Boba Fett [Episode VI] - Premium Format Figures

“He’s no good to me dead”

The Star Wars Premium Format Figures line has been in production since 2004. We’ve had a diverse cast of characters produced in this format since its inception. Typically, once Sideshow Collectibles adds a Star Wars character into the line, they’re not likely to ever revisit it. But if you look at the recent offerings in the last couple of years or so, you can easily see this hasn’t been the case. Instead, Sideshow Collectibles is reinventing some of their most popular Star Wars Premium Format Figures of all time and giving new fans and collectors of the line an opportunity to acquire such great characters like Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, Darth Vader and Boba Fett. Instead of just simply re-releasing these great figures a second time, Sideshow Collectibles has approached the “2.0” versions from the ground up. This has been a treat in an of itself. The mistakes made on earlier figures aren’t carried forward more than a decade later. And a new pose keeps the original versions and their edition numbers exclusive to their original inceptions. While we would prefer to see all-new characters produced in the Premium Format Figures line, if they have to dip into a pool of already completed characters, this is certainly the way to do it. Boba Fett [Episode VI] is a beautiful take on this fan favorite bounty hunter. Now released a full decade after 2007's Boba Fett Premium Format Figure, Boba Fett [Episode VI] hasn’t looked better in this scale.

Inspired from some placement within Jabba’s Palace, Boba Fett [Episode VI] sits atop flooring that resembles the trap door that Luke Skywalker fell through when he almost became the rancor’s latest victim. The base is also adorned with circular metal open pipes that are reminiscent of the decorations that encircle Jabba’s dais. Boba Fett [Episode VI] comes in ten separate basic pieces, but when assembled looks to be the most compact version. He’s holding up his signature sawed-off blaster rifle. His left hand is empty unless you own the Sideshow Exclusive version in which you get the hand attachment holding the concussion grenade launcher. Boba Fett [Episode VI] looks fantastic holding both weapons in his hands. The chest armor is applied in a much more screen-accurate fashion this time. And to help it look a little brighter, Sideshow Collectibles added some red digital text to the left breastplate and it looks stunning. Some of Boba Fett [Episode VI]’s finer details include beautifully braided Wookiee scalps, an exquisitely fabricated leather belt, a well-worn gray jumpsuit and gloriously designed tools in the shin pockets on the front of his pants below his knee armor. Boba Fett [Episode VI] doesn’t come with any articulation, but that’s alright as articulation on these figures has never worked out too well. These are statues; not action figures. So fewer frills always works out better with these types of collectibles.

The portrait of Boba Fett [Episode VI] is exquisite. If you recall, the 2007 Boba Fett Premium Format Figure has a head that was much too large and round. It stood out like a sore thumb. It also wasn’t made out of polystone. For 2017, Sideshow Collectibles has completely rescaled the portrait and cast it in polystone. The new proportions are wonderfully done, and the final result is a head sculpt look like the infamous bounty hunter we all know so well. A separate (removable) rangefinder has been included. This separate sculpt is nice in that it helps with prevention of breakage, but it’s a pain to install on the helmet and doesn’t cleanly snap into place. Boba Fett [Episode VI] has a very nice lived-in look about him. Sideshow Collectibles added a ton of scrapes and scratches on his armor, and his fabric clothing is dirty. There isn’t anything to complain about with this figure. It supersedes the 2007 version by a landslide. Other than repeating a figure when there are others to do, there isn’t much else worth complaining about with the 2017 version. Limited to 750 Sideshow Exclusive pieces and 1500 Regular pieces, Boba Fett [Episode VI] probably won’t last too long at Sideshow Collectibles and then will be climbing the aftermarket ladder. It’s funny how there are just some Star Wars characters that will always be popular enough to keep producing. But as lovers of the obscure, we’d love to see some background aliens produced too.