Search this site

Review : Finn, First Order Disguise (The Last Jedi) Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 13 (Phase 3) Released : October 2017 £24.99 Pros : much improved likeness of John Boyega Cons : apart from head, the figure is reused from other sets and the paint apps are limited The Star Wars line is no stranger to "in disguise" figures - from Luke & Han in their Stormtrooper armour, to Lando as Skiff guard and now to Finn in his First Officer disguise from The Last Jedi. What is unusual about this figure is the fact it is the first release of Finn from Episode 8, when traditionally these "in disguise" characters tend to follow later or as exclusives of box sets. Finn is part of the 2nd Black Series wave to include Last Jedi figures, Wave 13 overall of the red 3rd phase of packaging. Alongside more desirable figures like General Leia and the Praetorian Guard, Finn has found himself peg warming a little since his release in the UK back in October 2017 - but as I write this he has started to disappear from shelves. The box remains unchanged on the front for Wave 13 and has the newer updates such as the thicker bar at the bottom of the window and the bolder Star Wars Black Series logo up top. I personally think the artwork on the box front is one of the very best true likenesses we have seen from Gregory Titus and it captures the steely determination that is driven into Finn by the climax of the movie when he gets on board the First Order flagship. The character name in red is simply "Finn" with the "First Order Disguise" in brackets underneath. Finn is number 51 in the 3rd phase and this is printed in bold black on the red side spine. Round the back we see a repeat of the Titus image and like all the wave 13 figures the image has been cut off half way down by a newly added panel that states "some poses may require support" repeated in numerous languages. As I have said in other wave 13 reviews, this panel makes no sense considering there are no images of Finn on the box for people to think he can do anything special. The panel appears to have been dropped again for Wave 14. If you haven't seen the movie the short synopsis makes the First Order disguise sound and how it fits into the Last Jedi much grander than it actually turns out on screen - but it does the job of not giving anything significant away The inner tray sits, as usual in the red cardboard inner sleeve. Finn is kept in place purely by the moulding of the clear tray and his pistol and baton sit either side of his head The sculpt is recognisable as John Boyega, but is not as good as some of the other more recent head sculpts. The eyes, eyebrows and mouth are all well painted and the skin tone is a flat tone, and not as glossy as our images may make out. The hat fits well and is painted grey with gloss black peak and a First Order logo front and centre applied neatly onto a raise hexagonal detail sculpted into the hat itself. The uniform is a drab grey throughout, consistent with what we see in the movie being designed to evoke the look of the original Imperial officers and them themselves being inspired by German WW2 uniforms with the flared trousers and polished knee high boots. The uniform has some added detail including the canisters on the tunic and some trimming to the end of the left sleeve. There is also a decal here in aurebesh that is meant to translate as Dillon. We saw this on the First Order Officer two pack (with Ackbar) from Toys R Us, and there is no change to this wording on the Finn figure. The body that Finn has on this release in "twofer" and that could explain the choice of releasing this version of Finn at the start of the Last Jedi releases. It is identical in every way to the generic First Order Officer in the aforementioned 2-pack, with a new head popped on top. What is then interesting consider the blatant re-use is that the hats on the two figures differ in size. When sculpted the Finn head was obviously smaller than the First Order Officer and his hat is a touch smaller as you can see in the above images. The hat being removable was not advertised well on the Ackbar 2-pack, and its not mentioned on this release either. While its not tremendously tight on the head I wonder how many people will unpack him and put him on display not knowing the hat comes off? Once it is off you get a clearer look at the Boyega head sculpt and it is pleasing that the hair detail is all in place and sculpted under the hat. While I said this is not the definitive sculpt of John Boyega, if you line this 2017 release up against the 2015 release from The Force Awakens you can see the leap in quality we've had in this line in just 2-years. Finn has a standard 16 points of articulation starting with the head which is ball jointed and also pivoted to allow him to look up and down as well as side to side. There is a similar ball joint in his waist, hidden by his belt which then allows some similar forward and backward movement of the upper body. Sadly if you take his forward or backward lean more than a few mm's you will expose the base of the joint as an ugly gap between torso and legs. Arms start with full ranging ball jointed shoulders. There is then a rotating elbow and pivot wrists. That allows some good weapon poses which we will look at shortly, but also the hands behind head "captured" look if you want to replicate the scene with Phasma and the Executioner Trooper. Legs start with ball jointed hips and a thigh swivel just below that - both hidden by the skirt of the jacket. This is cast in a rubbery material so it will move with the legs and doesn't hinder them much. Knees are double jointed and can bend in on themselves for kneeling poses. The ankle rockers are tight and ratcheted and Finn stands perfectly well on his own. Finn is packed with two weapons, the first of which is a small First Order blaster pistol - another direct re-use from the Ackbar set. The sculpt is tight and detailed with visible panels and ridges across the blasters components. While it is the same cast piece in black it is painted differently in the Finn release being now left as black with just a silver line down the one side. I cannot fathom why this would be other than cost and it is an odd choice as you would assume all First Order equipment to be standard - unless the Imperial Officer from the Ackbar pack has been "blinging" his side arm? The gun fits into either of Finn's hand, but it is only the right that has a flexible trigger finger to slide into the trigger. When not in use it will also fit into the working holster on the belt. This is a tight fit and beware that the tunic design does force the holster, and therefore the gun, off to one side so leaving it fully in there over time may result in some warping. Weapon number two is another "twofer". The baton has already appeared in the Amazon exclusive First Order and Gear set. It is an upgrade from the 2015 baton and now is hinged so the blades can be folded outward. There is no significant difference to the Amazon version and it is very well decorated having been cast in white plastic with detail added in silver, black and even red down the central shaft. The new hinge allows you to deploy this open or closed and it fits into either hand and with the wide ranging movement you can get Finn into a number of action poses. Had this Finn arrived a good few months ahead of the Toys R Us Ackbar exclusive (and that Amazon Trooper pack) then I don't think we'd have any complaints. However, having already had the generic First Order Officer and the redesigned baton land at the same time as the Finn figure it has demeaned the release somehow. My personal preference would have been to use this head sculpt and to have a Finn as we see him through most of the movie and into Canto Bight. This release would then make a perfect 2-pack with Phasma and her new staff or by adding in a BB-9E for some added value to make up for the repacking. This version of Finn has a number of small fault for me, all of which feel like a lack of finish on the figure such as the paint decor on the uniform being a flat grey and the decal being reused on the arm and the gun decor being dialled back. I will see Finn a an average release that won't particularly excite anyone and could have been presented so much better. I score him 3 out of 5.

