Tag Archives: The Black Series

#0787: Poe Dameron & Riot Control First Order Stormtrooper

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

POE DAMERON & RIOT CONTROL FIRST ORDER STORMTROOPER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

Poe&Trooper1

By the time you guys read this review, I’ll have already seen the new Star Wars movie. Lucky me! Unless it’s terrible, in which case, un-lucky me! Of course this review was written beforehand, since I had to, you know, go see the movie, so I can’t offer any actual thoughts on the movie. I also still don’t have any real information on any of the new characters, so, hey, enjoy one more review of me talking about stuff I don’t know! That’s the best, right? Let’s have a look at resistance pilot Poe Dameron and a Stormtrooper variant!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This pair was released as part of a two-pack of figures from the new Force Awakens-branded Star Wars: The Black Series line. The set is a Target exclusive (in the US, anyway).

POE DAMERON

Poe&Trooper2“An ace pilot, Poe Dameron is a leader in the Resistance’s fight against the evil First Order. He soars into battle behind the controls of a modern X-Wing fighter.” So, yeah, that’s kind of the same bio we’ve gotten on every Poe figure so far. Hey, at least they’re consistent! This figure is based on Poe in his
“casual” look (the same look used for his “Armor Up” figure in the smaller scale). Poe is 6 inches tall and has 25 points of articulation. When this figure was first announced, the assumption was that he’d be making use of a lot of re-used parts, especially given that he and Finn have the same jacket. However, it appears that the only piece to actually be re-used is Poe’s head, which is the same piece as his single release figure (though you can be forgiven for not realizing, for reasons I’ll touch on in a bit). The likeness is decent enough, though not quite as good as some of the other figures. The rest of the sculpt is all-new, and quite well handled too. As with the smaller scale figures, Poe and Finn’s jackets have enough minor differences to give each of the figures a bit of uniqueness. Poe’s jacket is much sharper detailed in general, which makes it look a bit better. Poe’s paintwork is generally pretty good, though it is not without its drawbacks. The base color work is all pretty good, and there’s Poe&Trooper3not too much slop or bleed over. The clothing, especially the coat, have some nice accent work to help bring out some of the sculpt’s details. The head’s paint is easily the sloppiest, with the same wonky hairline that’s plagued all of the Poe figures so far, as well as a slightly messy attempt at giving him 5 o’clock shadow, which just looks a bit goofy. However, it’s leaps and bounds above the regular release Poe, who’s paint was, to quote Shaun of the Dead’s TV edit, “funk ugly.” Poe is packed with a rifle (which is the same model as his smaller scale figure), and a helmet.

RIOT CONTROL FIRST ORDER STORMTROOPER

Poe&Trooper4“Armed with specialized batons, the First Order’s Riot Control Stormtroopers are trained to subdue crowds in the most ruthlessly efficient manner possible.” Yeah, so here’s another Stormtrooper. But he’s got a new hat—I mean baton and shield! He’s the same figure as the regular First Order Stormtrooper from the first series of Force Awakens The Black Series figures.  It’s still a good sculpt, and you really can’t have too many Stormtroopers, so no complaints there. The main difference is the accessories. He gets the same pair of blasters as the regular release, plus a shield and baton, which make him an official “Riot Control” Stormtrooper. They’re both quite nicely sculpted, though he has a bit of trouble actually holding the baton.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I ended up finding this set at one of my two local Targets, without too much trouble. The main appeal of this set (for me anyway) was definitely Poe, since I hadn’t yet gotten him in this scale. I don’t have his other figure to compare, but this one looks to be the better of the two. The Riot Trooper doesn’t offer much new, but the new accessories are pretty cool, and I won’t say no to another Black Series Stormtrooper!

