In Autumn 2020 the Hasbro team unveiled another Mandalorian Black Series release. This set would be a Deluxe release and combine both The Mandalorian and The Child in the same set along with a removable helmet for Mando with a sculpted head underneath. Also included was a hover pram for the Child, a bunch of Beskar ingots and a tracking fob. The set was an exclusive, sold via Target in the US and here in the UK at Smyths Toys Superstores. This deluxe Din Djarin and the Child set landed in mid-December, just ahead of Christmas 2020.
This deluxe pack is part of the wider Galaxy Collection series so utilises the same design principles, but is presented in a wider box as has been used previously with the Zeb figure from Rebels. The Galaxy Collection is split by movie/series with a focus colour assigned for each property with The Mandalorian using a deep orange colour. This orange is used as a thick border at the base of the figure window - into which the property of The Mandalorian is confirmed - the same colour is used on the name of the set which is specifically "Din Djarin (The Mandalorian) & The Child".
The side art includes Mando holding the Child while the Razor Crest is flying overhead. Buildings in the back drop indicate that the image is on Nevarro with a jetpack Mandalorian also seen in the back drop. Din Djarin is #05 in the Mandalorian Galaxy Collection Series, and follows on from The Armorer in terms of numbering and the imagery which link up to create a larger montage.
The artwork is repeated on the back of the box and next to it is a short piece of background text. The text focuses more on Din Djarin while The Child is referred to as the mysterious alien.
"The Mandalorian is battle-worn and tight-lipped, a formidable bounty hunter in an increasingly dangerous galaxy who finds a mysterious alien pursued by bounty hunters on behalf of Imperial interests"
The set opens with the full innards sliding out by the top or bottom flap complete with the window, which is now separate from the box. Everything is slotted into the inner tray with tape over the Beskar ingots and tracking fob to keep them in place.
4.0
Starting with Din Djarin and he arrives with helmet in place and this is pretty much the exact same figure we have recently received as part of the first wave of the Galaxy Collection. The figure is well proportioned with the beskar armour parts crisp and angular - complete with Mudhorn sigil on the right pauldron. The cloth elements beneath this are dark brown with visible texturing, folds and creases.
A leather look strap crosses the chest with painted silver ammo and a similar strap is sculpted around the right leg with the ammo for his Amban Phase-Pulse Blaster.
The cape remains soft plastic and gos around the neck to hang down the back of the figure. The helmet is coloured in the same silver as the rest of the armor. You can see a very small piece of flesh coloured plastic sticking out at the chin.
This chin belongs to an unmasked head of Din Djarin, something we see very rarely. The head has been criticised, but in hand it is a fairly good likeness to Pedro Pascal - perhaps a little wide if anything. The helmet hair is enough to allow the helmet to get on and off and with the helmet off it looks matted and sweaty. The face print tech gives us the usual realistic eyes, flesh tone shading, lip colouring and the very faintest facial hair on the top lip.
If you take the new Din Djarin figure and line it up with the original Beskar figure from earlier in 2020 you can see they are identical up to the helmet. The helmet on Din Djarin sits higher and therefore adds height to the figure and more neck exposed. The downside is that exposed chin which cannot be avoided, even with cramming on the helmet as far down as it will go.
The set also includes a new version of The Child. This is another inch or so high Baby Yoda in his oversized robes. Unlike the previous released single version, this one is sculpted into position with the left arm outstretched.
There is a lot of debate on how big The Child should be. Looking at screenshots, then he should come up to the top of Mando's boot. Although other shots have him as big as the chest armour - I guess it depends on which prop is being used and how it is shot. This version is shorter than the original by virtue of not having the feet pieces.
Paint apps are OK but relatively basic. The green is a touch pale with the eye detail in black and some shading in the ears and under the cheeks with a darker green. The robes are cast in a sand colour with a lighter colour on the collar and cuffs.
4.0
When you take a standard 6 inch figure and pack it as a Deluxe then there has to be a good level of accessory value included - and the Din Djarin pack does deliver on that, albeit with some slightly odd choices.
Up first are five Beskar ingots cast in rectangular silver plastic with a stamped circle in the top right corner. At this scale it would be tough to recreate the Imperial logo. Mando can hold about three of these in his hand but aside from this they are probably something you will pack away in an accessory box. I would have loved to have seen these be as part of a Camtono which would have been more fitting - similar to what the Hasbro team did with the 3.75 inch Vintage collection version of this figure.
The tracking fob is a nice inclusion considering how often they've turned up in the show. It is a cast silver piece with darker grey boy and red icon. It can fit into Mando's hand.
