Tag Archives: The Black Series

#3257: Axe Woves

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

AXE WOVES

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

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

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

THE FIGURE ITSELF

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

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

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

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3255: Protocol Droid – Holiday Edition

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

PROTOCOL DROID — HOLIDAY EDITION

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Protocol droids like C-3PO are vital in smoothing differences encountered by the many farflung cultures interacting on a regular basis throughout the galaxy. Most are humanoid, like the company they keep.”

‘Twas two nights before Christmas and all through the house, Ethan was reviewing something festive two days before the actual holiday because both Christmas Eve and Day fall on the weekend this year, and he’s not doing reviews those days anymore.  Okay, maybe that version’s not quite as catchy as Clement Clarke Moore’s.  But I still think it’s got potential.  Look, the point of it all is that I’m gonna do this whole holiday cheer thing.  I’m cheerful, dang it.  So, please look at this overly commercialized cash grab product review as proof.  For the cheer.  And the jolly.  Perhaps even some whimsy.  Since 1978’s “The Star Wars Holiday Special,” the Star Wars franchise has been cashing in on the holiday cheer, though on the toy side of things it’s a more recent development.  Hasbro had a solid run of one-off holiday offerings in the early ’00s, but took a bit of a breather, before returning to it in 2020 with a whole mess of themed figures under their Black Series branding.  They were each exclusive to a different retailer, and were generally a bit of a pain to track down, so I avoided most of them.  This year’s follow-ups, however, included a Fan Channel offering, and so I’m taking a look at a delightfully festive Protocol Droid today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Holiday Edition Protocol Droid is one of the five 2022 Holiday Edition offerings for Black Series.  He’s a Fan Channel exclusive, and started shipping out in early November of this year.  He’s apparently got no official name, which, if I’m honest, feels like a missed opportunity.  Why no fun little in-joke with the naming?  For shame.  Oh well.  The figure stands 5 1/2 inches tall and has 21 points of articulation.  In contrast to the most recent Protocol Droids we’ve gotten from The Black Series, the Holiday Protocol is built on the first iteration of the C-3PO mold.  It’s generally not a bad mold, but this older version means that this release lacks the added elbow articulation that all figures post 4-LOM have gotten.  It’s a little bit of a bummer.  Not the end of the world, but a bummer to be sure after getting the improved arms on so many figures.  In order to mix things up and go just a tad more festive with the mold, the Holiday Protocol gets a scarf piece, courtesy of Lando. Beyond that, the change-ups are all paint.  This guy’s been done up in a variety of red, white, and green, which all feels appropriately festive.  On one hand, I’m a little sad we didn’t get any of the ugly sweater patterning that the troopers have been getting, but on the other, I can appreciate this one going with a different angle.  I do really like the striped “socks,” and this printing on the scarf is certainly a lot of fun.  Each of the Holiday Edition figures is packed with a smaller companion, and in the case of the Protocol Droid, it’s a re-decoed BD-1, who’s been done up to match the Protocol Droid.  He’s the same mold as the Fallen Order releases, which is honestly a pretty great mold, and he’s probably my favorite thing about this set.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve passed on the other Holiday figures up to now, since, as I touched on in the intro, I didn’t really feel like hunting them down.  This year was pretty much the same deal, but since this one was going through Fan Channels, I had the opportunity to get one through work.  I don’t know that he’s really my preferred of this year’s offerings, but he was easy to get, and that’s really what matters, right?  The main droid’s okay.  He’s kitschy and goofy, but that’s what I expected.  BD-1 kind of steals the show here, but that’s just kind of the history of that mold, now isn’t it?  And that’s all I got until after the holiday.  Have a good one everybody!

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

 

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0019: Han Solo

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , ,

HAN SOLO

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES ARCHIVE (HASBRO)

Check this out!  Doing three whole Flashback Friday Figure Addendums in one year!  I haven’t actually done that since I launched them in 2017.  Weird.  It’s once again a Black Series figure that’s getting the treatment, thanks to Hasbro going back and redoing a lot of the pre-face-printing figures with the appropriate upgrades.  The last few I’ve looked at have been from the main line, but today I’m switching over to their Archive line, with my first Archive figure that I actually got the first time around.  So, let’s look at The Force Awakens Han Solo, whose original release I looked at back in March of 2016.

