Tag Archives: Rogue One

#1137: Sabine Wren

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

SABINE WREN

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

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Alright, let’s wrap up this here Star Wars week with yet another review from the world of Rebels.  It seems like ever since Boba Fett graced the small screen in the Star Wars Holiday Special, the franchise has always put a lot of effort into representing those wacky Mandalorians from whom Boba/Jango got their armor.  The Clone Wars devoted a whole sub-plot to the Mandalorians and where they came from, and Rebels has picked up on a few of those threads, mostly via the main team’s resident T-Visor-wearing warrior, Sabine Wren, who I’m taking a look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

sabinewren2Sabine is another figure from the first series of Star Wars: Rogue One figures.  She’s the second of the two Rebels figures in the set, and the second version of Sabine to be released as well.  This figure is based on Sabine’s look from the show’s second season, which fits nicely with the other figures released recently.  The figure stands about 3 1/2 inches tall and has the usual 5 points of articulation.  Sabine gets an all-new sculpt, which is pretty decently handled. Rather than the typical straight-armed pose we’ve seen on most of the line, Sabine gets one arm bent at the elbow, giving her something of a quick draw pose, which is actually pretty cool.  I’m glad Hasbro’s moving away from using the same pose on every figure.  Sabine’s sculpt is a pretty good recreation of how she looks on the show.  I’m not sure she’s quite as good as sabinewren3Kanan, but she’s certainly not bad.  I think the head is the most “off” part of the figure; the hair’s pretty good, but something about the face doesn’t quite jibe with Sabine’s on-screen appearance.  I think the chin might be too small.  Fortunately, if you’re not a fan of Sabine’s headsculpt, that’s okay, because she comes with her signature helmet, which actually fits the figure very nicely, and is very well-rendered.  The paintwork on Sabine is quite nicely handled, which is good, because all that graffiti on her armor is pretty integral to the character.  I’m glad to see it’s all been translated so well to the figure.  I also appreciate the color scheme on her; she uses a lot of colors you don’t frequently see on Star Wars figures.  In addition to the removable helmet, Sabine includes two blaster pistols and a zipline contraption.  The zipline is a little on the goody side, but it’s probably one of the better gimmicky weapons we’ve gotten, especially since it actually goes pretty well with the character.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Sabine Was picked up at the same time as yesterday’s Kanan figure.  I actually held out on getting Kanan until I could get him and Sabine together, but it wasn’t really that difficult a task attaining them both.  Like Kanan, Sabine is definitely one of the stronger figures from the initial assortment, though my enjoyment of these two may simply have to do with already knowing the characters.  Of course, now I’ve got Sabine and Kanan, and I’m feeling like I need to pick up the rest of the crew…

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#1136: Kanan Jarrus

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

KANAN JARRUS (IN STORMTROOPER DISGUISE)

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

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For my last two entries in Star Wars week, I’ll be moving over to my newest Star Wars obsession, Star Wars: Rebels.  I’ve been steadily making progress through the show (or at least I *was* until Disney XD took the first two seasons off of their site…), and have become familiar enough with the characters that I felt the need to own what I could in action figure form.  Fortunately for me, there’s a nice helping of Rebels figures being mixed in with the Rogue One product, offering me the chance to pick up a few of the main characters.  Today, I’ll be looking at the leader of the show’s band of merry Rebels, Kanan Jarrus!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

