Tag Archives: The Black Series

#0997: Captain Phasma

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

CAPTAIN PHASMA

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

PhasmaSmall1

With the dust very definitely settled from The Force Awakens, it does seem that people went a little crazy over Captain Phasma. She was a perfectly entertaining character, and she definitely had a cool design, but there wasn’t much more than that. Which definitely upset some people. I had no real expectations, so I wasn’t let down. I would like to see more of her in the next one, though (especially after catching up on Game of Thrones and finding out just how awesome Gwendoline Christie can be), so here’s hoping. Phasma’s gotten at least one figure in each of The Force Awakens’ many lines, with the latest being from the smaller Black Series line-up.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

PhasmaSmall2Phasma is the last of the three figures that make up the fourth series of Walmart’s exclusive 3 ¾-inch Star Wars: The Black Series. The figure stands a pretty sizeable 4 ¼ inches tall and has 26 points of articulation. Her design is quite similar to the First Order Stormtrooper, but the actual figure is a fair bit sturdier than the smaller Trooper, which is much appreciated. There’s plenty of great fine detail work (the helmet once again stands out), and the proportions are pretty nicely balanced. My only complaint is less about ther sculpt and more the way the figure was packaged: her shins are quite bowed, which makes keeping her standing quite difficult. The cape (which is a sculpted add-on) is thinner and less obstructive than the larger figure’s cape, which is good. It’s a little odd, since the aesthetics of this series so far have dictated cloth capes and such, but I can’t say I mind the sculpted piece. Like her two previous figures from Hasbro, this Phasma goes for flat silver paint, in place of the more chrome stylings of the movie. I’m still a little bummed by that, but it’s a little more acceptable on a more articulated figure such as this one. In spite of the flatter finish, the paintwork here is pretty solid. There’s a bit of bleed over on some of the black/silver changeovers, but that’s all pretty minor. Phasma is packed with her usual custom blaster, which she can hold much better than the troops she commands could hold theirs.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with Han and Leia, Phasma was purchased for me by Super Awesome Girlfriend. As with all the Phasmas I’ve looked at so far, I really like this one. I think the 6-inch one is still my favorite of the three versions, but this one’s still really solid, and I think she’s my favorite of the Series 4 figures!

#0996: Han Solo

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

HAN SOLO

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

HanStarkiller1

Continuing off of what I said about Leia and Han yesterday: given the sizeable role of Han in The Force Awakens, it was no shock that he was the first of the pair to get added to the toyline.  It was a bit surprising that he was not offered in the higher-end 3 ¾ inch line, though.  However, that’s something that Hasbro has now amended, if perhaps not quite in the way we were expecting.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HanStarkiller2Like Leia, Han was released in the fourth series of Walmart’s exclusive 3 ¾ inch Star Wars: The Black Series.  This is the second Han in this line (though the first one was from Jedi) and the third Force Awakens Han overall.  So, how is this not quite the Han we were expecting?  Well, in case you hadn’t noticed, he’s wearing his cold weather gear, which Han has for (parts of) the attack on Starkiller Base.  It’s not a look that he has for long, and it’s certainly less of a signature look than the black jacket. With that being said, it’s far less of an issue with Han than it was with Leia, since this isn’t Han’s first figure from TFA and it’s also not a bad look.  The figure is about 4 inches tall and has 24 points of articulation.  The sculpt isn’t quite as good as his 6-inch counterpart, but it’s not bad.  The body definitely gets the best work, with tons of really great texturing on the jacket in particular.  I’m also glad that the holster can be plugged and unplugged from his leg, allowing for some additional movement that the prior Han did not.  I’m having trouble seeing much Harrison Ford in the head, but I think that may have more to do with paint than anything else.  Structurally, the head sculpt doesn’t look too far off from the 6-inch version, which was pretty good.  So, about that paint.  It could definitely be better.  The body isn’t bad, but the head is a bit of a mess.  Ignoring the brown hair (which seems to be a licensing thing), the application on the eyes is just off.  They’re not properly placed and they’re at least twice as big as they should be.  Han’s definitely got the crazy eyes going on.  The brown hair and larger eyes also have the misfortune of making him look far younger than he should, which is not what you want from an old-man Han.  Han includes his blaster pistol, which is nicely sculpted and very well painted.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Just as with Leia, I didn’t find Han at any of the Walmarts near me.  In fact, I didn’t find him at all: Super Awesome Girlfriend did!  Han’s a figure that could definitely use some improvement.  He had a high bar to clear after the truly amazing 6-inch Han, and he didn’t quite do it.  That being said, he’s certainly not a bad figure.  I’d be curious to see if a better paint job could breathe some new life into him.