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

Han 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 overall 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.

I think, perhaps, the most dated part of the whole above review is how Jango was the figure I was pushing aside to find this guy.  Believe it or not, when this series hit, the Prequel resurgence hadn’t quite hit in full force yet, and, with the general hype machine that was still going behind The Force Awakens, Han was actually the more desirable figure.  How times have changed on that one.  Beyond that little diatribe, my review of this figure is pretty spot-on, I think.  This was definitely Hasbro’s best Han Solo sculpt for the line at the time, and even now is still a pretty high contender.  I think he gets edged out by Bespin Han, but that’s really it.  I was critical of the original figure’s paint, and clearly that’s the one thing Hasbro wanted to fix, so I must have been onto something there.  And fix it Hasbro did.  The new paint is absolutely night and day.  There was apparently some sort of contractual thing preventing the hair on any Han Solo merch from being a proper grey when it all hit in 2016, but it would appear that’s been lifted, and this figure’s all the better for it.  The new face paint is also perhaps the best upgrade from the entire line, and they’ve even improved on the already high quality paint on the body.  He’s really just an all-around win.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3248: Dark Trooper

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

DARK TROOPER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Hulking Imperial combat droids with gleaming black armor and powerful jet boots, the Dark Troopers are a powerful design.”

When last I reviewed a Dark Trooper figure, back in February of 2021, the concept had finally made it live action, courtesy of The Mandalorian‘s second season, which saw them serve as the muscle to Moff Gideon going into the show’s season finale.  It’s been almost two years, but I’m finally following up that review of the Expanded Universe version with a look at a proper show version.  That’s just crazy, isn’t it?  Well, at least we’re finally here.  So, without any further waiting, here’s another Dark Trooper figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Dark Trooper is the 28th figure in the Mandalorian sub-line of Star Wars: The Black Series‘s Phase IV incarnation.  This figure is another deluxe-sized release, the sixth within this particular sub-set.  As with all prior deluxes, he’s shipped on his own, which is honestly pretty solid for the purposes of army building and the like.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  The Dark Trooper sports his own unique articulation scheme, removed a bit from other Black Series figures, barring really only K-2.  It’s generally a pretty good set-up, though I did find the butterfly shoulders a little spongey on my copy, and his knees can’t get a full 90 degree bend.  Other than that, though, there’s a good movement set-up.  The Dark Trooper’s sculpt is an all-new offering, and it’s mostly really good.  The overall appearance is a good recreation of the design as seen on the show, and it works well with the articulation scheme, making it all look really slick and sleek.  The only thing I’m not crazy about is the torso; rather than a solid sculpt, he’s got a sleeve over the torso for his upper armor.  While I don’t totally hate the concept, since it allows for a little more depth, the fact that it’s a softer plastic and it’s also a free-floating piece makes the figure as a whole feel a little less solid than he should.  It does at least look the part, though, and I’m not worried that it’s going to fall apart or anything.  The figure’s color work is on one hand very basic, but on the other exactly what it needs to be.  He’s predominately molded black plastic, albeit with that super shiny finish that all the Dark Troopers sported in the show.  There are a few little spots of accenting, which give him just a little bit more pop, and the application is generally pretty cleanly handled.  The Dark Trooper is packed with two sets of hands (gripping and fists), a rifle, and two blast effects pieces.  The blast effects without any sort of flight stand do seem a bit superfluous, but they’re better than getting nothing at all, and do at least help to disarm the sting of the higher price-point on this guy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Dark Troopers are a fun concept that combines Stormtroopers and droids, so it’s one I’ve always been able to get behind.  I was excited when the show first hinted at them, and even more so when they actually showed up in the show proper.  I knew the figures were a lock, so it was just the waiting game at that point.  Now the wait’s finally over, and the final figure’s not perfect, but he’s still really, really cool.  It’s a great starter version of the figure, but I’d love to see maybe some damaged variants or even one with the charging station at some point in the future.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3229: George Lucas in Stormtrooper Disguise

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

GEORGE LUCAS IN STORMTROOPER DISGUISE

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

It’s not every film director that gets to have an action figure, but, I suppose it becomes much easier when you’re also the creator of one of the most merchandise-appealing franchises of modern times.  Subsequently, George Lucas, the aforementioned director whom created the aforementioned franchise, has actually had a few action figures over the years.  Thus far, he’s been covered by the smaller-scale, but this time around, he makes the jump to the 6 inch scale, with a figure that’s not a totally crazy exclusive for a change.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