kanandisguise2Kanan is part of the first series of Hasbro’s smaller Star Wars: Rogue One line.  He was one of the figures to hit on Rogue Friday, but seems to still be available in decent numbers two months after the fact, which is certainly a good thing.  This is Kanan’s third figure (though his first figure was released quite a few times on its own), and it’s based on his appearance from the Season Two premier, after he steals a Stormtrooper’s armor.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and has the standard 5 points of articulation.  Kanan has an all-new sculpt; he’s actually a little taller than the basic Rebels Stormtrooper, so I guess Kanan’s a little tall for a Stormtrooper.  I like that he’s close enough to the normal trooper to pass, but different enough that we can easily identify it’s Kanan.  The head sculpt is a fairly decent recreation of Kanan’s design from the show.  It’s not perfect, but it’s close enough, and it certainly appears to be better than the prior versions of him.  The shoulder pauldron is a separate piece (so he can be either a sand trooper or a basic Stormtrooper if you want), which sits a little weird on the body.  His neck is also slightly on the long side in order to compensate for it.  In general, the sculpt is pretty good, though.  The paintwork on Kanan is pretty standard fare for recent Star Wars figures.  Not incredible levels of detailing or anything, but he’s mostly pretty  clean.  He’s better than the basic Rebels trooper I have, so that’s definitely a good thing.  Kanan includes his lightsaber, a blaster pistol, the helmet to match his armor (which fits surprisingly well, especially given his ponytail), and a big ol’ disk-launcher thing.  Because Hasbro, I guess.  He’s actually got one of the better accessory selections from this line, and really for the scale in general.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, after getting into Rebels, I realized what a horrible mistake passing up the two Rebels figures in the first series of Rogue One figures was.  I went back to the Walmart across the street, and they still had both Kanan and Sabine, so I got them.  Thrilling story, right?  Kanan’s a cool figure to be sure, definitely one of the cooler figures from the initial Rogue One assortment.

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#1120: Baze Malbus & Imperial Stormtrooper

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

BAZE MALBUS & IMPERIAL STORMTROOPER

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE (HASBRO)

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Who wants more Rogue One stuff?  I sure hope the answer is you guys, ‘cause otherwise I’m writing for the wrong audience.  As noted yesterday, in the just over a month since Rogue Friday, a few new products have been slowly hitting, offering us a few new characters from the upcoming movie.  Slowly but surely, we’re getting all of the members of the lead team of Rebels.  Today, I’ll be looking at the latest member of the team, Baze Malbus, alongside an Imperial Stormtrooper.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Baze and the Stormtrooper are part of the second Battle-Packs assortment of the Star Wars: Rogue One line.  There are only two two-packs this time around, and this is the only Rogue One set in this assortment (the other is from Rebels).

BAZE MALBUS

bazetrooper2I don’t really know much about Baze.  His bio on the back of the box reads: “Hardened by the harsh reality of his Imperial-occupied home world, pragmatic soldier Baze Malbus is a crack shot with his heavy repeater cannon who uses his natural bravado during the occupation of Jedha to face off against the Galactic Empire’s deadly, white-armor encased loyalists, the Imperial Stormtroopers.” He also looks a little like a Ghostbuster.  Which I guess is cool, depending on how you feel about Ghostbusters.  The figure stands a little under 4 inches tall and has the same 5 points of articulation as most of the other figures in this line.  His sculpt is all-new, and matches up pretty well with the other figures from the line so far.  It does a decent job of capturing Baze’s look, at least from what we’ve seen so far.  The head sculpt presents a decent likeness of actor Jiang Wen.  It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty close, and it’s very easy to tell who this is supposed to be. Base is ever so slightly preposed, with his arms at a slight bend and his legs sort of mid-strut.  In the case of the legs, this is mostly to offer Baze a bit more balance to offset the big thing attached to his back.  It’s a smart move on Hasbro’s part and makes Baze here a lot easier to stand than he might otherwise be.  I do sort of wish that if they were going to prepose the arm anyway, that they’d just go ahead and sculpt him to hold his weapon two-handed, but he looks alright holding it one-handed, I suppose.  Paint is perhaps the weakest part of Baze.  As with so many Hasbro figures, it’s not that it’s *bad*, but it’s just sort of bland, and also notably thick on the face and hair.  A little subtlety would go a long way, and might make him a little more interesting to look at.  Baze includes his repeater cannon/backpack, which is all one piece, and plugs into his back.  The piece can be removed and swapped with a big missile launcher thing (because Hasbro), which at the very least fits stylistically.

