SH Figuarts

S.H.Figuarts dropped a tease via social media today indicating some releases for The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary. Look for announcements to start in April. 

This year finally, 1999 release “Star Wars Episode 1 / Phantom Menace” celebrates its 25th anniversary! New S.H.Figuarts series announced?! More announcements coming in April, stay tuned! This year, “STAR WARS: EPISODE I, The Phantom Menace” will celebrate its 25th Anniversary! And there will be an announcement from S.H.Figuarts?! Look for more details coming this April, you won’t want to miss it!

SH Figuarts are still in the Star Wars game, even if the frequency of releases has greatly decreased. But SHF have revealed a brand new Star Wars figure! It’s Ahsoka as seen in her series. You do get proper soft good Jedi robes, as well as some accessories like the ancient map, lightsaber blades with motion blur and various alternate heads with different facial expressions. Pre-orders are open, you can buy the figure now. Tentative release date is July 2024. Price is ca. $78 or 70 euros.

Here is the Japanese language Tamashii website with all the photos!

My general feeling is that the Black Series version is “good enough” and I am not even sure SHF captured Rosario Dawson’s likeness all that well and I feel the TBS figure has the better likeness. In my opinion SHF should release figures that either do not exist in the Black Series or that they can greatly improve upon, Shin and Baylan come to mind when we talk about the Ahsoka show, whereas Ahsoka is certainly one of the better Black Series figures.

Will you get the SHF Ahsoka?

One of three different heads, Ahsoka also comes with a neutral and super angry bared teeth expression

Now this is very unexpected. Target in the US just revealed two brand new SH Figuarts Star Wars action figures based on Star Wars Visions. The twins Am and Karre! This is potentially big news because Bandai only has a license for Japan, this is the first time an SHF Star Wars action figure is officially (not as an import) distributed in the US! Maybe Hasbro’s license does not cover anime figures?
You can preorder Am and Karre at Target! Price per figure is $84.99. No word yet when Japanese etailers may offer them of it they will also be sold officially in Europe now! It’s certainly very welcome that SH Figuarts offers Visions merchandise! There is so much more they could do! What other Visions figures would you love to see?

Karre and Am

In recent months the release schedule for the SH Figuarts Star Wars line had completely dried up, to the point that some feared SHF may have either lost interest or the license altogether. But a few days ago SH Figuarts revealed two brand new 6 inch scale Star Wars action figures. Anf of course both are from The Mandalorian! Season 2 Din Djarin with unmasked head and rearmored season 2 Boba Fett (meaning his armor has the fresh coat of paint) will come in January 2022! Pre-orders open on September 3rd! Click through for more details!

Boba, Din and Grogu the dynamic trio!

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S.H.Figuarts is focusing more on The Mandalorian! The Beskar Mandalorian and Baby Yoda aka The Child were released a few days ago and are shipping to me, I’ll get the figures by the end of the week (hopefully). IG-11 is coming next month and hopes are that he is much more accurate and a lot better than the Black Series offering. But SHF is not stopping here, the Heavy Mandalorian and The Armorer are also coming to the line. Now the big question is: will collectors outside of Japan still want these figures when Hasbro is offering a great Heavy Mandalorian figure and just announced the Armorer as well? As usual materials used (SHF is known for using very high quality plastics) and accessories may be the deciding factor here. Click through for some additional info and photos!

UPDATE: The Armorer web exclusive figure is already available for pre-order from various Japanese etailers!

The Armorer with her argumentation aid

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Tamashii Nations (a Bandai brand) revealed a brand new website today, dedicated to “western style” action figures. By this Bandai is referring to action figures based on Hollywood movies and American TV shows. And to celebrate this new website Tamashii Nations is also teasing several brand new figures! The DC line will apparently get a new Wonder Woman, Marvel’s new figure is still a mystery to be unveiled on May 27th, and Star Wars will get IG-11! That’s at least what the brand new website is teasing.
It was almost guaranteed that S.H.Figuarts would officially reveal IG-11 sooner or later, a promo photo of him was used in the recent solicitations for Baby Yoda aka The Child. Since Hasbro offered collectors a rather lazy version of IG-11, a repainted IG-88 with new bandolier, which is not at all screen accurate, the SHF version of IG-11 could very well be the version of the bounty hunter you need if you demand screen accuracy.
It’s not known yet when exactly pre-orders for IG-11 are available, but it will probably be soon. We will keep you posted!
Check out the brand new Tamashii Nations Cinema website (it’s in Japanese with only some English headlines)!

