Shortly after the announcement of the new Star Wars Black Series Galaxy Collection, four new figures were revealed as part of a mini assortment from the final season of The Clone Wars. The four figure wave would be a Walmart Exclusive in the US - and via the Fan Channel elsewhere - and yet would still be numbered and have the side art designed to line up with the general releases from The Clone Wars. The wave featured a new Ahsoka Tano figure, one of her 332nd Clone Troopers, a loyalist Mandalorian and one of Darth Maul's Mandalorian Super Commandos.
The Mandalorian Loyalist is the 4th figure in The Clone Wars series of Galaxy Collection figures and the box design follows the yellow colour accent for the Clone Wars releases.
The art panel is in greyscale, with a yellow hue at the base of the image to add some colour. The Loyalist has been illustrated with his left hand raised and clenched with his Whistling Bird launcher primed and ready. This image is repeated on the back with a short piece of background text.
"When Darth Maul betrayed and defeated Pre Vizsla, Death Watch splintered into two groups. Those who wanted to embrace Mandalore's warrior heritage remained loyal to Maul".
I personally find the background text confusing in context to the Mandalorian Loyalists who fought against Maul on behalf of Bo-Katan. The text talks more about those loyal to Maul and gives little context to these troopers who fought in the Siege of Mandalore and there motives and allegiance.
Like all Galaxy Collection figures, watch out for the numerous tape pieces holding the shaped box in check. The figure is accessed via the top or bottom flap and the tray and window slide out as a single unit with the window separate from the box to aid recycling.
4.0
The Loyalist is a figure that is based off animated content (The Clone Wars) and therefore like all translations of this nature there has been some element of moving the figure into a real world setting. This has been done using the existing Jango Fett figure as a base. That figure in itself comes with some issues in proportion - among other issues - and the figure is a little squat in its overall look.
The figure has been repainted fully vs the original Jango and features a couple of repurposed elements to match the onscreen look of the Loyalist. The arms remain the same as those included on Jango, and include a lower forearm that is connected to the upper arm by some flexible black piping. The upper legs are swapped out and have no armour at all and instead there are fixed holsters on the thigh.
The helmet is also new and looks to be based on the design of the more recent Din Djarin Mandalorian helmet in its shape. It is also much bigger, and does contribute to the proportion issues looking alot bigger on this body than say the Din Djarin helmet on his body.
The colour scheme is the blue and grey of the Loyalist faction with most parts cast in the base colour with the application over the top of highlighted detail like the scratches on the chest plate or the red indicators. There are decals applied to either shoulder and the lower segments of the arms and the knee pads picked out in silver. The same blue/grey is applied to the helmet, with a sweeping panel on the cheeks with a blue trim to the T-shaped visor. . Everything is well painted and the lines straight and with no obvious issues.
3.5
The Loyalist is packed with a Jet Pack accessory. This is the same Jetpack as used with the original Jango Fett figure and the Mandalorian Super Commando in the same wave. It is cast in a light grey plastic, with darker grey panels added around the central section and down to the thrusters. Red is then painted around the top of each side thruster and the central panels. It fits onto the back of the figure by way of three plugs that correspond to sockets on the Mandalorian back. Once in place the pack is well proportioned to the figure and sits very securely in place.
The Loyalist is armed with a pair of the Westar 35 MandalTech blasters which were originally included with Sabine Wren. These are cast in grey plastic and without the gunmetal finish that was applied to Sabine's weapons. They fit snugly in either hand, with each hand having a trigger finger option. When not in use they can be slid securely into the thigh holsters.
3.5
As the Loyalist utilises the older body of Jango Fett - it comes in with 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 can't even bend to 90 degrees, making the wielding of the blasters very flat when posing. Pushing the elbow too far will also snap those thin wires on either side.
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 black neck piece paint job.
The legs are actually much improved on Jango having had the top thigh replaced. With no armour to restrict movement, the hips work quite extensively although they are a little loose which causes issues with stability
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 figure 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 like a number of Mandalorian Jetpack figures, the articulation will support flight poses with an appropriate aftermarket stand which actually brings the figure alive more so than any ground stances which all look a little clunky.
3.0
The Clone Wars Exclusive Wave has brought us four figures that are essentially tweaked and repainted variants as opposed to brand new figures. Like the Mandalorian Super Commando, the Loyalist looks OK but retains some of the squat proportional issues of the original Jango Fett donor figure, including the tiny feet. There are also articulation issues in the elbows that are disappointing compared to the usual Black Series articulation.
There is also the repeat issue that Hasbro have chosen to make an Army Builder, that collectors may want more than one of, an exclusive. This then includes a premium price of circa £25 / $25 and very limited availability.
I score the Mandalorian Loyalist a distinctly average 3.5
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, Mandalorian, clone wars, galaxy collection, season 7