"She has a small army of guards armed with A350 blaster rifles, two HK-87 assassin droids, and a hired gunfighter."
The HK-87 Assassin Droids made their Star Wars live-action debut in the second season of The Mandalorian during Part 13: The Jedi. They acted as disposable droid muscle for the Imperial holdout Morgan Elsbeth on Corvus. The Black Series figure was a 2023 general release and part of the Galaxy Collection Wave 10.
Wave 10 was the first full wave with plastic-free packaging, using figure images on the box rather than a window. The Assassin Droid sits as part of The Mandalorian series with the sandy accent colour, and is number 29 in that Mando collection.
The HK-87 is a brand new figure but does draw on other droid releases like K-2SO and the Republic Security Droid in its design and execution. The droid uses a mixture of red cast limbs, a beige torso section, and gun-metal upper arms. The internal workings of the droid, at the knees and around the mid-section are similarly coloured in metallic grey. The body is partially covered with a soft goods grey robe with burgundy trim, and this is held in place with a sash piece made of what looks to be wiring that is slung across the chest and another softer plastic belt around the waist. The headpiece includes a dark grey inner head with silver sections, covered over the top with a lighter grey helmet-shaped cover.
The HK-87 is armed with a single blaster in a base grey colour with crisp sculpted details but no paint apps. The weapon slots into the HK’s right hand but has no holstering options when not in use. The Droid sports 16 points of articulation, with all the joints designed in a similar way to the on-screen Droid itself with pivot and rotating orientations at all the leg and arm joints. The butterfly shoulders provide an increased range of arm movement too allowing two-handed weapon poses, despite the relatively short length of the blaster barrel. The Droid does suffer from stability issues with spindly legs, smaller feet, and too much play in the ankle rockers.
The HK-87 was a fantastic design in the show, and the figure is reasonably faithful in its recreation but it is missing a layer of weathering for a more 'worn' universe appearance. The articulation works well, and the use of soft goods means there is no significant obstruction from the cloak. The figure received an initial lukewarm reception in terms of sales, but the Droid’s recent appearance in Ahsoka on Disney+ will certainly ramp up collectors' need for this figure, even with the inevitable re-releases and repaints to bolster out the Imperial Remnant forces of Morgan Elsbeth.
Keep Track of all the Star Wars Black Series figures from Hasbro at our comprehensive
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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...