SH Figuarts IG-11 with carry bag and Baby Yoda

It’s quite rare that both S.H.Figuarts and Hasbro announce the same figure on the same day. But today both companies officially revealed their version of the Beskar Armor Mandalorian! So I thought a first comparative look at both figures might be fun, based on the promo photos we have! Which figure is more accurate? Which one looks more like the actual character in the series? Click through to find out!

The real deal

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We reported about rumored SHF figures from The Mandalorian a few days ago. Some details were still scarce, but now S.H.Figuarts have officially announced the new figures, yes, you read right, figures, “Baby Yoda” is indeed a single release and NOT an accessory. Also, very important, it seems the Beskar armor Mandalorian has a normal sized helmet, and doesn’t suffer from pinhead syndrome after all! Click through for all the photos and some details!

The cutest toy ever?

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Pop culture magazine “Exclumagazine” posted a photo of two new SH Figuarts Star Wars figures that may or may not come later this year. A Beskar armor Mandalorian and the “Child” aka Baby Yoda (which would most likely be an accessory). Please take this with a heavy dosage of salt. Nothing is confirmed, but the Beskar Mandalorian looks legit, he even has the SHF pinhead syndrome that many of their helmeted characters suffer from. There has been a conspicuous absence of announcements from SH Figuarts in recent times, so some new figure reveals would be welcome. Would you add the SHF version of a Beskar armor Mandalorian to your collection? Or would you rather wait for the inevitable Hasbro version? 

These two may or may not come soon

SH-Figuarts seem to be on a roll. We only got official announcements for the Mandalorian and the Emperor today, when brand new photos of various (!) Knights of Ren, IG-11 and a repainted Scout trooper and Stormtrooper (from the Mandalorian, with weathered armor!) appear in the wild. The photos were taken at a showroom. Now these are all just prototypes, nothing was announced, but IG-11, for example, is actually an accurate representation of the droid, which means he has the proper claws! Now if only IG-11 has a good height, SHF is usually not so keen on giving tall characters an accurate height, while all the human characters usually have perfect scale. But chances are this IG droid will use very sturdy plastic! And after the lackluster IG-11 from Hasbro a screen accurate IG-11 from SHF could be just what collectors need! It remains to be seen if the KoR will go into production, maybe SHF is waiting for fan response to TROS; so far SHF only has Rey, Kylo and one Sith Trooper for TROS lined up, not very much. SHF love to reveal prototypes of figures that sometimes go into production next month, two years later or never. It remains to be seen what applies here! Click through for a few more photos!

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SH.Figuarts have revealed two all-new Star Wars figures. One of them is actually not just a figure, but a set. First there is the Mandalorian, as you have seen him for about 10 minutes in the show before he gets his first piece of new armor. He comes with a cloth cape, looks very crisp, as usual, but maybe his helmet is somewhat too small, which is a common issue with many helmeted SHF figures.

And then there is the set with Emperor Palpatine from Return of the Jedi. In the set, you will get the Emperor, two Royal Guards (that are basically just statues), and of course, you get his throne. The Emperor comes with several extra pieces and bits. Including alternate heads, hands, Force lightning, and alternate legs and robes so he can sit on his throne. While the Mandalorian is a regular release, the set with the Emperor is a web exclusive and it will cost around $180. Going by the photos released by SHF the likeness is maybe not the best. The Emperor also seems to be a bit tall in the comparison photo with Vader (and Vader’s height is pretty accurate).

Both figures are expected to be released in May 2020. Pre-orders go live on Friday, November 22nd. If you want the Emperor you get a pre-order window. Everyone who wants a figure will get one. This is how the Bandai web exclusives work, figures are made to order. However, if you miss the pre-order window you will have to pay a lot on the aftermarket once the figure is released. Check out more photos on the SHF homepage!

Will you add these two figures to your collection?

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S.H.Figuarts will also have a small selection of brand new Rise of Skywalker figures this year. However, SHF offers substantially less than for The Last Jedi this year. It seems this time collectors will merely get three figures and all three of them will directly compete with the Black Series. There will be an all new Kylo Ren, Rey and Sith Trooper figure! Click through for the details!

Maybe she loves sand?

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The postman had a nice gift for me today. German customs has finally released my brand new S.H.Figuarts Yoda (Revenge of the Sith) figure, and after only 5 days at the local customs office the figure is finally mine!

So how is the figure? How does it compare? Is it worth buying? Click through for a closer look at SHF Yoda!

Read this review, you will!