Review : General Leia (The Last Jedi) Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 13 (Phase 3) Released : Sept 2017 £24.99 Pros : Excellent likeness to Carrie Fisher, even without the facial printing technique Cons : Some nasty paint variation from main outfit to legs. The changes to the back of box spoil the wonderful artwork. Can you believe we've reached Wave 13 of the Black Series, Phase 3 and number #52! Wave 13 is the 2nd The Last Jedi wave and contains a mix of new Last Jedi figures and re-repacks of The Last Jedi Kylo Ren as well as the AT-AT Driver and Snowtrooper. The new Last Jedi figures are made up of Maz Kanata, Poe Dameron, Finn in his First Order disguise and the figure we are looking at here - General Leia Organa. There are no discernible packaging changes for General Leia. It comes with the expanded bottom rail and the brighter Star Wars Black Series Logo. The grey-scale artwork to the bottom right is a particularly nice image of Carrie Fisher and feels quite poignant in the circumstances. The character name is specifically General Leia Organa, no mention of the word Princess, but "to me, she is royalty". Leia is #52 in the range and this is positioned as usual on the gloss red spine. The number is repeated on the box reverse, this time in red, and under this we get a short paragraph that talks about "all she has endured and lost in a lifetime of war". The image from the box front is blown up and repeated on the back, but is cropped at the bottom of her nose by what looks to be a new section of the card back. This large section of text simply contains the wording "some poses may require additional support" and this is then repeated over and over again in 26 other languages. Considering there are no poses shown on the box, this addition is bizarre and spoils the box back for me by truncating the artwork we love. This amendment is present on other Wave 13 figures, but we will have to see if this continues into future waves and if it is specific to European releases (we purchased this review figure at Toys R Us UK). Leia slides out from either the top or bottom flap of the box and is presented in the clear plastic tray inside a red cardboard sleeve. To the right of her head, as you look, is her blaster. There are no other accessories or contents. Now while we may still be waiting for the new Face Printing technology to arrive, this facial sculpt of Leia is one of the best we've had to date and has captured the older Carrie Fisher. The sculpt is quite expressive with that pouted mouth that Leia has through The Force Awakens and we assume into The Last Jedi as she struggles against the might of The First Order. The head is a single flesh tone, but with the high cheek bones the shadowing does add depth and structure to the face. The eyes are painted well and not as heavily made up as some of the earlier female figures in the range. Likewise the lips are not bright red and are a subtle pink flesh tone. The hair is not quite the "Baboon's ***" style, but is quite intricate and carries some braiding similar to what we saw in The Return of the Jedi. The hair is a single tone of brown. Like Luke Skywalker from Wave 12, this figure works as both a Force Awakens and Last Jedi version as the outfit is consistent across both films. This is made up of a light blue jump suit with large collars. This is fastened with a black belt and silver buckle. Over this is a purple body warmer and the boots are knee high gloss brown with silver buckles. The majority of the clothing is one tone, but the upper part of the blue jumpsuit seems to have a very mild wash to dirty it up and yellow it a little. Sadly they didn't continue this beyond the thigh swivels, so the lower part of her legs are brighter than the rest of the outfit. Articulation on Leia is excellent, she benefits greatly from slim arms with nothing to obstruct the joints. The shoulder are ball jointed followed by a single elbow joint hidden neatly in the sleeve of the shirt, this also rotates. The arms finish with a pivot wrist that rotates and bends. As we move and pose the arms we also start to see other subtle details on the figure - check out the rings on her right hand with gold and blue paint details. The trunk of the body has a torso joint , and while this is partially hidden under the body warmer - it is still quite visible and cuts through the figure quite aggressively. It also doesn't add much in terms of movement - it allows the torso to rotate, but this looks unnatural, and doesn't really do much else - I would have expected a ball joint to allow leaning forward and backward. For what you get I'd have preferred to see the give this joint a miss altogether. Lower leg articulation is just as wide ranging as the arms. The ball jointed hips and double-jointed knees allow for kneeling fully and a sitting position if you really want it. The thigh swivel is a bit of an eyesore, worsened by the paint variation I mentioned earlier. We then get ankle rockers to keep her stood upright and these are night and tight and feel ratcheted While not (as far as we know) screen accurate, the body warmer is removable giving Leia a differing look underneath. The rest of the body is sculpted so removing the body warmer doesn't expose any unfinished or unpainted parts. For me, this outfit reminds me of the Endor outfit and with an amended head and soft goods poncho, this would look awesome as a re-release with or without a Speeder Bike (or a Wicket). The sole accessory is a new blaster weapon. The blaster is very similar to the Defender Sporting Blaster that Leia first brandishes right back at the start of A New Hope as she tries to fight off Stormtroopers on the Tantive IV. This is however not a recast of that particular gun that was packed with A New Hope Leia in Wave 9 and the 40th Anniversary series It is cast in black plastic, but has touches of silver on the barrel and just above the rear grip. We certainly didn't see Leia with a weapon in The Force Awakens. It may or may not be accurate to The Last Jedi, but I do thank Hasbro for including something with the figure. Leia looks awesome with the gun and can get into a number of action poses with it. A holster may have been nice to keep it in when not in hand, but that would have then strayed from the accuracy of the costume. While we have had the older Han Solo for a while now, it is good to get the other two key human characters to display together - even if the three of them didn't meet in this format in The Force Awakens. These images of Han, Luke and Leia do also show the progress on head sculpting Hasbro have taken since 2015 and Han does look out of shape against Leia in particular. Leia is a wonderful addition to the Black Series range for the new films. The facial likeness is one of the best yet and the outfit, while pretty tame, is well realised. Articulation is great, but we could have done without the thigh swivel and the torso joint. The other issue is the paint variation on the legs which is pretty visible. I score General Leia Organa a solid 4 out of 5.

Review : Captain Poe Dameron (The Last Jedi) Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 13 (Phase 3) Released : October 2017 £24.99 Pros : well articulated, blaster is well cast and fits into the working holster Cons : the face paint apps are wildly varying even in the same wave, the paint is basic on the outfit Whatever you think of Poe Dameron in The Last Jedi, he has certainly accelerated from a secondary character as the "hot shot" pilot in The Force Awakens to a more central role in the new Trilogy and will likely be central to the story in Episode 9. He didn't make the cut for the first wave of Black Series Last Jedi figures - with slots here reserved for Rey, Luke and Kylo. He does join Finn, and of course his mentor General Leia, in the 2nd lot of Last Jedi figures as part of the 13th wave of Black Series phase 3 figures. We find Poe in the standard Black Series phase 3 packaging. Being a newer release it has the wider base rail on the front and the brighter Black Series logo at the top. The Gregory Titus image on the bottom right shows a very determined and focused Poe in his Last Jedi outfit. The character name sits alongside this in red text as Captain Poe Dameron, recognising his demotion after the incident with the First Order Dreadnaught. Poe is number 53 in the red Phase 3 packaging and this sits on the right hand red spine in bold black. The character name is repeated under this and also on the left spine. Round the back we have a larger version of the Titus image, but like all wave 13 releases the image is cut off in its prime by a bizarre multilingual statement that "some poses may require additional support". This seems to be isolated to Wave 13 only and has been dropped for the wave 14 figures like Snoke and Rose. The text that sits alongside the artwork is quite brief and very vague, talking only about having "defiant coverage to stare down the threat of the First Order" and it touches on his arc in The Last Jedi in terms of "he worries that some in the Resistance leadership don't have what it takes". As always the figure comes out via the top or bottom flap which are sealed shut with tape at the factory. Inside we find a three sided red cardboard tray into which sits a clear plastic tray containing the figure. The plastic tray is mouled to hold the figure securely in place, there are no fiddly twist-ties in use. Poe's blaster sits to the side of his head. Poe has narrowly missed the face printing technology, which is a shame as I think it would have made this figure considering the outfit is so generic. I would strongly suggest you shop around for your Poe as there is a huge disparity in paint apps on the face. The worse, with the heaviest "stubble" seem to be the original Wave 13 releases from Force Friday. Later deliveries of Wave 13 seem to have better apps. Finn is also being repacked in Wave 15 in early January 2018 and that may present an even better paint job? The Poe I picked up was about the 10th one I went through on shelves and to my mind was the best likeness. From some angles this is a dead on likeness for Oscar Isaac's, but from other angles he still looks off. The shading on the stubble does make or break the figure and I think the one I have is the right balance between too dark and looking dirty or too light and therefore less like Isaac's. The eyes are very intense and quite heavy and they can look to be floating on the skin tone. The hair is really nicely sculpted, but is then painted as a flat brown with some nasty bleeding or lack of coverage round the ears. Poe's outfit is very "Han Solo" starting with a collarless shirt which is cast in an off white colour and just has the neck painted in skin tone, and sadly a skin tone that is a lot lighter than the head skin tone. Over this we have a jacket, cast as a separate rubberised piece. Again the jacket is cast in the dark colour - and I still can't decide if this is black, brown or blue. There are some silver paint apps added for buttons - and that is it. The sleeve colour is a good match to the coat piece and on the right sleeve we have a Rebel/Resistance winged decal. This is nicely distressed so it doesn't appear as though Poe is wearing a brand new shiny coat off the rack. The trousers are quite plain and again cast in a grey single colour plastic the colour is even the same right into and through the boots with an ever so slight variance on a couple of straps. The other detail on the leg is the thigh holster in brown which is part of a belt with a second strap around the thigh - this is another separate piece. The 2015 Force Awakens Poe Dameron was about the ugliest figure in the 2015 releases and when you compare this 2017 Poe with his 2015 counterpart (I used the one from the Argos 2-pack) you can see the improvements Hasbro have made in just 2-years. Nothing appears to be reused, with 2017 Poe being a brand new figure from the boots upwards. Poe has 16 points of articulation, a standard for the current Black Series. The head is a ball joint with a pivot at the front. The head will rotate fully side to side and you can push the head down so the chin is on the chest or back so Poe is looking up. Down into the chest there is a further ball joint cut into the shirt/chest. This too lets the figure rotate, or lean up and down - but as you do a quite noticeable seam will appear. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulders with full movement up and outward. The elbows are rotating joints, bending to a clear right angle as well as rotating a full 360 degrees. The wrists are pegged with a pivot also so these rotate and will bend within the confines of the sleeve. The legs on Black Series have been getting much more maneuverable in my opinion in the past 12-months, and Poe has a very good range of leg movement. The hips are ball jointed, with a slight gap to increase the movement. This means rather than wider stances, the figure can kneel and can sit down - useful if we ever get a 6" scale X-Wing or if you feel the need to have Poe hijack your 6" First Order Tie Fighter. There is a thigh swivel to allow the legs to twist and below this double jointed knees are utilised and this means the legs can pretty much fold back on themselves for a full kneeling pose. The legs end with a ankle rocker which feel very robust with a distinctive ratchet as you bend these. Poe is really easy to stand. Poe is armed with a small Resistance blaster, the Glie-44. The sculpt has been released twice before - first with the original 2015 Poe Dameron in X-Wing flight suit, and then again with Ello Asty (also 2015). While the sculpt remains the same, the sculpt is sharper in a harder plastic. The colouring has differed on each appearance with this new one arguably the nicest having been cast in a bright silver and with black handle detail on the grip. The blaster fits into either of Poe's hand - but more securely in the right where the flexible trigger finger can be slotted into the trigger of the blaster. If you don't want Poe with the blaster in hand, then you can stow it away in the holster which actually works. The gun slips in securely and holds in place, and with the arm articulation being as it is you can even get some gunslinger poses if you wish. Poe Dameron is certainly going to be around on pegs quite a lot longer than other 2017 Last Jedi releases, and that won't be helped by his repack in the first wave of 2018. He is not a bad figure, and is one that certainly showcases the strides Hasbro have made in just 2-years on sculpt, face details and articulation. He does still suffer from a lack of any real paint apps - a wash on the jacket and some variation on the boots would have made the plain outfit pop a little. The blaster is nice and the working holster a good bonus but a couple more accessories might have been nice - hell why not throw in a BB8? Poe falls into the category of being an "OK" release, and one I would recommend you get for your collection - but only when you find a sculpt you are happy with. Considering the basic paint apps, the single accessory and the huge variance in face detail I will score this figure a 3 out of 5 overall.