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#0786: Princess Leia – Boushh

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

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA – BOUSHH

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

LeiaBoushh1

Hey, we’ve looked at two days of new and upcoming Star Wars stuff, why don’t we switch gears for a day and have a look at something a bit more old school. A ways back, in my very first Star Wars: The Black Series review, actually, I looked at the line’s first version of Princess Leia, which somewhat unfortunately presented her in Slave Leia get-up from Return of the Jedi. It’s not an outfit that really serves as a “definitive” version of the character, nor is it a design that translates all that well to action figure form. A lot of fans (myself included) have been clamoring for another, more action figure oriented (and more story prominent) design. It took a while, but Hasbro finally obliged, with Princess Leia in her Boushh disguise, a figure I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

LeiaBoushh2Leia was released in Series 9 of Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Black Series. She’s figure #16, going by the second round of numbering. Leia, along with IG-88 and Clone Commander Cody, was one of the last three figures to be released prior to the switch-over to Force Awakens product. This Leia figure is also based on Return of the Jedi, but comes from the portion of the movie prior to her capture by Jabba, while she is still masquerading as the bounty hunter Boushh. The figure is just over 5 ½ inches tall and has 27 points of articulation. She stands a little taller than the previous Leia, but Leia was supposedly wearing lifts to help disguise herself further, so it doesn’t bug me too much. Leia gets an all-new sculpt, and a pretty darn good one at that. The body has some pretty great layering on the various parts of her costume, which is very nicely used to help hide a lot of the articulation. The pair of tanks on her back are a separate, removable piece. The belt/bandolier is also a separate add-on, but not intended for removal. Both are nicely sculpted and scaled well to the figure. The bandolier has a soft goods cape attached, which I feel works a lot better than previous fabric parts, so that’s good. When I reviewed the previous LeiaBoushh3Leia, I noted that I thought the head sculpt was a pretty good likeness to Carrie Fisher. This one’s better. It helps that this figure also gets a much nicer paintjob than the last. While I wouldn’t mind a little more fine detail work to highlight the subtleties of the sculpt a little more, what’s here is pretty serviceable, and there aren’t any glaring issues. Leia is packed with a removable helmet, a a staff, and a thermal detonator. The helmet is the star piece here, and it fits well on her head. The staff is technically supposed to be the same as one of the two included with Slave Leia, but it’s an all-new, much larger, much more accurate sculpt, and she holds it quite nicely. The thermal detonator doesn’t really fit in her hand, but it can easily be stowed on her belt, which is cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Black Series is infamous for its distribution issues, so Leia was out for quite a while before I was actually able to find one. However, I finally managed to find her at a Walgreens, in the midst of killing some time while my Mom and brother were participating in a 5K. I’m glad I got her, because it was killing me that Slave Leia was the only version we had. This one is just a much better figure all around.

LeiaBoushh4

#0784: Guavian Enforcer

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

GUAVIAN ENFORCER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

GuavianEnforcer1

Alright, it’s just three days until the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in theatres, and I’m pretty excited. To show off my excitement, I’m going to review one Star Wars item from now through the 18th. First up is yet another character I don’t know much about, the Guavian Enforcer. Apparently, this guy’s a new army builder, so that’s cool I guess. Let’s have a look at one of the two versions of this character currently available.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

GuavianEnforcer2“The security soldiers of the Guavian Gang wear high impact armor that makes them stand out among other deadly criminals.” The Guavian Enforcer is part of the second series of the Force Awakens-themed re-launch of Star Wars: The Black Series. He’s been designated as figure 08, which makes him numerically the third figure in Series 2. The figure stands 6 inches tall and has 28 points of articulation. The sculpt is totally new to this figure, and it looks to be a pretty good translation of the design from the film, at least from what I’ve seen. The design is certainly a change of pace for Star Wars. Some people have commented he looks a bit like Jason Todd as Red Hood; others have said he looks like an obscure Marvel villain, or even a product placement for Target. Me? I think he looks like one of Cobra’s specialized troopers from G.I. Joe. Which isn’t actually a bad thing, truth be told. The sculpt is pretty decent all around. There’s a lot of nice texture work, and the finer details look pretty cool. The proportions seem a little exaggerated, but without seeing the movie I don’t know for sure that they actually are. The paintwork on the Guavian Enforcer is fairly nicely handled. The jumpsuit is covered with a pretty thick wash of darker paint, which makes it look nice and worn in, and it brings out the texture work of the sculpt quite adeptly. There’s some slight bleed over on the helmet, and the silver gash could stand to be a little more subtle, but those are the only real drawbacks. The Enforcer gets a whole two accessories: one that looks like an old-fashioned tommy gun, and one that looks a bit more like a shotgun. Neither is painted, which is a bit of a bummer, but they’re sculpted pretty well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Guavian Enforcer is the first of the Series 2 I’ve been able to find (well, I also found Constable Zuvio, but I don’t really like his design). I found him at my closest TRU a few weeks back. I quite like the design of this guy, and he makes for a pretty neat figure. Hopefully the Enforcers make for decent characters in the movie!