Din Djarin is armed with the same weaponry as the original 2019 figure, starting with his blaster. This has a silver body and brown grip and a circular trigger. The weapon goes into the right hand, and with some playing the finger drops into the trigger. When not in use, we have a working holster on the belt and the blaster slides into here and holds securely, but if needed there is a strap that can hold the item in place and that plugs into the front of the holster.
The Amban Phase-Pulse Blaster is a great accessory, also dating back to the first 2019 Mando. The body again is silver with a brown stock. The end prongs are left silver and the scope and central barrel in very dark grey.
Getting it into the Mando's hand takes a bit of teasing, but once in the posing options are great. The rifle is also designed to plug into a socket on Mando's back to recreate the shoulder holstering. This was a tricky task on the original figure as the strap and back slot dont line up at first and you do need the rubber strap to hold the blaster securely. You will need to pull the strap over to line up the holes then firmly plug the rifle into place.
As with the Beskar release, Din Djarin also has his jetpack. This is the same accessory cast in grey and left in this plain base colour - it is screaming out for more paint apps. It fits onto the figures back by way of three plugs and three corresponding sockets. The back pack cannot be worn with the cloak which has to be discarded for these poses. This was an issue on the Beskar figure and considering the Deluxe nature of this release a move to a soft goods cloak to allow both cloak and jet pack to be posed would have been a nice step forward and added value to the set.
The Child also gets accessories, in the shape of his hover pram. This is not the original pram that we saw in the early parts of Season 1, nor the new Season 2 version. What we have is the pram that Kuill built for The Child in the finale of Season 1 and this is cast in a metallic grey with gold trim down the central panel. It sits on a clear stand that brings it up to Mando's waist, the height we see it hover on screen.
It is a little disappointing to find out the opening does not slide back and is instead a piece that lifts off to reveal the inside of the pram. Inside we have a black ridged lining.
The Child is not articulated and is not shaped to sit or lie in the pram. You can have him stood there and that looks OK, but if Hasbro were going with a fixed body for the Child I would have preferred him shaped to sit in the pram - or with a secondary body option that the head can be swapped onto.
3.5
The Mandalorian features the same 19 points of articulation as his predecessors.
Head : ball jointed neck - top and bottom
Body : torso ball joint
Arms : butterfly joints, ball joint shoulders, single rotating elbow, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees, ankle rockers
The arms are mobile enough to handle and pose with the accessories as well as being able to wield both weapons. This includes the two handed posing with the rifle include the ability to get it up and shouldered as though firing.
The legs are fully mobile too, with no obvious obstructions from the armour. Din Djarin can kneel and sit, although the cloak will need to be removed for these.
With the helmet off, the head is more mobile on the neck peg which is jointed top and bottom to create this wider range of motion.
Baby Yoda is less impressive. While his neck joint is the only joint he gets, it does little more than rotate in the neck of the robes.
The Jet Pack opens up opportunities for flight poses, and a 3rd party stand allows this to be explored. As a Deluxe set we could argue that a flight stand and FX pieces for flight might have been another nice inclusion - similar parts to the recent Black Widow Deluxe release.
All our joints on Mando are tight and secure, with the loose joint issues that presented on the first release obviously resolved. He stands and poses beautifully with a lot of expressive poses available.
4.5
The Din Djarin figure is fantastic, and had it been the first appearance of the Beskar Mandalorian Armour then I would have been very happy. The issue is that many of us will have already bought this figure earlier in the year, and the Deluxe release does everything that one does with just a few more bells and whistles.
When you have a situation like this, the bonus parts are key to getting collectors to double dip on the figure. What we get is OK, but perhaps not fully thought out. I could have done without the Beskar, or had a Camtono like the Vintage 3.75 inch figure. The jet pack needs paint, and a soft goods cloak would have resolve that issue of allowing us to have a Beskar armoured Mando posed wearing both.
The Child is a let down being a non-articulated body particularly as this body is not engineered to lay or sit naturally in the provided hover pram. While the arm out "magic hand" pose is something the first Child figure struggled to do, my preference would have been a Child that sits naturally in the pram. The pram itself is OK, with a solid flight stand and is contemporary to this version of Mando from the Season 1 finale. It is a shame they could not work in an opening sliding top and resorted to a lift off piece.
I have no real issues with the head sculpt, and the paint work and articulation are high quality with the new neck and butterfly shoulder joints opening up the movement from previous Mandalorian figures we've had like Boba and Jango.
I score the Deluxe Din Djarin and Child set a total of 4.0
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, the black series, the mandalorian, din djarin, the child, hasbro