Review : Ahsoka Tano, Star Wars Black Series 6 inch

Review : Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars Rebels)

Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro)

Wave/Series : Figure #20 (Phase 3 Wave 6 / Wave 2 2016)

Released : April 2016

Price : £22.99

It is safe to say that even though Ahsoka Tano has not appeared in any of the live action Star Wars films, she has reached cult status among a large population of Star Wars fans. From her teenage years as Anakin's Padawan in The Clone Wars, to her new role as mentor and Rebel leader in Rebels, Ahsoka continues to grow with the franchise - and who knows when and where she will turn up next.

It is probably fitting then that Ahsoka marked the first animated Star Wars character to be announced for the Star Wars Black Series 6 inch line, and a testimony to Rebels itself that Hasbro have turned over 2 slots in a 6 figure wave to Ahsoka and her fellow Rebel, Kanan Jarrus.

Wave 6, or wave 2, 2016 depending on how you are tracking your figures, hit US stores in March 2016 and UK independents in April. The 6 figure wave contains three new figures in Ahsoka, Kanan and the Tatooine Luke Skywalker. Force Awakens Han gets a repack into wave 6, and the other two slots are made up with the First Order Snowtroopers - a figure yet to officially hit the UK as we are all still waiting on that elusive Hux wave (wave 3).

Ahsoka is number 20 in phase 3, and arrives in the now familair black box with red trim. The rear of the box has a slightly more in depth bio than usual, talking about her role in The Clone Wars and her re-emergence in the fledgling Rebellion.

Out of the pack and Ahsoka stands 6 inch tall, measuring up to the highest points of her head tails. When we are looking at what is essentially a cartoon character sculpted as though she appeared in live action, it is difficult to say if the sculpt is a good representation or not. In this case I think the fact that this is how I would imagine Ahsoka to look in "real life" and in that respect the sculpt should be applauded.

Facially this is certainly an older and wiser Ahsoka and much more solemn, exactly as we see her in Rebels season 2. Around the face, the head tails are shaped really well and hang naturally both front and back. Sadly the paint application on the face is a bit too basic, and a tad too glossy for my liking. The face markings are neat but my Ahsoka has a splash of white on her nose, and some bleeding on the silver of her headpiece into the head tails. The head tails are neat enough from a distance, but up close are very "mucky" with the blue smudging onto the white and the whole thing looking like it has been handled too often by dirty hands.

The outfit is a good representation of the one we see in Rebels : Season 2 and is crisp in both sculpt and paint application. Across the chest plate their are some very small painted yellow & red detail, and the same in yellow on either arm. The skirt section is trimmed neatly in silver with a dark brown belt. Under this is the only soft goods on the figure, a material skirt, which reaches to half way down Ahsoka's thighs. The boots, knee high, are two tone but here again the paint is messy with a smear right across the right hand boot.

With Ahsoka not being a particularly bulky or armoured figure, her articulation is probably one of the strongest sets of movement we have seen for a while in the Black Series. The legs move well, aided by the material skirt which doesn't overly restrict the hip movement like a plastic version would have. The knees are double jointed and there is good movement in the ankles and therefore Ahsoka can both kneel and adopt some fairly action orientated stances.

There is no waist swivel, but instead a torso joint build and hidden under her chest plate, this allows her entire torso to swivel well to either side - again adding the facility for more dynamic posing. Arms are jointed at the shoulder with a ball joint that can extend out fully to the side and above the head. The elbows are single joint with swivel, and as the arms are quite slim they can hold a light-saber with two hands if you wish - especially thanks to the maneuverability of the wrists which seem to be upgraded somehow with a side to side pivot as well as a swivel. The only downside on the articulation is the head, which as I think most of us expected is fixed in place due to the head tails.

Ahsoka comes with her two new neutral light sabers from Rebels. One is longer with the curved hilt, and the other a straight hilt and slightly shorter. Like previous releases with light-sabers, the blades are removable and both saber hilts can then be hung on hooks on Ahsoka's hips. The sabers fit neatly into either hand, although both hilt and hand feel very soft in terms of the plastic and I wonder how many times you will get away swapping the weapon in and out of hand before the plastic is too stretched.

On the whole, Ahsoka lives up to the expectations. She isn't quite perfect with paint flaws being the biggest issue and that will vary from figure to figure, so if you have a chance of comparing 2 or more in the wild (and yes I know that is a challenge in itself) then inspect carefully. The issue with a good sculpt under average facial paint continues and like many humanoid figures before her, I would love to see what a talented painter could do with the sculpt.

For £22 the figure is probably what we now expect - whether this is good value for money is a wider debate. With the paint flaws I will knock Ahsoka down by one star and award her 4 stars out of 5.

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