Welcome to our review and gallery for the Star Wars Black Series 6 inch Rio Durant Action Figure. Rio, from Solo : A Star Wars Story, was released in late 2018 and is number 77 in the 3rd phase red packaging. Rio was part of Wave 19 of the 3rd phase alongside other Solo characters Rio, The Imperial Patrol Trooper and L3-37, as well as original trilogy figures of Dengar, Leia in her Hoth outfit and Lando in the Skiff Guard disguise.
Packaging 4/5
Rio Durant is packed in the usual sleek black box of the 3rd phase of Black Series packaging, complete with red backing card for the figure and gloss red right spine. The figure is number 77 in the line and the numbering sits on the red spine.
The artwork of Rio is expressive, showing a more subdued Rio than perhaps we see him in the movie.
This image is replicated on the reverse of the box, and in a larger size so you can see much more of the detail in the Ardonnian's face including the scar on his forehead (remember this detail).
Rio's background text talks about the operations Rio has done alongside Tobias Beckett. Interestingly it is not taken from StarWars.com like most of the text we see on the Black Series figure releases.
"Rio Durant has carried out dangerous operations alongside the scoundrel Tobias Beckett for years. The good-natured Ardennian pilot is up for any challenge, not unlike his young counterpart Han Solo."
Paint & Sculpt 4/5
Hasbro fail to disappoint with Alien sculpts, and Rio is another fantastic head sculpt. Like the illustration, this is quite a glum Rio rather than the wisecracking pilot we see on screen. The eyes are particularly realistic and the overall head paint job does a very good job of adding depth and realism to the sculpt. There are shadows and darker lines in the wrinkles and the whole face eventually fades to a darker grey around the rest of the head.
The flight goggles are actually a removable piece, which surprised me when they first came off. Taking them off doesn't really do much for the figure - but it does expose the scar on his head. I first thought this was a casting error, but it is screen accurate and matches the onscreen character - and the illustration on the box front.
The goggles themselves are a rubbery plastic and actually include transparent red lenses. They do not however fit down over the eyes, so can only be propped on the head. They aren't the best fitting either and it's hard to get them back into the position they were in the box and can slip off or be pushed up or outward when the head is moved.
Rio stands 4 3/5 inches high, which is accurate to his 4ft 11 stature scaled down to 1/12. He comes in his blue flight suit, as seen while flying the AT Hauler, complete with bright yellow flight vest.
Everything on the outfit is sculpted well and there are some good details including items like the zip on the flight suit, control panels on the chest unit and flight vest, and even a decompression valve on the leg of the suit. Painting is neat with no real issues. There is a lack of weathering, with just a touch around the white of the belt and front of chest unit to dirty it up.
Accessories 3/5
Rio's first accessory is a the large blaster that comes packed next to him in the box. This is a new weapon in the line and it looks a bit like a flamethrower with some pipework from the grip round to the front of the gun. It is cast in black plastic with no paint application at all.
This larger weapon is not something seen in the movie as far as I can see, it was perhaps based on an earlier design that was later dropped. It fits into any of Rio's four hands, all of which come with a gripping action and trigger finger.
The second weapon is packed in Rio's blaster as he arrives, it is held in with a very slim elasticated band. This is a what appears to be an SE-14C blaster, and this is screen accurate in terms of Rio using a pair of these when he is fighting off the Cloud Riders on the AT Hauler.
Like the larger weapon this is cast in black plastic with no paint applications.
And again it fits into any hand, although considering its holster location it feels like it should be a right handed weapon.
Articulation 4/5
As an Ardennian, Rio has four arms which makes articulating him a little out of the norm to most humanoid figures. Rio has 23 points of articulation making him one of the most articulated figures to date, although that doesn't quite translate to the most poseable.
The head is ball jointed and is also fitted with a pivot. The head can rotate a good way either side until a flexible hose connected to the ear piece starts to get too stretched. Under this is a torso ball joint, hidden beneath the yellow vest, and this adds another rotation motion - but not a great deal of options for leaning. The waist however gets a further ball joint and this allows the crouching and leaning motion that Rio needs as well as a further point where the upper body can rotate.
While the arms have obviously gained joints, the legs do lose out a little. We begin with a ball jointed hip which is fully mobile with the belt and holster moving with the leg. Being short and stubby the legs do lose the thigh swivel and we go straight into the knees. These are a single rotating joint only but do bend to 90 degrees, and they also rotate to make up for the thigh swivel.
We do gain again when we reach the ankles as there is both a rotation joint on the ankle and then an ankle rocker to level out the feet. This rocker is a touch loose, but so far I have had no issues standing Rio.
Each of the four arms is jointed with a ball joint where it meets the torso. All of these have full movement upward, but the rear pair of arms are blocked a little by the front pair, so these can swing out to the side and upward, but not forward.
Each arm has a rotating elbow with the rear pair bending to just about 90 degrees, and the front pair a touch further thanks to the rounding of the elbow shape. Each hand is then pegged with a pivot so rotates and pivots within the sleeve.
All these arm joints give a multitude of arm posing options, although it is tricky to get them looking natural (for a 4 armed Ardennian) with some poses just looking awkward. The front hands can get into a two handed weapon pose with the larger blaster, while the rear arms can be posed to look as though they are adjusting those goggles.
Summary
I am really pleased Rio made it into the Black Series, rounding off Beckett's crew and giving us another key character from Solo. It is also another great Alien design, something the Black Series has been lacking since inception.
Rio looks great with Beckett and the other Solo figures, scaling perfectly well. He has a few flaws, those goggles being one of them and I'd have preferred a sculpted or glued piece if they can only be fitted one way and not worn over the eyes for a variant look.
The outfit could maybe do with weathering a touch. The two accessories are OK, nothing special and the larger gun being an odd one to include unless it was based on an unused prop.
The sculpting and paint is very good, with a very realistic face sculpt and those glassy expressive eyes. The articulation is also very well designed, with no obvious scrimping on the joints by Hasbro to bring us a fully articulated six limbed alien - it is only this anatomy that restricts the joints with the stubby legs and the arms being so close together that they do impeded each other.
I score Rio Durant a strong 4 out of 5.
