Vault Review: Star Wars Black
SDCC 2013 Boba Fett

And we’re back…  Apparently our web host thought we were popular enough and decided to pull the plug.  We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused, and hopefully that’s all behind us now.

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I had originally planned to review a MOTU Classics figure today, but Boba showed up in the mail yesterday and I couldn’t wait to get his review out for everyone to see.  The San Diego Comic-con 2013 exclusive Boba Fett is technically the first figure release of the new six inch Star Wars Black line.  If this figure is any indication of what the Black series is going to produce, then this is going to be one of the top contenders for “Toy Line of the Year”.

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For the first time ever fans are finally getting a nicely detailed and super articulated six inch Star Wars toy line.  Normally I’d complain about how long it took to get to this point, but as I look over this figure I can’t help but think that figures like this wouldn’t have been realistically possible until now.

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A big part of that reasoning is the rise of the Adult Collector market.  That’s still a fairly new and unexplored idea for US toy makers.  I’m pretty sure that this six inch Black line also owes its creation to the Vintage Collection series.  Even though they were just three inch scale, the Vintage Collection produced some of the most detailed and articulated figures to spring from the brand.  Hasbro simply put two and two together to realize that us big kids have the money to waste and want a more substantial collection.

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So as you can probably tell already, I’m extremely happy with this figure.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s perfect, because there are a couple of issues.  But you’re definitely going to hear a lot of gushing in this review, most of which is geared toward his sculpt.  Boba has an all new sculpted body that’s pretty dead on when it comes to likeness.  The character already has such a unique look and the figure does a fantastic job of bringing it to life in toy form.

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It’s all the tiny details that really draw you in though.  The costume itself is wrinkled, but when you look closer you can actually see seams and the texture pattern of the fabric.  Both arm bracers are covered in little buttons and mechanical devices, while the overall design of the armor is covered in sculpted scars and pockmarks.  He has a couple of extra pockets on the shins of his pants, and shoes are tipped with little metal spikes.  He even has a wire running from his right bracer and up into his sleeve.  I’ve never even noticed that before on the character.

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One thing that surprised me was how much I like the cape that hangs off his left shoulder.  I’m not usually a fan of fabric on action figures.  But this figure helped convince me that it can be done correctly.  The tattered effect really adds to the overall worn down and beaten look of his armor, and the fabric itself is hard enough to hold very simple poses.

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While all of Boba’s sculpted details are great, they’re made even better by the highlights from his paint job.  What jumped out at me when I first opened the figure were all the silver splotches that show where his armor has been damaged and the paint has flaked off.  On further inspection you can also see a dingy gray wash on the figures legs, which gets darker the further down it goes.  Both of these apps do a great job of making Boba’s armor look used and a beat to hell.  Definitely a figure that’s been through some stuff, and the rest of your toys should stay clear.  Continue to page 2…

42 thoughts on “Vault Review: Star Wars Black
SDCC 2013 Boba Fett

  1. I can’t help but wonder if that Han will ever see the light of day in a commercial release. I, for one, could not attend the con, and am a little mad that the Han will seemingly be stuck as an exclusive. Besides that, this review has raised my interest in the other up inking figures, so thanks

    1. I would imagine they could sneak it in for Bespin Han or Jabba’s Palace Han. If these are coming boxed in trays like SDCC pictures suggest, then they could sneak it into the package and let it be a surprise.

    2. according to people who were at the show a Hasbro guy basically said we’d be seeing it at some point. I doubt Hasbro would spend all that money tolling it to never release it again. We will likely be seeing a 6 inch hand in carb with figure at some point, my only question is if it will come with that killer stand or not

      1. That stand is perfect! Little things like that really give me hope that they’ve sat down and really planned how to do this line for collectors.

      2. For what it’s worth, when I talked to Derryl DePriest (the brand manager) he said that the retail Boba Fett would be identical to the exclusive, and that the Han “is the only part that won’t be released” at retail.

        Obviously, that could change, and other people got answers that sounded more hopeful than that, but that’s what he told me.

  2. Really, really good review. Seems like a solid figure. I’ll definitely wait for this guy to hit stores, but he looks good. I’m quite excited to check out this line-while I don’t plan on being a completist, I do plan on picking up the best of the best, and I imagine Fett will be in that category.

    1. Thanks, BBQ!

      So far the line looks great. I’m not planning on being a completist either, but it’s really hard to say no to the first couple waves… :/

  3. Looks cool.
    I’ve long lost interest in SW, but I was looking at some of these for customs. X-wing pilot (Luke? Biggs??) is going to be used for a number of 6″ Joe customs, I’d bet (Ace, CrazyLegs, etc). I know I’m planning on it.

    The pics are hilarious! “No sir, I didn’t see you playing with your dolls!”
    Where’d you get the jammy dodgers? I’m guessing one of the Japanese imports that came with the other food items?

    oh, and odd spacing on the 2d/3d pics shoves the 3d pic into the right margin. Looks like another line break might fix that?

