Action Figure #496: Star Wars The Black Series Jango Fett

 Not the first, but the original! Or rather, the original, but not the first? Prequels are weird, man!

 Boba Fett was my favorite growing up, so I had a natural affinity for Jango Fett, even if both character didn't get as much screen time as they deserved! I've been on the lookout for a Jango figure for a while now, so I'm quite happy he finally reached my hands.

 Boy, oh boy, do I like this guy! All the pieces that are made of soft plastic with Boba are made out of actual, solid plastic with him. His knee pads, his chest armor, his crotch, everything is solidly sculpted onto the figure, which, to me, makes him feel much sturdier and durable. His jetpack is akin to Mando's, which stays much better on his back than Boba's. He comes with a removable helmet, it can be removed easily, but it also stays on his head very well. His pauldrons are separate, solid, pieces that rest on his arms. The only piece of soft plastic on him is his belt. His silver armor was given grey scuffs all over to simulate weathering, it looks quite cool. 

 Articulation-wise... it's like the older Series Black figures, which means no butterfly joints, but double-jointed knees, as well as swivels on high thighs. Sadly, his single-jointed elbows reach a bend that is just shy of 90 degrees. I mean.. he will be shooting his twin pistols most of the time, but it's a bit disappointing. His ab crunch is on a ball joint, but due to the sculpt, it works more like a swivel, so Jango won't be bending forward or backward any time soon. Curiously, the scope on his helmet is part of the sculpt, so he can't use it, which is weird since every Black Series figure I own with a scope can use it as a scope. He is a bit shorter than Bucky Cap.

 I think Jango is great. I love how most of his sculpt is made out of solid plastic, unlike my Boba and Mando. So, yeah, he gets my seal of approval!

8.0

Action Figure #495: Star Wars The Black Series Jedi Knight Revan

  Creamy Revan.

 Remember Darth Revan? Cover him in cream and you've got Jedi Knight Revan! Look, I'm a sucker for recolors, don't judge me!

 Well, this is the exact same figure as Darth Revan, but missing a light saber and with a cream, bronze and brown paint job. I actually prefer this color scheme quite a bit over Darth Revan. That said, the back of his chest is completely brown, the bronze paint just stops at his sides, which looks a bit weird. Other than that, it's the same exact figure.

 Articulation is the same, so... yeah, he still can't turn his head. I mean, you can, but you can't turn the cloak piece that goes over his head, making it worthless.

 So, it's just a recolor of an average figure. I like this color better, however.

6.5

Action Figure #494: Star Wars The Black Series Bastila Shan

  Don't let her fall to the dark side!

 I'll be honest, I never really finished KOTOR, but I remember I loved it a lot... it's just that I got to a point where I didn't know just what I was supposed to do. While most people's favorite party member was the Killer Robot, mine was Bastila Shan. The moment I found out she had an action figure made I just had to get her.

 I didn't really remember much about her looks except that she had an orange outfit, so I looked up pictures of her. Something felt off about her, until I realized what... for whatever reason, the design is mirrored. Her hair is combed to the other side, and the pouches on her belt go on the other side as well. I don't know what happened when they were designing her, and it's not like it's a deal breaker because she does STILL look like Bastila, only flipped, but it's such a weird quirk! There seems to be various takes on the maroon part of her outfit, some more intricate than others, but they went for the simpler design available, which... fair enough. Her only accessory is her double ended saber. Originally, I was going to switch the blades with Cal's blue blades, but his two sabers are of different girth and they don't fit too well on Bastila's. Oh well, I still love yellow saber-ed Jedi!

 She has double jointed legs and swivels on her thighs and boots, but single jointed elbows. Her waist is on a ball joint, and she has butterfly joints. She is fun to pose with. Her pauldrons are made of soft plastic, and they don't get in the way of her arms, but, it seems it's a bit too frail because they are already showing stress marks when they go up. She is quite shorter than Bucky Cap.

 Honestly, she is pretty darn great. I don't know how I feel about her design being flipped, but I won't lose any sleep over it. All in all, she is a pretty fun figure.

8.0

Action Figure #493: Star Wars The Black Series Dryden Vos

 His next heist: Getting an Infinity Stone.

 Yes, yes, another Solo: A Star Wars Story figure, sue me, it's not even the last(Spoilers!). Dryden Vos was another character I liked from the movie. In fact, as I was watching it, I looked up if he had an action figure made... and he did! So next thing I did was buy it. Luckily, Solo bombed, so I got him for cheap! 

 For starters, the likeness to the actor is really good, so no complaints there. They went for a rather neutral expression on his face, which works for the character, as it was one of his two moods... the other one was being really angry. The rest of the figure is sculpted really well... even if he has a hole in his chest, where the tie is supposed to be. Why is it there? Who knows. He has half-a-jacket-half-a-cape soft plastic accessory that looks really good... but remove it and he ends up looking rather weird. He comes with his two knives, but... there's only the tiniest tinge of red on their edges, while in the movie they were proper laser knives.