Review : Elite Praetorian Guard (The Last Jedi) Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 13 (Phase 3) Released : October 2017 £24.99 Pros : Armour is well done, and the engineering on the shoulder armour to aid articulation is brilliant Cons : Very red, with no break in colour - makes it look a little cheap. The fact we will have to multi buy these for different versions is frustrating After updating Stormtroopers and Snowtroopers in The Force Awakens, the First Order are putting their spin on the Imperial Royal Guards in The Last Jedi. This brand new design of guard are employed as the personal guard of Supreme Leader Snoke, and have courted controversy since their reveal. While some fans love the design, others see it as a poor marketing ploy to sell more action figures - something that giving each guard a varying head seems to support. We take a look at the first release of one of these Praetorian Guards, the standard release from Wave 2 of The Last Jedi figures (Wave 13 of Phase 3). The Elite Praetorian arrives in the standard Phase 3 packaging, and that in itself is a problem as the red card back eats up the figure and in the packaging the figure is a little lost. The packaging carries the usual grayscale artwork that is consistent in the helmet style to the figure. The name is interesting being given as the "Elite" Praetorian Guard, apparently indicating ranks within the Guards. The side spine remains a bright gloss red and the Elite Praetorian Guard is a bit of a landmark, being #50 in the 3rd phase of Black Series releases. The card back text reveals very little about the Praetorian Guard other than they flank the Supreme Leader and defend him from threat. Under this text is the same grayscale artwork from the front box - but it is blown up so much it is no longer really visible and looks more like a background than an illustration. The figure slides out via the top or bottom flap, and is presented in the usual inner plastic tray. There are no twisty ties, the figure is held in purely by the moulding of the tray. His bladed staff weapon sits to one side. Hasbro have always executed armoured figures really well from a sculptural basis, and the Praetorian Guard is no exception. The head is a three piece design with a front grill which comes together in a point at the front. We then have a rear segment and an overhead crown. The helmet will be a point of difference with the varying releases of Praetorian Guard. The chest armour is reminiscent of a First Order Stormtrooper, but not a direct reuse from that sculpt. Under this is a ribbed undersuit, visible at the neck on the figure. The arms are segmented armour pieces, very much inspired by Feudal Japan and the Samurai warrior armour. The shirt section is a textured soft rubbery plastic which has some movement to it. Under the skirt we have fully sculpted legs with armoured knee pads and boots. The legs are the only detail on the figure that is not gloss red in colour - these are painted black from the knees upwards. The armour on the figure is a very high gloss red, but there is contrast with the skirt and neck sections which are textured and a flatter finish. There is one paint app detail on the chest piece - a black spot which may indicate rank or similar? While the colouring is accurate to what we know about the guards - on a figure of this size it would benefit from some more definition detail, as it stands it looks a little cheap. If you look at the press images there are lots of shadows cast on the armour and I wonder what some shaded darker red would look like strategically applied? While armoured figure sculpting is done well, articulation can often suffer. The Praetorian Guard gets off to a good start in articulation with a very mobile neck joint that can swivel the head but also has a huge range of motion vertically, he can just about rest the chin of the helmet onto his chest. The shoulders are also very well done. These are on ball joints, but the clever articulation is in the two shoulder piece which are on a ball joint of their own. As the arms move up the shoulder pads move with them, the shoulder panels can even be posed in a raised position while the arms are down. Marvel Legends fans may recognise this as how Hasbro have done the Iron-Man shoulders in recent years. The first articulation issue appears comes with the elbows, a key joint considering this figure is a Samurai inspired Elite warrior. There is an initial thought of the figure not having any elbow articulation at all as the arms are so straight and there is no obvious joint. There is a joint however and it sits under the 5th armoured panel down from the shoulder. Some heat from a hairdryer will loosen it for you, and with some maneuvering you can get a pretty decent bend out of the arm - not quite 90 degrees but good enough to help weapon posing a little later. The arm articulation ends with a jointed wrist. This both swivels and pivots within the constraints of the armour. Further enhancement to action poses is built into the torso with another ball joint that is hidden under the chest armour. This allows the torso to be rotated and leaned forward and backwards. The legs are locked in by the skirt section, but are fully articulated with a ball joint hip, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and an ankle rocker. The skirt will splay out being in four segments and this will allow wider stances and a kneeling pose at a push - although this doesn't look too natural. The ankle rockers do feel a bit loose and while the Guard stands pretty well, these will be a weak spot if you over-reach the figure with his weapon. The weapon, like the helmet, is going to be a differentiating factor between the various Guards that Hasbro are releasing. This version comes with a bladed staff which is cast in red plastic and then has the blade and sections of the handle painted in silver. The weapon fits nicely into both hands and can be wielded into a number of action poses with some work using those shoulder, elbow and torso joints. You won't get bored of playing and posing with the Elite Praetorian Guard. And there is no doubt he will look even better in a group with the other releases. I didn't expect to like the Elite Praetorian Guard as much a I do. As a reboot of the Imperial Guards they don't carry the nostalgia as the ones I grew up with, but I respect the tribute they pay in terms of the colouring and robes. Don't be too worried about articulation as the elbows work better than you may expect, and the shoulders work so well with those articulated shoulder armour pads. While some shading might have improved the look on the figure, I can see how this would be difficult on a glossy armoured figure. So the main issue with this figure for me is the fact it will be churned out over and over again in various sets and packs (three announced already including this one). The original Black Series goal was to give us one release packed full of accessories to allow us to define which version we wanted to display. This would have worked well here with alternative helmets and weapons rather than making us buy exclusives from Amazon or a set of 4 figures from Gamestop. You will love your Praetorian Guard, you may however (like me) be frustrated at the hoops you will need to jump through to get the different versions rather than pack it all together and let us buy multiple figures. I therefore score him a 4 out of 5.

