Boba Fett - TVC - Basic (VC09)

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3.75-inch super-articulated collectors might be forever tortured by Hasbro continually re-releasing the Evolutions Boba Fett tooling as the definitive interpretation of the character. Admittedly, in many ways, Boba Fett is a great action figure. But in many other ways, it isn’t. We’ll get to all the pros and cons in a moment. But allow us to gratefully state that, for 2019’s The Vintage Collection re-release of Boba Fett (VC09), Hasbro fixed quite a few longstanding issues with the figure. With updated “Photo Real” paint operations, the gracefully aging Boba Fett figure looks the best ever. Hasbro developed plans to release an upgraded and updated version of the Boba Fett’s Slave I [Slave I Boba Fett's Spaceship] for 2020, but Hasbro got its pilot out to collectors nearly a year in advance. Boba Fett is one of the “evergreens” in the Star Wars toy line, and every time it’s released, it sells exceedingly well. So, Hasbro squeezed Boba Fett into a “remix/repack” case assortment with Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) (VC149), Chewbacca (VC141), and Imperial Stormtrooper (VC140). Boba Fett (VC09) was the only “new” figure in that case assortment. The 2019 version underwent many changes, and the new details are dramatic improvements. First and foremost, Hasbro significantly shortened the length of the cape. It hangs where it should now. Also, Boba Fett experienced a complete repainting. Although this particular mold of Boba Fett experienced many repaints throughout different Star Wars collections, from Evolutions to the Legacy Collection, the 2019 version is quite different from the 2020 version. We’ll get to everything in detail.

When first released in August of 2010, the first wave of The Vintage Collection quickly became a bounty hunter lover’s dream. Hasbro gave us a vintage-styled update to the 2008 TAC The Fett Legacy Evolutions Boba Fett figure. And then they gave us an all-new Dengar (VC01) figure. Finally, they repainted 4-LOM (VC10) ever-so-slightly based on the 2007 TAC 4-LOM (30 41) figure. Collectors paired the “new” bounty hunter additions to the line with the previously released 2007 VTSC Bossk (Bounty Hunter) figure and the IG-88 (Bounty Hunter) figure. (Editor’s Note: The last two characters were also released in the 2010 Star Wars [Shadow Of The Dark Side] Saga Legends line with some changes.) Unfortunately, Hasbro relegated Zuckuss (BD54) to the Star Wars [Shadow Of The Dark Side] Saga Legends line without a chance to be memorialized in The Vintage Collection, even though the figure is designated as a release in The Vintage Collection as confirmed by the “Shadow Of The Dark Side” product booklet. The decision to exclude Zuckuss gives us a hole in The Vintage Collection, which is unfortunate. We almost had all six bounty hunters packaged on a vintage-styled Kenner card back. Of course, we have the 2010 TVC Bounty Hunters (30th Anniversary Exclusive) [4-LOM (VCP01)/Zuckuss (VCP02) set with the classic Kenner name mix-up (complete with vintage Kenner coloring). Still, they are silver-foiled and intentionally misidentified. As it has been with Zuckuss’s long history in the basic figure line, the character always trails behind last as the bounty hunter to get updated in the line last. Let’s hope that Hasbro can squeeze the figure into The Vintage Collection before the path ends (even if that means the second time it ends).

But let’s return to Boba Fett. Once again, Boba Fett gets a remarkable update in The Vintage Collection basic figure line. This time, however, we think Hasbro got it right, once and for all. Let’s run through the changes made to this overused tooling. Hasbro continues to evolve this figure, ultimately benefiting collectors. The figure comes with many variations and enhancements this time. For example, Hasbro gave the figure another all-new paint job, with the helmet standing out the most. Hasbro corrected its color to a brighter green this time. The previous TVC, Boba Fett, came with a mint green helmet that matched the rest of the armor and outfit, if you recall. Now it pops up on the figure. Other details on the helmet, specifically the “cheeks” and the sides, are now fixed to be screen-accurate. You’ll also find upgrades to the belt and cod section color. The yellow paint used for the shin and shoulder armor is more muted this time and less bright. Hasbro implemented half-toning paint operations to give the figure gradual marks of distress and wear, resulting in a realistic appearance. They applied this same technique to Boba Fett’s blaster rifle. The last detail we’d like to itemize is an interesting one. If you collected in 2010 and 2011, you may recall that Boba Fett’s boots underwent a paint operation update. Instead of lines, Hasbro added alternating sections of black, creating a striped effect. Well, Hasbro dropped this style and returned to the original 2010 version of Boba Fett before the boots got repainted. See our updated Photo Gallery for all of the new paint revisions.