 Articulation follows the older Black Series schema, double-jointed knees and thigh swivels, but single jointed elbows and no bicep swivels. No butterfly joints, and his ab crunch is on a ball joint. He can hold some mean poses, but his jacket/cape does get in the way. He is as tall as Bucky Cap.

 This is how he looks without the accessory. His neck ends up being too long, and his torso too thin. Since the cape is held on through a sleeve on the right side, you can just pose around it. It may look a bit weird but not as weird as he looks without it. 

 He is actually a rather fun figure. He looks like a proper villain, and captured the character really well. A rerelease with a proper soft-goods cape/jacket would do wonders for him.

7.5

Action Figure #492: Star Wars The Black Series Captain Poe Dameron

  Somehow this toy got made.

  Poe Dameron was among the best and worst things about the Sequel Trilogy. He was a fun, new take on Han Solo's brash confidence, but... he was used, wrongly, to prove Holdo right, and no matter how hard the movie tried, most audiences could tell that Poe was right all along... And he was also the guy that was given the lines 'They fly now?' and 'SOMEHOW Palpatine returned'. Poe deserved better, but the humiliation didn't end there...

 For he was made into this pathetic action figure. Let's start with the most noticeable bit about him... he looks nothing like Oscar Isaac, and the face looks ridiculous. They also made him a bit shorter than he should, and also looks kinda chubby. Sadly, his Nathan Drake look from Rise of Skywalker wasn't made into an action figure, as I feel that was his best design, but this is close second... I think. He also comes with a small blaster.

 Articulation is par for the course for older Black series figures. Double jointed knees and thigh swivels, but single jointed elbows, no bicep swivels and no butterfly joints. His ab crunch looks like a ball joint, but it's just a swivel, so his torso can't perform even the slightest crunch. His elbows can at least bend 90 degrees. He is quite a bit shorter than Bucky Cap.

 It's hard to tell, but if you lift the jacket you can tell just how chubby he looks. C'mon, Oscar Isaac isn't ripped, but he isn't this chubby!

 And then there's the face sculpt. If you squint a bit he maybe sorta looks like an underaged cousin of Oscar Isaac. Maybe.

 He's a horrid design, but considering Poe was given the worst lines in the ST, and that's saying something, but also the horribly dumb Holdo storyline.... is it any wonder they didn't even give hime a decent figure? Justice for Poe!

3.0

Action Figure #491: Star Wars The Black Series Zorii Bliss

  No way of telling how much bliss she is feeling under that helmet.

 Who is Zorii Bliss? She's like Captain Phasma and Bobba Fett, a character that looks cool, but does little to nothing, except she's not as popular as either of them. But, look, I like cool figures, and I wouldn't say no to someone who is trying to shard to look like Daft Punk

 Well, she looks just like she did in the movie, and I really dig the look. They could've included an alternate, visor-less head sculpt, but this is good enough, and let's be honest, who'd have her without her visor? Her pirate pistols are very detailed, as is her intricate helmet. Her costume is of a red-cherry color, and I love the dirty gold they used on her armor. Overall, she's great.

 She has the oldschool Black Series articulation, which means she has double-jointed knees, but single-jointed elbows. She also has swivels on her thighs and boots. She has no waist articulation, but her ab crunch is on a ball joint. While she doesn't have butterfly joints... she doesn't need them, she can cross her arms just fine. My one nitpick is that her holsters are part of her belt AND glued to her legs, which is accurate to the movie, but makes some poses look a bit odd, mostly when you have her crouching. She's another short female Black Series figure, much shorter than Bucky Cap.

 She's a fine addition to my ever growing Black Series collection, Y really do like how she turned out, and there's no way she won't stand out with how extra she dresses.

8.0

Action Figure #490: Star Wars The Black Series Count Dooku

 Count Drookula.

 Years ago, when I first decided I wanted to get some Jedi and Sith, Count Dooku wasn't high on my list, if he was on it at all... Well, I was a fool, because this figure rules!

 For starters, let's get its weakest bit first: The Christopher Lee likeness isn't as good as it could've been. I wish it was, but it isn't. That aside... Dooku is a very simple design, but it's the little things that make him visually appealing. Something about his aura exudes class, and he is outfitted with a soft-goods two-tone cape! His blade hilt is harder than most, which helps prevent it bending like pretty much any other saber they release. 

 His articulation is, as I understand, what set the bar for modern Black Series. Single jointed knees that have great range, butterfly joints, ball-jointed waist and single-jointed elbows that allows the arms to bend over 90 degrees. He has swivels on his thighs, which are not really necessary. He is a bit taller than Bucky Cap.

 Count Dooku is... he is a really nice figure. He looks classy, and it helps him look as if could be a Jedi or a Sith, which fits very well with him considering the council disappointed him into going to the dark side. I think he may be among my favorite Black Series figures.

8.5