George Lucas in Stormtrooper Disguise is a Fan Channel-exclusive Star Wars: The Black Series offering, released in honor of the 50th anniversary of Lucasfilm.  He’s done up in vintage style packaging, largely for the heck of it, I suppose.  This marks our second time getting George disguised as a Stormtrooper; Vintage Collection did it for a mail-away back in 2006, and now we’re getting it again.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  The prior Stormtrooper George notably made use of a rather outdated base body, despite an updated one being part of the same line, so there was a degree of concern that this figure might wind up on the older Black Series Stormtrooper, but this one does at the very least use the upgraded Rogue One/Mandalorian-style Stormtrooper body.  It’s an impressive sculpt, and one of which Hasbro’s gotten a surprisingly small amount of use.  The sculpt is topped off by a brand-new head sculpt, to do that whole George Lucas thing and all.  Lucas appears to be based on his look circa Revenge of the Sith, which is something of an odd choice, all things considered.  The vintage branding comes with it pictures on the box of Lucas from A New Hope, and given he’s dressed as an OT-based design, you’d expect an earlier era Lucas.  But, no, they went with this one, for whatever reason.  It’s not a bad sculpt, perhaps a little bit idealized, but still certainly George.  The figure’s paint work largely matches the standard Stormtrooper, which is generally nice and clean.  The head gets a more involved paint scheme, of course, which is appropriately lifelike.  They’ve also done a rather nice job capturing the greying in his hair.  George is packed with the standard Stormtrooper blaster, as well as a removable helmet, allowing him to pass off as a basic rank and file trooper.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The previous Lucas figures were kind of tricky to get, but I’ve always kind of wanted one of them.  Sure, George may be a slightly weird dude, but he’s also a rather important fixture in a franchise that I’ve spent a lot of time around, so I’m down for having him in some sort of figure form.  Thankfully, Hasbro saw fit to give us a fourth go at him, this time in a far more easily found manner, and making use of a base that’s a solid figure on its own.  He’s got some fun novelty to be sure, and, if you’re not feeling the George Lucas head, he also works out as a basic Trooper.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3207: Cobb Vanth

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

COBB VANTH

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“The marshal of Mos Pelgo, a small town on Tatooine, Cobb Vanth has earned the trust of the townsfolk as a capable peacekeeper and leader”

While The Mandalorian’s second season was in production, we knew from an early point that Temuera Morrison was returning in some capacity.  Boba Fett was, of course, the heavy rumor, as his return had been theorized since the show’s announcement, but we didn’t know for absolute certain going into the season.  The creators certainly had a good time with that, because in the first episode, Mando goes to Tatooine looking for more of his people, and encounters someone wearing Boba’s armor…only for that person to take off the helmet and reveal himself not as Boba, but instead as Cobb Vanth, a character introduced in the Aftermath novels from right after Disney acquired the franchise.  Though he may not have been the bounty hunter most fans were looking for, Cobb was none the less a rather popular character in his own right, and even got a follow-up appearance in The Book of Boba Fett.  He *also* got an action figure, and I’m gonna be taking a look at that today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cobb Vanth is the 18th figure in the Mandalorian sub-line of Star Wars: The Black Series‘s Phase IV incarnation.  He’s a deluxe-sized release, presumably on the basis that all of the figures using the new armored Fett pieces have been.  It seems to be more of a complexity of build thing, rather than a pure scale or size thing.  Cobb was *supposed* to be out back nearer the beginning of the year, but apart from a few small quantities dropping, he didn’t really seem to arrive.  Thankfully, as of the last month or so, he does seem to be hitting in a bit more force.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  Cobb is making use of the more modern set-up for articulation in the Black Series line, so it’s got a better range than earlier offerings.  That said, amongst his contemporaries, he’s a little more on the restricted side.  He’s still able to get a lot of solid poses, though, so he’s very workable.  Cobb’s sculpt re-uses a few pieces from the recent Boba figure, which makes sense, since it’s the same armor and all.  This includes his torso armor (which has the wookie braids removed) and his gauntlets.  The rest of the sculpt is all-new, and does a solid job of recreating Cobb’s look in the show.  His likeness isn’t spot-on, but it’s a respectable enough recreation of Timothy Olyphant in the role, certainly close enough to get the idea across.  The rest of his outfit is quite well assembled, with some impressive texturing, especially on the tunic.  He’s got an extra scarf piece, which is sculpted to fit around the armor.  It’s a bit too loose and floaty, but otherwise looks the part.  Cobb’s paint work is generally pretty solid.  The advanced weathering on the armor really captures the feel, and his face, hair, and beard paint is also quite lifelike.  The base color work matches well with his palette from the show, and the insignias on the armor are quite sharply defined, as well as matched well with the RotJ Fett.  Cobb is packed with the helmet and rocket pack to match his armor, as well as a pistol and a rifle for proper armaments.  The helmet is the same as Fett’s, but just not glued to the head.  It doesn’t sit quite as well on Cobb’s head, but I’m not really looking to display him helmeted anyway.  The pack is largely the same as the prior Fett release (albeit with a more broken-in paint job), but gets the adjusted rocket at the top.  Both of the guns are new pieces, and they match well to what he’s seen carrying in the show.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As someone who’s on-record as being skeptical about Boba Fett’s role in the whole Star Wars thing, I had no pre-conceived notions about Fett’s presence in Mandalorian.  The misdirect with Cobb was fine by me, and I quite liked how his character shaped up in the show.  I was very definitely down for him getting a figure.  It’s taken a while for this one to make his way out, and he’s not 100% perfect, but he’s still quite a lot of fun.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review. If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3183: Imperial Clone Shock Trooper

