I’ve been really hard on Hasbro in my past few Star wars collectible articles, and with good reason: they’ve held the Star Wars license for years and still couldn’t fix several glaring issues on their offerings. Not to mention the fact that “newbies” to the Star Wars license like Bandai and MAFEX are turning superior figures so the pressure on Hasbro is warranted.
That’s not to say that they’re not trying. At Toy Fair 2016, they displayed several upcoming figures that just make or break their dominance in the Star Wars action figure market.
They are:
- Black Series 6″ AT-AT Pilot
- Black Series 6″Ahsoka Tano
- Black Series 6″A New Hope Luke Skywalker
- Black Series 6″Kanan Jarrus
- Black Series 6″Darth Revan
- Black Series 6″Sabine
- Black Series 6″Force Awakens C-3PO
- Black Series 6″A New Hope Princess Leia
I’m not exactly excited for the AT-AT pilot (not unless Hasbro makes an AT-AT in the 1:12 scale), but The Black Series has featured really solid Imperial troopers and this one looks to be another solid addition.
Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia from A New Hope was also shown and Jeez, what was Hasbro thinking? Luke looked like he’s in a bath-robe and Leia – despite having a better “soft-goods” outfit – looks like a guy. With the upcoming A New Hope Luke from SH Figuarts, looks like Hasbro is poised to lose this one.
I have never collected Threepio, but as an action figure he looks very solid. I’m still aiming for the Bandai kit, but if I get lazy, I might get this instead.
Darth Revan was made only because the fans voted for it. Canon or not, it looks very solid, although I’m not a fan of the tattered “Batman-like” edges to his cape. His helmet sculpt is amazing, and fairly accurate to the source. Might catch this if it becomes available.
Kanan Jarrus looks solid. I wasn’t a fan of his character design at first, but it grew on me and this figure is looking like it will give the character justice. I’ve been told that his lightsaber can be disassembled into two parts just like in the series so I’m looking out for that in the future.
What I am very excited for are the Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren figures. Both are from the currently running Star Wars Rebels, and their 6-inch treatments show that Hasbro went for the “realistic” rather than animated look. Sabine Wren’s colorful hair has been replicated in this display sample, and I do hope that her mass-produced version would just be as bright (because, you know, Hasbro has issues with their paint apps). Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s former apprentice, makes an appearance in The Black Series as a grown-up member of the rebellion. The figure is looking great, and has the potential to be one of the best in the series.
All images are from Toyark.
