In 2017 Hasbro produced a trio of Star Wars Black Series specials each containing a figure, accessories and a diorama piece. The sets were enhanced with better paint apps, soft goods options on some and metal accessories. The Rey set was exclusive to Toys R Us in the US but got a limited UK release. It would turn back up in the UK in 2019 in The Entertainer at a much more agreeable price than the one initially offered.
Packaging 4.0
Unlike most figure releases, the Rey on Crait set was an enclosed box that went with a larger illustrations on the front with a full body shot of Rey and the environment piece from Crait, overlooked by another shot of Rey, this time in the Gregory Titus art we see on most Phase 3 box fronts.
The sets were never really given a name and have been called the Deluxe Editions, Premium Edition and Diecast edition. The box simply uses the Black Series logo and then confirms the set as Rey (Jedi Training) in red text, with a red bar underneath and the location in black text as Crait.
This same wording is used on the two side spines. The right hand being red gloss as per the whole of Phase 3, but without any numbering. The back of the box doesn't follow convention, and rather than repeat the Titus artwork, it has an illustration of the figure and diorama base with a further insert box showing the included accessories. The brief background text sits alongside this as follows
"At long last, Rey has found Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi Master in the galaxy. Hoping to find a hero of legend, she must unlearn what she has learned as Skywalker challenges her expectations"
This of course has nothing to do with Crait, but we have to remember these landed before The Last Jedi hit cinema screens so the boxes themselves had to avoid spoilers.
While the box looks fully enclosed, the set actually has a front opening flap held in place by Velcro. Once opened we finally see the figure itself and the environment piece in a shaped window.
On the reverse of the opening flap are some more bullet point details about the set, focusing on the premium elements of the set.
01 Fabric Costume
02 Premium Character Detail
03 Environmental Base
04 Diecast Accessories
The set opens via the top or bottom flap and the contents slide out in a red inner cardboard sleeve. The environment parts are attached directly to the red sleeve by ties that can be cut from the back. An outer clear tray sits on top of these holding Rey and the accessories.
Paint & Sculpt 2.5
The Rey figure predates face print technology but is enhanced as detailed on the box with a crisper paint job and some shading/blushing on the cheeks for a more realistic and varying skin tone.
The base of the figure is sculpted with a soft good outfit placed over the top and then held in place by her flexible plastic belt. We have an inner black skirt and an outer grey robe that covers her torso and drapes down around her waist. The fabric is pretty nasty and is freyed and raggedy out of the box - hardly premium I am afraid. It doesn't sit particularly well and the texture is quite rough and not scaled to 1/12.
Underneath this, all the sculpted body elements are well executed such as the arm wrappings, leggings and boots. The arm wrappings are weathered with an additional wash to dirty them up. The boots and trousers are left in their base colour, and that is a shame considering the detailing on the boots which would have looked even better enhanced with some other colours. Rey has the cut on her right arm painted in also.
The figure uses the general release of Rey, Jedi Training, in the main and places the soft good over the top. The torso has been tweaked to remove the sculpted robes first.
You get an idea of the paint variations in the face from this side by side comparison and can see why, before face print, that the set could be advertised with a premium paint job.
Accessories 3.0
The accessories in the set are numerous, starting with Rey's staff. This has been a staple pack in with Rey since The Force Awakens and is unchanged for this set. The staff is detailed for what it is, but we still have the plastic strap that is sat in one position only. This can be used to go round Rey;s shoulders, but when the staff is positioned in a fighting stance or anything where it is not vertical, the loop defies gravity and looks odd.
There are then two almost identical versions of the blaster Rey is given by Han on Takodana. One is plastic, and the other diecast. The diecast version has a crispness to the sculpt and obviously carries more weight. Both weapons fit into Rey's hand and in the holster on her belt - I am not clear on why both were included?
Another piece duplicated is the lightsaber hilt - one plastic and one diecast. The detailing on the diecast version is again crisper and holds more detail. The paint job is also more detailed and neater on the fins and the buttons. This diecast saber hilt can fit into either of Rey's hand.
The diecast saber hilt can't accept the translucent blade, it has no slot to attach the blade in place. In this instance the second version kind of makes sense allowing an ignited lightsaber to be used. The translucent blade provided is straighter and darker in blue to the general release and clips securely into place.
They have left the loop on the end of the plasti saber hilt which is used to hang it on a belt, but added no such hook on Rey's belt?
The Crait environment piece is two part. The first is what looks like an engine part covered in red rock. The sculpting is good, with a lot of detail in the engine. The rocks are a deep red but facing to a pink at the edges. The second piece is simply the rocks and is coloured the same way. This piece includes the pegs for the figure to slot into for display.
There is no way to connect the two parts, you kind of just push them together for display. Neither really look like the parts of Crait we saw Rey engage with and are most likely concept design than anything screen accurate.
Articulation 4.0
Rey has a total of 16 points of articulation, same as the base figure and most other Black Series releases.
Head : ball joint neck with pivot
Body : ball joint waist
Arms : ball joint shoulder, single rotating elbow joint, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double joint knee, ankle rocker
The soft goods do allow for a wider range of posing than the original figure where the robes were a rubbery plastic and restricted lower leg movement. Rey can hold her staff two handed in fighting poses and can just about get a two handed lightsaber grip.
Considering the specifics of the display it might have been nice for this premium release to get some alternative force gesture hands which would have really set it apart from the other Rey's we;ve already had - recreating that scene of the Last Jedi where she rescues the Resistance on Crait. Instead we simply have a slightly ragged looking Rey perched on some red rocks with a muted lightsaber pose or similar.
All the joints are secure and tight and Rey does stand well on her own, not needing the stand if you want to discard it completely.
Summary
We have to consider that this set predates face print, so is not going to be on par with more recent releases. It is however a very odd mismatch of parts and mediums. The paint apps are better than those of standard figures of the time and the articulation works better thanks to the soft goods. The soft goods themselves are terrible, and you lose a strand everytime you handle the figure. They don't even sit right on the sculpted body underneath.
The accessory choices are odd, I do not see that much benefit in diecast accessories - and then to still include the plastic ones feels a waste? The diorama had the potential to be much more than it is - a cheap looking pile of red rocks, and was obviously conceived from concept art or similar and not the scenes that Rey plays out on Crait.
The box design is however impressive, and makes the figure feel deluxe/premium. But int he long run this feels like a set dictated by a retailer to have an exclusive product for a big move launch that ultimately did not do as well as most expected. At a £40 price point initially, this does not give enough value vs the standard figure - which arguably looks better in terms of the outfit. At the more palatable £20 price more recently it is perhaps worth getting if you are a completist.
I score Rey (Jedi Training) on Crait Exclusive Box Set a 3.0
About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, star wars, black series, the last jedi, rey, jedi training, crait