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

IMPERIAL CLONE SHOCK TROOPER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Originally founded during the Clone Wars as security police and bodyguards, the group of clones known as Shock Troopers now operate as elite forces of the Empire.”

The Shock Troopers first showed up very near the end of Revenge of the Sith, as re-decoed Clones whose red coloring served as sort of a precursor to the Imperial Guards.  The similarities were taken a bit further when they were further used in Clone Wars, which established as the Coruscant-based police force, far more directly loyal to Palpatine and his cronies.  Their loyalty gave them more to do during Clone Wars’ direct follow-up, The Bad Batch.  Though effectively replaced within the show by the Elite Squad, they’re still present as the Empire’s initial enforcers.  We got a Shock Trooper on the old style Clone body, but now we’re also getting one on the new body.  Whooooo!  New body!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Imperial Clone Shock Trooper is figure 7 in the Bad Batch sub-line of The Black Series Phase IV.  He started as a Walmart-exclusive, but he’s set to get a slightly wider release later in the year.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  This Shock Trooper is, as noted in the intro, built on the newest of the Clone base bodies.  Like, actually the whole thing.  No weird combo of parts, or anything.  So, I guess there’s that.  It’s a good sculpt, it poses well, and it just makes for a good figure.  This guy in particular is based on one of the officers, meaning he’s got the shoulder pauldron.  It’s a nice piece with a lot of great texture work.  It’s fixed in place on the shoulders which, if I’m honest, seems a bit short-sited, since it means he can’t just be the standard Shock Trooper.  But, I suppose they might have done that on purpose, since this was an exclusive release, and it’s possible they might be saving the standard trooper as a main line release.  Whatever the case, it’s at least not loose and flopping about as such pieces tend to do in these figures.  The paint work on this guy is pretty straight forward, but it does what it needs to and the application is all pretty clean.  It’s a striking color set-up.  The Shock Trooper is packed with both long and short versions of the standard clone rifle, which makes for a decent selection of options.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Much as I like a good Clone variant, I wasn’t exactly looking to rush out to Walmart for specifically this figure.  Thankfully, I didn’t have to, since we got a small stack of them traded into All Time.  Boom, easy way to get one.  He’s fun.  Not breaking ground or anything, but fun.  And sometimes, that’s all you need.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3182: Jet Trooper

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

JET TROOPER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Star Wars: Battlefront II lets players call in reinforcements from the most skilled soldiers and units in the galaxy, including the aerial specialist Jet troopers.”

