Boba Fett (Prototype Armor) - Elite Series

With his customized Mandalorian armor, deadly weaponry, and silent demeanor, Boba Fett was one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy. A genetic clone of his "father," bounty hunter Jango Fett, Boba learned combat and martial skills from a young age. Over the course of his career, which included contracts for the Empire and the criminal underworld, he became a legend.

If you’re a modern Star Wars collector – you know – since Disney took over, you’ve probably discovered that most new products from licensees are announced in ways that can be described as “surprising.” There is little to no advanced “warning” to what is coming, and there are product leaks, Disney has been pretty good at keeping things hidden. We’re not sure if this method is working better or not, but we know that collectors prefer being “in the know” when it comes to new Star Wars merchandise getting released. They sort of like to prepare for things. Such is true for the Elite Series Boba Fett (Prototype Armor) figure from Disney Store. Remember how many fans exclaimed that “Ralph McQuarrie” was so 2007 (we didn’t agree with that sentiment – we always want McQuarries collectibles)? Well, lately it feels that Boba Fett (Prototype Armor) is the latest novelty for Star Wars collectors. While a white Boba Fett is undoubtedly cool, none of the licensees are doing it correctly because they’re just using their movie specific Boba Fett sculpt and just repainting it white and calling it a day. The Boba Fett (Prototype Armor) character has many unique features, so it’s a little disappointing. You may find the Elite Series line isn’t for you as well. Besides, for us, we really do believe better collectibles exist of these characters, even if you have to pay a little bit more for them.

Couple the disappointment of the figure’s inaccuracies with the way the Elite Series line is approached. We had high hopes for the line. As fans of the Titanium figures line from Hasbro years ago, we envisioned a line of similar quality and aesthetics to grace the Elite Series branding. But for us, that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. Don’t get us wrong. There are certainly some high points within the line. But with the need to rehash the same old complaints over and over again, we admit this whining is just as annoying as the actual issues with the figures. Characters with extra clothing and gear that can camouflage the holes on the backs of these figures tend to rank better in our eyes, but figures like the First Order Stormtrooper look more like Swiss cheese than a viable and screen accurate collectible based on The Force Awakens (as well as other characters from the Star Wars universe). Boba Fett (Prototype Armor) has some of these issues, but since it uses the original Boba Fett sculpt that hides a great deal of these screws, it may be a bit easier to overlook these jarring aesthetics. For $24.99, many collectors have found this to be an acceptable MSRP. Perhaps they’re right about this. We don’t know. We truly feel you get a second rate collectible here and it doesn’t bring a wealth of articulation to the table because there are little to no ball-jointed points of articulation which really give action figures their full range of motion.

Boba Fett (Prototype Armor) will be a roaring success due to his sheer popularity and how exclusivity is attributed to him in white, but even with him, we aren’t too sure if many collectors will be able to overlook the inhibited articulation, wonky features and simple approach. He seems to suffer from the same old problems as the other figures. Other people will undoubtedly overlook some of the issues, but for us it just tells us we need to move on over to another line. The Elite Series just isn’t doing it for us. The figure at face value in the packaging looks pretty good. One difference with this release is that the paint operations look pretty fantastic. Sadly, things like his rubbery rangefinder is disappointing, but at least there is no need to fear any breakage here. Another plus is that Disney included the missing cape this time around, and admittedly it looks pretty nice. Still, Boba Fett has is plagued with severely inhibited movement. Despite all of the articulation given to this figure, you’re not really going to achieve any dynamic poses with him. He comes with his signature sawed-off blaster and as with all Elite Series figures, Boba Fett comes with a display stand if you so wish to utilize it for your own diorama and/or display.