HanStarkiller3

#0995: Princess Leia Organa

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

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

LeiaTFA1

When the initial few waves of The Force Awakens product hit, the old guard of characters were largely absent, despite the large role of Han Solo in the film, and the decently-sized (and certainly incredibly important) role of Leia Organa. Around February of this year, Han found his way into both the 3 ¾ and 6 inch-scale lines, but Leia was still noticeably absent. Until now, that is!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

LeiaTFA2Princess Leia was released in the fourth series of the Force Awakens-themed 3 ¾ inch Star Wars: The Black Series, a line which remains exclusive to Walmart. So, first bone of contention with this figure: the name. In the movie, it’s kind of a point that Leia’s not really royalty any more, and she’s almost exclusively referred to as “General Organa.” It’s a small thing, but it’s an important change for her character. The fact that the box just lists her as “Princess Leia Organa” is kind of annoying (and doubly so, since there’s already another figure in this line with that *exact* name, which is just confusing everybody). Of course, the name’s pretty easy to move past, since I didn’t keep her in the package. What’s a little less easy to move past is the costume choice. Leia spends most of her screen time in a military uniform, which is not unlike her look from the Endor scenes in Jedi. She then spends about 5 minutes at the very end of the movie in a blue dress. We got the blue dress look, which I can’t say is my favorite. Alas, I don’t work for Hasbro, so I guess I’ll just deal. The figure stands about 3 ½ inches tall and has 22 points of articulation. She can get some decent motion out of her arms and neck, so that’s good. For what it’s worth, there’s a full body sculpt under her dress (she’s keeping it modest with a full-body stocking), articulated legs and all. The legs are rather limited, both by the obtrusive dress piece and by the decision to only give her cut joints at her hips.  Just as in the movie, her dress has a two-piece design, with the outer “jacket” being made from soft plastic and the under dress being real cloth. They mesh together pretty well, and it’s sort of a best of both worlds thing, preserving look and some of the movement as well. Issues with the design aside, I will admit that this is a pretty solid sculpt. The head captures Carrie Fisher pretty nicely, and I like the small texture details on the sculpted parts of the dress quite a bit. Leia actually doesn’t have much paint, with most of the dress being molded in the same blue. She gets some paint on her head, obviously. It’s not terrible, but it could certainly be better, especially the eyes. Leia includes no accessories, which is a bit of a bummer.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve not had much luck with getting the Walmart-exclusive Black Series figures in my area, so I’ve yet to see any of these figures near me. However, Super Awesome Girlfriend is not cursed like me, and ended up just finding Leia by accident one day. Yay for me! I’ll be honest: this isn’t the Leia figure I was hoping for. Her other Force Awakens look is far more action figure-worthy, and would just make for an all-around better figure. With that said, this figure isn’t terrible, and I’ll definitely take this over no Leia at all. Here’s hoping the other version’s on the way.

#0951: Luke Skywalker – Stormtrooper Disguise

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

LUKE SKYWALKER – STORMTROOPER DISGUISE

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

LukeTrooper1

“Aren’t you a little short for a Stormtrooper?”