Review : Maz Kanata (The Force Awakens / The Last Jedi) Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 13 (Phase 3) Released : October 2017 £24.99 Pros : Wonderful head sculpt, set off even more by those articulated eye glasses Cons : Hip joint has quite a gap, even in neutral posing. Maz Kanata made her debut in the Star Wars Universe in The Force Awakens in 2015, and yet despite her popularity it has taken 2 years to bring her into the 6" Black Series range as a figure. She arrives in wave 13, the 2nd wave of The Last Jedi figures. The packaging remains unchanged with an interesting illustration of Maz from Gregory Titus. He seems to have chosen an odd expression for Maz, and it makes her look older and frail? The character name sits to the side in red, it is simply Maz Kanata and like most Black Series releases it doesn't specify which movie the figure is taken from. Maz herself is fully visible, being of smaller stature, in the window set against the gloss red card back. To her side sit a blaster, lightsaber and the case from her castle. The front is headed by the Star Wars Black Series logo. Maz is number 49 in the 3rd phase of Black Series releases. The numbering sits in bold black on the gloss red right hand spine. The opposite spine has a wrap round of the window and a repeat of the character name - initially in red small text and behind this a faded grey blown up version. The rear of the card starts with the Black Series logo and the numbering, now in red. Beneath this sits a short paragraph about Maz - and here it specifically talks about her role in The Last Jedi considering it starts "the destruction of her castle has forced Maz to become more mobile and take a hands-on (and blasters-firing) role in the turbulent criminal underworld". This is repeated, as usual, in three other languages. This paragraph sits atop a larger version of the Titus illustration. But like the the other Wave 13 figures the image has been truncated by a new warning section which cuts the image off half way down. This warning simply states "some poses may require additional support" and this is then repeated over and over again in 26 other languages. Considering there are no poses shown on the box, this addition is bizarre and spoils the box back for me by truncating the artwork we love. Having now got Wave 14 figures in hand, this new text box seems to have disappeared and remains unique to Wave 13 so far. As always the package is opened by the top or bottom flap which are sealed with tape. The inner tray slides out and Maz sits in the plastic tray - there are no twist ties or straps. The sculpt on Maz is exceptional, another fantastic realisation of an Alien character in the Black Series 6" line. The head carries a real depth of wrinkles and creases, but it is her large expressive eyes that bring the figure to life. The skin is painted and then washed to darken the wrinkled areas, and it almost glows golden under certain lights. From the head, the skin tone and colouring continues into the neck and just before the neckline of the sweater you can see a very thin necklace detail painted so neatly considering the size and location in gold paint. Maz is wearing a simple knitted textured sweater with her beaded necklace also sculpted onto the torso piece. The sweater continues down each arm and the whole piece is painted a rich green - but there is no additional paint apps outside the base colour. Each arm has a collection of bangles, all painted in gold and silver with their own intricate designs. And then we go out onto the hands and these are adorned with sculpted rings with the same skin tone used on the exposed skin as we see on the head and neck. The trousers are a single tone burgundy colour and these are tucked into some colourful knitted textured socks - there is around 7 different paint tones on these boots alone. The trousers are separated from the sweater by means of a belt piece in a bright orange plastic. From the belt we have a couple of pouches and straps. The belt loops are painted burgundy to match the trousers, and there is some silver detailing on the belt buckle and some of the hanging trinkets. Maz stands just 4 inches tall, which is spot on to her reported height of 4'1 in the movies. Out of the box and Maz's eye glasses are placed on the top of her head. I was delighted to find these are articulated and can be swung down over her eyes. The mechanism works well and the lens on the glasses are actually a convexed plastic so it actually gives the impression that it magnifies the eyes. Being a smaller character, Maz has had some small concessions made on her articulation. She still boasts 16 points of articulation (18 if you inlude the glasses), and this starts with a ball jointed head which also pivots allowing her to look down by some way. There is a similar joint in her waist and this too allows forward leaning motion as well as rotation. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulder and the elbows a single rotating joint. There is full movement in the arms. The wrists, remain a pivot on a peg but the size of the hands see's the pivot set quite far back in the wrist which does mean the hands are limited to rotation only. The legs are ball jointed at the hips and these are quite wide with a large gap - even in neutral poses. The thigh swivels are still there and are also a bit unsightly on such a petite figure. The knees have been paired back to a single joint - and on our review copy the joint was ceased and when we finally opened it up it had stretched and discoloured the plastic. The figure ends with ankle rockers, and these allow Maz to stand quite well on her own. If you want to - Maz's waistcoat is removable being cast as a separate piece in soft plastic. There is a full sculpted sweater underneath and Maz doesn't look out of place with the waistcoat removed. Maz is armed with a DH-17 blaster. This is the same sculpt as included in the Death Squad Commander (40th Anniversary) and Wave 11's Lando Calrissian. I am going to start to consider which version of Maz we have here. The packaging indicates this is The Last Jedi appearance, but the fact she comes with the trunk and light saber seems to dispute that. This blaster is however not the one she sports in The Force Awakens (see the visual guide). It may be the one she is firing in her Last Jedi scene, but there is no clarity on that as yet. The weapon is cast in black plastic with a silver barrel. It fits in Maz's right hand perfectly well, but there is no flexible trigger finger to fit into place, Maz's hand is so small it wouldn't have been practical. The trunk sits purely as a Force Awakens prop/accessory. It is cast in a rubbery plastic which means the hinges are simply soft plastic rather than a joint of any description. The texture of the wood is brilliant, as is the paint job to make it look like aged wood. The metal straps and rivets are all scaled well and painted in silver with black washing to age the chest. If I am being really picky, the prop chest in the movie had more rust on the metal. The inside of the chest is a brown sculpted piece of various "junk". There is enough room to place the saber hilt on top and then to close the lid. The lid closes easily but won't hold shut until you clip the clasp piece on the lid over the bracket on the front. The saber itself is the smaller version of the Anakin lightsaber as included with Jedi Training Rey. There is no blade included. The hilt is painted in silver and black with a loop on the end to hang on a belt. The chest is well scaled to the figure of Maz, and also will look great posed with Rey or in a larger diorama of Maz's castle. Maz can hold the saber hilt i both hands if you want to pose her handing the weapon to Rey (or Finn). We do not get a lot of Alien characters in the 6" Black Series line - but when we do , Hasbro execute them really well. Maz is up there with other alien releases such as Greedo, Maul, Bossk and more recently Snoke. The sculpt is excellent and the paint job overall is well done with plenty of colour on the figure as well as that extravagant jewellery. The working eye glasses are a real treat too. Articulation is great, although I would have liked the hips reduced in movement so they look less "gappy". The issue with our figure on the knee is also a frustration. I do have to consider which Maz we are getting here. The box says The Last Jedi, but there is no jetpack. The contents say The Force Awakens, but then the blaster is not accurate - and Hasbro usually get these things spot on. I guess this is a combo Maz that will do for displays for both Episode 7 and 8, and I personally will use this as a Force Awakens figure. I score Maz a 4 out of 5 overall.

Review : Imperial Stormtrooper Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 12 (Phase 3) Released : Sept 2017 £24.99 Pros : An older release, but it checks out. Why change a brilliant figure with great articulation? Cons : Still has some issues with messy paint transition between the black and white When the first wave of Star Wars Black Series for Force Friday II (3rd September 2017) to launch The Last Jedi products was announced many were surprised to see the inclusion of the original Imperial Stormtrooper within the wave. The Stormtrooper was first released back in 2014 in the original orange-line packaging and was number #09 in that first run. There was a second release of the figure earlier in 2017 as part of the 40th Anniversary series, but that was a limited run. The decision to re-release the Stormtrooper as part of this 12th Wave of Phase 3 is essentially a clever move on Hasbro's part as it coincides with the launch of their new Centrepiece line. The Darth Vader Centrepiece, that depicts the assault on the Tantive IV, requires at least two Black Series Stormtroopers to really give the effect they want. It is a bit odd to see the Imperial Stormtrooper in the vibrant Phase 3 packaging, but that white armour against the gloss red backdrop really allows the figure to stand out. This is one figure I would consider keeping boxed purely on its visual impact. The design of the box is standard with black card on top of which sits the red character name - simply Stormtrooper - and a grey scale illustration of the trooper. The top Black Series logo has been tweaked from this Wave (12) to be a lighter and therefore bolder colour. The gloss red spine carries the number #48 for the Stormtrooper, and round the back we get an updated write up about the Troopers - an expansion on the text from the original orange line box which simply described the scene pictured underneath as they entered the Tantive IV. This text sits atop a larger version of the trooper illustration. The rest of the box see's a repeat of the text in other languages and then the usual safety and legal notices and logos. The white sticker you can see on our review copy is from the Far East market - it can be easily removed if you wish with a bit of heat from a hairdryer. The figure slides out via the top or bottom flap, and comes slotted into the plastic inner tray with no twist ties. The two weapons sit to the troopers right. Out of the box the Imperial's finest stands dead on 6" high. The sculpt is proportional and screen accurate with the armour cast in bright white plastic. The helmet is well proportioned to the body, and looks like a human head can fit inside. The eye slots are black gloss, but do suffer with a touch of paint bleed into the eyebrow rim that runs round the helmet above the