Thursday, 30 June 2022

Toybox REVIEW: Black Series Boba Fett (Tython)

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Release Date: March 2022
RRP: $24.99/£23.99

There are plenty of iconic Star Wars moments that hail from the second season of The Mandalorian, but easily among the very best was the grand return of legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett in Chapter 14: The Tragedy. Revealed to have survived his apparent demise in the belly of the Sarlacc Pit, Fett tails the Mandalorian to the planet Tython where he demands the return of his armour. Following an attack by Imperial Forces, Boba is reunited with the armour and pledges to assist Mando in retrieving Grogu from the clutches of Moff Gideon. Hasbro have recognised this iconic return with the release of the Black Series Boba Fett (Tython) – a version that showed just how formidable a fighter Fett is even without his Beskar armour.

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Despite releasing around the same time as figures from The Book of Boba Fett, Hasbro have rightfully decided that Black Series Boba Fett (Tython) belongs with The Mandalorian collection of figures – with the name denoting his proper debut on Tython rather than the time he spent with the Tusken Raiders on Tatooine. As such the packaging features the dusty orange accents that correspond with the rest of the series, as well as connecting mural artwork on the side. This artwork is repeated on the back of the box, along with the short character bio written above. Inside the figure and accessories are all neatly laid out on their moulded plastic tray, which are about to become a thing of the past as Hasbro move forward with their plans to eliminate plastic from their packaging.

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Straight out of the box, the first thing you'll notice about this figure is that it's a whole lot of soft goods. The figure is entirely clothed in a fabric cloak, similar to that of the various Jedi figures the line has produced. In fact it's perhaps a little too close to the Jedi robes, as the fabric used is very smooth compared to the more rough material used for Boba's robes onscreen. Perhaps it's a material that's quite difficult to do at this scale, but at the very least the colours do a good job of conveying what it's supposed to be. What could perhaps use a little more work though is the hood as it's a little oversized. When raised it can look pretty good with some of the fabric folded back, but due to its size it can be little harder to get it sit reasonably well when lowered. But underneath all that fabric is a fully sculpted figure, and it's one that Hasbro certainly haven't skimped with the detail on despite it being mostly hidden. As per the costume there isn't a whole lot of colour, but areas like the belt have been very nicely moulded and painted. But what's really great about this release is the head sculpt – it's an INCREDIBLE likeness of the older Temuera Morrison and easily among Hasbro's best. The way they've opted to highlight the scarred areas of his face with a lighter skin tone is a little odd (it almost makes it look like someone has blasted sand into his injuries), but you really can't deny just how great the likeness is. Comparatively speaking, it absolutely blows Bandai's S.H. Figuarts effort out the water.

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Despite having the kind of outfit you'd expect would complete neuter articulation, this version of Fett displays some pretty great movement – perfect for taking out whatever Stormtroopers you happen to have lying around. Altogether he features; 
- Ball jointed head, neck, waist and hips 
- Swivel hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees and ankles 
- Thigh swivels 
One big advantage of having the entirety of the figure covered by a big fabric cloak (and underneath that, moulded baggy clothes) is that all of the articulation cuts are completely hidden when posing the figure. This is particularly good in places like the elbows and knees, where use of the swivel element of the joint can something come across as looking a bit unnatural. It's a bit of a shame not to see butterfly shoulders on the figure since that's something becoming more prevalent in the Black Series, but with the amount of layers the figure has it's questionable just how much you'd get out of them anyway.

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Despite having lost his armour at this point in the timeline, Boba certainly isn't short of weaponry either. Altogether the figure comes with a blaster pistol, Cycler Rifle and of course his new Gaffi Stick which he uses to tear down a legion of Stormtroopers. All three weapons can be stored on the figure whilst not being wielded – with the blaster fitting in the (extremely well hidden) holster on his right hip and the rifle/Gaffi Stick slinging over his shoulder via adjustable straps. The fit can be a little awkward because of how oversized the hood piece is, but with just a bit of adjusting both can comfortably hang off the back. All three weapons are nicely painted and detailed, with the Cycler Rifle surprisingly being a new, thinner mould rather than the one that was previously included with the Tusken Raider figure. Both guns are great pieces to have but really it's the Gaffi Stick that's the winner here, now an iconic Boba weapon thanks to the brutality of those aforementioned Stormtrooper scenes. Given the abundance of both soft goods and accessories it's amazing this is just a standard release, as it has more extras than a lot of deluxes these days have to offer.

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While this might not be everyone's desired look for the iconic bounty hunter, Black Series Boba Fett (Tython) is a fantastic representation of his momentous return in The Mandalorian. While Hasbro haven't quite figured out the trick to the perfectly sized hood, the soft goods robes look good whilst thankfully not completely concealing the fully-sculpted figure underneath. Combine that with a great selection of accessories along with what's easily one of the line's best head sculpt likenesses and you're on to yet another great addition to the Black Series collection. You might be getting a bit sick of him given how many Boba Fett releases there's been in the last few years, but this is one that definitely stands out from the crowd.

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