I haven’t reviewed any Star Wars: The Black Series figures in a while. And even then, the last handful of them have all been The Force Awakens-related. So, how about an Original Trilogy figure? Yeah, that’ll be nice. The most recurrent character in the line is by far Luke Skywalker. I mean, it’s fair; he is the central character of the first three movies. He also gets a few notable costume changes. One such change is when he steals the armor of an Imperial Stormtrooper in order to infiltrate the Death Star. It’s a rather popular version of the character, and it’s been represented in action figure form since way back in the vintage line. Now, let’s have a look at the latest version!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

LukeTrooper2Luke was released as part of the pre-Force Awakens incarnation of Star Wars: The Black Series, as figure #12. He was released in the 8th assortment of figures, alongside Emperor Palpatine and the Clone Captain. As noted in the intro, this figure is based on Luke’s Stormtrooper disguise look from the second half A New Hope. The figure stands just under 6 inches tall and has 29 points of articulation. Seeing as he was running around in their armor, it’s not a shock to find out that this figure makes some pretty hefty use of the pieces used for the Stormtrooper/Sandtrooper. Luke ends up getting the arms and legs from that figure, along with the head of the X-Wing Luke from Series 1. Those pieces were all pretty good the first time around, and they’re still pretty great here. The head in particular is probably the best Hamill likeness in this scale. Luke also has a new torso and pelvis, which aid in making him “a little short for a Stromtrooper.” The end result looks pretty good, though the arms require some careful posing, as they are a touch on the long side. The paint on Black Series figures has been known to make or break the figures. Luke’s far from the worst I’ve seen from the line, and the head in particular is quite clean. That said, there’s still quite a bit of slop in the changes between black and white, which can be more than a bit distracting. Luke is packed with a standard blaster rifle, a communicator, and a removable Stormtrooper helmet. The helmet is the biggest deal here. It’s similar to the solid head seen on the normal Trooper, but obviously it’s been hollowed out so Luke can wear it. The details are a little softer here, but they don’t look terrible, and he fits in pretty well with the other Troopers.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Luke here was a graduation gift from my Super Awesome Girlfriend. On her way up to visit me, she stopped at a Walgreens and saw this guy there all alone. She picked him up, but between purchasing him and giving him to me, she had convinced herself that I already had him. Imagine her relief when she found out I didn’t actually own one! I never picked this guy up because he looked like a fairly simple re-use figure, but there’s actually a lot to like about this guy. Definitely glad to have him!

LukeTrooper3

#0912: Captain Phasma

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

CAPTAIN PHASMA

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

CapPhas1

Hoo boy did people get upset about Captain Phasma. First there was the frenzy when she was revealed to be female. Then there was the frustration of finding either of her (slightly under-packed) figures. Then, when the movie finally got released, people were upset that she had a small part, because, without much prompting, lots of folks decided she was supposed to be the next big thing. She had been touted as the next Boba Fett, and suddenly people backtracked. That amuses me, since Phasma did more in The Force Awakens than Fett did in all three of his onscreen appearances. But I digress…

Phasma has been pretty hard to find in just about every scale. I managed to get a smaller Phasma from the First Order Legion set, but I hadn’t managed to find her larger The Black Series figure. Well, not until now…