First appearing in a very bit appearance in the background of one shot of the fifth season Clone Wars episode “Sabotage,” the 501st Jet Trooper’s rather unique design was set to get a mass release figure as part of Hasbro’s main Clone Wars line in 2013, as part of the wider Star Wars line re-launch that was to go along with the 3D re-release of Attack of the Clones.  When Phantom Menace’s 3D re-release went over worse than Phantom Menace‘s original release, the AotC re-release was scrapped, and the domestic release of the toys to accompany was cancelled.  The nine Clone Wars figures included wound up with only an international release, which was kind of a shame.  The design wound up brushed off for a few other projects, including Battlefront II, which finally got the Jet Trooper another chance at a figure…albeit an exclusive one.  Eh, you win some, you lose some.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Jet Trooper is a Gamestop-exclusive Star Wars: The Black Series release, as part of their larger “Gaming Greats” sub-line.  He’s #6 in the sub-line.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  In what is just a confusing sequence of parts creation and selection at this point, the Jet Trooper is largely *not* built from the updated Clone body we got at the start of Phase IV.  He gets the new head/helmet, but that’s it.  Below the neck, he’s using a variation on the Captain Rex tooling.  It’s not a bad selection of parts, and now it’s been almost completely reverse engineered into a standard Clone body.  The question just remains: why?  Why, after introducing the new body, are we still getting a combination of parts from three distinctly different Clone base bodies, interwoven with each other?  Like, maybe just pick one and stick with it?  Ultimately, it doesn’t impact this guy too badly, since, as I said, the Rex tooling is still pretty solid.  The leg movement is kind of stiff, but otherwise it works okay.  The torso’s been modified to add a port for the jetpack, so that works out well.  The Jet Trooper’s paint scheme is fun, bright, and fairly unique, and the application is nice and clean.  It’s definitely the best thing about the figure, and it really works out well.  The Jet Trooper is packed with his jetpack (borrowed from Jango Fett), and a small blaster pistol.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I quite like this design.  I quite like Clones in general, and this one just really works.  It’s a cool, nifty look, begging for good toy treatment.  It’s a shame that there are so many barriers to entry on the first figure, and I wasn’t thrilled about the Gamestop-exclusiveness on this one.  Fortunately for me, I was able to get one via a convenient trade-in at All Time.  That sure was easy.  He’s a really fun figure of a really fun design, and I’m glad to have added him to the collection.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3165: The Modal Nodes

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

FIGRIN D’AN & NALAN CHEEL

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Figrin D’an was the rocking frontman for the all-Bith band ‘The Modal Nodes.’ His deft playing of the Kloo Horn for the band earned him the nickname ‘Fiery’ Figrin

Members of the Modal Nodes, like Nalan Cheel on the Bandfill, played their recognizable tunes in the Mos Eisley cantina.”

