Tag Archives: Star Wars

#2380: Luke Skywalker with Blast Shield Helmet

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

LUKE SKYWALKER w/ BLAST SHIELD HELMET

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Aboard the Milllennium Falcon, Luke Skywalker is instructed by Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the art of lightsaber battle and the ways of the Force.”

At the end of 1997, Kenner reworked their standard Luke Skywalker head for their Power of the Force line, in an attempt to bring him more in line with, you know, a real person, and not some sort of He-Man knock off.  The following year, they got to work making this new version of Luke the new standard, which included going back and updating their take on “Farmboy” Luke.  Apparently they really liked this updated Farmboy Luke.  In fact, they seemed to like him so much that they just kept releasing minor tweaks to the mold, just all over the place.  Lets, uh, look at another one of those, I guess?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Skywalker with Blast Shield Helmet was released in 1998 as part of the Power of the Force line.  This figure is designed to replicate Luke’s appearance while on the Millenium Falcon before they get brought in by the Death Star.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Construction-wise, this figure is more or less identical to the Luke included with the Purchase of the Droids set.  The only real difference between them is the belt piece.  While the Droids set version has a pair of binoculars on his belt, this one removes them.  Yay?  It’s different?  Technically it’s less?  Honestly, though, it’s not a bad sculpt, and a definite improvement on the original ANH Luke from the line, and this was the first single-carded release, so it was a valiant idea.  The figure’s paint does change things up a bit as well.  He’s decidedly got a cooler-toned color scheme.  I’m not sure if that was an intentional thing, but it fits with him being on the Falcon as opposed to on Tatooine.  Luke is packed with his father’s lightsaber and the blast shield helmet he uses while training.  It’s too bad they couldn’t also throw in the training drone, but I suppose this isn’t a bad little assortment.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t have this figure as a kid (Gunner Station Luke was my on-hand version of this mold), and I can’t really say I had much of an undying need to get one, but as I’m trying to make my way to a complete run of Power of the Force figures, I have to pick up these guys at some point, right?  This one came in with a bunch of others at All Time last summer, and I used some trade credit to pick him up.  He’s not a bad figure, but it’s not easy to get particularly excited.  Just wait til I get to all of the other versions of this mold…

#2366: Jabba the Hutt (w/ Han Solo)

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JABBA THE HUTT (w/ HAN SOLO)

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

For the (first) Special Edition release of A New Hope, one of the primary new features was the re-insertion of a cut scene from the original film, which would have introduced viewers to the gangster Jabba the Hutt two films earlier.  In the scene as it was shot, instead of the huge slug we’d all come to know, Jabba was portrayed by actor Declan Mulholland, who was pretty much just a guy in a lot of furs.  For a number of reasons, the scene was excised, and its important bits were retooled into Han’s confrontation with Greedo, leaving Jabba as an ominous figure not fully realized for two more films.  When the scene was added back in, a Jabba more in line with the creature seen in Jedi was digitally added in to replace Mulholland (something Lucas has maintained was always his plan, though Lucas isn’t exactly the most trustworthy source on such things, since he frequently claims that whatever the current final product may be was always his plan).  Ultimately, thanks to the Greedo scene still being there, the scene’s kinda redundant, slows down the movie, and removes a chunk of Jabba’s menace, and to top it all off, the Jabba CGI model is just nowhere near as convincing as the puppet was.  And that’s not even touching on that magical CGI leap that Han has to take in order to jump over Jabba’s tail… Where was I?  Right, the toys.  They made some toys of this absolute masterpiece of a scene, and I’m taking a look at them today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Jabba and Han were released as one of the Power of the Force II line’s creature sets in 1997, in order to coincide with the release of the Special Editions in theaters, alongside the similarly Special Edition-inspired Ronto with Jawa and Dewback with Sandtrooper.