IMPERIAL STORMTROOPER

bazetrooper3Okay, do you remember when I looked at the basic Rogue One Stormtrooper?  Remember how awesome that guy was?  Yeah he was pretty cool.  Well, the good news is, if you like that guy, you’ll like this one, because he’s the same figure with an extra pauldron piece.  The extra piece is actually pretty cool, and thanks to its removable nature, you can use him as either an all-new figure, or just another trooper.  The paintwork is a bit improved this time around.  A few of the details missing from the standard figure have made their way onto this guy, for those that care about that sort of thing.  Also, it’s worth noting that this figure’s white is ever so slightly more yellow in hue than the single-carded figure (due to the single-carded figures being produced in China and the two-packs in Vietnam, thereby using slightly different materials).  He still includes the standard blaster from the single figure, but loses the “exploding” chest piece, which, given the added pauldron, seems forgivable.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

No particularly exciting story here, I’m afraid.  I found this pair at my new local TRU about two weeks back (at the same time that I got Dr. Strange and Enchantress).  Baze is a pretty fun little addition to the Rogue One team, and I’m certainly happy to have him.  He’s got a fairly unique design.  I loved the basic Stormtrooper from this line, so getting a variation on that so quickly is definitely a plus in my book.  The more Troopers, the better!

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#1119: Jyn Erso – Eadu

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

JYN ERSO – EADU

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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And we’re back with the Rogue One toys!  Alright, alright.  After the initial surge of product for the September 30th “Rogue Friday” event, there’s been a slow trickle of additional products making their way out over the course of the last month or so. Everyone and their mother seems to be getting in on the store-exclusives for this one, including K-Mart, who presumably wanted another chance to send out shampoo to those poor customers who try ordering their exclusive online (genuine flip side question: do you think there’s someone out there who opened a box expecting some Head & Shoulders and instead found themselves with only a Jyn Erso to treat their dry, itchy scalp?)  I’ll be looking at the K-Mart-exclusive Jyn Erso today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

jynbseadu3As noted in the intro, Jyn is a K-Mart-exclusive, but more specifically, she hails from the popular Star Wars: The Black Series line by Hasbro.  Jyn follows the K-Mart exclusive trend started by Starkiller Base Kylo and Rey, being a standard-sized Black Series figure packed with a large environment base/diorama.  Unlike the prior two, however, the actual Jyn figure is more than just a simple repack of her non-exclusive figure, but is rather a (mostly new) figure based on her Eadu look.  The figure is about 5 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  She shares her lower half, hands, and possibly her torso (it’s hard to tell) with the Jedha version of Jyn, which, given what we’ve seen of the two designs, is accurate.  In addition, she gets a new head, arms, and an add-on for her jynbseadu4poncho.  There’s also a removable hat and breathing mask.  Unlike the hood from the Jedha figure, the removable pieces here don’t feel overly bulk or out of place.  That being said, that’s likely because (especially in the case of the hat), she wasn’t really meant to be seen without those pieces.  It’s still a much more pleasant end look, though.  The new pieces on Jyn are all nicely sculpted, and match up with the smaller Eadu Jyn in terms of specific details.  The new head has a stronger resemblance to Felicity Jones.  I’m not sure if that’s specifically the sculpt or the paint, but I feel this figure just looks more immediately like her.  It’s kind of too bad she’s jynbseadu6got hat hair, or else I might suggest swapping this head onto the Jedha version.  One of my more minor issues with the Jedha Jyn was that, while her paint work was clean, it was rather bland in terms of accent work.  Fortunately, this Jyn does a lot to fix that, offering a much wider variation of color on her poncho, and making her look less like a cartoon and more like a real person.  There’s still some room for improvement, but she’s generally a step up from the regular release.  This Jyn includes the same blaster pistol as her Jedha counterpart, as well as a collapsed version of her baton we’ve seen from the trailers (which she can hand from her poncho), a Stormtrooper rifle, and the previously mentioned environment base, which is made to look like a rocky cliff of sorts (if the Kylo/Rey pairing from last year is any indication, we’ll probably be seeing another figure shortly after the movie with a corresponding base).  Those accessories, along with the removable hat and breathing mask, mean that this Jyn feels like a much better deal than the standard retail version, even at $5 more.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Some K-Marts got this figure on Rogue Friday (some even got it a bit earlier).  The K-Mart nearest me may have, but they decided to open late that Friday morning, so I went to Target instead.  I ended up hitting the store up a week later, which got me this figure.  Yay.  Honestly, I’m wishing more and more that I’d just skipped the standard Jyn.  She’s not bad, but this figure’s just much better (and I’m gonna end up with another standard Jyn anyway, due to the Target set).  If you just want one Jyn figure, I wholeheartedly recommend this one if you can find it.  She’s easily the coolest version of the character on the market.  She’s even worth stepping into a K-Mart to get her!

