The Gaming Greats sub-line of the Star Wars Black Series brings us repurposed figures from the main line as seen in various video game appearances. Following on the first sets from Galaxy of Heroes, Battlefront and Jedi Fallen Order is a revised Jango Fett figure from the Gamecube/PS2 classic Bounty Hunter video game from 2002.
Packaging 4.0
The Gaming Great line continues, for the rest of 2020 at least, to utilise the Phase 3 box packaging style. The base colour remains black with the silver trimmed Star Wars Black Series logo a the top of the box. Instead of the standard red accent colour, each Gaming Greats release uses a colour that compliments the figure and for Jango Fett this is an ice blue colour used as an accent colour on the impressive Gregory Titus artwork, and also on the right hand side spine and the backing of the figure in the window. The window is cut in at the side with a hexagonal insert containing the Gaming Greats logo. Another logo for the original game sits bottom right on the box next to the Hasbro logo, this in itself was unusual for the Black Series except where a figure was produced from a video game and this is now standard practice for the Gaming Greats packaging.
The blue side section also deviates a little from the usual Phase 3 format and inserts the Hexagonal Gaming Greats logo where the number or dot matrix square would have been. Round the back of the box we have a repeat of the Titus artwork and a short piece of background text about the figure and the game.
"Star Wars: Bounty Hunter follows Jango Fett, the most fearsome bounty hunter in the galaxy, as he pursues an unhinged Dark Jedi named Komari Vosa."
Paint & Sculpt 3.0
The Jango figure arrives with his helmet in situ, and the proportions on this are good and the shape well executed with no immediate issues with warping as can be the case on removable helmets in the softer plastic. The mask has a gloss black visor with ice blue trim and then a purple secondary curved stripe on either cheek. The rest of the helmet is a silver colour broken by the extending viewfinder - which is a fixed piece.
Under the helmet is a sculpted Jango Fett head sculpt, treated with the face print tech to give us a very good likeness to actor Temuera Morrison. From memory (I may be wrong) the game does not see Jango remove his helmet so Hasbro did not have to include this feature, but as it was on the original figure they have seen fit to give us this updated version.
The rest of the body is a bit squat, especially compared to Boba Fett who is meant to be an exact clone of Jango. The legs are quite short and the feet are tiny, and this creates significant stability issues. Each armour piece is painted silver while the under suit is a purple tone to match the game as opposed to the blue used in the movie.
The jetpack is also updated vs the movie and is now the same one that comes with Boba Fett with the central missile. It is the most colourful piece on the figure with a bright blue outer casing and orange, brown and silver panels. Sadly, the plastic on the jetpack is a bit soft and that means that both the missile and the jets arrive warped - potentially due to the way the packaging holds them while in the box.
The original Jango figure was a 2016 release, and came with a more distressed paint job on the armour. The Gaming Greats figure gives a cleaner look with a shade change to purple on the bodysuit. The jetpack is a full swap out with the Boba Fett version and this creates a bigger profile on the back with the central missile.
The head is the biggest improvement thanks to the face print tech over the same sculpt and it makes a world of difference.
Accessories 4.0
Jango is armed with his dual WESTAR-34 blaster pistols. These are the same as packed with the 2016 release, and painted in the exact same way. The details are crisp and smooth with sweeping lines down the grip. They are painted in silver with grey trim.
Both hands are cast to accept the blaster, with a trigger finger on each. They hold in place well and when not in use can be slipped into the holsters on either hip.
The Jetpack is removable if you wish, it holds on to the back of the figure with three plugs - a round central plug and two square pegs that line up to sockets in the back of the figure. You can see the warping more clearly in these images.
As it is removable, the helmet would also be categorised as an accessory. as a softer plastic it is susceptible for warping but shows no signs of his on arrival. It is quite a tight fit over the figure head and that could create a risk of paint rub over time.
Articulation 2.0
Jango Fett is an older body and has a total of 16 points of articulation. Like the original figure, these are not the best set of joints and the elbow in particular is very weak for a Black Series figure and cant even bend to 90 degrees, making the wielding of the blasters very flat when posing.
Head : ball joint pivot neck
Body : ball joint waist
Arms : ball joint shoulder, single rotating elbows, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees, ankle rockers
In contrast the shoulders work really well with the pauldron withdrawing into the chest armour as the arms are raised which is pretty slick in the engineering. The head has full motion, and while it gets this via a pivot in the neck - the pivot is not overly obvious thanks to the paint job.
The legs start disappointingly. We have a restricted hip thanks to a combination of the armour clashing with the waist and the holsters. The knees, are however, much better with a double joint that bends the leg almost back on itself if you wish.
The ankle rockers on first inspection are tight and very well ratcheted, but when you start to pose the figure they will frustrate you no end. They feet are designed as such that the bend on the rocker can't get to a true flat foot position because the armour panel on the foot hits the armour panel on the shin. When you couple this with the tiny feet to start with, and the fact Jango is back heavy from the Jet Pack, we have a very unstable figure that I could not get to stand under any circumstance unaided.
Once dropped onto a foot peg stand, the issue is resolved. And the figure looks even better when coupled with an aftermarket flight stand with the articulation being extensive enough for some very cool flight poses.
Summary
This new Gaming Greats Jango does inherit the flaws of the original including the slightly squat proportions, the small feet and the articulation issues that come with that and the accompanying ankle joint. The big plus points for this do-over is the head sculpt, which now looks magnificent with the photo real tech.
The new release brings its own issues with the updated jetpack, which looks great in terms of colour selection and paint application. But there are problems with the softer plastic and warping to the central missile and the thrusters.
The packaging is good and I like the accented colours to bring some variety to a boxed collection. It will be interesting to see where Hasbro go with Gaming Greats after the current releases - and either option creates a mis-match in MIB collections.
I score the Gaming Greats Jango Fett from Bounty Hunter a score of 3.0
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, Black Series, The Clone Wars, Kamino, Clone Trooper