Star Wars: Luke Skywalker (The Black Series™ 3.75") Review

 

Hello, everyone! I'm here with a review of The Black Series™ Phase III 3.75" Walmart Exclusive figure of Luke Skywalker! This figure was released in September 2015 as part of the inaugural wave of the third phase of this collector-focused series, along with three other figures. Luke Skywalker is a repainted version of the 2011 The Vintage Collection™ Luke Skywalker (Lightsaber Construction) figure, and is undoubtedly the superior between the two figures. This figure has been hailed as the definitive version of a Return of the Jedi-era Luke Skywalker, and I agree. The articulation is superb and the likeness is an outstandingly accurate representation of Mark Hamill.

I ordered this figure from toy_story_world on the 7th of January, same as Princess Leia (check out my previous review). I was potentially going to be expecting it early February, but it arrived earlier than the projected time. This figure arrived one day after Leia, on the 21st. This is a pretty impressive time frame for a package coming from Taiwan with free standard postage. It only cost me $20 (about $15 USD), which was around half the price that the Leia figure cost me. I suppose this figure isn't in as high demand in comparison to the Leia figure. However, I did notice when re-checking the date of my product review (I always leave a review on the day the shipment is delivered) that the Luke figures are almost all sold out, so perhaps it is a sought-after figure after all.

I always ask the seller if they are able to select the figure among their stock with the least faults in paint or manufacture, at least according to what they can see outside the box. I'm mostly concerned with the paint job on the face, and am willing to let the rest slide usually. The seller was very obliging with my request, and responded that they would do the best they could to inspect the figure in-box before shipping. I'm really pleased with the results of this, because they definitely delivered on this request - this figure has a really chiselled/bumpy sculpt, so the paint applications are really easy for Hasbro to mess up (especially when considering their track record with quality control). The rest of the figure is basically solid black plastic, so there isn't much for them to mess up in that respect. The packaging came sealed in plastic wrap, which was a great decision on the seller's part! I find often that the box packaging shows some slight wear and tear due to the shipping process.

I suppose the question now is - why this edition of Luke Skywalker? Kenner and Hasbro have been producing heaps and heaps of Luke figures since the beginning of Star Wars in 1977. He's the original hero of the trilogy; not only are there renditions of him in virtually every costume he ever wore in the trilogy, but there are also several versions of some of these. The expanded universe has also provided Hasbro with the inspiration to make new figures of Luke. There are several notable editions of Luke, especially under Hasbro's collector banners The Vintage Collection™ and The Black Series™. One of the more controversial of these is TBS's Dagobah Luke, which included hyper-articulation at the expense of aesthetic. There's also the classic Tatooine or 'farmer' Luke, the version of Luke in his white tunic from A New Hope. However, while these figures are all awesome in their own way, I really wanted a Jedi Luke. Many Luke figures are painted with hair too blonde to accurately depict Mark Hamill; the face sculpt isn't usually right, either. I chose this Luke Skywalker for some pretty obvious reasons; being a new release, he's much easier to get a hold of for a much better price, and a general rule of thumb is that the more modern it is, the more superior it is (obviously this isn't so much of a rule as a vague guideline when it comes to Hasbro). I also loved the accessories, and I found that the collecting community views this particular figure as a definitive edition of Jedi Luke. In fact, this Luke figure is based on a deleted scene from Return of the Jedi, in which Luke is constructing his iconic green lightsaber.

On to the review!

