Diamond Select Toys Darth Maul Action Figure Revealed!

A short while ago it was revealed that Diamond Select Toys is now making super articulated 7 inch Star Wars action figures, in direct competition to Hasbro. The first figure that was revealed (it was leaked, actually) was a Return of the Jedi Boba Fett figure. Not much else was known at the time. But now both Boba Fett and a brand new Darth Maul Diamond Select Toys action figure are available on the shopDisney website for $24.99 each. Darth Maul will tell us how good or bad the headsculpts and paint apps are. So how does the Diamond Select Darth Maul compare and how does Boba look outside the blister pack? Click through for a closer look!

Diamond Select Toys Darth Maul Action Figure

So let’s take a detailed look at Darth Maul in the blister pack:

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As you can see for $24.99 Diamond Select offers you quite a few accessories. A similar release from Hasbro would probably be labeled a “deluxe” release and cost $30 or so. You get four extra hands and three effects pieces for the lightsaber, including a blaster deflection effect. The lightsaber can be split.

But how does the figure look? Well, it’s a mixed bag, in my opinion. Diamond Select apparently doesn’t use photo real tech. But the more traditional paint apps are very clean at least.

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The body itself is nicely sculpted, I think. But the figure is let down by the face sculpt. Diamond Select opted for the iconic pose with bared teeth, so far, so good… but then they decided to give Darth Maul shiny white teeth, which looks comical and of course is nothing like Darth Maul’s teeth really look like.

Also, the face sculpt does not seem to resemble Ray Park at all, so the question is how other characters like Luke or Han would look. If Diamond Select’s previous Star Trek figures are any indicator, then they will probably have inaccurate sculpts that only slightly resemble the actor.

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On the plus side the horns look a lot nicer than on the Black Series version, but that’s pretty much it. The face markings are more or less correct and very clean, however, they don’t cover his lips which is not at all how Darth Maul looks in the movie. And you can tell that his pupils are slightly crooked, the bane of traditional paint apps.

So I wonder who this is for. It’s certainly not for people who want their figures to look like the character and actor. It’s not for people who already own the TBS version or the superb SH Figuarts version (still the very best Darth Maul figure you can get), maybe it’s meant for parents and kids.

However, you do get several very useful accessories, but if Diamond Select Toys (and Disney who is selling the figures) want something that can rival the Black Series then they need to step up their game and start using photo real and sculpt faces that actually look like the actor.

The Return of the Jedi Boba Fett figure, however, seems to look really nice, this is an official promo photo from the shopDisney website:

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He looks decently weathered, helmet seems to be the correct size. The range finger is articulated.

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Unfortunately, at least for Black Series collectors, the new line is 7 inch and the figures are much too tall to display them with Black Series figures. YouTube channel Out of the Basement reviewed the DST Boba Fett on his channel and shows a comparison between the TBS Boba Fett and the DST version:

Black Series vs Diamond Select. Source: Out of the Basement YouTube channel

What do you think? Is the Diamond Select Toys Star Wars line something that interests you? At least the Return of the Jedi Boba Fett could probably be a real alternative to the somewhat pricey Black Series version if you ignore the huge scale difference. Or will you ignore the line?

Competition is never a bad thing though, but the question is if 7 inch scale Star Wars figures make any sense at all. Maybe Disney just want some exclusive toys for their shops and sell them to more casual fans, but I cannot really see how the larger collecting community will adopt the line, because you can’t pose them with existing 1/12 scale figures. I suppose licensing deals with Hasbro prevented DST from making 1/12 scale figures.

You can buy both Boba Fett and Darth Maul on shopDisney for $24.99

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