eyes. There are a number of cut in panels, each painted in grey and black. The mouthpiece is a matt black, and here the paint really needs to go a bit further back on the sculpt. Either side of this central mouthpiece are the two silver studs. A line of blue decals are applied either side of the helmet. The body panels are all angular and hard and in the main match up to each other in shade. Softer areas like the shoulder armours and belt do seem a little yellower, and over time these will become more of a contrast to the harder plastic elements. The same yellowing can be said of the articulation pins on the elbows and knees, Under the armour is a black undersuit. On our review figure here we do get some white patches on the black parts which is frustrating. The only other colours used on the Stormtrooper are grey paint on the rear of the belt canister and on the soles of the boots. The belt is a separate piece and is hooked around the waist with a holster hanging from the troopers right hip. Articulation starts with the ball jointed helmet which rotates fully and has a pivot to look up and down by quite a distance. The shoulders are ball jointed, but will not raise much past 45 degrees as the armoured shoulder panel doesn't retract and blocks the movement. The elbows are double jointed, an unusual feature on the Black Series on the whole. and this really helps two handed weapon poses. There is even a bicep swivel to turn the arms inwards or outwards. The final arm articulation is a pivot at the wrist to help adjust hand movement. A torso joint is built in under the chest armour and like the helmet, this both rotates and can pivot forward and backwards. Legs start with the hips, which like the shoulders are restricted by the armour. The knees are double jointed and allow kneeling positions to be reached, but not one knee firing or action poses. Ankle rockers allow the figure to stand easily. One criticism of the figure is around the joints which are loose in place, and the figure has a definite loose wobble when handled. The two guns are cast in black plastic. The E11 is left at that, with no further paint decor. This fits into the troopers right hand, with the trigger finger of the trooper lining up to the trigger of the gun. The E11 can be cradled in two hands also thanks to the double elbow articulation. The larger D20a has a silvery dry-brush on top of the black plastic. This also sits in the right hand and can be held one or two handed. The holster allows both weapons to be held easily, although it is designed specifically for the smaller E11. The larger gun can be slotted in place, but it will stick up past the waist and across the back of the figure. The Imperial Stormtrooper ticks a lot of boxes as a figure. It is well designed and fairly well executed - the only questions being around the yellowing on some of the softer plastic and those floppy joints. It is an Army Builder and is representative of the troopers appearance in all three original films. The release also gets the benefit of being in the new Phase 3 box and that red backdrop really makes the figure pop and is a thing of beauty for a boxed collector. It also gives collectors who missed the original Wave 3 release back in 2014 - or the recent short run 40th Anniversary - a chance to bolster their forced. It is also a clever repack by Hasbro considering the Centrepiece collection which has been released at the same time - that Vader diorama needs two of these to achieve the overall look of the Tantive IV attack. I scored the original / 40th Anniversary Stormtrooper a 4 out of 5, and see no reason to change that score for this re-release. Checkout the Star Wars Selection Over at Kapow Toys

Review : Grand Admiral Thrawn (Rebels) Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 12 (Phase 3) Released : Sept 2017 £24.99 Pros : Striking blue skin tone and crisp white uniform. Can adopt his iconic hand behind back pose Cons : Knowing that there were so many cool accessories from his office available, but in the SDCC pack only I was lucky enough to be at Star Wars Celebration London in 2016 when it was announced that Grand Admiral Thrawn would be joining Rebels in Season 3 as the primary villain. I'd always been a fan of the Chiss Admiral, and while I enjoyed the novels seeing him realised on screen was brilliant when he made his Rebels debut. What was extra special was the intention to take the animated Thrawn and imagine him in a realistic style within the 6" Black Series. Thrawn got his first release as an impressive pack at SDCC 2017. This release was in an exclusive blue box and came with a wealth of accessories that made up the collection from Thrawn's office that we see quite often on Rebels. The Grand Admiral made his debut on 3rd September 2017 as part of the Force Friday II release of The Last Jedi figures. He is number #47 in the Phase 3 red packaging and is included in Wave 12 alongside the early Last Jedi releases, the new Vader, a re-released Stormtrooper and his Rebels adversary - Hera Syndula. The box is standard fare with black background and headed with the brighter Star Wars Black Series logo .The artwork is also a "realistic" version of Thrawn - and even in grey scale it is recognisable as the Grand Admiral. Around the back of the packaging we get a larger version of that artwork and a short paragraph that talks about how Governor Pryce of Lothal required a stronger commander to face the rebellion and how Grand Admiral Thrawn was the Empires answer. The text also goes on to confirm Thrawn's species as a Chiss and talks about his blue skin, red eyes and angular face. The figure slides out in its inner tray via the top or bottom flap. Thrawn comes packed with a single blaster. While the majority of the Black Series releases are based on actual actors from one of the movies - the Rebels releases are a little bit different in that the sculptors at Hasbro not only have to replicate the character but they also need to use their artistic licence to take an stylised animated visual and make it realistic. So far they've done a brilliant job with Kanan, Ahsoka, Sabine and Hera - but I think Thrawn could be the best of the bunch. The skin is obviously a focal point and is a beautiful shade of blue, albeit without any shading. Thankfully the depth of sculpt and the angular lines of Thrawn's face lets the natural light define the features of the figure. The hair is swept back and deep in texture and a rich black colour. The eyes are deep red with neat pupils. The only gripe on the face paint is some bleeding around the neck where the white goes from the tunic and up onto the neck. Thrawn is also impressive in terms of his stature and height, he stands a good 6 1/4" tall and therefore stands taller than a lot of other figures in the range. The Imperial outfit is well designed and sculpted with folded panels, creases and bunched cloth around the knees. There are two gold epaulettes on the shoulders and gold designs around the collar. The small canisters, which we see on other Imperial officer uniforms, are tucked in just under the shoulder epaulettes. The rank insignia sits on a silver panel and is painted neatly in blue, yellow and red. Collectors will be aware of the SDCC version of this Thrawn figure, and it is worth noting that there is a minor difference on the rank insignia between the two releases - with the SDCC having a white plate and the standard release being silver. The articulation on Thrawn is impressive. The head is a ball joint with pivot so this rotates, but looking up or down is blocked by the angular chin and the rear hairline respectively. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulder and then jointed at the elbows, with a rotation built in. With the pivot wrists this means you can replicate the mannerisms of Thrawn including his hands behind back pose he adopts most often. Thrawn has shown in the show he is capable of defending himself when called upon, and the articulation does allow some variety of movement in the lower legs if you desire a more action orientated pose. The lower part of the tunic stops full movement, but wider poses and stances are easily achieved. Watch out for loose joints however at the hips. The right hip on my Thrawn is particularly floppy. This will, as many collectors know, cause stability issues going forward as the hip won't hold the weight of the figure and will slide and then cause the figure to fall. Thrawn comes with a single blaster pistol. From some investigations, this looks to be a new weapon for the range and is based on the officer blaster pistols in Rebels. These are not officially names as yet but could be a SoroSuub SC-4 blaster which Star Wars wiki states is designed and created for Imperial use. The pistol fits snugly into Thrawn's right hand, with the usual slightly flexible trigger finger that slots into the trigger. Coupled with the upper body articulation, and if needed the more action orientated lower leg stances, then you can get some nice firing poses with Thrawn - taking things into his own hands against those Rebels. And if you don't want Thrawn with a weapon in hand? Then the gun fits perfectly into the holster worn on Thrawn's belt. Cynics may look at Thrawn and think that there are some parts carried forward from the other Imperial Officer figures to date - The Death Squad Trooper and Director Krennic. From what I can see this is not true on any level, and from Thrawn's tunic to his trousers and boots - they are all new sculpts. I do suspect Thrawn may share parts with the announced, but not scheduled, Grand Moff Tarkin figure. Going back to the comparison with Krennic, and you can see in the images above how Thrawn towers over the Director. The two obviously cross over in terms of Star Wars era and those inventive collectors may consider Thrawn and the rebels figures closer to the Rogue One figures than any others and display them all together. Thrawn for example looks great flanked by the Rogue One Death Trooper. Grand Admiral Thrawn is a figure that will appeal to many facets of Star Wars collecting. While a canon part of Rebels now, those who remember his role in the old Expanded Universe (now Legends) will also want to put this iconic figure on display and slot him in where they imagine and feel he should fit within the Star Wars universe. This aside, Thrawn is also a stunning figure in terms of the sculpt and the paint and colouring. His height also means he will dominate most figures he is put alongside. He is that fine line between human characters - which have not been too well realised so far - and the alien figures. As a figure he carries a good standard of paint application and a good range of articulation, I do have an issue with the loose hip which is going to cause stability problems. I also have an issue with the lack of accessories. This is because I know there is a huge amount of accessories produced from Thrawn's office and packed solely in a SDCC and knowing they exist makes packing Thrawn with a tiny blaster is disappointing. It would have been nice to put one or two of these in the pack. Tarkin, as a comparison, is getting an Interrogation Droid in his single release. Was it too much to add a plinth and say the Hera family heirloom into the standard release? To that end I am going to award Thrawn a 4 out of 5. Checkout the Star Wars Selection Over at Kapow Toys