Luke Skywalker

I have to admit that when I was younger, I didn't think much of Luke. I mean, he was okay, but nothing really stood out for me. Of course, I've always been more interested in the female characters in entertainment media, even when they weren't exactly prominent. Padme was my favourite - I was still coming out of the princess phase, and she wore lots of pretty outfits and that just really appealed to me. Now, of course, my priorities have changed rather significantly. If I had to choose a favourite female character it would be the go-getter Rey, closely followed by Princess Leia. The focus shift away from this cartoonised form of femininity towards actualised feminism naturally broadened my perspective in regards to the male sphere of these movies. AKA, women stepping outside traditional gender norms and taking on 'masculine' traits has made me more receptive to male characters in the Star Wars universe. And Luke is pretty awesome. He's a nobody farm-boy with this huge history (certain scenes throughout the original trilogy just make me bawl when I think about the prequels), and he overcomes all this hardship to become the last Jedi. That's a pretty fricking huge burden to take on. I mean, I was surprised by the events of The Force Awakens, but I got it - shouldering thousands of years of history like that, only to have it destroyed utterly is enough to break anyone. I'm really looking forward to what this next installment brings in terms of characterisation.

The figure stands perfectly without need of a stand, an the soft-goods skirt is a nice addition that extends articulation.

Articulation: this figure is equipped with 14 areas of articulation, all of which move wonderfully. Luke has a ball-jointed head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles, as well as a swivel waist. The inclusion of ball-jointed wrists adds a whole wealth of extra movement, and really gives the figure a collector-quality feel. Each joint has a wide range of movement, though a little stiff at first; I do think this is good, though, as you can be sure the joints are not too loose.

The flaws to watch out for: the major potential flaw would obviously be the paint job. The eyes are sculpted a little oddly, which, when combined with the oh-so-stellar paint jobs Hasbro produces (*holds up sarcasm sign*), makes for a little game of Russian roulette when it comes to getting a well-painted figure. Luckily for me, I received a figure with very decent apps, though the hairline needed a bit of tidying up. The bits to watch out for are the eyes, which can skew greatly off the sculpt set out for them, as well as the hairline (in my case, the hairline was lazily applied and didn't cover the entirely of the sculpted hair). Also, the hair is painted on, which means that the paint may be applied a little thinly in places - this is also another issue I had, and again rather easy to fix. Aside from potential paint issues, there really aren't any other quality control issues.

This figure is painted very well, but watch for hair inconsistencies as the paint used is very thin and watery.

Weird manufacturing choices: this figure is considered one of the best - if not the best - edition of a ROTJ Luke Skywalker, but it isn't without some kinda weird choices. The most obvious and easily pointed-out would be that the hair sculpt is wrong. Luke's hair is consistently styled so the part is on the left side of his head, not the right; i.e., his hair is the reverse of how it should be. However, I think I can explain this. This figure is based off a deleted scene in which Luke constructs his green lightsaber; while we don't actually get to see his hair part (his hood is up), it can be inferred by one of the following scenes. The scene I'm talking about is the opening of Return of the Jedi, in which C-3PO and R2-D2 enter Jabba's Palace on Luke's behalf to negotiate for Han Solo's release. In the hologram recording in which Luke addresses Jabba, his hair is noticeably parted on the right side of his head, not his usual left. Some may suggest this is due to the fact holograms record a mirror reflection, but I don't think so; in watching the prequel trilogy, it is strongly implied that it bears more resemblance to videotaping than mirror imaging. So, I'm reasonably confident this alteration is entirely canonical. My other choice for 'weird' would be the cloak he's wearing - in the film, Luke wears a hood rather than a Jedi robe; there are no sleeves, and the cloak is definitely not brown, but rather an ashy-dark-grey colour. Even in the deleted scene he is wearing his typical cloak, so I can't really excuse this choice. Evidently, it appears Hasbro attempted to mitigate production costs by utilizing products already in the 'archive' rather than design a film-accurate accessory. However, I don't necessarily see this as a negative; the figure looks awesome with the cloak on, and it fits really well without looking too bulky or awkward.

This figure comes with so many accessories that I was unable to take as many action shots as I originally planned!