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We saw the magazine scans last week, so we knew it was only a matter of time before SH Figuarts would officially announce the two new Star Wars figures of Luke and Han. You can now find official promo photos for both The Force Awakens Han Solo and The Last Jedi Luke (Crait) on the SH Figuarts homepage.
Luke Skywalker will come with two headsculpts, which look much better than the blurry magazine scans, the usual hands, lightsaber hilt, a lightsaber with blade and the two golden dice (they are tiny). Han seems to come with almost nothing, other than a few alternate hands, and a blaster, he comes with an extra holster that was molded with a blaster inside of it, so the blaster is non removable, this is the same approach SHF chose for their previous A New Hope Han Solo figure.
Both figures go on pre-order on August 1st (Thursday), local Japanese time (Japan is 13 hours ahead of EST). Check the usual Japanese etailers if you want to secure your figure. The figures are not web exclusives so could, in theory, sell out eventually. Release date is December 2019.

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SH Figuarts like to tease fans, or so you might think when you recall all the yet unmade prototypes they have shown at various Japanese toy fairs and events over the years. Some figures eventually see the light of day years after their first appearance as a prototype. ANH Han Solo had been spotted as a prototype long before the figure eventually got made. But then there are things that were seen ages ago which have yet to see an announcement. So click through for some of the yet unannounced SH Figuarts Star Wars figures and pick your most favorite ones!

SH Figuarts Queen Amidala Prototype

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Prototypes for the figures were on display several times in the past, so this shouldn’t be a complete surprise. But it’s always good when SH Figuarts decides to actually produce a prototype. The Force Awakens Han Solo and The Last Jedi Luke Skywalker (Crait) both appear in a magazine scan. If you are not new to SHF you know the routine, first there’s the magazine scan, then follows the official announcement by SHF and you can usually pre-order the figures soon after. Both figures are expected to be released in December 2019. It remains to be seen if these two figures will be the only ones SHF release for The Rise of Skywalker or if SHF is also under embargo and will show off Rise of Skywalker figures later in the fall.

SH Figuarts Han Solo and Luke Skywalker

In my opinion the sculpt for Han is perfect, this IS Harrison Ford, Luke, maybe because of the beard (beard is notoriously difficult to sculpt) looks a little bit off perhaps. But the overall shape of the face seems to be correct. Also, why does SHF give Luke this bright hair as well, similar to the Hasbro TVC version? Is it possible that both Hasbro and SH Figuarts were given out of date reference material for Luke and that his appearance (hair color) changed later? This also means SHF will beat Hasbro to the punch and release their version of Crait Luke sooner. The TBS version is expected to be released in Q1 2020 or so.

Now this is certainly somewhat odd. Reworked versions of a Return of the Jedi Darth Vader and A New Hope Stormtrooper will soon be put on pre-order by SH Figuarts. Magazine scans of the two figures have appeared in the wild. This takes SH Figuarts full circle, since these two were the first to be released in the SHF Star Wars line. However, both original figures had serious shortcomings. The original ROTJ Darth Vader was too short, had a very stylized sculpt and a tiny head. Even worse, the unmasked Vader head only came with the Return of the Jedi Luke. It seems the new Vader is based on the A New Hope Vader which corrected some of the mistakes of the previous Vader but still had some issues, like a somewhat inaccurate helmet sculpt and awkward cape. It remains to be seen if SHF reworked the helmet sculpt once more for this release. The feature to remove the helmet dome is certainly all new. The unmasked head certainly looks gorgeous and it might be something you’d want to get if you want to replace Sad Puppy Vader from the Black Series. The Stormtrooper seems to be based on the Rogue One sculpt which is still inaccurate, the crotch piece is much too large (or the belt sits too high). But you get superior articulation in return. And the helmet sculpt has been very much improved compared with the original Stormtrooper. Anyway, it’s still a weird choice to retool / revise previous figures instead of releasing any of the other all new prototypes. Like the Empire Strikes Back Pilot Luke or Crait Luke, however the latter may still be announced soon, see the previous article! Are you interested in an SHF ROTJ Vader and ANH Stormtrooper at all? Or are these figures an easy pass? Let us know in the comments!

UPDATE: Official promo photos added! Click through to see them!