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#1093: Imperial Hovertank Pilot

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

IMPERIAL HOVERTANK PILOT

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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Well, dear readers, we’ve made it to the end of the Rogue Friday stuff.  I’ve looked at all of the regular release figures that I’ve gotten.  However, I also managed to grab one of the many store-exclusives, that were up for grabs.  This one fits the theme of the last few days, being another Black Series figure. Rogue One is offering us a whole bunch of different specialized Imperial troopers, such as today’s Hovertank Pilot, who follows the precedent set by the TIE fighter pilots, the AT-AT drivers, and even the Biker Scouts, of being a trooper specifically designed to drive a thing.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

hovertankpilot2The Imperial Hovertank Pilot is part of the Star Wars: The Black Series line and is a Toys R Us-exclusive figure.  He was released alongside the latest Black Series set on Rogue Friday, but appears to have shipped in cases of just Hovertank Pilots.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and has 27 points of articulation.  So far, the figure has a totally unique sculpt, but that’s likely to change, given the closeness of the Pilot and Scarif Trooper designs.  From the looks of things, all of the Pilot’s armor but the helmet and belt is the same as the Scarif Trooper.  The helmet lacks the mouthpiece, sports a much thinner visor, and is wider at the base than the Scarif helmet, and the belt lacks the skirt, in favor of two slightly longer pouches on the frontmost pockets.  I like the design of the Pilot, but, like the Death Trooper, I’m not certain it quite fits the OT-aesthetic.  It’s certainly close (especially on the parts shared with the Scarif Trooper), but something about the helmet looks more First Order than Imperial.  Someone brought up that this figure almost looks like a first order take on the Biker Scout, and I kind of agree.  But, like I said, it’s still a solid design on its own.  The sculpt does a good job translating the design (at least from what we’ve seen of it), and features a nice assortment of smaller detail work.  In particular, I like the texturing on the clothing under the armor.  The shoulders seem a touch wide, but other than that, the proportions feel pretty solid.  The paintwork is actually a good deal better than a lot of Black Series figures.  Not only is the basic application pretty clean, but he’s also got some really great wear and tear on his armored parts, which makes him stand out a bit next to the other spotless Troopers we’ve gotten.  Here’s hoping we get more like him!  The Hovertank Pilot includes a standard Stormtrooper blaster.  Like some of the others in this series, he feels a little light on accessories, but I don’t really know what else you could give him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, I’m sure no one’s shocked to find out that I got this guy at TRU during their midnight opening event for Rogue Friday.  I actually wasn’t sure I was going to grab him, and I didn’t pick him up on my first pass.  However, when I looped back around to the Black Series figures, he was still there, and I decided to go for it.  I’m glad I did.  After K-2, I’d say this guy’s my favorite of the Rogue Friday stuff.  He’s just a very well put together figure.  I look forward to getting the Scarif Troopers on this body!

Okay, that’s it for the Rogue Friday stuff (well, mostly).  I think this launch was much more successful than the Force Awakens product, and I hope that Hasbro is able to keep it more or less consistent for the Episode VIII launch.  Only time will tell! Tomorrow, I’ll be back to some non-Star Wars figures.

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#1092: Kylo Ren – Unmasked

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

KYLO REN – UNMASKED

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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Alright, let’s keep moving on with the Rogue One stuff.  Today we’ll be looking at…Kylo Ren?  Okay, I used my bad Terminator rip-off joke with the Poe set at the very beginning, so I can’t use it here.  Ummm…here’s Kylo Ren?

Kylo seems to be a rather polarizing character.  It seems that most either love him or despise him.  I fall into the first category, but can sort of understand people in the second.  I chalk my enjoyment of him up to his being perhaps the greatest onscreen portrayal of Dr Doom to date, in everything but name.  Anyway, Kylo’s gotten himself another figure, and I’m reviewing that figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