JABBA THE HUTT

The main focus of this set to be sure, this Jabba was the only release of the character in the PotF2 line, and is notable for being the only one to be directly based on the CGI model of the Special Edition.  Small victory there; it wasn’t allowed to spread any further.  The figure is about 4 inches tall by about 7 inches long.  His only really reliable movement is at the shoulders; there’s joints at the mid-section and in the tail, but they’re all linked together in a mechanism-driven movement, which doesn’t really have much motion, truth be told.  I think some more straight-forward joints there would have been better served.  As it stands, he actually can’t even properly get into his basic RotJ sitting pose, which is a bummer if you want to make use of him in the Jabba’s Palace playset.  The sculpt on this guy is clearly tailored after that previously mentioned CGI model, which is evident from Jabba’s slightly skinnier proportions, especially in the head, and his larger eyes.  The texturing on his skin also has that same sort of droopy, almost melted quality of the early CG model.  I guess you can’t really fault Kenner on that; he’s possibly a little better looking than the source material, truth be told.  Jabba’s paint work also draws a bit more from the updated design.  While the original Jabba model had the sort of two-toned thing we see going on here, it was far more subtle.  For the CGI look, it became more pronounced, and that was further emphasized on this guy.  It’s not *awful* but it becomes even more noticeable when compared to his vintage counterpart, which didn’t go for the two-toned thing at all.

HAN SOLO

The creature sets liked to throw at least one standard figure into the mix, and I guess you could do a lot worse than a standard Han Solo.  That’s what this is: a pretty standard Han.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation (no waist joint for this guy).  His sculpt comes from the same basic lineage as the standard ANH Han from the beginning of the line, but he’s a lot like the Gunner Station Han, in that he tones down a lot of the previous Han’s wonky proportions and pre-posing.  Honestly, where it not for the leaps and bounds made by the Cantina Han two years later, this would easily be the best ANH Han in the PotF2 line.  As it stands, he’s at least in that nice mid-ground spot.  Honestly, it’s kind of a shame he only came packed in this set, because I’m certain it led to him getting far more overlooked than he should have.  I certainly did.  His paint work is probably his weakest point.  For some reason, he’s awfully pale, and my figure also has a stray mark of brown across his cheek, which is more than a little distracting.  Han included a unique version of his blaster, which was in a dark blue this time instead of the usual black.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I remember seeing this set when it was, new, but even as a kid, I wasn’t much of a fan of the updated Jabba, so I never did get one.  That said, I’ve been filling in my PotF2 collection a lot recently, and ended up with the Jabba’s Palace 3D playset, but no Jabba to go with it.  Luckily for me, All Time got one of these traded in, and so I’ve finally added it to my collection.  There’s not really much to write home about on either of these figures, but they do have sort of this quaint “wow, we didn’t know how far the edits would eventually go” quality about them.

#2358: Count Dooku

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

COUNT DOOKU

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Count Dooku was a menacing Sith Lord and central figure in the Clone Wars. Once a Jedi, he became disillusioned with the Jedi order and thirst for greater power.”

For each entry in the Prequel Trilogy, they really tried to introduce a new and compelling villain.  They had three really strong starting points, but all three ended up being a lot of wasted potential, at least until the Clone Wars cartoon came along and actually tried to do something with them.  For Attack of the Clones, arguably the weakest of the three prequel films, Lucas got Christopher Lee, one of the greatest actors ever to grace the silver screen, to portray the role of Count Dooku, the second attempt at a decent foe.  To say the role squandered Lee’s talent is something of an understatement.  Still, he did have a cool look, and he was still Christopher freaking Lee, so no one’s gonna say no to some action figure love for this guy.  He was the final main prequel foe unaccounted for in the Black Series, but now he finally gets to join the line!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Count Dooku is figure 107 in the Black Series line-up.  He closes out this round of figures (the Sith Jet Trooper bridges the gap between the Knight of Ren and this figure as number 106, but he’s a repaint, so I haven’t picked him up yet), and is our second prequel figure in the set, which is a little surprising, since they tend to be fewer and further between than the other films.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  He actually manages to be one of the most poseable Black Series offerings, especially for one of the Jedi.  He’s even got the butterfly joints like we saw with the Sith Trooper, which I hope are going to become a more regular feature for the line, much like the double ball-jointed necks have.  The sculpt is an all-new affair, and another really good one at that.  The head has a really nice Lee likeness, and they’ve certainly captured his rather impressive height.  The line has been going back and forth on cloth vs plastic for the capes, but Dooku goes with cloth.  While it does rob him of the cape’s proper collar from the film, it nevertheless works very well, and with its two-tone design, it’s definitely among the nicest cloth pieces from the line.  Dooku’s paintwork is mostly pretty basic, with the exception of the head, which of course uses the face printing for a nice realistic look.  Dooku is packed with his distinctive curved-hilted lightsaber (which no one on the production of the films apart from Christopher Lee seemed to understand was not designed to be held like a standard lightsaber….sorry, it still bugs me), which has not one, but two blades.  The first is a standard one, but the second has a slight spread to it, simulating it being swung around.  It’s a pretty cool idea, and I’d like to see more of it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Attack of the Clones lies in an odd spot for me.  It’s unquestionably my least favorite Star Wars film, and I genuinely think it barely even qualifies as a movie.  Despite that, I’m filled with an odd bit of nostalgia for the film and all the stuff associated with it, Dooku very definitely included.  I was definitely on board for this figure, and I think the final product is yet another strong entry in this latest round of figures.

