The announcement and subsequent release of the first two Deluxe figures really brought the Black Series 6" range to life. There is something special about adding something big and spectacular as talking points within a collection. In the same way ED-209 has given some scale and presence to my Neca collection, Jabba and the Scout will do the same for the Star Wars display.
Having had Jabba a while, the Scout Trooper and Bike was proving elusive and as I write is still very limited in terms of UK availability. I had been sat on an Amazon Gift Voucher for a while - so when the Scout popped up on Amazon (via Midco Toys) at just over £39 I jumped straight in.
Now firstly a slap on the wrist for the third party seller, Midco Toys, who sent the Scout crammed in a box too small for him and with no protection. He arrived at my end OK and as I am a loose collector it wasnt the end of the world - but anyone collecting MIB should think twice before you use Midco.
Upon arrival, and having been spoiled by the sheer size of Jabba, I felt the whole box felt and looked a little smaller than I was expecting. But then again, good things often come in small packaging. The Scout comes in the new blue trimmed box and with this being the UK release it had the usual overstickers which really make the packaging look poor.
Unpacking the figure is difficult as he is provided pretty much tied to his bike with those clear elastic bands. It takes some careful manouvering to get him free.
Out of the packet the Scout is already posed on his bike - and after reading some horror stories about the soft plastic I have simply left him as he is for now, after all riding his bike is exactly where he should be (am sure he will come out and play soon)
The paint on the scout is good, a little sloppy around the elbow and knees, and these seem to be the same painted plastic as the clone so do look a little off colour to the rest of the armour. My visor was a little bent, but soon fixed itself and the paint applications on the head were spot on. The weathering is good, albeit not to everyone's cup of tea.
The paint on the bike is good until you hit the weathering, which looks more like a Jawa has been at the bike with a 4" brush and silver paint. Braver people will clean this off and re-do.
The stand is awesome, allowing you to pose the bike at different heights and angles - which is awesome when you consider putting together a group of these as it allows you to vary the positions and recreate the endor scenes.
In my opinion this figures is the best yet from TBS6 and my new favourite, although I do have both a ROTJ and Imperial bias. Price wise he pretty much justifies the £40 RRP but not any more (shame on some retailers who have these out at £50).
I now look forward to firstly seeing this guy more readily available in the UK, then to the single Scout release and then to the eventual Luke, Leia and maybe Ewok on Speeder Bike.