There are quite a number of distinctive aliens present in the Mos Eisley Cantina in A New Hope, but my favorites are definitely the bunch of Bith up on the stage, the Modal Nodes.  Their catchy tune is key to the ambiance of the sequence, and they just look so snazzy in their matching outfits.  They don’t have a ton of action figure coverage, but they were in Power of the Force, and they’ve just been added to The Black Series, so that’s all that really matters to me.  So, I guess that’s all that matters to the site as well.  There are two members of the band available, with the frontman Figrin D’an in the main line, and Nalan Cheel as a deluxe exclusive.  I’m taking a look at both of them in a combo review today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Figrin D’an and Nalan Cheel are figures 4 and 5 in the A New Hope sub-set of Star Wars: The Black Series.  Figrin is part of the latest standard assortment of the main line (the largely Obi-Wan Kenobi-based assortment), while Nalan is a shared exclusive between Hasbro Pulse and Shop Disney.  Since all of the Nodes look effectively the same, the two are the same core figure, with the accessories marking the difference between the releases.  The core figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  The sculpt appears to be all-new to these two figures.  The articulation scheme is pretty impressive; the lack of the butterfly shoulders can make things a little tricky when posing with some of the instruments, but it’s generally pretty easy to work with.  As far as the quality of the sculpt proper, the head’s definitely the strongest work, capturing the look of the masks from the movie quite well.  The outfit seems to be the closest Hasbro’s gotten to the actual Modal Nodes attire of all the figures they’ve done.  It looks quite sharp, and I really like that.  The paint work on the core figure is well-handled.  Obviously, the outfit is basic, since it’s just flat black and grey.  The accenting on the head and hands is impressive, and really sells the detailing of the sculpt, and gives him a more lifelike quality.  Accessories mark where these two figures differ.  Figrin is the more basic release, so he gets his Kloo Horn, as well as a Dorenian Beshniquel (the slightly longer oboe-looking thing, played by Doikk Na’ts), and a Double Jocimer (the shortest instrument, played by Ickabel G’ont).  All of the instruments are really nicely sculpted and well-scaled, and the paint work is pretty respectable, and the mouth pieces even slot into the mouth, which is pretty cool.  As the deluxe, Nalan gets the larger set-up.  It’s still three instruments, but they’re literally larger, so, you know, that’s how it is.  He’s got his Bandfill (the organ looking thing), drums and matching drum sticks (played by Sun’il Ei’de), an Ommni Box (played by Tech M’or), and three additional sets of hands to match up with the instruments.  It’s again an impressive set-up, and all of these instruments work a little bit better with the core figure, I feel.  I quite like the drums, but I also dig the seated option of the Ommni Box.  I’m also really down for the extra hands, but I also appreciate that he’s still got the hands from Figrin, so that he can still use the extra instruments included with that release.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Cantina Band is one of those very memorable parts of the first movie, and one that I really like.  While I only got the PotF version a few years ago, I really liked him and the gimmick behind him.  When Figrin was announced I knew I was at least grabbing him, and maybe a few duplicates as I got the chance.  I missed out on the pre-orders for Nalan, and honestly wasn’t expecting to find him, but shortly after All Time got their standard assortment with Figrin, a Nalan got traded in, giving me an easy shot at both of them.  I really enjoy the core figure a lot, and all of the instruments are so nicely handled.  I will definitely be trying to snag a few more of the core body for a full band, but in the mean time, I’ve got the miracle of photoshop!

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with these figures to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3164: Sergeant Kreel

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

SERGEANT KREEL

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Sergeant Kreel, formerly undercover Agent 5241, serves as the leader of an elite group of SCAR troopers, Task Force 99, under the direct command of Darth Vader.”

Hey, remember last year when Hasbro was all like “let’s do some comic-based Black Series figures?” Well, this year they were all like “let’s do that again”, so here we are. When Disney purchased Star Wars and moved the comics line over to Marvel, the first thing they did was launch an on-going book, simply titled Star Wars, set between A New Hope and Empire. The book explored a number of concepts, including giving the Imperial side a squad of elite Stormtroopers, who have since been retconned into being the Imperial answer to The Bad Batch. Leading the squad was Sergeant Kreel, a really souped up Trooper that is the subject of today’s review!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Sergeant Kreel is one of the four figures that make up the second round of comics-based Star Wars: The Black Series figures. Like the first round, they all ship on their own, though, so they’re not actually all hitting at once. Kreel is the first of this round to turn up at retail, at least around me. The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Kreel is largely built out of the updated Stormtrooper mold, with a new upper torso, new add-ons for the pouches on the arm and leg, a modified belt piece, and the shoulder pauldron from the First Order officer.  The updated Stormtrooper is a really strong mold, so it’s a pretty great starting point for a figure.  While Kreel was at times depicted as larger in build, in Issue #60, which is the one this guy is explicitly based one, he’s more standard trooper size, so this one is consistent, and it’s honestly in line with Hasbro’s trend of going a little more real world with the looks for these comics figures.  The new pieces work well with the old, and with the torso giving him a far sleeker look.  The pouches help to differentiate him a little further, and I like the more utilitarian nature behind them.  The figure’s color scheme is largely just the usual black and white, with a splash of color for the arm display and the pauldron.  The application is all pretty cleanly applied, and he looks pretty sharp.  Kreel is packed with the standard Stormtrooper blaster, as well as a lightsaber, which is re-used from one of the ones included with General Grievous, though with the hilt and blade colors changed up.  Kudos to Hasbro for, you know, actually giving this one an extra accessory in addition to the original release of the mold.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t follow the Marvel run particularly religiously or anything, so I didn’t actually read any of Kreel’s appearances first-hand.  That said, I really liked this guy’s design, and I like a cool trooper variant, so I was on-board for this guy pretty much from the start.  In hand, he’s a lot of fun.  The original mold is still a really good one, and the changes made here just add to it.  He’s just really cool, and that’s kind of the most important thing to a Star Wars toy, right?

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.