When we first received this figure in the 2008 TAC The Fett Legacy Evolutions set, we knew right away that Hasbro didn’t nail the aesthetics of the character perfectly. We felt that more tweaking would be required before calling the figure definitive. They have now mastered that with the 2019 re-release. However, the sculpting of the figure is becoming tedious. At this point, we need an all-new Boba Fett figure to consider it definitive, and one that DOES NOT come with a removable helmet. That’s a huge “no-no” with this character. Boba Fett has undergone its share of literal and figurative evolutions. Do you remember 2009’s LC Boba Fett (BD36) figure? That figure dramatically departed from the Evolutions figure because of the bright paint operations. It wasn’t a marked improvement over past versions, but it stood out from the rest thanks to its colorful paint job. Boba Fett’s gray jumpsuit hasn’t changed much over the years, but the shade of gray looks slightly different in this release. We don’t know if that was intentional or not. For us, the most significant change is the new helmet deco. Hasbro has changed the “cheek” portions and the sides, and the top part is now a brighter green. The gauntlets on the forearms have been painted in slightly darker mint green, matching the outfit well. While the areas colored in yellow look nearly identical to the previous figures, something looks more lavish about them this time. Hasbro painted the pouches in a light gray with a lovely dirty wash on them. Boba Fett finally looks like the character jumped right off the screen and into your collection.

Hasbro dyed the soft-goods cape a little differently this time, perhaps to be more authentic to the costume in the film. The cape is a light mint green color with tan stripes. It looks fantastic. We noticed a potential construction defect in past releases of this Boba Fett sculpt, but this issue could stem from several factors. Now that the tooling is over a decade old, its error seems to have been corrected. Earlier versions of this figure appeared to have an awkward lean to the right (our left). No matter how you positioned them, there was almost no way to alleviate this issue. But right out of the package, The Vintage Collection Boba Fett (VC09) has a straight and erect posture and a perfect stance. We love its stature, and while action figures are inanimate objects, Boba Fett exudes unmatched confidence in the action figure line. We don’t know if Hasbro intentionally updated this, but the latest Boba Fett version looks fantastic. We want to think that Hasbro cleaned up some of the tooling on this figure, but that would be unlikely. Perhaps the Hasbro employees assembling these figures are being particularly careful with how the parts of Boba Fett come together. We don’t know, but there is no denying that this Boba Fett action figure has the best posture to date, and he can stand unassisted and unaided by funky manipulation of the ankle joints. If Hasbro can find ways to tweak already excellent action figures and improve them, like Boba Fett, we have much to look forward to in The Vintage Collection. The excitement of its second coming creates buzz and interest, which Hasbro notices. Boba Fett is an example of what the basic action figure line should be for collectors, and we hope better is coming in the future.

Editor's Note: Hasbro re-released The Vintage Collection Boba Fett (VC09) figure in September 2019 with a significant number of changes. Updates include: (1) Photo Real updated deco, (2) completely new outfit deco which includes "half-toning" weathering, (3) new helmet deco, (4) shortened cape, (5) revised boot deco, (6) newly colored and textured weaponry, (7) refreshed 2019 packaging with different graphics

Review Status Update: The original publication date of this review is July 10, 2010. It was subsequently updated with a new Photo Gallery and revised General Analysis and republished on June 6, 2020 after Hasbro reissued the figure.