Review : Star Wars Black Series Heavy Infantry Mandalorian, The Mandalorian
- Mephitsu
- Dec 6, 2019
- 5 min read
After the release of the title character on Triple Force Friday (4th October 2019) and an IG-11 exclusive shortly after, the next release for The Mandalorian Disney+ show was due to be Cara Dune. Instead, this guy surprised us all having been announced and released and on shelves within 2-weeks worldwide. The Heavy Infantry Mandalorian appears in Chapter 3 "The Sin" and has since been named as Paz Vizla and was voiced by showrunner Jon Favreau - a nod to Pre Vizsla, a character he voiced in The Clone Wars.
Packaging 4/5
The Heavy Infantry Mandalorian is a Deluxe release, the size reserved for larger figures and aliens. Previous releases have included Moloch and the Gamorrean Guard - who were exclusives - the Heavy Mandalorian is general release and is numbered as D2 in the Deluxe line, following on from D1 earlier this year, General Grievous.
The boxes for Deluxe releases are varying and the Mandalorian box is not as deep as previous releases. Aside from the box dimensions the design principles remain the same with a black box and red side spine along with a window displaying the figure against a red backdrop.
The figure is named "Heavy Infantry Mandalorian" with no mention front or back of the character name which has since been confirmed. The usual artwork is printed front and back with the rear of the box giving you a better look at the Titus artwork having had a lot of the front illustration cut out by the window.
"A brawny warrior encased in the strongest beskar armor, the mysterious Heavy Infantry Mandalorian is part of a secrete enclave of his people. A born survivor, he guards a precious armory and helps keep the flames of Mandalorian heritage flickering in this time of galactic chaos"
Paint & Sculpt 5/5
Until the episode we had not really seen a Heavy Mandalorian before. The body and armour are much bulkier than the normal Mandalorian armour as sported by the main character and others in the Saga like Jango and Boba Fett. He is pushing 7 inches in height with the rangefinder on the helmet and is certainly a hefty figure in hand.
The Heavy Mando is predominantly blue in colour, with most parts cast in this base colour. Over this we have some lighter blue panels on the hemet as well as silver trim and some silver in two sculpted dents on the forehead. The same applies round the armour with scratches and nicks to make him look battleworn. The wrist flamethrower is a dirty yellow colour and this is washed to dirty it up, the same technique is used on the boots and knee pads.
All the paint is applied well with no obvious errors. The figure also has a Mythosaur symbol on its left shoulder, applied neatly too as a decal.
Accessories 5/5
The Heavy part of the figure is clear when we look at his weaponry. As seen in the episode, this Mandalorian wields a heavy repeating blaster - along a similar theme to that used by Baze Malbus in Rogue One - which is linked into a Jet Pack via a heavy ammo feeder belt.
The gun is full of details and is cast in a dark grey with some silver and blue trim added to the barrel. The jet pack is yellow with silver trim and some dark grey and black to differentiate some of the parts.
The jetpack slots into the socket on the Mandalorian's back and the fit is snug. The ammo feeder is flexible enough to snake out and to the front of the figure - either left or right. The heavy blaster has a handle at the back and a further grip halfway up. This second grip is articulated so it can turn to either side of the gun - allowing for left or right handed grips.
Like a lot of recent Hasbro figures the hand plastic is very stiff so you might want to warm the hands first to ease the grip onto the weapon. The articulation supports left or right hand grip.
There is a small pipe in grey plastic attached to the backpack and this is the feed for the wrist flame-thrower. The end slots into a socket on the back of the wrist section. This fit is not quite as secure and the pipe is not very flexible which means it is hard to get in place and it can pop out too easily when you are posing - best to setup your pose and attach this piece last.
And if that wasn't enough, there is even a facility for the Mando to sling his weapon onto his back - and it works much better than the one they used on the main Mandalorian figure. There is a slot on the backpack to the right and this lines up with a peg on the side of the gun to slot it into place.
Articulation 5/5
Our Heavy Mandalorian weighs in with an "above standard" 18 points of articulation, and despite his bulk he is pretty poseable - particularly the arms and torso.
Head : ball joint pivot neck
Body : ball joint torso
Arms : ball joint shoulder, butterfly shoulder, single rotating elbow, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double joint knees, ankle rockers
The addition of the small butterfly joint in the shoulder is what makes the huge difference to weapon posing allowing the arms to swing inwards to the body and obtain the grip on the weapon.
The legs may look restricted, but they are fully mobile - your Heavy Mandalorian can kneel (if Mandalorian's do such a thing). All the joints are tight and secure, and the ankles thankfully are well ratcheted and ultra secure to keep such a heavy figure upright
Summary
The Heavy Mandalorian is a gorgeous figure that faithfully recreates an awesome onscreen character. It does cost between £8 and £10 more than a standard figure but it deserves its deluxe status on its weight, heft, that huge weapon and the subtle addition of the butterfly joints to support the articulation.
There is very little to criticise on the figure and to that end I score it a 5 out of 5.
Figure Hacks
"I gotta get one of those"
At the end of Chapter 3 the Heavy Mandalorian is seen using his jet pack and flying high to say farewell to The Mandalorian as he makes his escape.
As yet the only FX pieces seen in the Black Series have been lightsaber blades and forcelighting. You do wonder if there was a plan to include jet flames to this release as the ones we get with nearly every Iron-Man figure in the Marvel Legends line fit perfectly to give a jet fire effect.
I am yet to find a flight stand that can hold our Heavy Mandalorian, but there are certainly tweaks to be made to the figure if you want to try and show him flying - or at least preparing to take off.
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