Count Dooku was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Black Series, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2357: Knight of Ren

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KNIGHT OF REN

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“An enclave of masked warriors wielding distinct weapons for ranged and close quarters combat, the Knights of Ren are elite, fearsome enforcers of Kylo Ren.”

First mentioned and briefly glimpsed during The Force Awakens, the Knights of Ren were the source of much fan speculation.  After their more proper appearance in The Rise of Skywalker….well, people are still kinda speculating, I guess.  Like the Praetorian Guard in The Last Jedi, the Knights of Ren had a cool look and did at least get one cool fight scene, so they weren’t quite as pointless as, say, the Sith Troopers.  Of course, they all had unique appearances, so they aren’t quite army builders, either.  We got one of them as a Vintage Collection figure at the Force Friday launch, and now we’ve gotten another as a Black Series release.  So, let’s have a look at this guy.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Knight of Ren is figure 105 in the Black Series line-up.  Thought the package just lists him as “Knight of Ren,” this guy is actually meant to be “Vicrul”, since all of the Knights were actually named.  He’s also the Knight named “Grenade Head” by the production crew, because his…head…looks like…a grenade.  Yeah, I guess that one’s pretty cut and dry.  The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  His articulation has its ups and downs; the range on the arms is pretty nice, but I found the movement on the legs to be a little bit awkward, especially at the knee.  He’s not really restricted, just the style of movement is a little weird and not as smooth as a lot of the line’s more recent figures.  The sculpt on Vicrul is an all-new affair, and it’s pretty decent.  It’s not quite as close a recreation as some of the other figures in this assortment.  His body definitely seems  a little more squat than in the film, and the helmet’s design has a few elements slightly out of place.  The faceplate is a little bit on the long-side, especially compared to the other details.  It’s still a pretty sharply detailed piece, and the rest of the outfit’s got some decent texture detailing mixed in.  Vicrul’s paintwork is actually pretty nice.  While most of the Kylo’s have just stuck with the clean black look, this guy actually gets some decent grime and dirt on he gear.  It’s the heaviest on his feet, but there’s some spots of it on the jacket as well.  It does a respectable job of getting that worn-in appearance that the character really had in the movie.  Vicrul is armed with a Phrick-Schythe (the pointy thing) and a blaster pistol.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The smaller-scale Knight figure didn’t really pique my interest, so I ended up skipping him.  The announcement of this guy didn’t do a lot to excite me either, but I was on board for the others from the set, and I did like the look of this particular figure a little bit more, so I ended up grabbing him.  Of the four figures I picked up from this assortment, I expected to like this one the least, and ultimately that proved true.  However, I did end up liking him more than I’d anticipated.

The Knight of Ren was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Black Series, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2355: Clone Commander Bly

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CLONE COMMANDER BLY

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“A veteran of many Clone Wars battles, Clone Comander Bly (clone designation CC-5052) served in the 327th Star Corps on such worlds as Quell, Maridun, and Felucia.”