#0726: Captain Rex

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

CAPTAIN REX

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

CapRex1

If there’s one upside to the Star Wars prequels, it’s the fact that they allowed for the creation of both of the Clone Wars animated series.  They managed to do impossible things like not suck and be something other than the absolute worst, which the prequels never really got down. The second of the two shows had a heavy focus on the Clone Troopers themselves, and changed them from a faceless legion to a collection of actual characters. One of the central clones in the show was Clone Captain Rex, who ended up becoming one of the show’s most popular characters. He got several figures during the actual Clone Wars toylines, and just before the shift to the Force Awakens stuff, he even made his way into the smaller scale The Black Series line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

CapRex2Captain Rex was figure #09 in the 2014 series of the 3 ¾ inch Star Wars: The Black Series figures. He was part of the second assortment of figures released that year (the same assortment that gave us Commander Doom, for those interested). The figure is a little over 3 ¾ inches in height and has 24 points of articulation. Rex is based on his design from towards the end of the show, after several improvements had been made to his armor. Unlike other Clone Troopers from the show, Rex never got a full Phase II style helmet, instead opting to stick with a slightly modified Phase I helmet. It’s kind of one of his more unique features, and it’s showcased here. Like Doom, Rex’s figure takes his design from the show and realizes it a bit, so that it can fit in with the other figures from this line. His sculpt does this translation pretty well, retaining most of his defining traits from his show design, while also brining him in line with the “real-life” Clone Troopers. The figure uses the same basic body as the one we saw on Doom. It’s less articulated than I’d like, but it’s a decent sculpt, so I can’t complain too much. He gets a unique helmet, shoulder piece, and “skirt” piece with holsters. The new parts are nice, sharp sculpts, and the helmet in particular has some fantastic fine detail work. Hasbro’s weak link is and always shall be its paint apps. It’s not to say they aren’t trying, mind you. Rex has some phenomenal work. The weird blue eyebrow things on his helmet are really sharp and the 163 (yes, I counted them all) tally marks placed all around his armor are a really cool touch. So, what’s the problem? It’s the base color work again. The areas around the holsters are definitely the worst offenders, with tons of overspray and slop, but all of the base work is pretty darn sloppy, which kind of ruins all the effort that was put into the finer detail work. Rex is packed with a pair of blaster pistols. They’re a bit hard to get into his holsters, but he holds them well enough. Like Doom, the accessories feel a bit light for a figure in the higher-priced line. It couldn’t be that hard to throw in a large blaster or something.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Rex here was the second of the two pre-Force Awakens figures I found during my Force Friday travels. I couldn’t pass on Doom, but I didn’t need Rex. Of course, I was with Super Awesome Girlfriend at the time, and she absolutely refuses to let me put a figure back, no matter how many times I say I don’t need it. So, she bought him for me. I can’t say Rex was a figure I was desperately searching for or anything, but I did like the character on the show, and I thought this figure looked pretty cool. I’m glad to have him, because, paint issues aside, he’s actually a pretty great little figure.

#0719: Clone Commander Doom

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

CLONE COMMANDER DOOM

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

CommanderDoom1

DOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!! Yes it’s DOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!! So, hey, you know one cool thing about Disney owning both Marvel and Star Wars AND Hasbro holding the toy licenses for both of those properties? They can do cool combo stuff, like today’s focus, Clone Commander Doom, who began his life as a minor, cool little reference character, who I’m sure no one ever thought would get an actual figure with that name. But, here he is! Isn’t that cool?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