Accessories: if you have The Vintage Collection™ Luke Skywalker (Lightsaber Construction) figure, then you know what I'm about to discuss - might as well skip ahead. If not, well, buckle up kiddos because this figure has some awesome accessories. This is what a collector line should be offering us, not just a ridiculously overpriced figure by itself in a box. This figure obviously comes with the cloak I just mentioned above, which looks super-cool and drapes really well on the figure (it also comes over the head nicely, which is a bonus). Luke comes with his green lightsaber (of course) - I particularly love the design of the lightsabers from this era of production, with the ripple of the laser as it emerges from the hilt. The new lightsabers from TFA action figure line feature plain clear plastic (see Resistance Rey figure), which just isn't great; the older ones offer a bit more attention to detail, and it allows Hasbro to get away with fudging up the hilt a bit more, in my opinion. Luke also comes with a plain lightsaber hilt; I'm not sure if this can clip onto the belt, seeing as I can't find any holes or anything to indicate this. Both lightsaber and hilt fit really well into both hands (even at once). As this is a deleted scene figure it also comes with a lightsaber wrench tool that Luke uses to construct his lightsaber; this accessory fits VERY loosely in the hand as it is absolutely tiny, so be careful leaving that lying around as you'll definitely lose it.

Things to love: what isn't there to love about this figure? It features an amazing likeness to Mark Hamill (and its great to see Hasbro finally give up on selling the blonde hair - face it, it was light brown at the lightest) and it displays nicely among other 3.75" figures. The scale is correct and sits comfortably taller than the Princess Leia figure (although it is dwarfed by any Anakin Skywalker or Darth Vader figure, and probably Kylo Ren too - tall motherfuckers!) - interestingly, it doesn't stand as tall as I expected in comparison to Rey or Jyn Erso, so I'm not sure what to think of that. (Note: Rey and Luke are approximately the same height - Daisy is 1.7m and Mark is 1.75m - and Felicity Jones is 1.59m, so the scale's a little messed up there). The build reflects Luke well, being slim but athletic, and the joints don't distract by being too bulky or awkward. The grip in the hands is fantastic, and the ball joints are wicked cool and add real value to the poseability of the figure. The sand on the shoes is a nice touch (yes, it's sand, guys, not a paint job fail), and the accessories ultimately seal what is a very awesome deal. If you're looking for a definitive Luke Skywalker to add to your collection, look no further - here it is.

Thanks for reading, everyone - coming soon, my review on The Black Series™ (PII) C-3PO 3.75" action figure!

The Black Series™ 3.75" figure of Luke Skywalker in his Jedi Knight outfit.

Star Wars: Leia Organa (The Black Series™ 3.75") Review

Hello again, everyone! I'm back with a review of The Black Series™ Leia Organa figure as promised! This action figure is from Phase III of the super-articulated collector's series, and it is simply (and appropriately) titled 'Princess Leia Organa'. She is based off the concluding scene of Episode IV: A New Hope, in which Leia presents Luke and Han with medals for their contribution to the destruction of the Death Star. This figure is an all-new sculpt of the fan-titled 'Yavin Leia', featuring a more than fair likeness to Carrie Fisher and a decent amount of articulation for what may be considered primarily a display piece.

I purchased this figure from animetropolis, who is quite possibly one of my favourite sellers to purchase TBS figures from - they have such an extensive range of products for really reasonable prices, and they are always willing to do the best they can to meet your requests. I asked for a figure with the best paint job/ manufacturing they could, and I think (for the most part) they delivered on that. I'll discuss some of my issues with the figure in later sections, but I do think this Leia is a beautiful rendition of the character from one of the more memorable scenes in the Star Wars trilogy.

Anyway, I ordered this on the 7th of January along with a Luke Skywalker figure (that I have yet to review - that might take a while, seeing as I've yet to actually take the photos for the review). As per their usual protocol, I was informed to expect around 15 days from the date of shipment to the delivery date. According to eBay, I was to expect the arrival of my shipment on the 12th of February; kinda long, but I'm used to long waits, seeing as I live in Australia and anything collector-focused is found in limited quantities (at best) here. The shipping prices were relatively inexpensive for the figure, which is another plausible reason for the long wait. However, I received the order on the 20th of January! I was so excited by this, but I honestly wasn't too surprised, seeing as all the items I've purchased from them have arrived significantly earlier than projected by eBay. What I found slightly odd was that there were shipping costs; usually, they're free.