Review : Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master (The Last Jedi) Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 12 (Phase 3) Released : Sept 2017 £24.99 Pros : fills a long standing itch to have a "old" Luke on display. Head sculpt is pretty decent. Cons : plain paint job and the cloak is frustrating One figure conspicuous in his absence from The Force Awakens releases in 2015/6 was Luke Skywalker. Granted he only turned up at the end of the movie and didn't have any lines, but fans were unanimous across the globe in asking "when were we getting an Episode 7 Luke Skywalker?" As it turns out we have had to wait for the Episode 8 figures as Luke is part of the first wave of figures for The Last Jedi. The Luke figure is number 46 in the line and will fill in for both his appearance at the end of The Force Awakens and his initial appearance in The Last Jedi. The packaging remains the same Phase 3 design with a tweaked logo that is now brighter white. The artwork of Luke is particularly solemn and captures the aged and weathered look Luke rocks in the new movies. The character name on the packaging is confirmed as "Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master)" and this may very well differentiate him from any future releases from The Last Jedi or indeed Episode 9. The rear of the box talks about "tragedy destroyed his attempt to rebuild the Jedi Knights" and how the "Resistance needs his help". As usual this gives nothing away we didn't already know or had seen in the trailer. Luke is packed into the inner tray that then sits inside the gloss red backing card. When unpacking Luke make sure you are a little careful removing him as the cape is sat in a second tray behind the first to keep it splayed in the box. It seems Mark Hamill has a face that is difficult to replicate in 6" scale. This older version does a decent enough job, but it is still off in a few areas. The paint job doesn't help as they've gone with a plain flesh tone and no variation that might capture the weather-beaten look and the lines of this "older" Luke face. The hair is well sculpted and looks windswept. And while the face didn't get any paint variations, the hair has a grey base coat and a lighter dry brush over the top to add some depth and texture. The other piece of note is the mechanical right hand which is sculpted to match the skeletal look. But like the costume the lack of anything beyond a grey base coat means the detail on the hand is lost - a dark wash and a metallic dry-brush would have really made this pop. The Jedi Robes that Luke is wearing are quite plain and are two tone with a cream look overall and beige sections around the chest and down into the skirt area. A simple brown belt with silver buckle surrounds the middle and to the side of this on the left is a hook where a light saber or similar weapon would sit - there is nothing included in the pack to make use of this hook and may indicate a "Rey-esque" re-release after the movie launches with a plot sensitive accessory pack in. The skirt section is split at either side to access the legs and the legs are a simple beige colour, with the exact same colour carrying into the boots which are a wrapped type affair - hearkening back to the ones Luke wore on Tatooine at the start of the Original Trilogy. None of the outfit is washed, dry-brushed or weathered in anyway. This means it is all too bright and not representative of a guy who has been living on an island as a hermit for 14 odd years. Articulation is good up top, but restricted in the legs thanks to the skirt section. The head is a ball joint and not only does it rotate, but it can also look down so much as the beard can touch Luke's chest. The arms are pretty standard with the ball jointed shoulders which can extend out and rotate above the head. The elbows are a single rotating joint, but unlike Rey and Kylo from the same range they only bend to 90 degrees and not any further. The wrists are a rotating joint with a pivot and both can bend to 90 degrees if you wish. There is a ball joint hidden in the waist, and this is quite manoeuvrable and lets Luke lean forward and backward. The legs sit under the robes so they are restricted from any massive range of movement. They still have a ball jointed hip, thigh swivel and double-jointed knees. But with the cloak in the way all we can really do with this is to go with some wider stances. The ankle rockers are also quite weak, and Luke is annoyingly unstable and tends to fall forward all to easily. So on to the elephant in the room and that cloak. Now first up it is a very nice material, similar to what has been used on the recent Vader release. It flows really nicely and doesn't float or stick out un-necessarily. The colouring is perhaps a touch light, it could do with being a few shades darker and a touch "grubbier". The main issue is how difficult this is to get on the figure. While it looks great packed in the box with the figure, it will slip off as you unpack him and then there is a an uphill struggle if you want to pose Luke in his cloak. The cloak is essentially a triangle of material with the hood stitched in. It is missing any shoulder sections which would have allowed it to be draped easier. Instead, you have to kind of hang the hood on the head and let everything else drape as best you can. The best I could achieve was to tuck the sides of the cloak under the arms and then play around with the hood. This look still is not perfect as the shoulders remain uncovered and the hood has to be rolled up to either side rather otherwise the hood sits too high. A better designed cloak would have obviously been a better option, and I suppose we will see what the "deluxe" version of this is like when the Exclusive comes out with its Ahch-To diorama (Target). The other option would have to followed suit with the 3.75" version and go with a rubberised cloak. When you see how Kylo Ren's cloak looks vs this one, the rubber might have been a better option? After waiting so long for "old man" Luke Skywalker I cannot help feel short-changed by this release. While the head sculpt is not bad, the figure is too bland and clean overall. The hook with nothing to hang on it really bothers me as I am convinced we will have to double-dip on this figure in 2018, The cloak is poorly designed and while Rey looks awesome in her Jedi training Gear - the Jedi Master looks a little awkward. I am going to score Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master) a slightly flat 3 out of 5. Checkout the Star Wars Selection Over at Kapow Toys

Review : Kylo Ren (The Last Jedi) Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 12 (Phase 3) Released : Sept 2017 £24.99 Pros : Head sculpt is brand new and is quite expressive Cons : The head and neck do jut out quite considerably from the body? Star Wars Black Series Wave 12 see's the first of The Last Jedi releases, and in this review we take a look at #45 Kylo Ren. Like the rest of Wave 12, Kylo has a bolder Star Wars Black Series logo on the top of the box. The bottom section carries a new image of unmasked Kylo Ren, now with his scar and updated outfit for The Last Jedi. Unlike Rey and Luke from the same wave, Kylo doesn't carry any kind of subtitle to his name. The gloss red spine carries the #45 in gloss black, with the opposite spine with the partial wrap around window - the character name repeated in red and a design that captures a zoomed in view of the "Kylo Ren" text in a grey shade. The rear of the box has the same image of unmasked Kylo alongside the standard white text. In this bio, it talks about how Kylo Ren is "growing more powerful in the dark side of the force" and aside from this it gives little away in terms of plot details. Kylo comes with two versions of his lightsaber, packed either side of his head in the inner plastic tray. He slides out from either the top or bottom flap. The facial sculpt for Kylo is a much better likeness for Adam Driver than the one we got towards the end of The Force Awaken run. The skin tone is more bronze than the very pale Kylo we got in 2015. Rather than a neutral sculpt, the Hasbro team have captured a frustrated Kylo with the furrowed brow and intense eyes. The skin tone is monotone, and the eyes quite plainly painted with black/brown iris. Kylo comes with the scar on his right cheek that he picked up at the end of the last movie. It isn't particularly detailed and has no paint application to make it stand out, The hair is a simple tone of brown, but is again quite expressive and swept to the side. For some reason, when you look at the figure from the side - the head juts out quite considerably and looks a bit peculiar when the cloak is in place. Kylo's outfit has been overhauled since The Force Awakens. It is more formal and more regimented vs the tattered robes. The cloak on Kylo is a single rubber piece and simply hooks over the shoulder and round the neck section - perhaps a reason why the head appears to be jutting forward. The cape is not a simple rubber piece, and it is sculpted with a leather like texture and some panelling/stitching. It is designed with folds and creases in place and looks pretty natural in terms of how the robe would flow off the characters shoulders. The cloak is coloured in a slightly different tone and rather than flat black there is a brown hint to the cloak. The costume starts with the tunic which is cast with a square pattern texture. It is tied with a plain gloss belt and then extends as skirt sections down past the waist. The arms are not the same pattern and are a ridged affair similar to the 2015 Kylo. The legs which look black are a very dark brown/grey tone which adds some variety in the colouring. They then go down to gloss black knee high boots. Lined up with the 2015 Kylo, you can see the huge step forward that Hasbro have taken with the 2017 figures. the head is a big improvement once you look at the two side-by-side and you can't deny that the cloak on TLJ Kylo flows a little better than the soft goods, although with that you lose a lot of posing ability, There are no obvious re-uses from 2015 Kylo Ren - even the arms, which could have been a re-use, are new pieces when you compare closely. Articulation is awesome on Kylo and there isn't a single joint that is hindered in anyway when the cloak is put to one side. The head rotates fully and Kylo can look down (somewhat disapprovingly). The arms are made up of a ball jointed shoulder with a full range of movement and supported by a single elbow joint which bends beyond 90 degrees. The wrists are pegged, but are a little blocked by the sleeves but will rotate as needed. The legs are fully mobile even with the bottom skirt of the tunic. Kylo can kneel on one or both knees - something we may see him do in the movie with Supreme Leader Snoke. While the usual approach for light sabers is to include a hilt and removable blade, Kylo has two versions of the weapon - one lit and one unlit. The saber is a re-use of the 2015 version and is cast in grey with gunmetal details and a red ignition button and stripe on the hilt. This decor is much darker than the 2015 versions which were more silvery in tone and had brighter red details. The lit version has a slightly darker blade than the 2015 release and the blade is not smooth, but is reflective of the more unstable blade on Kylo's weapon. The arm articulation allows a good level of offensive and defensive poses with the weapon, including two handed poses. While I am not yet sold on the new outfit for Kylo, the figure does replicate the costume really well. There is also some good colour tone variation when you get up close - the whole figure is not just a flat black. Articulation is pretty special with Kylo getting being able to realise some cool action poses. I would like to have seen the scar on Kylo's cheek be more pronounced, particularly when the rest of the figure doesn't use too many paint applications. I also find the head quite unnatural in how far it juts out from the body. The obvious miss with this figure is the lack of a helmeted head. That being said we've not had a Kylo figure with both unmasked head and helmet outside the Celebration 2016 exclusive. We will see what the Throne Room Exclusive Kylo brings when he arrives (Walmart Exclusive). With all this considered I am scoring this vanilla version of The Last Jedi Kylo Ren a 3 out of 5. Checkout the Star Wars Selection Over at Kapow Toys