THE FIGURE ITSELF

CapPhas2Captain Phasma is figure #06 in the Force Awakens re-branded Star Wars: The Black Series, making her numerically the first figure in the second series. The figure stands a whopping 7 ¼ inches tall and she has 24 points of articulation. Her range of motion is fairly similar to the basic First Order Stormtrooper, though she’s made a bit more limited by the slightly taller thigh armor and the addition of the cape. Granted, she wasn’t super mobile in the movie (apart from that time she got tackled by Chewbacca), so it’s not like there are a lot of scene-specific poses that she can’t pull off. The actual quality of the sculpt is pretty great; she’s pretty similar to the Stormtrooper, but with additional detailing, as well as an all-around sharper look, which makes her a pretty awesome piece. The cape, though restrictive, is very well textured, and shaped very nicely to her shoulders. The paintwork on Phasma is incredibly clean, possibly the cleanest I’ve seen on a recent The Black Series figure. The colors are all clean and distinct, and she really pops when placed with the rest of the line. The elephant in the room here is the finish of the armor: Hasbro opted for flat silver, as opposed to going the vac-metalized route. It’s understandable, as basic paint holds up a little better to play, but she does lose some of the coolness of her on-screen counterpart. Phasma includes her custom blaster rifle, which, like all the Stormtrooper weapons, can be stowed on her right leg.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Rest assured, dear readers, I didn’t shell out the big bucks for Phasma. It would appear that Hasbro has started shipping out more cases containing Phasma figures, because I didn’t have to try particularly hard to find this one. My dad actually came across her at Target, just in with the other Black Series figures. I even saw another Phasma a few days later. I’m glad to finally have one of these. Sure, her part was relatively small, but she still has a really awesome design, and it translates really well to action figure form. That being said, I’m really glad I waited for the price to fall; at retail, she’s an entertaining figure, but for much more than that, I can see her being a disappointment.

CapPhas3

#0864: Han Solo

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

HAN SOLO

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

HanTFA1i

A lot of (very much deserved) praise has been heaped on the new cast members introduced in the Force Awakens, but one of the coolest things about the movie was the return of some of the “old guard” from the Original Trilogy. The most prominent returning hero by far was everyone’s favorite scuffy-lookin’ nerf-herder, Han Solo. For a number of reasons, Han, along with most of the other returning characters, was absent from the first few waves of Force Awakens product, but the merch based on him is starting to hit in full storm. Today, I’ll be looking at his much anticipated Black Series figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HanTFA2Han was released in the fifth series of the latest iteration of Star Wars: The Black Series. He’s marked as number 18 in the line, which makes him the last figure in this particular series numerically. The figure stands just over 6 inches tall (which is the same as his A New Hope figure) and has 27 points of articulation. Some of the movement, most notably his hips, is a little restricted, but he can certainly pull off just about any pose that the real Harrison Ford can. Han’s sculpt is totally new, and it’s an amazing piece of work. The proportions look great, certainly better than the last Han, and the detail work on the clothing is just fantastic. The jacket in particular has some amazing texture work, which adds a lot of character to the figure. The shirt and underlying belt are a little on the soft side, and I’m not sure I’m a fan of the pose on his left hand, but those are my only real complaints. The real draw of this sculpt is the likeness. Harrison Ford has a notoriously hard to capture likeness, but this is perhaps the best one we’ve ever seen. There are a few angles where it looks a bit off, but the HanTFA4boverall appearance is very close. Now, you may be thinking that, based on the pictures, he really doesn’t look as close as I’m saying. Well, here’s where the paint comes in. For the most part, the paint’s great. The clothing (particularly the coat) has some really great work, which really sells this as a real person. My first nit is the eyes; they aren’t terrible, but they’re a little sloppier than I’d like. However, the major issue here is the hair. The application of the paint is alright, but there’s no getting around the fact that it’s simply the wrong color. Instead of being mostly grey with maybe a few streaks of light brown, it’s light brown with just a few streaks of grey, resulting in him looking a fair bit younger than he should. It’s really annoying, because it seriously throws off an otherwise really great figure.* Han only includes one accessory: his signature blaster, which is a totally different mold than the one included with the Series 2 Han.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I found out this figure was hitting stores, I was anticipating him being a chore to find. So, I was pleasantly surprised to walk into my local Target and find him hanging on the pegs, hiding behind a pair of Jango Fetts. I’m not sure I can adequately describe just how much I like this figure. He’s hands down the best Han Solo figure I own, and possibly one of the best Black Series figures to date, and certainly the best of the Force Awakens figures. Yes, the hair thing is annoying, but this figure outshines all those issues, and is just a ton of fun to mess around with.