kylounmasked2Kylo Ren is the last figure in the first set of Rogue One-based Star Wars: The Black Series figures (the set is technically Series 7 of the Force Awakens stuff, which explains his present here).  He’s figure #26, and he’s the highest numbered Black Series figure to date, which is cool I suppose.  This Kylo was previously available at this year’s Celebration event, with a couple of extra pieces not included here, but this is his first main retail release.  The figure is about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  For the most part, this figure is the same as last year’s #03 Kylo.  The only difference between the two is the head, which is unmasked this time around (as denoted by the figure’s name).  The head offers a pretty good likeness of actor Adam Driver, looking just as pouty as he should.  The head fits well on the body, and looks the part, so no complaints here.  The body is alright; I still have my issues with the cloth parts, but I’ve come to terms with them now.  As far as paint goes, most of the changes are once again on the head, which is handled pretty well, though his skin is really pale.  The only change to the body is on the gloves, which have been given a shiny finish here, which actually makes the figure look a little better.  The exclusive Kylo had a lot of extras, including a First Order flag, Vader’s helmet, and an extra helmeted head.  This figure lacks those.  All he gets is two versions of his lightsaber.  Instead of the removable blade version from the first figure (which was technically inaccurate), he gets one with a permanently affixed blade and one without.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I hadn’t initially planned on Kylo being one of my Rogue Friday purchases.  In fact, I passed him up at TRU’s midnight opening (well, initially, anyway.  Then he was gone by the time I got back).  However, when I picked up the Death Trooper, this guy was sitting there too, and I just kind of wanted him.  I’m actually quite glad I picked him up, because he makes a few nice changes to the prior Kylo, and is just a really fun figure all-around.

#1091: Imperial Death Trooper

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

IMPERIAL DEATH TROOPER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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Picking up from yesterday’s intro, today marks the second of the two character designs to be featured in both the larger and smaller scale Rogue One lines from Hasbro.  To be fair to the Death Trooper, though, this is currently his only single-release figure, which certainly has some added appeal, doesn’t it?  Yeah, I’m sorry guys, I don’t have a lot of stuff I can say here, not having seen the movie and all.  Let’s just take a look at the figure, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

deathtrooper2The Imperial Death Trooper is part of the first set of Rogue One-themed Star Wars: The Black Series figures, and he’s figure #25, making him the fourth figure in the set.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and has 27 points of articulation.  While he doesn’t quite have the range of K-2, the posablity on this guy is a marked improvement over the First Order Troopers we got last year, and he doesn’t feel like he compromises his look for movement either, like the original trooper did.  Right off the bat, this Death Trooper doesn’t feel quite as insanely skinny as his small-scale counterpart.  He’s still more svelte than the average figure, but in a more realistic and believable way, which I think makes his whole design just look a tad better.  The detailing on the armor is nice and sharp, and there are plenty of extra details not seen on the smaller figure.  Getting a closer look at the armor, the Death Trooper really does feel like it belongs somewhere between the clones and the Stormtroopers chronologically.  Now, whether it’s actually supposed to be in-between is another matter entirely, but I like the shared elements.  It makes him fit in very well.  I also like the Darth Vader-style belt, which, as small as it is, still really sells the time period these guys come from.  I’m still not 100% sold on these guys fitting into the Original Trilogy timeline, but we’ll see how the movie handles it.  The paint on the Death Trooper is actually pretty impressive, especially when compared to the rather low level of detailing on the smaller figure.  There’s a ton of great little accent work on the armor (including a very slight green tint to the lenses on the helmet), and there’s even  noticeable difference between the finish on the armor and the underlying bodysuit.  The Death Trooper includes a large, shotgun-style gun (same as the smaller figure), as well as a smaller blaster, which is actually one of the available pistols in the latest Battlefront game.  Both guns are pretty cool, though, like Cassian’s blaster, I do wish they had a little bit of paint on them.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I missed the Death Trooper at the TRU midnight opening.  I made it a point to grab Jyn, Cassian, and K-2, but I moved onto the 3 3/4 inch figures before securing this guy, and by the time I got back, there were none of him left.  Fortunately, Target saved the day the following morning, placing him right at the front of the big display near the store’s entrance.  I wasn’t sure about the Death Trooper’s design at first, but the figure is definitely amongst the strongest in the initial assortment of products.

