Baze Malbus - TBS [P3] - Six Inch Figures (37)

The harsh reality of his Imperial-occupied home world has hardened Baze Malbus into a pragmatic soldier and a crack shot with his heavy repeater cannon. His bravado provides a contrast to the spiritual centeredness of his friend, Chirrut Îmwe.

Wow. One of the most likable characters in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is looking to be one of the finest human character produced in The Black Series [Phase III] line. We’re of course talking about Baze Malbus who stole a portion of the show in the very well-casted first standalone film in the Star Wars saga. First revealed at Hasbro’s ‘Twas The Night Before NYCC Preview Party, Baze Malbus enters the popular 6” line and holds nothing back. A phenomenal sculpt is enhanced with better than average paint operations and well-designed accessories. The design of his costume sadly inhibits his excellent articulation system, but sometimes those sacrifices have to be made if Hasbro is to make the most screen accurate and best action figures possible. Despite Baze Malbus’ inhibited movement, we doubt that too many collectors out there are going to be disappointed by what this action figure brings to The Black Series [Phase III] 6” line. What you’re probably not going to want to hear is that Baze Malbus ships alongside Chirrut Îmwe in a case assortment with four other repacked figures. Hasbro has ceased production of solid case assortments. But rumors from our sources say that solid case packs may make an imminent return and these two figures would be PERFECT candidates for that treatment. Why is it so difficult for Hasbro to come up with CONSISTENT good case assortments. We say that if they can’t fill a case of four or six with four or six new figures respectively, then the case should be delayed until that is the case.

Baze Malbus comes with the standard 28 points of articulation that most Star Wars 6” figure have. As stated a moment ago, some of his movement is inhibited because of pouches along his waistline as well as his chest. So, it’s impossible to turn his torso left, but easy to turn it right. You also cannot spread his legs too far apart from each other at the tips because of the pouches that hang from his belt on both sides of his body. All is not lost however. The costume has been perfectly recreated. He is wearing a simple mechanic’s utility coveralls in army green, but then his outfit is also comprised of armored plates, gauntlets and knee armor (among others) that accents this very simple base costume. What’s more, Hasbro gave the base coveralls a beautiful wash and the “dirt” collects in all of the right spots. It really looks as if Baze Malbus has seen quite a bit of action (which he has as evidenced by the film) and it has been well-represented on this action figure. Baze Malbus comes with a heavy repeater cannon which breaks down into three parts: the actual blaster, the ammunition canister (which is a backpack), and some sort of belt of ammunition which has been cast in soft plastic so that it moves while you pose the figure. Baze Malbus is able to hold the gun portion with both hands. And you can use it separately as a gun by itself if you’re looking for a different appearance for this figure. Visually, Baze Malbus is the ideal 6” figure. Again, he has a great sculpt, great paint operations and a generous amount of accessories.

There is another accessory included and it's assumed to be some sort of "taser" device her used against the stormtroopers in the film or perhaps a detonator of some sort. Wookieepedia doesn't go into detail about this accessory, so perhaps there are other sources out there that will better explain what this is. While it's deifnitely some handheld "defensive" device, it comes with a plug which attaches to a slot on his back along his beltline. We missed it the first time playing wiht the figure, but it fits like a glove once we figured out where it belonged. It also nicely fits into his hands so you have some options with it. We're glad that Hasbro is adding more dimension to these 6" figures which gives extra play value to these figures. In the Hasbro promo shots this accessory is just lying on the ground next to figure. In all honesty, The Black Series 6” line has been a very rough road traveled for Star Wars collectors. Many figures look great, but many of the human characters leave a whole lot to be desired. We won’t itemize what figures look pretty bad because it depends on the collector. Some are willing to forgive things that other collectors find reprehensible. But with Baze Malbus, we’re thrilled that a human character looks so much like the onscreen actor. The production figure looks so close to the prototype that even we cannot find fault with the final figure. We still think Hasbro can tighten up the paint operations in the eyes. The eyes generally speaking could utilize a little more precision. But other than that, Baze Malbus is really looking pretty darn nice. If Hasbro can figure out how to make him more available, then all would be perfect with this figure.