Boba Fett - TBS [P4] - Six Inch Figures (ROTJ06)

The Empire is in disarray. The onc pristine and uniform ranks of Stormtroopers that fought for the Empire now resemble a ragtag army of mercenaries for lawless gangsters.

It’s not very often when Hasbro releases the same character back to back in both The Vintage Collection 3.75” scale and The Black Series 6” scale, but they managed it well when it came to Boba Fett from Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. A long-awaited update (or first-time release) in BOTH scales, Hasbro treated the entire Star Wars collecting community equally with the Mandalorian bounty hunter. Hasbro treated The Vintage Collection collecting community wonderfully with the release of Boba Fett (VC186) along with alternate Return Of The Jedi card art, updating the outdated Boba Fett [ROTJ] (VC09) version. And now, in their “deluxe” format (we’ll get to that in a minute), they’ve released a magnificent version of Boba Fett from the Battle of Carkoon, albeit with a few imperfections, in The Black Series [Phase IV] line with much fanfare and fan excitement. Boba Fett isn’t a wholly perfect action figure, but the good outweighs the bad by a landslide. The biggest issue we take with it is its price. No standard-sized action figure should exceed the $19.99 MSRP, in our opinion, no matter what accessories Hasbro packs with the character. Some characters will come with only one or two, or sometimes no, accessories, and that should make up for the rare times when a character needs about ten, like Boba Fett, for example. Some collectors seem content paying the extra money, but $30 for an action figure is plain ridiculous in our eyes.

Let’s talk about the packaging. Hasbro’s color-coded fourth phase of The Black Series line is gorgeous. For Return Of The Jedi, Hasbro chose “green” as the source’s color, and it highlights the green in Boba Fett’s uniform gorgeously. It pops. While the packaging is beautiful, the plastic tray that secures all of the parts squishes Boba Fett’s helmet and distorts its shape. We’re not sure why Hasbro feels they need to secure the head of the 6” figures this way. They should create a spot for the head in the tray, but not in a manner that locks it into place and potentially distorts the contour out of shape. People have blamed the “molded head” under the helmet for the distortion. We don’t think that has any influence. The plastic tray is stronger than you might think, and it is responsible for harming the figure’s portrait. Thankfully, hot water or a blow dryer quickly returns Boba Fett’s helmet to the correct shape, and if you take the time to correct it, the figure looks better than you could imagine. The effect is night and day. Yes, we shouldn’t have to concern ourselves with such things, but it’s worth the time to “fix” this figure before posing it in your collection or photograph it for Instagram. Aside from the helmet issue, there are no other physical abnormalities concerning this figure. The packaging doesn’t harm and other parts of Boba Fett.

The figure is a marvel. Hasbro worked in an impressive 33 points of articulation throughout the action figure. It’s the first Boba Fett with an articulated rangefinder, and it works well and helps you achieve various looks of Boba Fett while on the hunt for different targets. The chest armor appears to “float” above the base sculpt a little. You can “press” in, and it depresses inward. We wonder if it helps create an authentic costume-specific aesthetic of the original prop. The now-standard “butterfly” shoulder joints are worked into this figure as well, but Hasbro did an amazing of hiding them. They’re almost not visible. The swivel gauntlets are a nice touch here because it offers some needed options when it comes to the flamethrower flame attachment or the grappling hook attachment for that matter. Speaking of those accessories, they interact with the figure well and add some additional posing options that aren’t available with The Vintage Collection. Boba Fett’s belt freely floats around the figure’s waist, and this functionality prevents the long pockets from inhibiting any movement when posing the figure. The cape is permanently attached and is molded in rubbery plastic. It looks excellent but hangs in an ever-so-slightly odd drape. It’s not a big deal, so don’t worry. The jetpack is another beautiful design here. Hasbro included two flame attachments for it. The colors are off a little bit, but will you care that much or at all? It comes with a removable rocket.

Hasbro included two versions of the bounty hunter’s EE-3 carbine rifle, and it is perhaps one of the most pleasing aspects of Boba Fett. You get one version which is whole and undamaged. It fits into the figure’s right hand like a glove. The other version, split into two halves from Luke’s lightsaber, includes glowing damage from the melted metal and provides functionality to snap back together, albeit with damage visible, if you so choose. The rest of Boba Fett’s articulation is functional and assists you in achieving some pretty impressive positions. There isn’t much this figure cannot do, and we’re impressed with where Hasbro took this figure. It blows the previous version away completely. You won’t find any parts interfering with how you want to pose the figure. All of those issues are remedied in this version. We think the paint operations are excellent overall, but they also suffer from some scree-accuracy issues. The green feels a little too dark, and the silver flecks that recreate battle damage overtake the plated armor a bit. However, other aspects of the figure, like the inner belt/cummerbund, pouched leather belt, and the jumpsuit, all seem perfectly colored. You likely could nitpick this figure all day if you wanted to, but we believe your time is best served by enjoying it. Hasbro may decide to fix its imperfections in a release for The Black Series Archive line down the road, but how you’d waste your time waiting for something that you’ll enjoy now.