I actually paid a lot for this figure, around $50. I know, why would I spend that much? I needed a Leia figure for my collection, and while I found the previous Boushh Leia impressive, I just wasn't really feeling it. It sounds a little backwards, but I wanted my Leia to be pretty, feminine, you know? I was almost tempted by a couple of the Vintage Collection versions (notably the Bespin version), but I didn't really like the likeness of the figure. That, and there was no way I was paying $70 for a figure. For a while I held off on purchasing a Leia; this Leia didn't really appeal to me at first due to the fact that there is no articulation below the waist, but the more I read up on it and looked at it, the more I warmed to it. I think I know why this figure is so expensive - why all Leia figures are so expensive at the moment. It seems a little harsh, but that's the way of business, I suppose - Carrie Fisher's passing has opened the doors to a flood of fans seeking Princess Leia memorabilia, and it makes financial sense for businesses to try and make a profit off of it. It isn't particularly great or moral, but oh well.I suppose part of the reason I bought this figure was spurred on by her death. As it is, $50 was just about the cheapest I could find it online, without purchasing it opened.

I have a bit of a 'rule', I suppose, when it comes to the distinction between buying opened and unopened figures. For figures in the latest phase of TBS, I'm pretty gung-ho on purchasing in-box (both because its new and because I actually really like the packaging). For all other later figures, I'm okay with out of box, but I do like in-box where I can. Point in case; I bought my TBS Padme Amidala figure opened and in excellent condition, and yet I was able to purchase TBS C-3PO (I think from phase II) in-box. I try to avoid buying opened figures if they come with any soft goods, seeing as the material Hasbro uses is quite easy to fray.

Anyway, away from the tangent and on to the review!

Princess Leia Organa

Leia is iconic. Not just in the science fiction world, but everywhere. She revolutionised the manner in which females were portrayed in a mainly male-dominated selection of genres. Make no mistake; Star Wars isn't just sci-fi, but draws from fantasy and reality to mesh into a grand-scale, politically-complex "space opera" (I've always hated that term, it makes the genre seem cheap and tacky - while I do agree that a fair number of these films are quite tacky, it seems as though the assignation ignores the value of Star Wars, Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, among others). Leia is a princess, yes, but she's a political force and influential leader; she's a soldier and a general; she's a vulnerable and impressionable girl; and all of these things combine to form an inspiring, nuanced woman.

I've determined to ensure that my collection has representation from all three trilogies (and spin-offs, to a lesser extent, as they are released). When I realised I had mostly prequel trilogy figures (minus two sequel trilogy ones in the form of Finn and Rey), I thought to myself how ridiculous it was that I had no original trilogy figures made after the 1980s (my dad has a rather extensive collection of vintage-era figures, but his poor storage choices have left them a little worse for wear). It was only natural for me to choose a Leia figure that would nicely complement my Padme figure, though I would have admittedly preferred an updated rendition of Leia's iconic A New Hope outfit, complete with the two buns. This was my next best bet, seeing as I disliked the appearance of Boushh Leia and found Vintage Collection-era Leias to be abnormally high-priced (and inferior likenesses in comparison to this particular face mould). This is a brilliant figure that holds up well next to the rest of my figures; indeed, she really stands out among them all!

This figure stands incredibly well on its own, not even needing a stand. The sculpt is superior in this respect!

Articulation: this Leia figure comes with a smaller number of articulation areas in comparison to other Black Series figures. Leia Organa features 8 areas of articulation as the dress is moulded plastic rather than soft goods, meaning her legs are static and immovable. She features a ball-jointed head, shoulders and elbows, as well as swivel upper arms and waist. This does not detract from the figure and I do believe Hasbro made the correct choice here.

