Review: Star Wars Black Series MagnaGuard, Revenge of the Sith Anniversary
- Mephitsu
- Oct 13
- 6 min read
"Crush them! Make them suffer!"
To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Revenge of the Sith, Hasbro released another series of Star Wars Black Series figures on cardbacks inspired by the original 3.75” releases from 2005. Like most Anniversary releases to date, these were a mix of re-packs and tweaked characters picked from the existing line-up of figures.
The Black Series MagnaGuard was first released in 2023, based on their white and cream colouring from The Clone Wars. The base figure went on to be reused in 2024 as a Bedlam Raider MagnaGuard in the Gaming Greats line and as seen in Jedi: Survivor. The Revenge of the Sith Anniversary Series presented the opportunity to revisit the MagnaGuard and release them as seen during the events of Revenge of the Sith as they faced off against Obi-Wan Kenobi on Utapau.
The Revenge of the Sith Anniversary series cardbacks are taken directly from the original 2005 toyline, with a cardback shaped as Darth Vader’s head, with the head sitting over a flaming lava scene from Mustafar as the bottom third of the cardback. Vader’s red eyes stared out from behind the blister, while reflected in his helmet was the duel on the Lava Plains between Obi-Wan and Anakin. The cardfront is the same for all releases with the circular shaped bubble including the character image and details as an inserted sleeve section that wraps around the front of the figures feet and with the cut out of the character raising upward on the left hand side of the packaging while the central portion is turned over to the original Revenge of the Sith logo in orange and yellow. The cardback carries further imagery of the MagnaGuard as well as an image of the posed figure, but it lacks any background for the droid with the text turned over to a positioning piece about the Anniversary series as a whole. As with any cardback, the packaging is damaged to open the figure.
The MagnaGuard is presented in the blue metallic finish we see during the Utapau scenes in Revenge of the Sith, with gun metal components around the joints, around the inner workings of the stomach section, anda t the hands and feet. The blue is also painted to look scratched and battle worn, with scratched segments and wear revealing a gun-metal finish underneath. This ‘weathering’ is very well applied and covers the entirety of the droid rather than being focused in one area, usually the upper torso, as seen on other figures. The only other colour on the droid is the central chest red panel, with the same colour also used on the droid's eyes.
The head features the IG-100 droid head, but sculpted as though wrapped in the headgear that is also part of the robes the Droid wears. The robotic parts are again gunmetal with blue metallic panels, while the eyes, as mentioned, are two large gloss red discs peering out from the partial hood. This hood is an off white in colour, sculpted as part of the head and designed to look as though it flows directly into the soft goods cape below. This cape, tucked in beneath the head and neck, is a lighter fabric similar to the Sith Robes and shaped to hold its place around the right hand side of the MagnaGuard and hug the body front and back. There are green arrowed markings added to the cape, again screen accurate, while the edges in places are given a burnt look with tattered edges cut into the cloth for additional weathering. Again, this is a nice level of detail to weather the soft goods as much as the body itself.
On comparison, the base bodies of the original MagnaGuard and the ROTS version are identical, with variations only in the paint and the soft goods robes. Both figures also share the same articulation and accessories.
vs Clone Wars MagnaGuard from 2023 (right)
Those accessories are two versions of the Electrostave weapons wielded by the guards in close combat. Like the original figure, you can choose from one staff with enclosed ends in a clear plastic dome, recreating the weapons used in the animated Clone Wars appearances. Or you can select the movie accurate version where the ends are not enclosed and include a larger collar and then taper up more of a point at each end.
Both are cast in a base grey plastic with hardly any detail included. You can fit them in one or both hands, although this takes a bit more work than usual, as the figure accurately replicates the clawed grip of the MagnaGuards with two fingers closing one way, and two ‘thumbs’ closing the other way to create the four-digit grip.
You can also add electro effects courtesy of two included soft plastic translucent pink pieces that are intended to wrap the end of either of the staffs. These work reasonably well, but are far from secure and their softer plastic nature does see them slipping down or off a bit too easily.
Articulation on our MagnaGuard is similar in principle to all Separatist-era Droids, with the droid joints engineered in a similar fashion to how their are shown on screen, with visible round pinned pivots at the elbows, knees and ankles. There are 18 joints in total, including swivels above the knees and above the wrists to compensate for the linear nature of the main joints that work in a single direction. The skeletal nature of the droids and the joint configuration makes the MagnaGuard pretty extensive in posing options, although the slim frame of the Droid and lack of any significant mass does make the figure prone to stability problems.
There are also frustrating issues at the shoulders where the shoulder armour is meant to be pivoted to move with the arms. The plastic here is so soft that the pivot doesn’t grip at all securely, and the shoulders ping off at the most negligible of movement. While the original had the same issue, it appears to be even worse on our ROTS version.
The Anniversary release of the Revenge of the Sith MagnaGuard certainly looks the part, both packaged up as per the 2005 toy line, and in hand, thanks to a very well-proportioned sculpt and decor that includes a consistent level of weathering and damage that even includes the soft goods cloak. The figure poses reasonably well, but the joints are less sturdy than a humanoid figure, and the skeletal frame makes it less secure once stood. The shoulder armour will frustrate no end, but save for glueing it in place, there is no obvious solution. A potential for a future re-pack into the Revenge of the Sith Galaxy Collection, the figure presents as an army-builder, so that wouldn’t cause too many issues and would expand that limited collection out beyond the handful of releases to date.
Keep Track of all the Star Wars Black Series figures from Hasbro at our comprehensive
If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports
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...
Comments