Review : Resistance Tech Rose, Star Wars Black Series Wave 14 (Hasbro)

Review : Resistance Tech Rose Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 14 (Phase 3) Released : November 2017

£24.99

Pros : Uniform sculpt is really good. Resistance Blaster Rifle is much improved. Cons : The uniform is a bit too clean

Wave 15 (Phase 3) of the Black Series was the final wave of 2017 and was the third to contain figures from The Last Jedi. While Wave 15 was filled with a number of repacks, it gave us three brand new figures - two from The Last Jedi (plus Jaina Solo) in the guise of Supreme Leader Snoke and the figure we are looking at today, Resistance Tech Rose.

Rose is number 55 in the series, and is titled specifically as Resistance Tech Rose rather than her full name of Rose Tico. I guess this was due to her release before the movie, and this character name gives her an immediate position in the movie. The illustration is the usual high quality Gregory Titus illustration and is quite expressive, and captures the character very well.

The box design remains unchanged and includes the rear bio that talks about how Rose is part of the support crew for the Resistance, and how she hates the First Order. This is, as usual, repeated in other languages and sits to the side of a larger version of the Titus illustration.

Out of the box and Rose sits in the standard tray with no twist ties. A blaster and her taser sit to her left.

Wave 15 has fallen just before Hasbro's intention to bring the face printing technology to the Black Series line. This means we have a standard sculpt and therefore the likeness to Kelly Marie Tran is not the best - or rather is not maximised by the paint job with the figure relying on a skin tone head with added lip colour and quite heavy and dark eyes and eyebrows.

Her hair is swept back in a ponytail with a blue painted ribbon, with a few strands hanging either side of her head. Like the face the hair is one tone with no additional wash or dry brush to bring out the definition of the hair.

Rose is dressed in her Resistance Tech cover-alls, These are very well executed in that there are loads of creases and folds and they actually do look oversized for Rose and a bit untidy. Where they fail is the coloring which is too bright and needs a wash of weathering to dirty it up.

Where it lacks in colouring, there are loads of details on the outfit itself. On the chest section we have a comms panel of some kind and on the other side a transfer of Aurebesh language. This apparently translates to GLD and refers to the Ground Logistics Division to which Rose belongs. On Rose's right arm we have a line of canisters, similar to what we see on First Order / Imperial uniforms. Down onto the right hand we have a sculpted ring, which is painted in gold and then has a perfectly painted dark blue gemstone.

Rose's belt carries more canisters, each painted a dark grey against the lighter colour of the belt itself. Further own we have a pocket on her left leg which seems to have some more technical parts of some kind - these are painted in silver with red details.

There are 16 points of articulation on Rose, a standard set for The Black Series. The head sits on a ball joint which is also pivoted at the front. Initially it feels as though this doesn't add much forward motion, but you have to push past the ratchet and when you do the head goes all the way forward so the chin is on the chest.

There is no torso joint to break the line of the figure, and instead a ball joint is hidden behind the belt. This allows the torso to rotate, but being a ball joint it allows allows some leaning positioning which is very nice.

The arms have a full range of movement with ball joint shoulders, single rotating jointed elbows and jointed wrists. Unlike a lot of Black Series, the wrists on Rose do simply rotate and I can't see a pivot at all under the cuff of the outfit.

The legs have ball jointed hips, followed closely by a thigh swivel. The knees are double jointed and the boots have an ankle rocker part way down. Rose can therefore kneel on one or both knees. The ankle rocker is tight and ratcheted and Rose can stand with no problem.

Accessory number one is the taser. This is cast in an orange plastic and there is some flex to this plastic. It is a small item, but still carries a lot of paint detail with a silver end to it, grey mid section, black grip and a red/pink ignition button. While this looks fine at the scale of the figure, up close you can start to see the paint is a touch messy with the orange showing through the silver etc.

The taser sits in either hand for Rose.

When not in use the taser can be slotted into a socket on Rose's belt. The socket is shaped so the taser can only fit one way. Once in place it is secure and holds neatly.

Rose is armed with a larger Resistance Blaster. This is the same sculpt that was packed in with the Resistance Trooper and the Poe / Stormtrooper 2-pack back in 2015. It is however a huge improvement as the plastic is sturdier and holds the detail really well. The paint is also brilliant with a grey silvery base paint and then some bronze and gunmetal dry brushing on top.

The gun is a little large for Rose, but again like the oversized uniform it kind of works for the character. She is a Tech and not a warrior, and she almost needs to look uncomfortable with the weapon. It fits into her right hand best so that the trigger finger can slot into the trigger. The arms are jointed enough to get close to a two handed pose as well.

I love Rose in terms of the movie, and the figure does a good job of bringing her to life. I like the sculpt and the look of the figure and her accessories are very well executed. The only issues I have are a slightly featureless face and the uniform colour being a touch too bright and clean. Aside from these, Rose is a great addition to your Last Jedi collection and I am convinced at some point we may get a re-use of the head on a female First Order officer body alongside a BB9E.

We award Resistance Tech Rose 4 out of 5.