The flaws to watch out for: here's the gritty part, folks. Now, I received a figure with... quite a few flaws. Most of these I was able to fix; one I have yet to. The most important thing is to watch out for paint jobs, especially on the hair and along the neckline (the white is painted on). My figure had a large stripe of white paint across the top of the head, which was easy enough to fill in with my paints and trusty needle. The upper arm joints can be very loose; if the arms pop off, the easiest way to fix them would be to superglue the join, wait for about 4 seconds and start twisting the joint loose to prevent it bonding. This will tighten up the joint and prevent the arm falling off (which mine did). Also, be careful about the waist joint, though there really isn't anything you can do about it in packaging as the soft goods conceal the waist. The skirt portion on my figure has detached from the lower waist/leg mould, meaning that the dress looks more like a two piece with a bit of midriff showing, These were all a little disappointing, but very quick and easy fixes. Although, if anyone can give me a clue as to how to fix the waist thing, I'm all ears!

The paint applications are very clean here - and just look at that amazing hair!

Weird manufacturing choices: I'm just a little perplexed by Hasbro's decision to give this figure swivel upper arms as opposed to swivel wrists or even ball-jointed wrists. According to some, this decision was made in the attempt to streamline the figure a little more and not spoil the aesthetics, but I honestly don't see the issue with swivel or ball-joint hands. I do have to admit, however, that the seamless look of the lower arms is quite appealing to look at, even though it makes positioning the medal in her hands slightly finicky. I also find the type of material used a little odd; the material used in the promotional photography showed a material that draped much nicer over the shoulders, though I disliked the shiny sheen of the fabric. This material feels better, but you must fiddle with it quite a bit to get it to flow correctly. And the fabric really wants to drop down to the elbows, which is not how the Fisher's outfit was shown in the movie! I also find the decision not to include peg holes on the feet a little strange, especially seeing as how static figures have a higher tendency to fall over. I never use the peg holes, but it would be nice to know they exist, you know? And also, one of the bigger complaints about this figure pertained to the disproportionate hands, or 'man-hands'; I do agree they seem a little large, but it looks much better in person and doesn't necessarily represent a bad thing. I don't actually believe the hand size is incorrect, but rather that the plastic may have been cast too thickly to provide the right support and grip. It is important to note that these manufacturing choices all constitute weirdness on Hasbro's part, but none of these things are necessarily detractors from the aesthetic beauty of the figure.

This figure is a beautiful display piece for the Black Series collection, featuring some pretty cool poses.

Accessories: Princess Leia only comes with a single accessory, guys. This is to be expected, as the figure is a very scene-specific one. She comes with a medal that she can hold in both hands with relative ease; I admit it took me a while to shove it in her hands as I was so afraid that maneuvering the arms around would damage my recent glue job on the right upper arm joint. She also comes with a soft-goods cloak that is technically deemed an accessory - seeing as it's actually a part of her outfit I don't really consider it an 'accessory', per say. I think the medal is sculpted and painted very well, and the figure looks great posing with it in her hands!

Things to love: I've spent a lot of this review seemingly going on about the various problems this figure may have or does have - please don't let that be discouraging, as I'm actually super glad that this was the figure I chose to represent Leia in my collection. She's a beautiful piece, and I unfortunately got an imperfectly manufactured product that was easily and painlessly fixable. The likeness to Carrie Fisher here is one I deem unparalleled; I've heard so many gripes about how bad the face is, but I honestly believe this is the most successful attempt at capturing Carrie's likeness in Hasbro and Kenner's collective history. She's pretty and delicate and she just looks great, guys (please don't talk at me about Hoth Leia, because I honestly don't remember her wearing that hoochie lipstick at any point during the Hoth scenes). Her hair sculpt is surreal, and the paint job on the face is awesome! She's sculpted very slender and short, making her absolutely adorable next to other figures in the collection. Her joints are highly mobile and she can be posed in a variety of different stances, should you so choose. If you're looking for the most faithful representation of Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia Organa, this Black Series figure is the one for you.