#1090: K-2SO

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

K-2SO

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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In contrast to their output from The Force Awakens, Hasbro has mostly steered away from doubling up character/costume selection for The Black Series and their smaller scale lines for their first batch of products.  There are a handful of exceptions, such as today’s subject K-2SO.  Of course, in K-2’s case, it seems acceptable, seeing as it looks like he’s only got the one look for the movie, and he’s definitely set to be a fan-favorite.  Let’s see how his second figure turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

k2sobs2K-2SO is part of the first set of Rogue One-themed Star Wars: The Black Series figures.  He’s figure #2, which makes him the third figure in the set.  The figure is 7 1/2 inches tall (making him shorter than only Chewbacca in terms of the other figures in the line) and he has 31 points of articulation, which is just downright impressive.  Even more impressive is the general posability. Pretty much everywhere that the real K-2 has movement, so does this figure.  The range of movement is the best we’ve seen on a Black Series figure.  K-2’s really cool design has been very nicely translated into figure form here.  The smaller scale figure had quite an impressive sculpt, so this one definitely had a bar to clear in that respect.  I’m happy to say it cleared that bar with room to spare.  K-2 is incredibly well detailed, with lots pf sharp work on the various plates and pistons.  This figure offers us a really nice look at some of the cool little details his design features to tie him in with the rest of the Imperial designs, such as the “OII” that is seen on the backs of the Stormtroopers, and the torso’s overall similarities to the Snowtrooper chest piece.  It helps to make K-2 feel appropriately Original Trilogy in style, as well as selling the whole “reprogrammed Imperial droid” thing.  The downfall of many a Hasbro figure is lackluster or even just mediocre paint, but that’s not the case with K-2.  The majority of the figure is done in a nice, dark gunmetal grey with a flat finish, which looks very accurate to the film.  On top of that, he’s got the proper detail work for his eyes, the orange around his shoulders and hips, and the Imperial insignias on his shoulders.  The insignias are slightly worn off, which, along with the other small bits of silver here and there, gives him a nice worn-in look, which is especially appropriate for an OT-era character.  K-2 has no accessories.  Early prototype shots showed him with a Stormtrooper blaster, but that was dropped somewhere along the way.  Given the size and quality of this guy, he hardly feels lacking.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This was the figure I most wanted going into the Rogue Friday midnight opening, and as such was the very first figure I grabbed when I got into TRU (though a lot of that was due to the Black Series display being the closest to the door).  K-2 is hands down the best item to come out of the Rogue One launch.  In fact, he’s possibly the best figure to come out of The Black Series period.  Heck, he may well be one of Hasbro’s best overall offerings of all of their various licenses.  This is a figure everyone should own, even if you haven’t seen a single Star Wars movie.  He’s just really, really, really cool.

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1089: Cassian Andor – Eadu

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

CASSIAN ANDOR – EADU

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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One Rogue One character conspicuously missing from my 3 3/4-inch reviews was Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor, who looks to be one of the film’s central characters.  Currently, the only way to get a smaller scale Captain Andor is to buy the big U-Wing vehicle, which seemed like a touch much to me on top of all the other figures I bought.  Fortunately, there should be a number of different Cassians hitting shelves in the next month or so, so I shouldn’t be without one for long.  In the mean time, I can tide myself over with his larger scale figure, which I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