When first introduced during the climax of Attack of the Clones, the Clone Troopers had no names, no personality to speak of, and no hint of individuality.  It wasn’t until Revenge of the Sith that we really got any hint of there being more to the clones than that, with the introduction of a handful of named individual clone commanders.  Amongst that handful of clones commanders was Bly, whom I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Clone Commander Bly is figure 104 in the Black Series line-up.  Amazingly, he’s only our third clone commanding officer in the main line, and only the second under the current numbering system (the two prior figures being Cody under the blue-style packaging, and Rex under the current set-up).  Bly was one of the clones who we saw in both sets of armor over the course of The Clone Wars and the movies, but the figure opts for his Phase II appearance from Revenge of the Sith.  It’s sensible, given that all of our commanders so far have been in their Phase II armor, making for a more cohesive appearance. The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  While the vast majority of the clones use the same pool of standard clone parts, Bly marks the first time we’ve seen a re-use of the upgraded parts used by Rex.  I’ve been waiting to see these parts re-appear since they were introduced with Rex, and I’m very happy to finally see them again.  They’re a noticeable improvement over the other body, especially in terms of the poseability on the arms, making Bly a far more playable figure than most of the other clones.  Bly uses the lower right arm, left arm, pelvis, legs, feet, and the back of the torso from Rex, a slightly modified version of the standard Phase II helmet with a visor, and a new front torso, upper right arm, pauldron, and belt.  It’s actually a fairly large number new parts, and more than I’d been expecting to see here, but they’re really nice parts, and match nicely with the pre-existing parts, as well as the source material.  It all makes for a really sharp looking figure.  The only downside is that he’s still got only one trigger finger, despite having the dual pistols, though at least in Bly’s case the dual pistols aren’t his primary weaponry, unlike Rex and Wolf.  Bly’s paintwork is pretty strong; his distinct markings are replicated, but they have been properly weathered and scarred, showing that Bly’s been on the battlefield for a while.  Bly is packed with his DC-15A blaster rifle and a pair of DC-17 hand blasters, which a fairly standard selection for a clone release, and honestly pretty good for one that uses so many new parts.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back in 2005, when the original Bly figure was released, I came across both him and Gree at retail, but was unable to buy them at the time.  While I was able to track down a Gree, I went many years without a single Bly in my collection, and have long viewed him as the one that got away.  I actually managed to get one a few months go…just in time for this guy to be announced.  Oh well, now I’ve got them both!  I really like this guy a lot, and he’s honestly the best clone Hasbro’s put out, and narrowly edges out Zorii Bliss as my favorite figure in this assortment.  Here’s hoping for more like Bly!

Bly was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Black Series, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2354: Zorii Bliss

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

ZORII BLISS

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“It is difficult for scoundrels to remain neutral in the war between First Order and Resistance, and Zorii Bliss and the Spice Runners of Kijimi must soon take a side.”

