Review : Hera Syndulla (Rebels) Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 12 Released : September 2017 Price : £24.99
Force Friday II, on the 1st September 2017, was the launch of the products and toys for The Last Jedi. While the 3.75" figures were all about the new movie, there was a wider approach taken with the 6" Black Series. Now on Wave 12 in the 3rd pase (red & black boxes), the wave was the first to move from 6 figures per case to 8.
The first wave contained Last Jedi figures of Luke, Kylo and Rey, supported by the new Darth Vader who was first released in the 40th Anniversary Early Bird set. There is a repack for the Stormtrooper, a figure collectors will want to bolster the new Centrepiece displays. And then we get to Rebels with a release at last for Hera Syndulla and her nemesis Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Wave 12 uses the same design principle as the whole of phase 3, a phase that is now 2-years old having debuted with the Force Awakens figures. We had seen some tweaks recently with the Chirrut and Baze releases (wave 11) with the lower frame of the box front made thicker and higher. Wave 12, and all the Force Friday II releases, also see the logo on the box front made bolder with a light grey almost white colouration.
Aside from these tweaks Hera is packed in a gloss black box with red character name text and grey lined artwork. The artwork is a more realistic impression of Hera than the one we see on Rebels. This is the whole intention with the Rebels figures, to bring them into the live action universe of Star Wars.
Hera is number 42 in phase 3 and this numbering is printed on the gloss red spine and then round the back next to the Star Wars Black Series logo. Under this is a brief paragraph on Hera, talking about her being the captain and heart of the Ghost's crew.
The figure sits in a gloss red card tray which slides out from the top or bottom flap. Hera sits, unsecured by any fiddly ties, in a clear plastic tray. Her single accessory is a small pistol blaster.
Hera should have originally arrived earlier in 2017 but was held back by Hasbro for some tweaks. While we will never know what these were for definite it seems the design of her flight goggles may have been part of this revisit prior to release. The googles are a separate piece on the flight helmet - indicating they may originally have been designed to be worn. They are however glued in position.
Hera's facial sculpt is definitely a more "grown up" realistic take on the Hera we usually see on Rebels. It is cast in green plastic so the facial paint apps are lips and eyes only. The lips are subtle, while the eyes aren't as heavy handed as some figures we've seen recently. I can't tell if she would benefit from some facial shading, or if the sculpt is so smooth that it wouldn't have made any difference?
There is a wonderful paint application on the lekku. They've managed to make it look like part of the lekku, and by that I mean the pale design and swirls seems to sit under the plastic - it's very clever. The flight helmet is a plain grey and there is then silver and brown colouring on the goggles.
Hera's torso is a two tone brown outfit with some white trim around the collar. It's all painted neatly, but is a little flat and far too clean for a pilot who see's so much action.
The same can be said of the orange flight suit. It is really well sculpted, with panels and ribbing that is as good as that on the ebut Black Series figure - Luke X-Wing pilot. None of this detail can shine however as its all one tone of bright orange. A darker wash would have brought out the design as well as making Hera a little more realistic in terms of dirt and grim. The flight suit comes with those leg straps that are common on Rebel/Resistance pilots. Like the suit they are too clean, but are well engineered and are separate to the legs and will move as you pose Hera.
The figure ends with brown gloves with some silver buttons, and brown boots with a grey over the toe trim.
Being a slender figure, Hera is very well articulated. The neck is ball jointed and can swivel to the side, with the lekku flexible enough to flick over the shoulder if you wish. Sadly on my review figure the movement forward and back ward is very loose and Hera can't hold a position looking upwards.
The arms are ball jointed shoulders, and despite those shoulder panels they do move up to a decent angle, with the panels slotting over the shoulder as they arms are raised. The elbows are a single rotating joint, and these bend easily to 90 degrees, if not a little way past.
There is a neatly hidden torso joint that is hidden by the top of the flight suit. There is quite a range of motion in this so Hera can lean forward and backward as well as twist independently from her legs.
The legs are ball jointed at the hips and these can swing out to a sitting or kneeling position. The straps of the flight suit move with the legs as they are posed. I first thought the dreaded thigh swivel had been removed, but it is there on closer inspection - the orange plastic hides it well. The knees remain double jointed and if you wish they can bend back on themselves.
The feet are on rockers and these allow Hera to point her feet out flat if you want a kneeling position. These rockers feel ratcheted so there is no immediate issue with stability or floppy ankles
Hera's single accessory is a small blaster pistol. This is cast in black plastic and then decorated with a silver grip and brown on the barrell. It is one of the nicest weapon accessories in terms of decoration I have seen in a long while.
For some reason however the gun will not sit all that well in the right hand. Where we are used to very good "trigger" hands on The Black Series, This one does not seem to want to work at all.
The gun actually fits better in the left hand - which let me to think Hera might actually be left handed and I was about to applaud Hasbro for that level of attention to detail. Sadly no, all the reference images of Hera show her firing with her right hand.
That is backed up with her ankle holster being on her right leg. This works really well and the pistol slots in snugly when not in use.
Hera is the 3rd member of the Ghost crew to be released, and she looks brilliant displayed with Kanan and Sabine. Hasbro have done a decent job of taking Hera from the animated screen and adding some realism to her sculpt. The lekku are also brilliant and the pistol a nice piece, even if she can't hold it properly. I think the orange in particular is a wash away from perfection, and that wobbly head is an issue - although as far as I am aware this was isolated to my review piece.
With all that considered and with a new RRP now in place of £24.99, Hera doesn't feel perhaps as good a value for money as other figures we've had. She does very little wrong though and I will err on the side of generosity in awarding her a 4 out of 5.
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