HanTFA3c

*It should be noted that the hair thing isn’t limited to just this figure. The Pop! and LEGO versions also sport the light brown hair, suggesting it’s a licensing issue of some sort.

#0839: Rey (Jakku)

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

REY (JAKKU)

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

ReyWM1

“Rey is a resilient survivor, a scavenger toughened by a lifetime of dealing with the cutthroats of the harsh desert world of Jakuu.”

There’s one more major character I haven’t looked at in this latest round of The Force Awakens figures. In fact, she’s the lead character! Let’s take a look at Rey!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ReyWM5Rey is part of the third series of the Walmart-exclusive Star Wars: The Black Series figures, alongside the previously reviewed Poe and Finn, as well as a re-released Han Solo from Return of the Jedi. The figure is 3 ¾ inches tall and has 26 points of articulation. I do wish her waist joint offered more movement, but her articulation is generally pretty solid. Rey is noted as being based on her “Jakku” appearance, which isn’t all that different from her look from the rest of the film. That said, this figure does feature Rey wearing gloves, which she only does during the film’s Jakku scenes, and all of her accessories are Jakku specific. Rey’s sculpt is similar to the larger 6-inch figure, but like Finn and Poe, there are enough differences to show that this is an original work. It’s definitely a top-notch sculpt; there are lots of great small details, and the texturing on her cloths is very nicely handled. Her proportions are fairly balanced (perhaps her arms could be just a touch less gangly, but that’s minor), and the head has a passable likeness of Daisy Ridley. The hair’s a little thicker than Ridley’s was in the film, but that’s forgivable, given the small scale. Rey does take a bit of a hit in terms of paint. The general application is not terrible, ReyWM3but she suffers from some rather sloppy spots. In addition, the joints for her ankles are cast in flesh toned plastic, which makes them stand out quite a bit against the brown of her boots. Lastly, she has the same slightly rosy cheeks as her larger scale counterpart, which, while a bit more subtle this time, exhibit a dot-matrix-style patterning (suggesting a printed paint app of sorts), which is a little distracting up close. Still, she fairs a bit better than either of her previously-reviewed figures, which show’s Hasbro’s at least getting a little better. Rey makes out quite well in the accesories department, including her signature staff (now with proper painted details), a back pack, and an alternate head featuring the head wrap and goggles she wears in her introductory scene. While thes parts are all re-used from prior Rey figures, the improved paint apps elavate them to a new level, and the complement the figure very nicely.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Rey was the last of these figures I got. I ended up having to stop at five different Walmarts to find her, and when I finally did find her, she was the last one the store had, and she’d even been hidden under a Darth Vader figure. Rey was packed into cases in the same quantities as Finn and Poe, but as the lead, she’s proved to be the first figure to get picked up by most collectors (and she’s also become scalper-bait. Yuck!). In addition, she’s hands down the best figure in Walmarts’s exclusive line, and the best Rey figure currently available. Here’s hoping that Hasbro can find a way to get more of this figure out there, because everyone should have this figure.

ReyWM6

#0837: First Order Stormtrooper

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

FIRST ORDER STORMTROOPER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

FOTrooperWM1

“Equipped with sleek armor and powerful weapons, the Stormtroopers enforce the will of the First Order.”

Everybody’s gotta have some faceless minions, right? You just aren’t a credible threat without a few thousand faceless minions! So, why don’t I take a look at one of the quintessential faceless minions, the Imperial First Order Stormtrooper?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