Though her screen time was a little more on the brief side, I was nevertheless quite a fan of Zorii Bliss’s appearance in The Rise of Skywalker.  She had a cool look, served a designated purpose in the plot, gave us a little more development for Poe, and was just a rather intriguing character.  Prior to the film, I had purchased her Vintage Collection figure on something of an impulse, but after opening I wasn’t wowed.  So, after the movie, I was definitely jonesing for a slightly better version of the character. Black Series to the rescue!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Zorii Bliss is figure 103 in the Star Wars: The Black Series line-up, making her numerically the first of the most recent assortment of figures (and placing her directly after the last assortment’s Wedge Antilles figure).  She’s one of three Rise figures in the latest assortment, and the only actually named character of those three.  The figure stands just under 6 inches tall and she has 31 points of articulation.  The smaller Zorii’s articulation was one of my biggest issues with the figure.  There was a lot of it, but not much of it was very practical.  This figure’s articulation works out far better, and is on par with the best of the more recent Black Series offerings in terms of poseability.  In particular, there’s a ton of range on the neck and the arms, which makes her a lot of fun to get into various action poses.  The joints are well-toleranced, so she can hold stances well.  She’s also a good deal more stable on her feet than the smaller figure.  While the figure still does fall over in more extreme poses, I had a lot less trouble keeping her up for the photos for this review.  The sculpt was really the one thing the smaller Zorii had going for her, but this figure nevertheless builds on that further, taking advantage of the larger canvas to add even more detail, and to also sharpen up the details.  The helmet in particular really turns out much nicer on this version, with a more film-accurate design, cleaner lines, and the one feature missing from the smaller figure: a removable visor!  In the film, Zorii never removes her helmet outright, but she does slide the visor back a few times, giving us a glimpse of her eyes and some of the helmet’s internal structure.  The visor on this figure can be popped out, revealing a fully detailed pair of eyes, as well as some more of the helmet.  It’s a really cool feature, and I was happy it didn’t get overlooked here.  Paintwork is again an area where the smaller figure did okay, but again this one does better.  The base detailing is all clean, and the metal sections get some decent weathering to match the real world items.  The eyes use the face printing tech, so they look nice and realistic as well.  Zorii is only packed with her two blaster pistols, which is slightly light, bt the removable visor does at least off set that a bit.  It probably would have made more sense to include Babu here, but then they wouldn’t have the hook for that 3PO figure, so it’s really a catch-22.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was hopeful for this figure when it was shown off, because it looked a bit better than the smaller one, but I was a little apprehensive.  That lessened a bit when Hasbro confirmed the removable visor, and after getting the figure in hand she’s just genuinely a really nice figure.  She’s got one really good figure giving her a run for her money on best figure of her assortment, but it’s neck and neck, let me tell you.  Definitely the best Sequel Trilogy figure in the line, though.

I picked up Zorii from my friends All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#2239: Stormtrooper

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

STORMTROOPER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Within the Death Star, a group of Imperial stormtroopers are in hot pursuit of Han, Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca, as they attempt to return to the impounded Millennium Falcon. But the heroic escapees blast away before the shock troops have a chance to return fire.”

Throughout the entirety of the vintage Star Wars line, we got exactly one basic Stormtrooper.  Just one take on a design that was present across all three of the original films (in the line’s defense, the same can be said of Darth Vader and Chewbacca; if the design didn’t drastically change, Kenner didn’t do a new figure.  Only R2 and 3PO got by, largely do to new gimmicks introduced in the later films).  For Power of the Force II, the same was almost true.  We got the standard Stormtrooper in ’95, and that steroid abusing fiend was it for four years.  But, just as the line was winding down, we managed to get an honest to god update, which I’m taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Stormtrooper was released in 1999 as part of the Power of the Force II Commlink assortment which was at stores alongside the Phantom Menace product.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 13 points of articulation.  Yes, you read that articulation count correctly; this guy’s probably the most articulated standard release figure that the PotF2 line ever put out.  Not only does this guy get actual, proper knees, he also gets cut joints at the elbows, and even a universal joint on his neck.  He can look up!  It’s a long way from the vintage Stormtroopers and their complete lack of neck articulation, I’ll tell you that much.  This sculpt would end up re-used more than a few times going forward, including for the Marvel Comics-styled trooper I looked at a little while back.  While I was a little down on that figure (due largely to it being released 7 years after this one), in the context of the line that spawned it, it’s actually quite a nice sculpt, and it’s understandable why Hasbro clung to it for so long.  The paintwork for the figure is pretty solid, and like the sculpt is generally an improvement over the Stormtrooper that preceded it.  It’s also an early example of Hasbro experimenting with thermodynamic paint, allowing the figure to take some damage to his armor when dipped in cold water.  The Stormtrooper is packed with a long blaster (which, like the Marvel-styled figure, he can’t quite hold right) and a weapons rack to store it on as well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The last assortment of PotF2 figures wasn’t one I recall seeing much of (although I did get the Han figure as a kid), so this guy isn’t one I had growing up.  He was added to my collection during one of my big buying sprees of PotF2 figures in late 2018.  He’s sort of an odd figure for the line, because he’s objectively one of the best, but on the flip side, it means that when later versions replaced him, he didn’t have that same nostalgic bend to fall back on.  That being said, he’s still a cool figure.