Thanks for reading, guys, and stay tuned for the next review coming sometime soon!

The Black Series™ 3.75" figure of Princess Leia Organa in her Yavin Celebration outfit.

Star Wars: Jyn Erso (The Black Series™ 3.75") Review

So, as you can probably guess, my hobby right now circulates around the super-articulated Star Wars 3.75" line. Believe me, I fought it - I was literally in the middle of Game of Thrones again, but then Rogue One came out and blew me away with its fabulousness. That movie totally made me cry - obviously I won't say why, in case some of you haven't watched it. It threw me directly back into the Star Wars game, and my newfangled income has served me well!

I know the Black Series gets a lot of flak from consumers due to Hasbro's often-lazy paint apps and poor distribution decisions, but I don't see why these aspects have to contribute to the perception of a specific product from the line. Overall, The Black Series is a quality collector's series, and, for the most part, Hasbro delivers on that. Ever since I first came across that little Rey figure I knew I had to start collecting the premium line rather than settle for the average TFA Basic line. I've already established I'm not really a 6" figure collector, mostly due to two things: one, the 6" is basically a blown-up version of the SA 3.75" (except painted more inaccurately, in my opinion), and the 6" scale is too large to fit a collection of in my shoebox of a room. On a side note, I'm not paying all that extra money for a couple extra centimetres of plastic (of course, the reverse argument can be true: why pay for less plastic for a few less dollars when the larger format is better value for money? However, I'm a hardcore lover of the original figure format of 3.34", and as such am a little reluctant to accept the 6" series as Hasbro's mainline collector-focused format).

It's been a while since my last review of The Black Series line, so I thought it'd be a good idea to reestablish all these things before I continue on to the review. Also, I've been reading up on a lot of action figure sites and apparently people have an issue with the new packaging. I have a C-3PO from an earlier phase of TBS (review coming eventually), and it has the more traditional bubble/card-back packaging. I've got to admit, I personally like the new box style. I think it gives something a little extra to the line; a bit of luxury, so to speak. However, if the box is the bloody reason these things are so expensive then I take it all back!

So. Can anyone guess where I got this figure from? Anyone? Yes, that's right - eBay. God, I love that site. Used to have strong feelings against it because everything seemed so expensive (I suppose $50 seems pretty expensive to a ten-year-old), but there are actually some really awesome deals out there when you look long enough. Unfortunately, every Jyn figure I saw online was way too expensive to justify, even with my considerably larger budget. Surprisingly, the cheapest figure I found was from jaqjnrnsw, an Australian-based seller; it was an auction, but luckily for me no one else was interested. I ended up getting the figure for about $32 (could've been cheaper but my internet fucked up and kept telling me I'd been outbid even though I hadn't actually been outbid at $20). I was perfectly willing to pay such a price as it is a hard-to-get figure from a limited release line. I ordered and paid on the 8th of January, and it arrived on the 11th! I was super stoked at how fast this came, seeing as I'm typically used to waiting over seven days for any package to arrive, particularly when it's a Star Wars figure being shipped out to me.

Seeing as this was an auction and not a sale, I had no choice but to accept whatever quality the figure was in - as some of you might know, I always try to make it a point to contact the seller and ask if it is possible to send the best painted/manufactured figure from their remaining stock. I was exceedingly fortunate that the very few flaws were not significant, and I easily fixed paint gaps with some acrylics and a needle (as I'm not actually in possession of a brush small enough nor a hand steady enough to use such a brush).

Anyway, that was the introductory part of this piece. Now, on to the figure itself!