FOTrooperWM2The First Order Stormtrooper is part of the second series of the Walmart-exclusive Star Wars: The Black Series figures. The figure stands just over 3 ¾ inches tall and has 26 points of articulation. The articulation still features the awkward hips, and the torso joint is rather loose, but hey, guess what! We finally have a 3 ¾ inch FO Trooper who can hold his blaster properly! Isn’t that swell? Well, it’s more bittersweet, really. I’ll get to that. The sculpt is all-new to this particular Trooper; it’s decent, but not as strong as some of the other Troopers we’ve gotten. He’s a bit on the scrawny side, especially for the rather bulky FO Troopers. Still, the basic design is pretty solid, and there’s some nice detail work, especially on the underlying bodysuit. Now, here’s where a few minor issues with the sculpt arise. First of all, there’s the issue of the neck peg, which is once again much larger than the other figures (such as Finn), preventing easy head swaps. Then there are the hands, which have a fairly loose grip, which, coupled with the slightly restrictive sculpt of the elbow joints, means the figure has a really difficult time holding his gun the right way. Which is a super bummer. What’s even more of a bummer is the paint; it’s all over the place. There’s pretty much no part of the figure that isn’t subject to a missed section of paint, or some bleed over. While he looks okay from a distance, he’s really sloppy up close. The FO Trooper is packed with both a large and a small blaster, just like his larger counterpart. As noted, the figure has difficulty holding them, but one can be stowed on his thigh, which is cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got the Stormtrooper at the same time as Finn, courtesy of Super Awesome Girlfriend. I’m a fan of the new Trooper design, so I was kind of looking forward to this particular figure. It’s hard to say I’m not disappointed a little by the end product. The joints aren’t as strong as they could be, the hands are badly sculpted, and the paint is pretty sloppy. That said, he’s not terrible, just a bit of a letdown. Could he be better? Absolutely. Could he be worse? Very much so.

FOTrooperWM3

#0835: Poe Dameron

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

POE DAMERON

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

PoeDamWM1

So, a slight aside: I do my very best to keep this site light and fun. Action figures are kind of my one outlet of pure enjoyment, and I like to pass that enjoyment on to others as best I can. Sometimes, the real world gets to me a bit, but I try my best not to let it influence my writing, but it gets really hard. Back in December, The Force Awakens was by far my favorite thing of the moment, and more than anything, I wanted to review Star Wars toys. So, I bought a whole bunch, took the pictures, and put them on the schedule. But, before I could get around to actually reviewing them, several outside forces cropped up, and managed to suck just about all the excitement I had for Star Wars toys right out of me. There’s a whole lot of fighting going on in the community, and I’m just not a fighter. I really just want to enjoy my toys. So, in the next five days, I’m going to do my best to review some figures I was really excited about, without letting the outside stuff get me down. As an advance warning, that probably means minimal introductory comments from me for a few days.

Anyway, sorry if I brought people down; let’s move onto today’s figure. It’s Poe Dameron, number one pilot in the Resistance.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

PoeDamWM2Poe is part of the third series of Walmart-exclusive Star Wars: The Black Series figures. Prior to the Force Awakens branding, Hasbro was running The Black Series in both 6-inch and 3 ¾-inch scales, but the rebranding led to the 3 ¾-inch line being nixed, in favor of a more expansive selection of the lower-end 3 ¾ inch figures. Fortunately, Walmart decided to carry the higher-end 3 ¾-inch figures as exclusives, giving collectors a chance at some better articulated versions of The Force Awakens’ main characters. Poe stands 3 ¾ inches tall and has 26 points of articulation. Articulation is one of the main selling points on these guys, and most of Poe’s joints are pretty well-handled. The only real problem areas are the hips, which use a somewhat outdated style of joint and are a bit of a pain to work with. Poe gets an all-new sculpt, which depicts him in his pilot gear, which, after seeing the film a few times, really feels like his definitive look. The sculpt of this figure has a fair bit in common with the 6-inch version of Poe, but a close examination of the two shows that it’s not just a shrunk down version of that one. The sculpt has a ton of great texture work, and it’s top-notch for the scale. Poe’s likeness seems to be the toughest one to crack for Hasbro. It’s hard to accurately judge the sculpt on this one, since it’s under some iffy paint, but it does appear to be Hasbro’s closest effort so far. Unfortunately, it’s under the aforementioned iffy paint. Most of the paint on this figure really isn’t that bad, but the face just doesn’t look right. It’s definitely the eyes and eyebrows. The pupils of the eyes are too low-set, and the brows are just too thin to properly capture Oscar Isaac. I’d love to say the eye issues are a one-off, but every version of this figure I’ve seen looked about the same. Poe includes his helmet and a small blaster. The helmet is a great piece, and it’s the first one not to look oversized, and the blaster fits nicely both in Poe’s hand and the holster on his belt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was surprised by these figures, truth be told. I’d heard rumblings of them happening, but I hadn’t seen any actual confirmation. Then I caught pictures of Series 3 over the holiday, and knew I’d have to try and track them down. Poe was the first one I found; he was the only figure left at my local Walmart. None of the Poe figures so far have been quite right, and this one continues that trend. Were the paint on his face a bit better, he’d be the best version of the character, but as it stands, I still like my mash-up of the two 6-inch figures the best. Still, this guy’s not a terrible figure, and he’s probably the best small-scale Poe out there.