CommanderDoom2Commander Doom was released in the second series of the 2014 round of the 3 ¾ inch Star Wars: The Black Series figures. Did you get all that? Should I repeat it? Yeah, Hasbro’s release schemes are just a tad confusing. Commander Doom here is based on his appearance in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode “The Unknown,” where his animation model was based on Dr. Doom, the Marvel Comics character. One has to wonder if Commander Doom has some sort of rivalry with Clone Commander Fantastic; that would be nifty. The figure stands just over 3 ¾ inches tall and has 24 points of articulation. Sadly, it seems that Hasbro’s cutting back on the articulation of the smaller-scale Black Series stuff again. Doom loses both the ball jointed hips and the mid-torso joint of prior Clone Troopers, which is a bit of a bummer to say the least. It might be hard to tell under that non-standard paintjob, but Doom’s armor is mostly standard issue stuff. He’s wearing a modified form of the Phase II trooper armor, with a visor/antenna added to his helmet (in a similar fashion to Commander Cody) and a battle “skirt” thing, which has holsters for his blasters. It’s worth noting that, while Doom hails from an animated show, this figure has been sculpted to fit in with the more realistic figures that make up the rest of the line. With that in mind, Doom’s sculpt does a pretty good job of taking his design from the show and translating it into “real life.” The sculpt is a little softer than I’d like in some areas, but it’s nicely handled overall. I’m still not 100% sold on the look of the wrist joints, but that’s a minor issue, and the movement they provide is certainly enough to warrant their inclusion. Now, this is a Hasbro figure, which means that, no matter how good the sculpt may be, the paint is likely to be a letdown. While I certainly wouldn’t say this figure has the worst paint I’ve ever seen on a Hasbro figure, he’s still got more than a few occurrences of bleed over and slop. Also, his arms and legs are just molded in a slight off-white, as opposed to being grey due to scuffs and dirt, which robs him just a bit of his uniqueness. Aside from those issues, I will say Doom’s a pretty vibrant figure, especially for a Star Wars figure, and I enjoy how the various customizations to his armor have been carried out. Doom is packed with a pair of blaster pistols, which can be held or stored in his holsters. This feels a little light, especially for the higher Black Series price.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I was out looking for new stuff on Force Friday (and also visiting Super Awesome Girlfriend for the weekend), one of the Walmarts I stopped by happened to have some of the pre-Force Awakens Black Series figures in stock, this guy included. I had actually been hoping to find this guy ever since I stumbled upon the pictures of his prototype online, so I was pretty happy about stumbling across him. Doom has his share of issues, but he definitely stands out from the rest of my Star Wars figures, and he’s a shout out to one of the best characters in comics to boot!

CommanderDoom3

#0696: Kylo Ren

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

KYLO REN

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

KyloTBS1

Okay guys, just one more day of The Force Awakens stuff (for now, anyways). So far, all the Black Series figures I’ve looked at have been repeats of characters I had in 3 ¾ inch scale. Today’s review changes that up. This time, I’ll be looking at the movie’s main antagonist (at least, as far as we know), Kylo Ren. He’s menacing, masked, in all black, and has a red lightsaber; clearly a Star Wars villain. Let’s see how he turned out.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

KyloTBS2Kylo Ren is figure #03 in the Force Awakens-themed re-launch of Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Black Series. The figure is just over 6 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation. The range of motion on his joints is pretty decent overall, but not perfect. His neck joint is really the worst part, as it does nothing outside of a basic side-to-side movement, putting him behind even the limited 3 ¾ inch figures in that respect. Kylo’s look is a mix of sculpted plastic and soft goods items (i.e. fabric). The base of his cloak and his hood are handled via fabric, which tailored decently enough for something this scale. It’s, at the very least, better handled than what we saw on The Black Series’ Darth Vader. That said, it encounters a lot of the issues common to using cloth at a smaller scale. Getting it to hold a consistent look, especially when it comes to the hood, is virtually impossible. It just kind of sits however it feels. The seams are also quite present, especially at the front of the torso, where, going by what I’ve seen of the costume online, there shouldn’t be an immediately obvious break in the fabric. That’s annoying. The rest of the costume is handled via the sculpt. The sculpted parts generally look much nicer, though, I can’t help but feel that he looks, as a whole, much less intimidating than he should. It’s minor stuff, really. His head seems just a bit too big, his shoulders a bit too scrawny, and his belt a bit too high up. Plus, he’s got just the slightest bit of a hunch, making him look not unlike an elderly man. From a detail standpoint, the details that are visible look pretty on point and well handled, so he’s got that going for him. Paint is mostly absent from Kylo, given the cloth robe that covers most of his body. He does have some nice silver detailing on his helmet, which makes it pop out from the hood just a bit, as well as a slightly shinier finish on his boots, for those that like looking at their figures’ feet. Kylo includes his distinctive cross guard styled lightsaber. It’s pretty well handled, and all three beams are connected, allowing for easy removal from the hilt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Kylo was picked up alongside the Stormtrooper as one of the first items I got during my second go at the whole Force Friday bit. He wasn’t really at the top of my list, but he was there, so I figured I might as well grab him. Gotta be honest, this figure doesn’t do a whole lot for me. I didn’t like the cloth goods on Vader and I like them even less here. I understand that Hasbro didn’t want the robes to be restricting, but if you’re going to do cloth goods, you have to commit all the way, and not half-ass it. With a little more care, Kylo could have been the best figure in this lineup. As is? He’s by far the weakest of the bunch, which is a shame. Maybe the Kmart exclusive version will turn out better.