Sergeant Jyn Erso

I had already bought my TBS Luke and Leia off eBay when I decided to keep fleshing out my collector line of Star Wars action figures. So - why Jyn, out of all the available figures? Well, as I mentioned earlier, Rogue One got me back into Star Wars. If you have not seen the movie Rogue One, don't read this paragraph. The movie was so good, and I really appreciated how they kept romance out of it. For the main trilogies, I understand it - it adds another dynamic and there's more screen time to establish lasting bonds between characters. One movie would not have been enough time to construct a believable romantic premise between (I assume) Jyn and Cassian. I felt that there was some subtext there that meant a relationship could have evolved, but I suppose that's all part of the heartbreak of the ending - not only did they all die, but they died before getting to explore the parameters of their acquaintance. Something or other about the futility of life and the tragedy of war, I suppose. I've only seen it once, so I haven't really made time to construct a meaning from it. The Cassian figure is on my list of figures to get, but it isn't a priority at the moment, seeing as the movie was mainly Jyn's anyway. As for Jyn - I just really love her. Not as much as Rey, mind you, but she's part of this whole new feminist Star Wars revolution (with female protagonists as opposed to female semi-background leads) and she's kick-ass cool and handy with a blaster.

This figure stands solidly with no balancing isues.

Articulation: Jyn has sixteen areas of articulation (I learned the difference between areas and points recently - 'point' is the incorrect vernacular as it refers to an individual joint's range of movement rather than the actual part, or 'area', where the joint itself exists). She has a ball-socket head, swivel wrists and thighs, and ball-jointed shoulders, elbows, torso, hips, knees and ankles. Like with previous Phase III Walmart Exclusive acquisitions, Jyn's legs moved in and outwards as a opposed to backwards and forwards; unlike said previous figures (whose stance may be adjusted by twisting the hip joint outwards and the knee joint inwards), the holster strap inhibits the twisting of the hip joint, thereby making it difficult to adopt bending or sitting stances. However, this is not a major issue, and can probably be rectified with a skilled blade if one deemed it necessary.

The flaws to watch out for: the only real concern for this figure is the paint job. There were a few lazy paint apps on mine, and these were mostly centred around the upper portion of the figure. I had a couple weird paint smears below the eye and along the collarbone, but these were easily fixed with my paints and needle. Also, the hairline is fairly hairy too; the paint seems to be afraid of reaching the moulded hairline, so it may be necessary to tighten up the paint applications here also. Aside from that, paint applications are fairly simple and straightforward. Also, there's a slightly awkward arch to the left calf of the figure, whereby it almost appears as though the bone curves inwards slightly - be sure to check for this. Aside from this, I'm pretty pleased to say the joint colours match fine.

Be careful for lazy paint applications on the face, particularly when it comes to the eyes and hairline.

Weird manufacturing choices: I know I've already mentioned this, but the thigh joint simply makes no sense on the figure. I could understand it perhaps if it actually provided functionality, but the blaster holster being moulded onto the lower torso and lower thigh renders the joint useless. Furthermore, without use of one joint, the pair joint on the other leg becomes relatively useless by extension. It appears that this unnecessary joint application was a move by Hasbro to provide consumers with a flashier super-articulated figure; a sort of display piece as to what they are capable of on figures in the 3.75" scale. However, it makes one wonder why Hasbro would waste funds on this gratuitous tooling effort when they could be diverting these funds to improve the basic figure articulation or, God forbid, increase the figure output of The Black Series 3.75" line. Like previous Phase III figures, I have an issue with the ball-joint in the hips. They limit natural action poses such as running, as they only move in and out and twist instead of moving backwards and forwards. This is a fairly minor gripe, though, and only something to consider if you really have your heart set on achieving super-dynamic posing. An odd choice to make in this line is the inclusion of swivel wrists, and not ball-jointed ones. At this point in the game, swivel action mainly feels outdated. While the movement is pretty extensive and dynamic, I can't help but feel the figure would have really benefited from ball-jointed wrists. Lastly, I find myself wondering how the head and torso joints could be considered ball-jointed as the range of movement I found tended to be more swivel than ball-jointed. However, I'm unsure if this is merely a design flaw or if I simply haven't loosened up the joints enough to merit such movement. I'd like to stress here that these are all really minor, nit-picking aspects of the figure that I've placed here for the hardcore collectors who only admit technically perfect figures to their own collections.

