Saturday 9 April 2022

Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series Boba Fett (Star Wars: Droids)

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Release Date: April 2022
RRP: $26.49/£28.99

Although some Star Wars collectors are understandably irked by the sheer amount of repaints and/or minor retools Hasbro are putting out at the moment, it's hard to be too annoyed when it means that they're finally showing the Legends era the respect it deserves. These video games, novels, comics and more kept the franchise alive during the quiet times, and for many is just as much the Star Wars they grew up with as the films themselves. While celebrating Lucasfilm's 50th anniversary the Black Series has been paying homage to many of these now-forgotten parts of Star Wars media, including the short-lived 1985 animated series Star Wars: Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO. The Black Series Boba Fett (Star Wars: Droids) figure reimagines the legendary bounty hunter in his colour scheme from episode four of the cartoon, which in turn is similar to his debut appearance in the animated segment of the Star Wars Holiday Special.

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"With his customized Mandalorian armour, deadly weaponry, and silent demeanour, Boba Fett was one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy."

Much like the recent selection of Legends-era figures, the Droids Boba Fett comes in lavish book style packaging with a Velcro-sealed front. The front of the box features a gorgeous image of Boba's animation model from the show, with R2-D2 and C-3PO hiding off in the background. The top sports the full Star Wars: Droids logo in all it's glory, and then at the bottom is the character name alongside the Lucasfilm 50th anniversary logo. The main "spine" of the box features that same logo once again, and then on the other side is a larger image of that animation model. On the back of the box you'll find that same Lucasfilm 50th anniversary timeline that was included on all of the Legends releases (as well as the Clone Wars packaging figures and any other release Hasbro have done for the anniversary), along with some further Droids artwork featuring R2, 3PO, Boba and show-exclusive character Vlix Oncard. Open that front section up and you'll see those characters again on the inside cover, alongside a rather basic character bio of Boba that doesn't reference the cartoon itself. To the side of it is a big window to show off the figure inside on its plastic tray, which can be accessed simply by opening up the flat on the top of the box.

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This Droids version of Boba Fett is a straight repaint of the 2013 Empire Strikes Back Boba Fett figure, which was also used for the Prototype Armour and 2019 SDCC-exclusive toy colour versions of the character. As such the design of the figure isn't animation accurate, but given that all of these Legends figures have been repaints and retools it was never going to be in the first place (even Hot Toys' animation Boba Fett is just a repaint of the film version). That said some collectors showed disappointment that this used the 2013 mould rather than the deluxe Return of the Jedi mould released in 2021. With the advancements that mould has in both sculpt and articulation coupled with the fact they used the Return of the Jedi mould for the Vintage Collection release of this variant, that disappointment is pretty understandable. On the other hand, there is something quite fitting about the lesser-known Black Series variants both coming from the same mould. As far as design goes this old mould still has a lot going for it too, with its detail really being brought out in this rather garish blue, grey, yellow and brown colour scheme. Despite the design differences the colours actually lend themselves to the movie armour really well, with added touches like the silver wrist rocket elevating the layout that little bit more. It isn't quite as bold as the toy colours Boba, but it certainly has a similar visual charm to it. As per the other versions, the shoulder cape is a soft goods piece which has been fixed into shaped. Again the bright colours serve it well, that orange really standing out against the blue and grey while complimenting the yellow rather nicely.

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Ultimately it isn't the sculpt that lets this old mould down though, it's the articulation. While this version of Boba Fett isn't badly done per se, the design does lead to a number of restrictions which the newer deluxe version has been able to overcome. Altogether the figure features; 
- Ball jointed head, waist and hips 
- Swivel hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists and ankles 
- Double hinged knees 
- Thigh swivels 
Anyone familiar with previous versions of this mould will know that the joints are pretty tight across the board, with the hinges in particular feeling like they "click" in increments rather than smooth motion. But getting back to those dastardly restrictions – all those pouches moulded onto the belt kill the upper leg articulation. It's an unfortunate by-product of the design, and while Boba can still pull off some suitable badass-looking poses it's a shame that it struggles with more action-orientated ones. The upper body has its limits too, with the elbows only having around a 45° bend despite the swivel trying to alleviate that somewhat. It's a mould that does the job respectfully, but compared to many of the newer Black Series releases is really beginning to show its age.

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Continuing to keep things simple, Boba Fett's accessories are the same as had been previously included with versions of this mould – his jet pack (if you care to count that as an accessory), Sacross-K-11 blaster pistol and EE-3 carbine rifle. Both weapons have been remoulded in a light grey plastic, which gives them a more simplistic animation look rather effectively. What's more concerning about these weapons though is just how bendy the plastic is – particularly the rifle which felt extremely soft/malleable when trying to get the figure to pose with it correctly. With a bit of caution it should be okay, but it does make me wonder both about the longevity of the piece and just how much bending it could take before completely snapping. Both weapons can be posed in either of the figure's (trigger finger moulded) hands, and when not in use the blaster pistol can also be stored in the holster. Overall it's a rather basic, but ultimately completely expected, selection of accessories. I'd have LOVED to see it come with a one-colour version of the Mandalorian's Amban phase-pulse blaster, but I understand that this is specifically a Droids Boba Fett rather than one that covers his Holiday Special appearance as well. Though the design wouldn't be animation accurate, neither is the figure itself so could have worked really well.

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While some might be disappointed with Black Series Boba Fett (Star Wars: Droids), it's hard to not just be happy that this colour variant is appearing in the line at all. Criticisms like Hasbro not using the Return of the Jedi mould or not packing in the phase-pulse blaster are fair, but ultimately this figure does exactly what we all already knew they were doing with these Legends figures – presenting obscure and/or fan-favourite figures with minimal tooling. The added articulation of the deluxe figure would have been nice, but it's also great to see Hasbro return to the Empire mould for one last hurrah and complete it in a myriad of colours. While the SDCC toy colours version is still undoubtedly the best version of this figure, the presentation and affordability of the Droids version make it pretty great in its own right.

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