    1. Thanks, Brain!

      All the food items are from a line called “Petit Sample”. They make a lot of great looking 1/12th scale items.

    2. I saw earlier that the European SW con revealed w3: EpIII Obi-Wan, Bespin Luke, Stormtrooper.

  4. Great review! He looks like a lot of fun. I was trying to keep my eye out for him to show up at HasbroToyShop, but by the time I saw him, he was already gone. Oh well, I’ll have to pick him up at retail once he shows up without Han.

    I love the last shot with the Micro Machines. I had a bunch of those as a kid. They were probably the first toys I really latched on to as a line. I should pull those out of the closet … so long all available desk space!

    1. Yeah, the Toy Shop was pretty useless and his prices on ebay are a bit crazy. I was lucky to come across one that wasn’t too much more than retail, otherwise I wouldn’t have bought it.

      Over the last few years I’ve been trying to collect as many micro playset figures as I can. I really love posing figures playing with toys, and all the micro figures from the 90s are perfect for that.

  5. Great review and funny pics, Vault.

    The only misses for me here are the hard plastic used on the pouches and his rangefinder. At this scale, you’d think that Hasbro would finally give us a finder which actually folds down. Heck, even the 3 3/4″ figures ought to have remedied that situation instead of giving us the same old bendable antenna over and over.

    I’m guessing that Carbonite Han is hollow instead of a solid piece on both sides? It would have been cool if it opened in half to fit a future Bespin or Jabba’s Palace 6″ Han. At least it would make the present scalper prices for this exclusive seem far less outlandish.

    1. Thanks, Clutch!

      I was a bit surprised that they didn’t articulate Boba’s range finder also. I guess they figured he never really uses it, so there’s no need for it to move.

      Carb Han is hollow, but all six sides are plastic. The back doesn’t open, but has holes in it so you can attach the stand.

  6. All of these positive, glowing reviews are doing nothing to help me stick to my decision to pass this line up.

    My wife will be most displeased…

    1. I always knew I was going to buy a few of the six inch figures, but Boba took me by surprise with how good a figure he really is. Very similar to last year’s new TMNT line, I never expected him to be so fun.

      It’s definitely going to be hard to not be a completist.

  7. Excellent review, great pics, and a darn cool looking figure. I just can’t commit to a whole new Star Wars line in a different scale, so I’m really going to have to cherry-pick.

    Having said that, Series 2 of this line is now up in BBTS, and I’ve already ordered my Greedos (Greedoes? Greedi? Whatever.)

    1. Thanks, Beedo!

      I only bought a very few of the three inch figures, but this line is definitely going to be harder to avoid.

      Why are you getting two Greedos?

      1. to customize a beedo, of course. 😉

        man, he looks fresh as hell. loving this line thusfar, every review has been very positive

      2. I’m not getting two Greedos. I’m getting five. One, because I’m a Rodian enthusiast and Greedo was my first licensed action figure I remember getting. One, as DR says, to turn into a 6″-scale Beedo to interact with the MOTU figures, and the remaining three for as-yet-undetermined custom fodder. Might even get more, as the Rodian custom projects I did in 4″ scale worked out okay, but there aren’t enough 6″-scale weapons in my collection to do characters like Darth Venator or Havalok Tetsus. But we’ll see . . . .

  8. This is the toy line I have been waiting for! So glad these are being done and I cannot wait to see what else this line has in store..Pew pew..priceless…

  9. I have both waves of these figures on pre-order. BEST CHOICE EVER. I have heard rumors of the carbonite block being released as an accessory later in the line. I have been waiting for six inch super articulated star wars figures for a loooooooong time. BTW, I love all your pics in this review.

  10. The pics are awesome! Where did you get the toy sushi?

    The idea of Boba Fett using Solo’s carbonite as a table to eat his lunch on is one for the record books. You and Noisy should start a “greatest hits” of best photos and speech-balloon gags from all of these reviews.

    1. Thank you. The food is from a line called “Petit Sample”. They make all kinds of food items that fit in well with 1/12th figures.

      A “Greatest Hits” sounds pretty fun. We’ll have to talk about that.

  11. I really like the Boba Fett, but I don’t quite love him. If those packs on his waist were either articulated or soft plastic he would be 100% better, but the fact that his legs are so blocked is really annoying. His shoulders were pretty blocked too, which was kind of annoying. I wish he had a bit more range of movement there.

    The sculpt though is top notch.

    1. The sculpt is definitely great. The shoulders on mine didn’t seem blocked, but the ratchet joints are very tight and took a little more force than I expected.

      The pouches on the belt are annoying though. I think a good quick fix would be cutting the sides of them, where they meet the brown part of the belt. That would only leave the tops attached, so they should bend forward. Of course, cutting up an exclusive figure that’s fairly expensive is a bit unnerving. I might try it on the wide release though.

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