is largely the same as Bo-Katan.  It’s not a surprise, nor is it unwarranted, since the two sport very similar designs.  Apart from some small details here and there, notably the collar of her jumpsuit, that aren’t quite spot-on, but it’s overall close enough to justify a little re-use.  The belt has been modified, downgrading her to one holster, rather than two.  It’s otherwise pretty much the same.  Koska’s helmet is an all-new piece, slightly different in its shaping than Bo’s.  It sits lower than Bo’s, which also guards the neckline a bit, covering up that one spot of inaccuracy.  Underneath the helmet is an all-new unmasked head sculpt, which is an okay offering, but doesn’t have quite the spot-on likeness for Sasha Banks you’d hope for, given the overall upward trend on Black Series likenesses recently.  Still, it’s a distinct sculpt, and gets a lot of the character down, even if the likeness isn’t quite there.  The paint work on Koska is okay.  It’s more in-line with the on-screen color scheme than Bo-Katan’s was, and it’s actually pretty bright and eye-catching.  Unlike a lot of this set, she actually gets a fair bit of accent work, especially on the armor.  Koska is packed with her jetpack and two blaster pistols, even though she’s only got a spot for one.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since we’d already gotten Bo-Katan, it really was only a matter of time before we got some of her back-up.  Koska being the first makes a lot of sense, and I’m glad Hasbro didn’t opt to drag things out on this one.  She’s a pretty straight forward figure, banking on a lot of re-use, but it generally works out pretty well, and she fills out the roster pretty 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.

#2767: Mandalorian Loyalist

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

MANDALORIAN LOYALIST

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“When Darth Maul betrayed and defeated Pre Vizsla, Death Watch splintered into two groups. Those who wanted to embrace Mandalore’s warrior heritage remained loyal to Maul.”

Okay, so, I can’t help but feel that the bio above would actually be more appropriate for the *other* Mandalorian trooper from this particular set.  You know, the one that was a figure of one of the Mandos that actually was loyal to Maul?  Rather than this guy, who is clearly meant to be one of the Mandalorians who sticks with Bo-Katan and is on the “heroic” side of the Siege of Mandalore?  Oh, god, I’m critiquing bios again.  I gotta stop letting myself do that!  I’m probably really messing hardcore with some poor copy writer at Hasbro who’s just trying to do their best.  Why can’t I just leave them alone?  It’s just toys!  And it’s not even the part of toys that anyone really cares about, either!  …I mean, not that it’s not a very important part of the job.  You go, copy writer!  …Where was I?  Ah, yes, action figure review.  Yes.  Let’s do that.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Mandalorian Loyalist is figure #04 in the Clone Wars sub-set of Star Wars: The Black Series Phase IV.  He’s part of the Walmart-exclusive four figure assortment based on the final arc of The Clone Wars.  The set hit shelves last fall, in theory at least, though in practice most people are still waiting.  As touched on above, this figure is based on the armor worn by the Mandos that remained loyal to Bo-Katan, and kept their slightly more heroic looking blues and greys.  It’s not as ornate as the Super Commando, but it’s about function over form, I’d imagine.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  Structurally, this figure is virtually identical to his Maul-supporting equivalent.  That means he too is built from a lot of Jango’s parts.  It’s still a clunkier body than what we’re used to these days, but after now having two Mandos built on it, I’m warming a bit more to its overall look.  Perhaps it just works a little better for this particular design.  He doesn’t get the updated shoulders from the last one, instead keeping Jango’s less pointy ones.  He keeps the modified belt and upper legs of the Super Commando, which brings him more in line with the animation designs.  His only truly unique piece is his helmet, which is similar to the Super Commando one, but without all the horns.  Like I noted above, this new helmet’s not super showy or anything, but it gets the job done, and it does look nice.  The paint work on the Loyalist is what really separates him from the Super Commando.  He’s a lot bluer, and a lot more subdued, but it’s a good look.  There’s some solid work on the weathering for his armor, as well as the markings on each of his shoulders.  There are a lot of details on this one that are easy to miss.  The Loyalist is packed with the same accessories as the Super Commando: a jetpack borrowed from Jango and a pair of pistols borrowed from Sabine.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t really have a ton of luck with this assortment at retail.  Max was able to set me up with the Super Commando, but I saw none of the others.  That certainly bummed me out, because, ideally, I kind of wanted the whole set.  This guy was probably my second most wanted figure of the bunch, so I was hoping for another shot.  Fortunately, he came in with the same trade that netted me the Clone Lieutenant I reviewed yesterday, making the whole “getting him” part that much easier!  This figure surprised me a little bit.  I wasn’t let down by the Super Commando or anything, but after getting him, I expected very little from this one.  I was pleasantly surprised by how nicely he turned out, and by how much work Hasbro put into this seemingly more basic design.

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.