PoeDamWM3

#0806: IG-88

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

IG-88

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

IG88a

It’s day 5 of the Post-Christmas gift reviews, and today I’ll be looking at the first example of one of the themes to my gifts this year: Star Wars.  I can’t possibly imagine why that was the case.  It’s not like there was a new movie or something.  Of course, today’s figure isn’t from The Force Awakens, he’s actually from the original trilogy.

Empire Strikes Back is a lot of people’s favorite Star Wars movie (Not mine, but that’s a whole other thing).  There are a number of reasons for that, but one of the most prevalent, especially from a toy-buying perspective, is the bounty hunters.  Moving past the disproportionately popular Boba Fett, the film introduced five rather unique bounty hunters, all of whom do little more than fill the background of a scene on a Star Destroyer.  Still, those unique looks certainly made them all pretty memorable, and it also made them pretty good choices for action figures.  One of my personal favorites has always been IG-88, who is the focus of today’s review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

IG88bIG-88 is a part of Series 9 of Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Black Series line, released alongside Leia as Boushh and Clone Commander Cody.  He was one of the last figures to hit before the switch-over to Force Awakens-branded product.  IG-88 is numbered 15, which places him right before Leia numerically.  The figure stands just shy of 7 inches tall and has 21 points of articulation, which is pretty darn impressive for a character of his build.  There are certainly some parts that might benefit from improved movement (seriously, those cut-joint hips are killing me), but he’s overall a lot more mobile than I would have expected.  IG-88’s sculpt is seriously top notch.  It’s pretty much a pitch-perfect recreation of the design from Empire, right down to all the little tacked on bits.  Perhaps the only inaccuracy is the head, which is generally a bit sharper, and has a few more molded lines than the real thing.  However, the end result looks a bit better, so I can’t really complain on that one.  His elbows both have a rubber covering to mask the joints.  It looks cool, and it retains mobility, but I do have to wonder how long those pieces will last.  His bandolier is a separate piece, affixed via a small peg on the figure’s shoulder.  It sits nicely, ans allows for stowage of one of his guns and his bladed item.  The paintwork on this figure is probably the best I’ve seen on a Black Series figure in some time. To be fair, this does seem like a hard paintjob to screw up, but this is Hasbro we’re talking about here.   He actually goes beyond the simple gun metal grey we’ve seen on prior IG-88s and some brasses and browns, to give him that nice old and worn look.  IG-88 is packed with two blaster rifles, one long and one short, which can be attached to his hands through use of the small pegs on his forearms.  He also has a blade/axe thing, which can be placed in its spot on the bandolier.  All of the extras are very nicely sculpted and wonderful additions to the figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I was fortunate enough to stumble across his series-mate Leia at an out of the way Walgreens, I had no such luck finding IG-88.  Fortunately, my parents seemed to fair a little better, as he was amongst the gifts I received on Christmas morning.  He’s a pretty stellar figure, from start to finish.  The sculpt and the paint really work together on this guy, and he ends up being one of the best figures to date that The Black Series has spawned.

IG88c