cassianeadu2Cassian Andor is part of the first assortment of Rogue One-themed Star Wars: The Black Series figures, and is #23, which makes him the second figure in the set chronologically.  As noted in his name, this figure is based on his look while on Eadu.  Judging by the number of layers this guy is wearing, it seems Eadu might be on par with Hoth in terms of extreme temperatures (though, as Jyn’s Eadu figure shows, maybe not *quite* as extreme as Hoth).  This is, admittedly, not a look we’ve seen much of Cassian wearing in the trailers (where he’s more often seen in the brown leather jacket-ed look that will be part of the Target-exclusive three-pack next month), but he was wearing the jacket in the very first cast shot we saw from Rogue One last year,  which gives it a bit of credence.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and has 27 points of articulation.  Sculpturally, he’s about what you’d expect from a Black Series figure.  The details aren’t anything amazing, but they’re decent, and there’s certainly some nice work on the various parts of his clothing, especially on the gloves.  The head sculpt is alright, though I’m not seeing a whole lot of Luna in it.  Like last year’s Poe figure, this may be more of a paint issue than a sculpt one.  I do have to say, they did quite a nice job sculpting the stubble on his face.  It makes the grey paint on the lower half of his face look a bit less silly.  The figure’s mobility is a bit hampered by the sculpt, but that’s mostly to due with the design.  I imagine the exclusive figure will be a bit more posable.  The paint on Cassian is okay overall, with the best work being on the body.  Even the head’s not awful, just not quite right for the character.  It’s mostly to do with the solid black goatee, I think.  It makes him look like a totally different person.  For the most part, the paint is rather basic, with lots of solid patches of color.  I can’t help but feel that this is a figure that would have been greatly helped by some accent work, just to make him a bit more interesting. Cassian includes a helmet and goggles to complete his cold weather look, as well as a blaster pistol and a slightly larger blaster rifle.  The helmet is okay, but kind of on the bulky side.  The two blasters are cool, though I think the larger one could stand a little paint.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was actually rather surprised to discover at TRU’s midnight opening that there was no small-scale Cassian available on his own.  This solidified my decision to pick up the full set of both scales, since I wanted K-2 in the smaller scale, but didn’t want to have K-2 without Cassian, meaning I needed to pick up this figure.  It’s like Hasbro planned it that way or something.  I’ve seen a lot of people calling Cassian the weakest of this particular bunch.  I don’t know that I can refute those claims.  He’s kind of on the average side, and easily gets lost compared to some of the other stellar figures in this set.  That being said, he’s still a solidly put together figure, and even if you aren’t interested in him as Cassian, he makes for a good Hoth attire Rebel soldier.

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1088: Jyn Erso – Jedha

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

JYN ERSO – JEDHA

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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Alright, the 3 3/4-scale Rogue One stuff is done for now (though I’m sure there will be plenty more things for me to review, going by what Hasbro’s shown off in the last week), so we move on to the larger-scale Black Series stuff.  As of late, it’s been a little difficult to say where this line was headed, what with a large chunk of the Force Awakens stuff either showing up too sparsely, or being too heavily packed.  It looks like Rogue One might help getting things back on track.  The first of the new figures is main character Jyn Erso, who I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

jynbs2Jyn is sort of taking the place of last year’s First Order Stormtrooper in regards to release style.  She was first released as a preview item at this year’s SDCC, before being slotted into the regular release line-up.  She’ll also be showing up as part of the Target-exclusive 3-pack with Cassian Andor and the Death Trooper Specialist some time next month.  They all look to be the same figure, but for this review, I’m looking at the regular release figure.  She’s part of the first series of Rogue One-inspred Star Wars: The Black Series figures, and she’s figure #22, making her chronologically the first figure in the series.  Yes, you read that number right, she’s #22, meaning Hasbro actually kept the number scheme for The Black Series for more than a year.  And there was much rejoicing (yaaaaay.)  Jyn here is wearing her Jedha outfit, which, from what we’ve seen in the marketing for the movie looks to be a fairly present look.  The figure stands about 5 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Jyn’s sculpt is fairly decent overall, and is certainly on par with what we’ve come to expect from The Black Series.  The hood is kind of bulky and odd looking, but it’s not awful, and it can easily be removed, resulting in a superior figure.  The underlying head sculpt is pretty decent, and bears more than a passing resemblance to Felicity Jones (though it’s not quite spot on).  It’s a little softer than I might like, but it’s not awful.  The body sculpt is also pretty great, with a nice set of proportions and some nice layering on the various clothes.  The verst is technically removable, but since the arms still have the jacket sleeves on them, I can’t see many people removing it.  The paintwork on Jyn is passable.  It’s not anything amazing or anything, but it’s better than a lot of last year’s Black Series offerings, which is a nice improvement.  If Hasbro could start adding a little bit of accent work here and there, I think the figures could be even better.  Jyn’s only accessory is her blaster pistol (the same as the one included with her smaller-scale counterpart).  It’s a little light given the price (and the fact that the same series features are re-issue of last year’s Rey, which has a staff, BB-8, and an added lightsaber), but hood makes up for it a bit.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Jyn was one of the first items I grabbed from TRU during their midnight opening.  I didn’t know she’d be showing up in the Target set as well, or else I’d probably have held off on this particular release.  That being said, she’s a solid figure, and a lot of fun to mess around with.  There are worse things than owning two of a good figure, I suppose.