Review : Rey, Jedi Training (The Last Jedi) Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 12 (Phase 3)* Released : Sept 2017 £24.99 *Rey was repacked in Wave 14, and in this re-release the scar on her arm was now painted in a red "bloody" colour Pros : Arm and upper body articulation, plentiful accessories Cons : There is some variation in skin paint tone. The lower leg articulation is blocked in by the skirt section Wave 12, released on Force Friday II, was a combination of figures from across the Star Wars saga as well as three figures from The Last Jedi. Rey, Kylo Ren and Luke presented nothing we hadn't seen in the teaser trailer and promotional images and were great choices to launch The Last Jedi 6" figures ahead of the movies release. In this review we will take a look at #44, Rey (Jedi Training). Wave 12, as we know debuted a new brighter Star Wars Black Series logo atop the box and was also inclusive of the larger frame at the base of the window that we saw introduced in the previous wave. The front illustration features an all new portrait of Daisy Ridley as Rey with her hair down in the usual grayscale artwork. The character name is very specific in that is Rey - Jedi Training. This is not necessarily a spoiler from the film as we would assume this is the next natural step for Rey after the events of The Force Awakens and her final scene in that movie where she finally met Luke Skywalker. Rey is number 44 in the line, and as usual this is stamped in bold glossy black on the top of the gloss red side spine. The other side spine carries the character name again in red text and beneath this in blown up text is a zoomed view of the character name again this time in grey. On the back of the box we get a larger version of the Rey portrait and to the side of this is the short character bio text which talks about how Rey has now found Luke Skywalker and how she must "unlearn what she has learned as Skywalker challenges her expectations". This is, as usual, repeated in three other languages. The box opens at the top or bottom of the box and Rey slides out in her inner tray in its bright red backing card. The figure is surrounded by her three (yes that's right THREE) accessories. The head sculpt on Rey is a huge improvement on the 2015 version. It is a great likeness for Daisy Ridley. The flesh tone is nicely toned, but it is a single tone skin tone with no additional shading or tones. The hair is a new design with her hair now swept back and tied loose at the back. Like the skin tone this is a single tone of brown. The eyes are neat and more realistic than some of the human eyes we've seen to date. There is a way to go until the Black Series reaches the level that NECA for example are reaching with their human head paint jobs. For some reason the flesh tone on her head does not match the one on her chest which holds a brighter pink colouring - yet the head colour does match her arms? And talking of arms, you can see a sculpted scar on the top of her right arm. This is no painted, and I assume we may find this is more prevalent on the exclusive version of this figure with the Crait base (Toys R Us Exclusive). The costume is essentially the one from The Force Awakens but now in a grey tone. We start with a dark undershirt which is patterned with a diagonal design. This extends down into an skirt section. Over this there is a grey sash that crosses over her chest and is tucked through her belt. One side loops round and comes back up while the other side hangs loose. Her trousers are a plain grey and the boots are a deep brown tone. The arms remain wrapped in bandage type material with a wrist bracer on her left wrist. While the belt looks similar to the one from The Force Awakens, it no longer carries a bag - but instead there is a holster for her blaster.All the costume is painted nicely, but it is all a single tone with no wash or dry brushing. Edit : There is a scar on her right arm above the bandaged section. This is unpainted and flesh coloured on the wave 12 release we have here. It was later tweaked (Wave 14) when this figure was repacked to be painted in a blood colour While the costume is very similar, there is no re-use and instead everything on the new version is brand new. When you compare the two versions side by side you can see how the older figure is a touch smaller - it seems with the new Rey figures (here and with her speeder) have fixed a height concern. The older Rey is also a little bulkier and on reflection this isn't accurate of Daisy Ridley's sight frame. The new figure is much more accurate. Articulation for the upper part of the figure is brilliant, helped along by the slim arms and no bulky armour or robes to hold it back. The head is a ball joint with a pivot and even with the hair piece, Rey can look down so much that her chin will touch her chest. Rotation of the head to either side is a little blocked by the hair, but there is still a good range of movement. The arms are ball jointed and will raise up and out to the side. The elbows are a single joint but bend well beyond 90 degrees and they also rotate. This works really well with lightsaber poses which we will see in a moment. The lower half of Rey is a bit more restricted by the costume. While there is a waist joint with a degree of "ball joint" movement, it doesn't lean too far forward or back. The legs are a ball jointed hip with thigh swivel and double jointed knees. While this is awesome in terms of ability to move, it is all moot as the rubberised costume stops anything worthwhile. You will be left posing Rey in some wider stances and not much more. Ankle joints have always been hit and miss on The Black Series, so it is nice to feel a good tight ratchet on Rey's ankles - and there are no issues in getting her to stand Accessory number one is Rey's lightsaber. This is essentially Luke's / Anakin's saber but this is not a simple re-use of any saber accessories that came with these figures previously. This one is reduced in size and designed to fit Rey's daintier hands - even if this doesn't make sense in real terms. The saber fits neatly into either hand, and with those elbow joints a two handed saber pose is easily achieved. The blade, which is removable, also appears new. It is a darker blue than any others - even if the saber we see in the trailer is much lighter and almost white. Accessory number two is the blaster than Han gives to Rey on Takodana in The Force Awakens. This is cast in a silver plastic and has a painted black grip. This is best placed in Rey's right hand, where the flexible trigger finger slots into the trigger on the gun. And when the blaster is not in use, Rey can store it away in the working holster on her belt. The arms even allow her to get into a gun slinging pose if you really want her to. Accessory three is the same staff that we got in the 2015 release and again in the recent Speeder box set. There is nothing wrong with this as a sculpt and it is nicely painted with bandaged hand wraps. The issue with this has always been the strap which is not really flexible, this means the staff doesn't quite sling over Rey's shoulders naturally. It also means that depending how you pose the staff the strap can appear to be defying gravity. Once again the arm articulation will allow some nice action poses with the staff, even with the dodgy strap. Rey is an awesome figure and so much of an improvement over the 2015 version. The likeness and build of Rey is brilliant and she comes with a wealth of accessories, something of a rarity these days for the Black Series. It is worth noting again the slight variance in the skin tone, but this is only really visible up close or in strong light. The leg articulation isn't really an issue and the staff is workable. I scored the original Rey (updated 2016 paint job) a 4 out of 5. and this figure certainly raises the bar vs that figure. But we do have to recognise the increase in RRP by nearly £5 since the 2015/6 releases. It is fair to therefore say the figure has improved within the curve of the new pricing, and for me that means Rey still gets a 4 out of 5 rating. Checkout the Star Wars Selection Over at Kapow Toys

Review : Darth Vader Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 12 Released : September 2017 Price : £24.99 Pros : much improves on the original, the helmet is very well executed Cons : perhaps one extra hand away from being a knockout figure It is fair to say that the original Black Series Darth Vader, released in 2014 in Wave 5, was not received to widespread applause. While the figure had some great features, particularly that removable helmet, there were some visual issues around the helmet and costume. In 2016 Hasbro confirmed they would update the Vader figure with what they badged as "Ultimate" Vader. The figure made it's debut in the 40th Anniversary Legacy pack alongside the homage to the original 1977 Early Bird display base. The Vader here was on a Vintage Card back. Roll forward a few months, and the same figure is now repacked in the more familiar Phase 3 packaging and is part of Wave 12 - the launch wave for The Last Jedi figures. While some figures look brilliant in the Phase 3 packaging, we can't say the same about Vader. His all black outfit gets lost against that black box and even the red backdrop does little to show him off - it even obscures his lightsaber as a feature in the box. The box is consistent with the latest changes in design with the larger bottom rail and the brighter Star Wars Black Series Logo. The artwork is updated from the Blue Line version and the character name is a bold red - and simply "Darth Vader". What this means is that you can take your Vader and drop him into most displays - from Revenge of the Sith, through Rogue One and anywhere in the Original Trilogy. In reality, Hasbro have given us the Rogue One / A New Hope Vader - identifiable by the green and red buttons on his chest box and no chain for the cloak. By the time we hit Empire the chest piece now shows blue on the buttons and in Return of the Jedi the chain has appeared. If you are therefore a stickler for detail - you can use this Vader in the early movie displays and the original release for Empire or Jedi. The side panel is gloss red as usual, and Vader is numbered #43 in this 3rd phase of figures. The card back talks more about his early life as a Jedi Knight (Anakin and how he was seduced and now serves the Empire. This again puts him in Rogue One / A New Hope territory by talking about a "fledgling Rebel Alliance". Heck, you could even use him in a Rebels display alongside Ahsoka. As usual the bio is repeated in three other languages. The rest of the card is taken up with a larger illustration of Vader's helmet and