The Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ Series in 2022 featured a very familiar-looking Bounty Hunter droid, although it transpired that like the IG-88/IG-11 situation, this new LOM series Protocol Droid was not 4-LOM from The Empire Strikes Back, but rather a new LOM series Bounty Hunter designated 1-JAC. That presented a perfect opportunity for Hasbro to utilise their existing 4-LOM mode with a modification or two and give us a 1-JAC figure in the Star Wars Black Series.
1-JAC was a late 2022 release and part of a trio of exclusive figures for Obi-Wan Kenobi that were split across US retailers Walmart and Target - and here in the UK were sold initially by Smyths Toys. 1-JAC is a window box release of the Galaxy Collection and uses the light blue accent colour attributed to Obi-Wan Kenobi for the borders and artwork.
1-JAC is essentially a re-release of 4-LOM from 2018 and to that end the figure retains all the various positives and negatives that the original release had. The overall look of the LOM droid is excellent with the insectoid head and large segmented eyes and front mouth speakers. The body is reminiscent of other Protocol droids including the circular panel on the stomach and the exposed wiring loom that runs down to the waist, and across the arms and legs with component sections joined by pistons and wiring.
To create the look of 1-JAC from the Obi-Wan series, Hasbro have given the figure a new bandoleer as an individual rubberised plastic piece cast in black and painted with bright red sections. The droid also gets a new pair of open holsters attached to the thigh sections and something that looks like a retaining bolt on the left forearm
The paintwork on 1-JAC uses the base metallic gunmetal grey and overlays this with hints of bronze and some additional red & gold wiring on the stomach. This gives 1-JAC a cleaner, crisper look than the more weathered and worn 4-LOM
Articulation was always limited on this body and nothing has changed here, making 1-JAC as stiff and limited as his predecessor. The arms include built-in pistons which do move as you pose the figure, but not substantially enough for posing. The legs are a little better, but not by much with only a partial bend possible in the knees and hip joints that are blocked by the shape of the upper thigh. The head motion is good and that does add some character when posing.
1-JAC features a pair of blasters which fit into the new holsters - the right-hand features a trigger finger and holds the blaster snugly. Sadly, the left hand has not been upgraded to one that can hold a weapon which leaves the droid looking odd when wielding both blasters. Said blasters follow the current format of non-painted accessories, cast only in the same metallic gunmetal as the figure.
All in all, you can see why 1-JAC has been peg-warming - even when he turned up in the UK Game clearance in early Spring 2023 and is still on pegs now even after dropping to under a tenner. In principle as a background figure for Obi-Wan Kenobi the concept makes sense - but to match what we see him do on screen, Hasbro needed to up the articulation as a minimum.
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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...