“Sometimes stories are just stories.”
The newly introduced characters of Baylan Skoll and his apprentice, Shin Hati, from the Ahsoka Disney+ series in 2023 were soon added to the Star Wars Black Series roster for a release in late 2023. Shin Hati formed part of Wave 15 alongside her master and a trio of other figures including Starkiller, R2-D2, and the Mandalorian Fleet Commander.
Shin is part of the Ahsoka Galaxy Collection utilising the blue-themed artwork and text. Like the other Ahsoka figures to date, the rear text on Shin’s box is the same generic overview of the Ahsoka series rather than any character info - most likely to limit spoilers or because the info wasn’t available to Hasbro at the design stage. Shin Hati is number 10 in the Ahsoka collection, following on directly from Baylan Skoll. There is no indication via the artwork as to whom we may expect as the next release.
Shin wears the same outfit throughout her Ahsoka appearances and this is what we get replicated in the figure although she is denied the inclusion of her cloak. The figure is made up of a tan chest armour piece that runs down into some generic black trousers and finishes with wrapped tan shins and metallic shin armour. The arms similarly are black with shoulder pauldron in tan and metal finishes, and the same is seen at the wrists. The waist is wrapped in a black belt with a painted silver buckle and then from this flows a separate skirt section in softer plastic with the same tan base as the rest of the outfit but overlaid with a darker green tinged section and some outer armoured panels with a silver finish.
Proportions are good, but as has been documented by many collectors Shin is a bit too tall in comparison to her peers. She stands as tall as Ahsoka and I personally have no real issue with her, the bigger issue is perhaps the comparison with her master, Baylan Skoll, who has been produced considerably shorter than he should be.
The head sculpt was quite contentious when shown via the original promotional images. The likeness and execution is better in hand with the features of actor Ivanna Sakhno evident in the sculpt and subsequent photo facial print. What does throw the look is the hairpiece. This frames the face too harshly, sitting so far forward at the sides and the fringe that it looks almost like a comedy wig. The colour is bright blonde and lacks any level of darkening through a wash or similar effect. The Padawan braid is evident but only as a longer piece of the bright blonde hair extending at one side. The whole hair really needed to be worked differently, reducing the volume, the squared shape around the face, and darkening the colour while adding detail to the Padawan braid.
Shin has her lightsaber with her, a new piece reflective of the one used in the show and coloured in silver with a grey dulled grip, emitter, and pommel. It features the older style hook at the end of the hilt that can then be looped over a hook on Shin’s belt to create a holstered option. The hilt is unusually soft in terms of the plastic used, but remains serviceable. The saber blade in the show was orange - a deliberate decision to differentiate these new Dark Side users from the Sith. What Hasbro has given us is still red. Side-by-side with any Sith blade - such as Starkillers from the same wave - there is no colour variance, only that the Shin Hati blade is a touch brighter. The blade fits perfectly well into the hilt and the hilt can be wielded in either hand, or both hands thanks to the articulation configuration. For some reason, Shin has been given a trigger finger right hand which does look a bit odd when holding the hilt with the trigger finger outstretched.
Shin Hati features 17 points of articulation, all pinless, and configured to the newer standard for Black Series with no thigh swivel - replaced by a knee joint that also turns - but the inclusion of butterfly shoulders and that dual joint neck that both helps the head options but also aids the overall aesthetics in creating a cleaner line between outfit and neck, and removing the need for an unsightly peg. The skirt does limit lower leg options, but it is split at the side to allow wider stances. The arms are more expansive with plenty of light saber wielding options as well as force gestures - although ideally, some alternative hands would have been welcome to mimic those.
Shin Hati is an undoubted highly anticipated release in the Black Series with many stores selling out of their original allocations. She does have flaws, the biggest being that hairpiece which detracts from what is otherwise a pretty solid figure. Hasbro have cheaped out a little on not including a soft goods cloak - that may follow at a later stage - and the lightsaber blade needed to be distinctively orange like the show. The height issue doesn’t bother me hugely on Shin herself, but there are fixes you can research online using some doner legs if needed.
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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...