#2331: Captain Phasma – Quicksilver Baton

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CAPTAIN PHASMA — QUICKSILVER BATON

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Captain Phasma and a squad of elite First Order troopers capture Resistance heroes Finn and Rose, who have infiltrated Snoke’s flagship, the Supremacy. Before Phasma can eliminate them, a series of unforeseen events leads to a dramatic battle between Phasma and Finn.”

Poor Captain Phasma.  She had everybody on her side in the hype for the new movies and then it all just sort of fell by the wayside.  She’s not that bad a character, but I guess it’s hard to live up to those lofty fan expectations.  Lessened fan interest in the character, coupled with keeping more or less the same design from one film to the next meant that Phasma’s toy presence for The Last Jedi was seriously reduced.  She got one Black Series offering, offering a more scene specific look, which I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Quicksilver Baton Captain Phasma was originally intended as a Toys R Us-exclusive Black Series offering, set for release in mid-2018.  Guess what happened in mid-2018.  Yeah, there was a distinct lack of TRU to give the exclusive to (in the US at least; Canadian TRUs still carried this figure as their exclusive), so like the Zuckuss figure, Phasma was salvaged by Disney Stores for her US release.  The figure stands 7 1/4 inches tall and she has 24 points of articulation.  Given how her design didn’t actually change between the films, it not a huge surprise that this figure is largely a re-use of the previous figure.  She gets a new head, and swaps out the plastic cape for a cloth one.  I also got a slightly better range of motion out of the hips and shoulders on this figure, but that might be a figure to figure sort of thing.  The new head is designed to replicate the damage Phasma takes to her helmet at the end of her battle with Finn, so we get to see just a little bit of Gwedolyn Christie’s eye peering through.  It’s a pretty cool effect, as is the sculpted damage.  I also really like that they sculpted her head and helmet as separate pieces, further adding to the effect.  The cloth cape doesn’t quite have the same impressive appearance of the sculpted one, but it does make the figure a bit less of a statue.  Phasma’s paint remains similar to the last release, but she of course gets the added detailing on the eye (which is printed), as well as the scorch damage on her helmet and torso.  In addition to the gold blaster rifle included with the last figure, this one also includes the Quicksilver baton in both long and short forms.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I looked at this figure when it was new, but given the choice between Phasma and Zuckuss, there was really no contest, given the scene-specific nature of this particular figure.  I was evidently far from the only fan to make such a choice, and Phasma ended up getting clearanced, at which point she was cheap enough to get me interested.  She’s a nice figure, and honestly a better figure than the standard.  It’s a shame they didn’t do more with the character, but at least we got her from her best sequence.

#2330: Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi

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

CLONE COMMANDER OBI-WAN KENOBI

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“A legendary Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a noble man and gifted in the ways of the Force. He trained Anakin Skywalker, served as a general in the Republic Army during the Clone Wars, and guided Luke Skywalker as a mentor.”