KyloTBS3

#0695: First Order Stormtrooper

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

FIRST ORDER STORMTROOPER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

TrooperFOTBS1

Stormtroopers are really the backbone of the Star Wars universe. None of them even get a name in the Original Trilogy, and they’re certainly never in focus, but they’re always there, with a near-limitless supply of them for the heroes to plow through. The original Troopers also have one of the best, most distinctive designs of the franchise, meaning all the faceless goons that followed had quite a bit to live up to. The Battle Droids proved rather disappointing in this respect, and the Sequel Trilogy seems to be playing things safe by bringing the Stormtroopers back, albeit with a slightly tweaked design. The new Stormtrooper has been one of the hottest “characters” when it comes to new merchandise, no doubt due to consumers also playing things safe, just in case the new movie isn’t quite what everyone wants. Today, I’ll be looking at the Black Series version of the design.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

TrooperFOTBS2The First Order Stormtrooper saw two different ways of release. The figure was first offered as a SDCC exclusive item, which proved quite difficult to obtain. This was then followed up with a release in the main Star Wars: The Black Series line, where the figure is #04 in the Force Awakens-inspired relaunch of the line. No points for guessing which release I got. The figure is a little over 6 inches tall and has 24 points of articulation. The articulation on this figure is just a bit frustrating. While some areas, such as the torso joint and the ankles, have a great range of motion and are very easy to maneuver, other joints, notably the elbows and wrists, are very stiff and limited. The end result is a figure that is mostly pretty fun to mess with, but one that certainly could have been just a bit better. The FO Stormtrooper is yet another new sculpt, and he’s a pretty good match for what we’ve seen of the design. The details on this figure are a fair bit sharper than those on the smaller scale trooper (like the one included with the Assault Walker). The armored parts are still smooth and very rounded, so the level of detail there hasn’t changed much, but the underlying bodysuit is full of quite a bit of folds and patterned texturing, which gives the figure a nice bit of “pop.” Paint-wise, the figure is pretty good, but far from perfect. Generally speaking, the figure is molded in white with black details painted on. Most of the application is pretty good, but my personal figure has a bit of a smudge on the forehead of the helmet, which is pretty annoying. Also, the belt should be the same color as the rest of the armor, but it’s actually a very light grey, most likely due to it being white paint on black plastic. Dark paint over light, guys, dark paint over light. The FO Stormtrooper is packed with a basic Stormtrooper blaster, as well as a smaller blaster pistol. The guns can both be held in the figure’s hands or either of them can be clipped into the “holster” on the right thigh. They’re pretty cool, but they could both use some better paintwork.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really like the new Stormtrooper design. It’s nice and sleek and it just looks pretty cool. And I like to have toys of things I really like (heck, I collect toys of things I don’t particularly like!). So, I really, really tried to get the SDCC preview version of this figure when it went up on Hasbro’s site after the con. I actually managed to get one on my cart, but it was gone before I could check out. That meant I was waiting for the regular release. On Force Friday, the First Order Stormtrooper was the number one item on my list. As previously noted, the Black Series figures were a no-show at my local TRU, so no luck there. Fortunately, the trooper ended up being one of the two remaining Black Series figures at my second stop, Target. Yay! The figure has a few minor flaws here and there, especially when it comes to articulation, but I’m really happy I found one. Definitely a cool figure!

