Bo-Katan Kryze - TVC - Basic (VC226)

Are you sitting down? Good. Because you may not be aware that Bo-Katan Kryze made her first appearance in “A Friend In Need,” which was the thirteenth episode of Season 4 of The Clone Wars in 2012. And now, almost a decade later, Hasbro FINALLY breaks down and gives collectors the first 3.75-inch version of the figure, but the first time offering also gives us super-articulation, with new articulation points to boot! Everyone loves Mandalorian characters, and the female ones are even better for many. It's fantastic to have this figure in the Star Wars 3.75-inch line once and for all. The final action figure of Bo-Katan Kryze is a tremendous success. Hasbro should be proud like they should be for all of the figures that make up this figure’s case assortment. But if you’re not into the Original Trilogy, or maybe you’re into the Original Trilogy as well as The Mandalorian Disney+ series, you have something to be happy about here. Bo-Katan Kryze is an excellent addition to The Vintage Collection. “Booba Fetts” are always notable additions to the line, but Hasbro nailed so many aspects of this action figure with Bo-Katan Kryze that we’re having trouble deciding what to highlight for you first. There’s a great deal to take in with this action figure, from the sculpting to the paint operations to updated articulation.

Firstly, Bo-Katan Kryze has a distinctly excellent sculpt. Hasbro faithfully recreated the silhouette of the character wonderfully. And they ensured every curve and contour was perfectly recreated. The figure comes with two interchangeable portraits, which The Vintage Collection collectors only dream of receiving from Hasbro. So, there is no removable helmet here, and technically, we don’t need one. As happy as we are to receive a second portrait with this figure, we’re not sure if Hasbro nailed the shape of the helmet or not. It feels a little too flat-faced, in our opinion, but we could also be nitpicking here a little bit. Despite this, Hasbro recreated the deco beautifully on the helmet, and we have no complaints with the paint job. When you have the un-helmeted portrait on, the helmeted portrait fits into the figure’s hands and if it’s holding it. So we appreciate that option tremendously. Another excellent design is the holster. Hasbro tooled each one in a way that holds onto the blaster pistols tightly, and they don’t easily fall out, say if you want to pose the figure or move it. This functionality is a small detail, but it’s important to collectors. The rest of the figure's articulation is excellently worked into the figure as well. Bo-Katan Kryze can achieve MANY poses.

The most significant update is Bo-Katan Kryze’s hip articulation. Hasbro took a note from The Black Series 6-inch line and decided to incorporate two ball-socket hips, instead of two ball-jointed hips, into the action figures. It will probably be an update that will be ongoing for future releases, as Kuiil (VC227) also has this update. At the 3.75-inch scale, the ball-socket joints are very tight and give better resistance than the 6-inch figure joints, so that’s a significant update. However, we wonder if, over time, that resistance will wear down the more collectors play with the figures. Only time will tell, so it’s much too early to grow concerned about that possible setback. Looking at still reference images of the live-action character, we can’t help but notice what a stunning job Hasbro did with this action figure. Fans of The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and now The Mandalorian have reason to celebrate this long-awaited action figure. There is a lot of goodness here. And Hasbro made sure they’d make collectors happy with what they offered. Even the packaging for Bo-Katan Kryze is impressive. We’d love to see an alternate un-helmeted version of the character on the packaging as a running change. But let’s enjoy this one for the time being.