Between Episodes II and III of the prequel trilogy, the Clone Wars got their first cartoon treatment in a 2D series led by animator Genndy Tartakovsky.  While it’s place in the cannon proper has been taken by the later 3D series, the broad strokes from it do still crop up from time to time.  One of the most recurring elements for re-appearance is the show’s distinctive design for Obi-Wan, which placed the Jedi in a suit of clone armor so that he could do battle with the bounty hunter Durge.  It’s a really cool look, and its gotten surprisingly little toy love.   Fortunately, though, it’s gotten a spot in The Black Series.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Clone Commander Obi-Wan is a late 2019 Walgreens-exclusive Black Series release (and, fun fact, Walgreens’ second time getting Obi-Wan as an exclusive).  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and has 29 points of articulation.  Obi-Wan’s largely made from re-used parts, as pretty much everyone was expecting when this figure was announced.  He’s built on the standard Clone Trooper that Hasbro’s been using since early in the line, and I’m sort of mixed emotions about that.  It’s a nice looking body, and it was one of the best in terms of poseability when it was new, but it’s got some definite issues compared to more recent stuff, most notably those really restricted shoulders.  Hasbro created a totally new clone body for Captain Rex, but as of yet haven’t used for anyone but him.  This feels like it would have been a good place to start, but maybe Hasbro’s got a specific reason for sticking with the old mold for now.  Obi-Wan gets a new head, belt, clasps for his cape, and a slightly retooled upper torso to work with the clasps.  The head’s really the star piece here, with a really strong McGreggor likeness.  Technically, for true accuracy to the source he should still have his Attack of the Clones hair, in contrast to this one’s Revenge of the Sith appearance, but given that the 3D show seems to have firmly decided that Obi-Wan had the short hair for the Clone Wars, and the fact that I honestly think it looks better this way, I can’t really complain.  He’s also got a cloth goods robe, which isn’t terribly impressive, but also isn’t terribly terrible (which some of the Black Series cloth stuff really has), so I again can’t complain.  Obi-Wan’s is largely pretty basic, apart from the head, which gets the nice printed face technique, which looks really nice on this particular figure.  Obi-Wan is packed with his lightsaber (which an be stashed on his brand new belt) and one of the stands they’ve been packing in with the exclusives.  It’s a shame he didn’t also get the standard clone helmet, since he wore it with the armor, but he’s at least got the bare minimum.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This guy is probably the most excited I’ve been for a Walgreens-exclusive Black Series, which is honestly a little funny given my prior “no prequels” rule, but I’ve always really liked this design, and this is the first time The Black Series has done anything 2D Clone Wars-related.  I lucked into this guy at the Walgreens between two of my day job’s sites, which made for a nice mid-day pick-me-up.  While the older body does hold him back a little in terms of posing, he’s still a really, really awesome figure, and I’m glad I was able to track one down.  Here’s hoping for a Durge to face off against him!

#2329: Heavy Infantry Mandalorian

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

HEAVY INFANTRY MANDALORIAN

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“A brawny warrior encased in the strongest beskar armor, the mysterious Heavy Infantry Mandalorian is part of a secretive enclave of his people. A born survivor, he guards a precious armory and helps to keep the flames of Mandalorian heritage flickering in this time of galactic chaos.”

By far the breakaway merchandising hit of the three Star Wars franchise entries that had to share last year’s product, The Mandalorian has gotten most of its product from Hasbro in the form of their more collector oriented Black Series line.  The main line has gotten three show-related figures so far, plus there have been two exclusives through Best Buy to fill out the cast a bit more.  The first was IG-11, but the second is Jon Favreau’s unnamed (on screen anyway; his credited name is “Paz Vizla”) heavy infantry Mandalorian, who I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Heavy Infantry Mandalorian is Best Buy’s second exclusive Black Series item.  For the first time on an exclusive item, he’s actually a numbered entry in the line, being numbered D2, signifying him as the second entry in the Deluxe sub-line, following General Grievous last year.  He’s based on the character’s appearance in “The Sin.”  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  Despite his bulked up design, Paz is never the less poseable on par with the rest of the more recent figures in the line, meaning he has a pretty easy time getting into all of the necessary poses for the character.  His sculpt is all-new, and it’s quite impressive.  He’s definitely got some serious heft to him, which is appropriate for a character with “Heavy” in his name.  The armored elements all match up with the design as seen on screen pretty well, and the detailing is all pretty sharply defined.  He definitely manages to be a bit more screen accurate than the standard Mando, and it’s not like that particular figure was all that far off.  The paintwork captures the slightly unique color scheme of the character nicely and cleanly.  I really dig the shade of blue they used here, and the flatter colors actually make him stand out pretty well from the rest of the line.  I also quit like the few spots of wear visible throughout the armor.  It gives it that appropriate lived-in feel.  The Heavy Mando only has one accessory, but it’s a really good, pretty darn sizable one, since it’s his heavy blaster.  It’s connected to his jetpack, and features a moving handle and spinning barrels.  Plus, it can also be stored on his back, as seen in the show, and it stays on there nice and securely.  Definitely a very nice piece for an already very nice figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When this guy was shown off (prior to the character’s appearance on the show), I was already on board, because man is that a cool design.  I was a little bummed when I found out he’d be a Best Buy exclusive, but fortunately for me, Max let me know as soon as he went up for preorder on their site, so I was able to get one with no fuss.  Like all of the Mandalorian-centric figures, he’s a really, really solid figure, and just really one of the Black Series‘ best.