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Bandai has a survey up on their website about the recently released Count Dooku figure. The survey is in Japanese, but using the translate function in Google Chrome you can still take it if you feel like it. However the survey is not really what I want to talk about. What I do want to talk about is the part of the survey in which Bandai wants to know what SH Figuarts Star Wars figures you already own. The recently announced Revenge of the Sith Yoda figure is on the list. But so is the yet unannounced Crait version of Luke Skywalker. The figure was on display in Japan, so we know it exists. However, nothing has been announced yet. But with Luke on the list the question is if SH Figuarts will announce him soon. SH Figuarts should certainly try to beat Hasbro to the punch and release their Crait Luke before Hasbro if they want to make more money. Chances are collectors outside Japan would not order the SHF version if Hasbro releases Luke first. Would you get the SHF version of Crait Luke? Or will you wait for Hasbro’s Black Series version?

Battle of Crait Luke Prototype

SH Figuarts will soon announce an all new Star Wars action figure. A magazine scan of the brand new Return of the Jedi Boba Fett figure (a prototype was seen before) is making the rounds. So expect pre-orders to open very soon! Hasbro has yet to make a ROTJ Black Series Boba Fett, but MAFEX released both an Empire Strikes Back and ROTJ version a few years ago and it will be difficult to compete with the MAFEX Boba Fett who just looks like a miniature human with very crisp details and perfect proportions. However, MAFEX figures are also very fragile and you have to be very gentle with them. SH Figuarts can certainly tolerate more abuse, also the SHF figure will probably be somewhat less expensive than the MAFEX version. ROTJ Boba Fett is scheduled for a September 2019 release, he will be a regular release. I will post an update as soon as pre-orders open.

Update: see official photos on the Tamashii website! The figure goes on pre-order on April 26th!

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SH Figuarts released their overall 4th (and possibly final) Obi-Wan Kenobi figure in February. It took a little while until my figure finally arrived from Japan, but now that I have the Revenge of the Sith version of Obi-Wan it’s time to take a (very) quick look at it. So click through for my overall thoughts and a few photos!

No more pudding for you, young man! Forever!

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SH Figuarts will release Yoda, based on his look in Revenge of the Sith, in late August 2019. Pre-orders are up already on some of the Japanese websites, others will follow shortly. Yoda is a web exclusive figure, which means he’s somewhat more expensive than a regular release and that aftermarket prices for him will be very high. Other SHF web exclusive Star Wars figures go for more than $200. So anyone who wants a prequel Yoda should absolutely pre-order. You have to pay in advance, however. There is a pre-order period of 3 months. Once pre-orders close you are out of luck and you have to resort to the aftermarket.
Yoda will come with three headsculpts, three cloak pieces, his Jedi council chair, his cane and his lightsaber. Click through for more pictures!

You can use this Yoda to recreate the duel with SHF Count Dooku

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Japanese Santa Claus came to me today and brought me a present from Japan. How nice of him! In the package was the brand new S.H. Figuarts Princess Leia, as seen in A New Hope. Click through for a few photos and some general thoughts about the figure!

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SHF showed a few all new Star Wars figures at the Tokyo Comic Con. And they also showed some things we had glimpsed before. Fans of the Japanese Star Wars line have many things to look forward to, when and if SHF ever decides to officially announce the figures! Click through for quite a few photos from the show! And thanks to Matthew C. for the alert!

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S.H.Figuarts recently showed their Yoda prototype again. In the photo you can see that SHF will give us a prequel Yoda. And even though the sign says “Revenge of the Sith”, this Yoda is also the only missing character for the duel in Attack of the Clones between Dooku and first Anakin and Obi-Wan and then Yoda.
I am not so sure however, if the sculpted plastic robes work so well on Yoda, also they seem to be pre-sculpted for some more dynamic action poses. Furthermore, the figure looks very clean, almost like a model kit, I think some wash would be needed here. And even though all the joints are commendable they also make the figure look somewhat overengineered, but on the plus side Yoda will be able to attain various action oriented poses. The headsculpt looks fantastic. No release date is given. Yoda could be announced either very soon or in two years from now, you never know with SHF.

Thanks to JTA regular Matthew C. for sending us the photo!

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That was quick! Only a short while after Episode III Obi-Wan S.H.Figuarts announced Count Dooku yesterday and he’s already available for pre-order now! Unfortunately, Count Dooku is a web exclusive, which means anyone not pre-ordering him will have to pay a lot of money on the aftermarket! So hurry! Count Dooku is available at most of the usual Japanese etailers. I secured my figure already. Count Dooku was my most anticipated prequel figure and I’m glad I can finally add him to the collection. Count Dooku will be released at the end of April 2019. So patience is in order. The figure comes with two heads, cloth cape, lightsaber, the usual extra hands and even one hand with Sith lightning. Check out more photos here!