Vice Admiral Holdo, from Star Wars The Last Jedi was released as an action figure in 2019 as part of wave 20 of the Star Wars Black Series, phase 3. Holdo was part of a wave that also included Han Solo Mudtrooper, Dryden Vos, Padme Amidala, Mace Windu and the B1 Battle Droid
Packaging 4/5
Vice Admiral Holdo is number 80 in the 3rd phase of Star Wars Black Series packaging, the numbering being displayed on the red side spine and back of box.
The packaging features an impressive Gregory Titus illustration of a stern looking Holdo which is then repeated on the rear of the box along with a short piece of background text. As is usual with most Black Series figures, there is no reference to the movie this figure is from (The Last Jedi). The figure is given her full title as Vice Admiral Holdo.
"Commanding officer of the Resistance cruiser Ninka, Vice Admiral Holdo has been a trusted ally of General Leia Organa for years. Holdo radiates a quiet confidence with her measured words, but will it be enough to light the encroaching darkness?"
Paint & Sculpt 2/5
Holdo is a figure that is probably stigmatised from the off by both her look on screen and the role she plays in The Last Jedi. Looking past this, what we have here is a very very good likeness for Laura Dern - complete with intricate pink hairstyle. The face print technology is excellent and the paint application for the hair gives it real depth.
Hasbro chose to go the Soft Goods route with the dress Holdo wears, and this is perhaps not as successful as the head. It simply hangs too flat and needs something to give it shape and definition. Ironically round the back is a wonderful hanging section cast in rubbery plastic. Something like this to shape the dress at the front would have looked so much better. If for example you look at the sculpt on her neck and had carried that into the torso while also shaping the flow of the soft goods this could have been a much better figure.
The arms too are sculpted plastic (thankfully) and include some very detailed sculpting on the bracelets and the rings Holdo is wearing on both hands.
The overall colouring of Holdo's dress is too bright and pink for me, and if you look at reference photo's it should have been more muted.
Accessories 3/5
Holdo comes with one accessory, her Defender-5 sporting blaster. This is cast in a black plastic with painted silver barrel and side lines over the trigger.
The weapon fits into Holdo's right hand where a flexible trigger finger slots into place.
Articulation 4/5
There is a fully articulated body under the soft goods dress, 16 points in total.
Head : ball joint pivot neck
Body : torso ball joint
Arms : ball joint shoulder, single rotating elbow, pivot wrist
Legs : ball joint hip, thigh swivel, double joint knees, ankle rockers
The soft goods and the back draped section do not encumber the figure a little bit, so its tricky to get Holdo to kneel without hiking up her skirts unceremoniously. The arms are OK, but considering the poses Holdo throws in the movie, some double jointed elbows would have been great here - even at the expense of some of the leg articulation.
Summary
Vice Admiral Holdo does demonstrate the limitations of soft goods and how a combination of both would have likely delivered a much better figure. The head and hair are incredible and she is very photogenic, but there is no definition from that point onwards and she could be wearing an old sock rather than a dress.
I score the Vice Admiral Holdo action figure from wave 20 a just above average 3 out of 5.
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, hasbro, star wars, black series, the last jedi, vice admiral holdo,