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#0695: Rey (Jakku)

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

REY (JAKKU)

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

ReyTBS1

Alright, here’s part 2 of The Black Series figures from The Force Awakens. Today is another repeat character, Rey, but I do also get to look at a new character in a roundabout sort of way with that highly sought after little droid BB-8, who serves as Rey’s pack-mate. Hasbro seems to want to avoid the issues that arose with packing Leia and R2-D2 solo earlier in The Black Series. For the purposes of this review, I’ll be treating Rey as the main figure and BB-8 as an accessory, given his size.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ReyTBS2Rey is figure #02 in the first series of the Force Awakens re-launch of Star Wars: The Black Series. The figure is a little under 6 inches in height and has 27 points of articulation. Rey is listed as being based on her “Jakku” look, though it doesn’t look like this design is any different from the “Starkiller Base” look in the 3 ¾ inch line. Maybe her having BB-8 is what makes it her Jakku look? I honestly don’t know. Anyway, Rey gets her own all-new sculpt. In general, I like this sculpt a lot more than the 3 ¾ inch one. Right off the bat, she’s less frail, which looks more accurate to Daisy Ridley in the role, from what I’ve seen. The detailing on the clothing is also far more consistent here, with the higher level of detail and texturing continuing past the top half of the figure. The lower portion of her “robes” is an add-on piece this time, allowing for a more normal set of hip joints without compromising the look of the figure. The head sculpt features a much better likeness of Ridley, though her hair feels a bit too neat and tidy. Well, it’s time for the one area that consistently gives Hasbro trouble: paint. To be fair, Rey’s really not that bad, compared to other figures from The Black Series. What’s there is mostly pretty clean, and I was happy to see a return to a painted flesh tone for the face. However, the hairline is pretty uneven, and the face paint seems just a little too thick. Also, the slight red of the cheeks is not as slight as they were aiming for, which makes it look like Rey’s putting her makeup on a bit too heavily. She honestly just looks too clean; all the shots we’ve seen so far show her sufficiently covered in dirt and grime, and the figure doesn’t really reflect that. Rey includes her signature staff, which is very nicely detailed, and the previously mentioned BB-8. BB-8 has a two-piece ball joint on his head, which allows for some variation of how the head is lined up in regards to the “ball” that is the body. BB-8 has a very nicely, evenly handled sculpt, and has a paintjob that really brings out the details of the sculpt. The paint is certainly more satisfying than what we saw on Series 1’s R2-D2. The droid is a little hard to get properly oriented, so a stand would have been appreciated, but you can get him standing if you put a little work in.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Finn, Rey was picked up from Walmart, my third Force Friday stop. This was actually one of the figures I was most hoping to get, due in no small part to the included BB-8. Rey’s definitely one of my favorites of the stuff I’ve picked up so far. I do sort of wish we’d gotten an extra masked head for her, but BB-8 means I can’t really say she’s under-accessorized. BB-8 is pretty fun himself, though I can certainly see why this one wasn’t packaged solo. All in all, a very nice pair here. The rest of the line has a bit to live up to.

