Toybox REVIEW: Meisho Movie Realization Daimyo Boba Fett

Release Date: January 2023

RRP: $124.99

Among all of Bandai Tamashii Nations' toy lines, the current state of the Meisho Movie Realization line is perhaps the thing that confuses me the most. After years of both retail and Tamashii web exclusive releases in Japan, this rather unique take on the Star Wars universe seems to no longer be a thing in the company's home territory - with the handful of releases since 2021 seemingly exclusive to the US and Europe. Nevertheless as Star Wars continues to grow on Disney+ so does the line itself, with a brand new Meisho Movie Realization Daimyo Boba Fett figure released on the former bounty hunter's title role in The Book of Boba Fett. While the Movie Realization line usually has to bestow a title upon its figures, here the work had already been done for them - with Boba Fett taking up the role of Mos Espa's "daimyo" in the series itself.

Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series Boba Fett (In Disguise)

Release Date: July 2022

RRP: $33.99/£38.99

If Hasbro are ever in doubt about what to release as a convention exclusive, they can always be sure that a Boba Fett variant will go down well. Not only is his Mandalorian armour one of the most iconic designs in all of Star Wars, but there are so many colour variants that it'll be a while before Hasbro run out of options. For 2022's San Diego Comic Con Hasbro turned their attention toward the more recent Marvel Comics, releasing the Black Series Boba Fett (In Disguise) as both an SDCC and fan-channel exclusive. Based on the War of the Bounty Hunters comic event from 2021, the story sees Boba don an all-black look to enter fighting pits after a complication arises in delivering Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt.

Toybox REVIEW: Black Series Boba Fett (Tython)

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.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Boba Fett (The Mandalorian)

Release Date: February 2022

RRP: 8250 yen

Star Wars: The Mandalorian season two was a series full of big surprises, but among the biggest of them all was the grand return of Boba Fett. Having survived his supposed death in Return of the Jedi and escaped the Sarlacc pit, Fett returned to reclaim his armour from the Mandalorian Din Djarin before assisting him in rescuing Grogu from Moff Gideon and returning to Tatooine to take Jabba the Hutt's (now in the hands of Bib Fortuna) empire. Meanwhile Bandai Tamashii Nations might have taken their sweet time to add the original trilogy Boba Fett to their S.H. Figuarts lineup, but following his return on The Mandalorian they were one of the quickest off the mark. S.H. Figuarts Boba Fett (The Mandalorian) joins a new version of Din Djarin as the line's first Mandalorian season two figures - a retail release originally intended for January 2022 but delayed until the following month.

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

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.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Boba Fett (Return of the Jedi)

Release Date: September 2019

RRP: 6480 yen

Ever since Star Wars S.H. Figuarts first arrived on the scene in 2015, there's definitely been one particular character on fans' minds. Bandai Tamashii Nations' sculpt-work and the iconic Mandalorian armour seem like a match made in heaven, so a figure based on the galaxy's most popular bounty hunter should have been a given. But years went by, and other than the odd appearance at a Tamashii Nation or Tokyo Comic Con event there was no sign of Boba Fett. Which felt especially strange since Jango Fett was released in 2016. But fast-forward a few years and S.H. Figuarts Boba has finally arrived, though not the variation you'd immediately think off. Continuing the line's baffling omission of anything The Empire Strikes Back, this figure is instead based on the Return of the Jedi version of the suit – sporting some slight design and colour alterations.

Toybox REVIEW: Meisho Movie Realization Ronin Boba Fett

Release Date: November 2015, September 2019 (Reissue)
RRP: 9680 yen

If there's one regret I have as a toy collector, it's taking until 2019 to get into the Meisho Movie Realization line. Bandai Tamashii Nations' Super Imaginative Chogokin-esque reimagining of iconic Star Wars characters styled like warriors from feudal-era Japan was a stroke of genius, and judging by the price some of these figures command on the aftermarket collectors seemed to think so too. The third release in the line way back in 2015 was Meisho Movie Realization Ronin Boba Fett, and much like any limited run figure based on the original (though no longer canonically) Mandalorian bounty hunter it's one that will cost you a pretty penny on the aftermarket. That is until four years later however, when a surprise reissue was announced for Western territories such as the US and UK. This was a particularly unexpected move on Bandai's part, since there's no sign that the figure ever received the same treatment over in Japan. But as an opportunity to own a figure I regret not picking up all those years ago for a price not too far off Japanese retail, I certainly wasn't going to question it.

Toybox REVIEW: SDCC 2019 Exclusive Star Wars Black Series Boba Fett (Toy Colours)

Release Date: July 2019 

RRP: $27 

San Diego Comic Con 2019 may have come and gone, but the various exclusives released at the event live on as both a reminder and potentially the bane in collectors’ wallets. Being one of the biggest toy lines out there Star Wars has had some pretty good exclusives over the years, and 2019 was no exception. 3.75” Vintage Collection fans had a both special prototype style Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker Jedi Destiny 3-pack to enjoy, while over in the 6” Black Series there was a sneak peek at The Rise of Skywalker with an early look at the Sith Trooper. But along with that was something some collectors have been lusting after for years, a special edition Boba Fett figure decked out in the colours of the original 1979 Kenner figure to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. Despite the colours of the toy eventually being revised the deco has remained a piece of Star Wars history, appearing on various bits of merchandise before finally being immortalised as part of the Black Series.

Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series Boba Fett (Prototype Armor)

Release Date: 2014

RRP: $20

Boba Fett is living proof that all some characters need is a fantastic design. Despite not really doing all that much in the films themselves the notorious bounty hunter became one of most iconic designs in all of Star Wars, and his popularity has continued to grow through various spin-off media and, of course, numerous bits of merchandise. But did you know that originally Boba Fett wasn't envisioned as a bounty hunter, and instead proposed as a sort of Empire "Super Trooper". The story of Boba Fett from concept to screen is a pretty interesting one, and his initial all-white design has been immortalised in toy form several times over the years. With Fett being one of the earliest releases in the 6" Black Series back in 2013, it didn't take Hasbro long to take advantage of such an obvious repaint. One year later, the Star Wars Black Series 6" Boba Fett (Prototype Armor) arrived in the US exclusively at Walgreens stores.