the usual safety and legal notices. Vader slides out of the box by the top or bottom flap. He is not strapped into the box, but there is a secondary insert behind the main tray which is keeping his cape spread out in the box. Be careful not to yank him straight out without losing this part and feeding the cape through the slot. The sole accessory is his lightsaber which sits to his right. It is evident that the helmet is a huge improvement on the previous version as he comes out of the box. It is much better proportioned and sleeker and more angular around the mouth piece, The eye lens are a dull red/brown on our review version. There are some variants out there in the 40th Anniversary set in the main with bright red lens. While the helmet is a gloss black, there is some paint apps on the mouthpiece and under the chin with a transition to a gunmetal colouration Vader remains a daunting figure, standing just over 6 1/2 inches high. The body is a ribbed black undersuit, and on to this we get the shoulder and torso armour. Under here is the chest box which as we said earlier is from the Rogue One / A New Hope era with its green and red buttons. Each section of this is neatly painted - as are the two boxes on his belt. The Codpiece is still there as are the knee high boots - both a glossy black finish. The cloak is tailored and attached really well around the shoulders and it is of a material that hangs and drapes naturally. The same material is then used from the shoulders and down the chest, tucked under the belt and then out to form the inner skirt area. There is a kick to the fabric where it comes out from under the belt but nothing that you can't smooth out down the side. Articulation starts with the head which will rotate but it has to move with the profile of the shoulder panel rather than have any ability to look up and down. Shoulders are ball jointed and they borrow from the armoured trooper design where the shoulder armoured pad slides away into the torso when the arm is raised. There are single joint rotating elbows and the wrists also rotate and pivot to a small degree. I had speculated the left hand was positioned in the Force Choke pose - but sadly it isn't, and Vader preferred the right hand in the Briefing Room scene anyway. For me adding in a Force Choke hand would have raised the bar even further on this figure and truly established this as the ultimate Vader figure. The legs are pretty articulated for such a big bulky figure. The ball joint hips allow for Vader to kneel or even sit down. This is helped by the double jointed knees and the cleverly designed knee pad which is actually part of the boot and therefore hides the joint when not in use. If you compare the new Vader to the original version it is clear that Hasbro have re-done most, if not all, of the new figure from scratch - there is very little evidence of re-used parts. The helmet is the main change, but as you work down the body the torso armour, chest box, belt devices, code piece and legs are all different. If there are any parts carried forward then these would be the shoulder armour plates and boots - both of which look almost identical to the original release (although my eye isn't the best). The new version is a touch smaller than the older version. The material used on both is very similar in how it flows out around the body. The lightsaber packed with Vader is brand new also - having been blown up in size by at least 20% from the original version. It is a very nice replica of Vader's saber with the black hilt with silver ridges and the black emitter with silver loop and red ignition button. The blade is removable and is a deep translucent red and is longer than the original version too by about 5mm and the red is darker. While getting Vader to hold the saber in two hands isn't a problem, he does look a bit wooden in this pose. The better pose is the saber out ot the side - either hand can be used for this. As always, he looks brilliant flanked by Stormtroopers. In summary this Darth Vader is a huge improvement on the original, while not necessarily replacing the first Vader as you can use them for different versions of the Dark Lord. He will fit into a number of display focus - including Revenge of the Sith, Rebels, Rogue One and A New Hope - and the articulation restrictions are not a huge issue as Vader was never the most agile or athletic of characters. While the only build I could give it would be a swap out hand as a force pose, that doesn't take anything away from this being an awesome figure and I award it 5 out of 5. Checkout the Star Wars Selection Over at Kapow Toys

Review : Hera Syndulla (Rebels) Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Wave 12 Released : September 2017 Price : £24.99 Force Friday II, on the 1st September 2017, was the launch of the products and toys for The Last Jedi. While the 3.75" figures were all about the new movie, there was a wider approach taken with the 6" Black Series. Now on Wave 12 in the 3rd pase (red & black boxes), the wave was the first to move from 6 figures per case to 8. The first wave contained Last Jedi figures of Luke, Kylo and Rey, supported by the new Darth Vader who was first released in the 40th Anniversary Early Bird set. There is a repack for the Stormtrooper, a figure collectors will want to bolster the new Centrepiece displays. And then we get to Rebels with a release at last for Hera Syndulla and her nemesis Grand Admiral Thrawn. Wave 12 uses the same design principle as the whole of phase 3, a phase that is now 2-years old having debuted with the Force Awakens figures. We had seen some tweaks recently with the Chirrut and Baze releases (wave 11) with the lower frame of the box front made thicker and higher. Wave 12, and all the Force Friday II releases, also see the logo on the box front made bolder with a light grey almost white colouration. Aside from these tweaks Hera is packed in a gloss black box with red character name text and grey lined artwork. The artwork is a more realistic impression of Hera than the one we see on Rebels. This is the whole intention with the Rebels figures, to bring them into the live action universe of Star Wars. Hera is number 42 in phase 3 and this numbering is printed on the gloss red spine and then round the back next to the Star Wars Black Series logo. Under this is a brief paragraph on Hera, talking about her being the captain and heart of the Ghost's crew. The figure sits in a gloss red card tray which slides out from the top or bottom flap. Hera sits, unsecured by any fiddly ties, in a clear plastic tray. Her single accessory is a small pistol blaster. Hera should have originally arrived earlier in 2017 but was held back by Hasbro for some tweaks. While we will never know what these were for definite it seems the design of her flight goggles may have been part of this revisit prior to release. The googles are a separate piece on the flight helmet - indicating they may originally have been designed to be worn. They are however glued in position. Hera's facial sculpt is definitely a more "grown up" realistic take on the Hera we usually see on Rebels. It is cast in green plastic so the facial paint apps are lips and eyes only. The lips are subtle, while the eyes aren't as heavy handed as some figures we've seen recently. I can't tell if she would benefit from some facial shading, or if the sculpt is so smooth that it wouldn't have made any difference? There is a wonderful paint application on the lekku. They've managed to make it look like part of the lekku, and by that I mean the pale design and swirls seems to sit under the plastic - it's very clever. The flight helmet is a plain grey and there is then silver and brown colouring on the goggles. Hera's torso is a two tone brown outfit with some white trim around the collar. It's all painted neatly, but is a little flat and far too clean for a pilot who see's so much action. The same can be said of the orange flight suit. It is really well sculpted, with panels and ribbing that is as good as that on the ebut Black Series figure - Luke X-Wing pilot. None of this detail can shine however as its all one tone of bright orange. A darker wash would have brought out the design as well as making Hera a little more realistic in terms of dirt and grim. The flight suit comes with those leg straps that are common on Rebel/Resistance pilots. Like the suit they are too clean, but are well engineered and are separate to the legs and will move as you pose Hera. The figure ends with brown gloves with some silver buttons, and brown boots with a grey over the toe trim. Being a slender figure, Hera is very well articulated. The neck is ball jointed and can swivel to the side, with the lekku flexible enough to flick over the shoulder if you wish. Sadly on my review figure the movement forward and back ward is very loose and Hera can't hold a position looking upwards. The arms are ball jointed shoulders, and despite those shoulder panels they do move up to a decent angle, with the panels slotting over the shoulder as they arms are raised. The elbows are a single rotating joint, and these bend easily to 90 degrees, if not a little way past. There is a neatly hidden torso joint that is hidden by the top of the flight suit. There is quite a range of motion in this so Hera can lean forward and backward as well as twist independently from her legs. The legs are ball jointed at the hips and these can swing out to a sitting or kneeling position. The straps of the flight suit move with the legs as they are posed. I first thought the dreaded thigh swivel had been removed, but it is there on closer inspection - the orange plastic hides it well. The knees remain double jointed and if you wish they can bend back on themselves. The feet are on rockers and these allow Hera to point her feet out flat if you want a kneeling position. These rockers feel ratcheted so there is no immediate issue with stability or floppy ankles Hera's single accessory is a small blaster pistol. This is cast in black plastic and then decorated with a silver grip and brown on the barrell. It is one of the nicest weapon accessories in terms of decoration I have seen in a long while. For some reason however the gun will not sit all that well in the right hand. Where we are used to very good "trigger" hands on The Black Series, This one does not seem to want to work at all. The gun actually fits better in the left hand - which let me to think Hera might actually be left handed and I was about to applaud Hasbro for that level of attention to detail. Sadly no, all the reference images of Hera show her firing with her right hand. That is backed up with her ankle holster being on her right leg. This works really well and the pistol slots in snugly when not in use. Hera is the 3rd member of the Ghost crew to be released, and she looks brilliant displayed with Kanan and Sabine. Hasbro have done a decent job of taking Hera from the animated screen and adding some realism to her sculpt. The lekku are also brilliant and the pistol a nice piece, even if she can't hold it properly. I think the orange in particular is a wash away from perfection, and that wobbly head is an issue - although as far as I am aware this was isolated to my review piece. With all that considered and with a new RRP now in place of £24.99, Hera doesn't feel perhaps as good a value for money as other figures we've had. She does very little wrong though and I will err on the side of generosity in awarding her a 4 out of 5. Buy now from