ReyTBS3

#0624: Yoda

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

YODA

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

Yoda1

After a bit of a hiatus, I’m finally getting back into Star Wars: The Black Series. It’s not really by choice or anything, it’s just that I’ve finally started finding the figures I want again. The stores around me are all still drowning in a sea of Episode III Obi-Wans, so none of them have been getting any of the new figures. So, I have to check other places, outside of my usual stops to actually find the guys I want. Fortunately, luck’s been on my side, allowing me to track down several desired figures, including today’s focus, Yoda.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Yoda2Yoda was part of the…umm… he was released in the…hmmm. Okay, yeah, Star Wars: The Black Series has done it again. Hasbro’s releases are strange and more than a little hard to follow, so I’m never quite sure where figures actually got released. Yoda’s been given the number 06, but, in all honesty, those numbers are mostly meaningless, since a) they restarted the numbering with Series 4 and b) the numbers don’t seem to have anything to do with order of release. The TIE Pilot is #05, but I know for a fact he came after Yoda. I think Yoda might have been part of the same assortment as the Clone Sergeant, which I believe was the sixth series of figures. The figure is about 3 inches tall and has 19 points of articulation. Now, here’s where the first real issues begin to crop up. See, that’s plenty of articulation, but, for some reason, the figure’s been given double elbow joints, which seem excessive, and nothing but thigh cuts on the legs, so he can’t really do much but stand. Kind of a bummer. The figure has a brand new sculpt, which isn’t a huge surprise. It’s pretty good, overall. The head, hands, and feet all have a nice amount of detail, and the Yoda4clothes are well textured.  The arms are a little bit long, but that’s minor. Of course, most of the sculpt won’t ever be seen, due to the outer robe being done with cloth. I don’t mind the cloth robe at all. It could maybe be a little better tailored and I’m not sure how it will stand the test of time, but it’s not bad. It’s held in place by a small rubber belt, which does its job well, so that’s good. Paint is the one area where the figure (and the line, really) could stand to improve. It’s not bad, but it’s not super great either. The basic colors are fine, but the application is sloppy, and pretty much everything bleeds over. Yoda has a fairly decent selection of accessories, including his signature cane, the blissl flute and snake of the vintage figure, and a lightsaber. What’s that you say? You don’t see a lightsaber in any of the pictures? Well, that’s because goofball Ethan lost it before taking the pictures. Of course, I’m not much of a fan of Yoda having a lightsaber anyway. Plus, as what is clearly an Empire Strikes Back version of the character, the lightsaber’s really not accurate.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, as I mentioned in the intro, none of my main retail stops have gotten any Black Series since Series 2. This presents problems in getting anything that is after Series 2, which happens to be most of the line. With Yoda, things weren’t helped by him being the only OT figure in his assortment, and the only truly new figure as well. So, I kinda figured I wouldn’t be getting one. But, I was killing some time in a Walgreens, and I actually managed to stumble upon this guy! Ultimately, he’s just an okay figure. He won’t be winning any awards or anything. That said, he does a decent job of conveying the character, and he looks good with the rest of the line. Just don’t pay an arm and a leg for him. He’s not worth it.

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#0599: TIE Fighter Pilot

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

TIE FIGHTER PILOT

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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Star Wars: The Black Series started out pretty strong, but it sort of got a little bit lost for a while, with weird case packouts and a few questionable character version choices. However, it seems like things have picked up a little bit in more recent assortments.  I’ve been starting to find new figures at a more steady pace, which is always a good thing! Let’s have a look at one of the line’s more recent additions, the TIE Fighter Pilot!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

TIEPilot2The TIE Fighter Pilot is part of …ummm….Series 5(?) of Star Wars: The Black Series. I think that’s just means it was the fifth series of the 2014-2015 segment of the line. Hasbro likes to confuse people that way. He’s marked #005 on the package; I think that places him in the second round of numbering, though it would seem he’s been released out of sequence. The figure is just over 6 inches tall and features 28 points of articulation. The TIE Pilot is based on his appearance from A New Hope. The sculpt is mostly new, which actually surprised me a bit. At first glance, I assumed that the TIE Pilot was making use of Pilot Luke’s body. However, upon closer examination, the only pieces they share are the left hand, and the hips. Some of the other parts are similar, but the TIE Pilot is taller than Luke, and the proportions have been tweaked to match. The star piece here is definitely the head sculpt. It’s got a lot in common with the Stormtrooper, but it’s all new. The details are nice and crisp, and everything is properly symmetrical. It looks pretty much like a miniaturized version of the real thing. Paint on the TIE Pilot is on the light side, but what’s there is quite well handled. He’s got the proper Imperial emblems on his shoulders and helmet, which are nice and clean. Also, the figure may be all black, but he’s got matte and shiny finishes on various parts of the uniform, which adds a nice level of realism. The TIE Pilot is also a bit light on accessories, including only a basic Stormtrooper rifle. However, given that the Pilot’s spend most of their time in the TIE Fighters, there aren’t really a lot of accessory options, so I guess it’s forgivable.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The TIE Pilot is another addition to my collection courtesy of Super Awesome Girlfriend. We needed to pick up a few things from Wegman’s, and, as I’m prone to do, I wandered over to their small toy aisle, where I found this guy. Since she felt bad for dragging me along on a run to the grocery store, Super Awesome Girlfriend decided to buy the figure for me. Because, as I’ve noted many, many times before, she’s waaaaaaaaaay too supportive of this whole collecting thing. The TIE Fighter is a fun addition to the Black Series line-up, and I’m happy to have one.

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