Release Date: December 2019
RRP: $19.99/£19.99
If there's one thing that The Mandalorian has received near-universal praise for, it's the number of kickass women it's added to the Star Wars universe. Season two especially earned high marks with the live-action debuts of Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan Kryze, as well as expanding the role of Fennic Shand and introducing Koska Reeves. But before it gave us any of those, it gave us Cara Dune. A survivor of Alderaan, the former Rebel Alliance shock trooper quickly become one of Mando's most trusted allies - assisting him in his fight against Moff Gideon and the remnants of the Empire on multiple occasions. As one of the major recurring characters in the Disney+ series, she was one of the first to arrive in Hasbro's Black Series toy line.
Jumping back in time to the end of 2019, Cara Dune arrived as part of the 23rd wave in the Black Series alongside Yavin Luke Skywalker, Wedge Antilles, Jannah and the First Order Jet Trooper. She's boxed in the now-retired black and red rectangular packaging of the line's "third phase" of releases, with a unique numbering of 101 in this assortment. The front of the box features the typically fantastic grey lined character artwork, with Cara's in particularly having a great likeness to actress Gina Carano. This artwork is also featured on the back of the box, alongside a short bio about the character. Since this figure was released just prior to her debut on The Mandalorian, naturally it's a pretty generic history and doesn't get into any series specifics. Open the box up and you'll find Cara and her nifty little selection of weapons neatly laid out on a moulded plastic tray.
Hasbro may boast about their "photo real" faces on the more recent Black Series figures but the end results can still be quite mixed, with the line throwing out duds as well as winners. When they do put out a particularly good face though, it's usually a real home run. The head sculpt isn't just a fantastic likeness of Gina Carano, but they even managed to include the tiny Rebel Alliance tattoo underneath her eye! Admittedly in close up photos it just looks like a blurry black spot, but in hand you can definitely make out what it's supposed to be. Overall while the head sculpt doesn't wow me to the extent Grand Moff Tarkin's did, it's definitely up there as one of the best offerings I've seen in my time collecting the line. Moving downward the body is just as impressive, and it's really nice to get a body sculpt that hasn't been overly "feminised" (or at least what toy companies often perceive as feminine) and properly matches Carano's body type. It's stocky and looks like it could tussle with the best of them. But it's not just the body type that's impressive here, it's all the uniform detailing as well. There's a really nice mix of smooth armour pieces and textured fabrics going on here, as well as sculpted detailing on both belts. The paint apps are really sharp, with the silver paint chips/battle damage on the armour looking fairly natural. The legs have some faint but distinct fabric folds to give them depth, and then the boots a nice smooth texture with some raised rings around the top.
Boasting 19 points of articulation, Black Series Cara Dune features;
- Ball jointed head, neck, torso and hips
- Swivel hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists and ankles
- Double hinged knees
- Thigh and boot swivels
While the lower neck joint doesn't really offer a whole lot in the way of additional movement because of the raised collar, this is definitely my preferred form of neck construction when it comes to six inch figures. Similarly the head ball joint doesn't offer a great deal of tilt movement either due the hair. Turning the head doesn't have any problems whatsoever though, so it's not like the head is completely limited. Everything else is pretty much business as usual for the Black Series, but really showing off everything great about the line given the price point. I'm still not the biggest fan of swivel hinge elbows because of the limitations and joint cuts, but understand they're the more realistic looking option on bare arms so it makes sense they were used here. The bend is only about 90 degrees, but it's enough to get the job done. Those double jointed knees however are fantastic, bending all the way back so that the foot can touch her lower back. The combination of ball jointed hips and multiple swivel joints give the legs a lot of movement when it comes to posing, and together with those nice standard feet you shouldn't have much trouble posing her. As far as the upper body is concerned shoulder pads are the same as they always seem to be on these figures, but at the very least they're a softer plastic so can push up a bit when the arms are raised. While admittedly you won't be getting any high armed poses out of Cara Dune, she can at least manage plenty of brawling and weapon firing poses. What more could you want?
High accessory counts isn't something the Black Series is especially known for. Only a select few come with alternate hands and effect parts are just as rare, so for the most part Hasbro just throw in one or two weapons and call it a day. While Cara Dune is no exception to that rule, three accessories is a rather good number. Altogether she comes with a combat knife, blaster pistol and heavy blaster rifle. When not in use, the blaster pistol can fit in the holster on the side of her belt, secured in place with a black plastic strap. While there's technically no obvious holster or specific place for the knife, it can be slipped into her belt for storage or in a tiny hole at the top of her left boot. The heavy blaster on the other hand has a strap which allows it to be slung over the figure's shoulder or across her back should you choose to. Starting with the most basic accessory, the combat knife is simple but not without moulded detail and it even has a painted brown handle. It fits very comfortably in her left hand, allowing her to gut Stormtroopers or anyone else crossing her path easily. Moving up the blaster pistol is cast in silver plastic with a brown grip. While it lacks any fine detailing, the shape is nice and has that very distinct Star Wars feel. The pistol fits nice and snuggly into the right hand, locking into place with that moulded trigger finger. The clear winner of the bunch though is the heavy blaster rifle, featuring great moulded detail and looking fantastic wielded with one or two hands. One particularly well-implemented element of it is the strap, which attaches to the rifle on the barrel end via a clip and thus can be positioned accordingly. This is brilliant for when you want to move it out of the way for specific poses, or ensure it's long enough to sling the gun over her shoulders without any worry of the strap breaking. It's such a simple change that I'm surprised not all straps in the Black Series are handled this way, as it would immediately stop any unfortunate breakages.
Black Series Cara Dune is a home run on pretty much all fronts, and she definitely stands proudly among the best figures the line has to offer. The likeness, sculpting and paint apps are all perfect, and even with a few minor articulation nitpicks there's very little to dislike about this figure. With a nice little array of weapon she's the perfect sparring partner for your Mandalorian figure, whether they're practicing on each other or taking out a platoon of Stormtroopers. While the Credit Collection version with slightly altered paint apps is still readily available, the standard edition is becoming much harder to come by these days. Given her popularity I doubt this will be the case forever, but even so if you do manage to see one for sale be sure to pick her up whilst you still can.
No comments:
Post a Comment