Boba Fett - SW [SOTDS] - Saga Legends (SL30)

Boba Fett fires a rope from his gauntlet to stop Luke Skywalker and his friends from escaping the jaws of the Sarlacc. But Fett's rocket pack accidentally activates and he falls into the clutches of the hungry Sarlacc at the Pit of Carkoon.

The 2010-2011 span of the whole “Shadow Of The Dark Side” era of The Clone Wars and Star Wars lines brought us some rather incredible things, especially when it came to store exclusives. But when it came to the Saga Legends line, collectors were perplexed by (A) the need for a sub-line of figures NOT in The Vintage Collection packaging and (B) the odd and mixed character selection for the “greatest hits” line that ran concurrent with the main line (TVC). It would be inaccurate to state that Hasbro didn’t throw in quite a few surprises in the Saga Legends line. Season 3 of The Clone Wars was bounty hunter focused, and to prepare for that Hasbro re-released some of their most popular (and definitive) bounty hunter action figures in this complementary line, some of which weren’t available at retail for years. They also updated deco and repositioned sculpts on the Battle Droid 2-Pack (SL20) and Snowtrooper (SL23) respectively. These were some of the highlights. But zealous and hardcore collectors wanted to see these classic characters in TVC packaging instead (or once again rather). And the total obliviousness of ignoring what collectors considered mandatory re-releases just didn’t get a spot in the Saga Legends line. To this day, no one understands how 2009’s LC AT-AT Driver (BD49) just wasn’t even part of the mix at all especially with the release of the very impressive Imperial AT-AT (All Terrain Armored Transport). We digress.

But what was odder than all of this was the addition of an inferior Boba Fett figures (as well as other characters) in the third and final phase of the Star Wars [Shadow Of The Dark Side] Saga Legends line. Why would Hasbro take 2005’s TSC Boba Fett (SAGA 006) figure, repaint it a little bit, and throw it into a line six (6) years later and act like they just slipped it by us? With all of the superior Boba Fett sculpts out there (that have so been re-released multiple times themselves), why wouldn’t Hasbro just give them another chance at retail? After all, when does a good Boba Fett figure ever just sit around? Well, maybe we just proved ourselves wrong, because this particular Boba Fett performed quite well. It is also believed that the third wave was made in smaller numbers and that’s why this wave was successful. We can’t prove any of these suppositions, so we’ll just go with the fact that the figure sold through pretty quickly. Anyway, onto Boba Fett. As mentioned above, the 2011 SW [SOTDS] Boba Fett (SL30) figure is a slight repaint of 2005’s TSC Boba Fett (SAGA 006) figure. The most notable differences are the helmets, chest armor and the cuff at the bottom of the pants. This time their darker and brighter and actually give the figure a much nicer finished look. Other than that, the two figures are essentially the same thing. (But please note that the differences are visible.)

Where the 2011 version differs the most from the 2005 version is in the accessories, or lack of accessories we should qualify. The awesome flame display base, that actually dates back to the 2003 Star Wars “Saga” line has finally been omitted for this release. So Boba Fett no longer has that pizzazz he did in previous releases. Because of the super-articulated lower body, you can make up for the lack of the flame base by having the ability to pose him in a variety of ways. Still, the action-featured upper body is essentially flaccid and useless because the arms are flopping around while you’re trying to pose him in some very cool ways. Included with Boba Fett is a game card, an action figure display stand (which is actually part of the card game) and a die. Perhaps these extra frills killed the budget for the flame base, but if you’re into pack-in collectibles, you’re probably buying these figures anyway. Obviously this release of Boba Fett is bittersweet. It’s cool to have him as part of the Star Wars [Shadow Of The Dark Side] Saga Legends line, but this exact version is subpar when compared to the many great action figures released in this line before this one. With the future of Saga Legends uncertain, and the wonky wave arrangements released throughout the 2010-2011 time period, we wonder if Hasbro has lost its interest in this sub-line and are instead going to focus on other things. But if you need a Boba Fett figure, this is one you can pass over because it just isn’t the best you can buy.