This figure poses nicely with her rifle; she grips the blaster tightly in her hands, making poseability options virtually endless.

Accessories: now, a previous complaint of mine was that a figure came with only one meager accessory. And technically, so does this one. However, I think this one definitely pulls it off better, and I'll even go so far as to say it's one of my favourite parts about this figure. Jyn comes with a blaster that fits nicely and securely in her holster. There are front and back pieces to the blaster that mean you can assemble the blaster into a rifle, which I think is a pretty awesome and dynamic feature. You push the plug on the back of the blaster into the back piece, and slide the front of the blaster into the front piece until it securely interlocks. It's pretty darn cool, but has the potential to fall apart if you aren't careful - be sure not to drop the pieces, or you'll never find them again.

Things to love: the sculpt of this figure is just amazing - while I have to say that the face doesn't closely resemble Felicity Jones, the likeness is there if you look for it. The 'makeup' look from the 6" version is scaled way down so Jyn looks comfortably feminine, but not Disney Princess-esque. The vest is nicely sculpted, accurately coloured and drapes well over her upper body - of course, this is detachable, but to do so would remove a vital eye-catching component from the outfit. Her hair is superbly rendered in Jyn's messy bun, with her signature layers falling out of the knot. The body is proportioned nicely, and sits well alongside other figures in the 3.75" line. The hair is absolutely stunning, and the simplicity of the outfit is highlighted effectively by the sculpted wrinkles in the pants and shirt. Finally, the accessories provided for the blaster are epic and really elevate the functionality of the figure. This figure is a faithful representation of Rebel Sergeant Jyn Erso from Rogue One, and I strongly recommend that fans of the movie and/or the scale get this for their own collection.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for my The Black Series [PIII]: Leia Organa review coming soon!

The Black Series™ 3.75" figure of Sergeant Jyn Erso in her outfit from Rogue One.

Harry Potter Pops I own and forgot to show you.

I was doing a little surfing on my own blog (it's fun when you have an interest in something and find out you'd already done some writing on it in the past) and came across my post on the collection of Harry Potter Funko Pops I own. I had almost completed the full set of the first wave (minus the exclusives, because there was no way I was getting three Harrys), and had only about four listed for the second. I realised that, since then, I've acquired a couple more from the second wave that I neglected to post about. That isn't because I didn't like these Pops, but rather it just... slipped my mind. I'm not  particularly skilled at recalling information (or writing, apparently), so it fell to the recesses of my mind. My poor, beleagured mind. Just kidding, folks. So, I figured I'd discuss the Pops I neglected in this post!

Since I last posted about my own HP Pop collection, I've gained a grand total of (dun dun DUN) three new ones. I know, so many. It's crazy. I've got a fair few on my list for my upcoming birthday (someone get them for me), so I am getting back into the habit (habit?) of buying these and amassing gazillions of shiny-eyed, big-headed witches, wizards and other magical creatures of Rowling's creation!

 I bought Sirius not long after I purchased Dobby and Yule Ball Hermione in Perth city, that one time I actually had money to spend and a means to spend it physically. I love Sirius - admittedly the character more than Oldman's portrayal. Am I the only one who had an issue with the way he was portrayed? He was meant to be in his mid/late thirties (no guy in their thirties looks that old), but he was aged up to around fifty for some reason. I get that they wanted him to look parent-y, but I just always pictured Ben Barnes (mouth watering thinking about Prince Caspian) in the role. I also have beef with the fact that Lily and James Potter were cast really similarly - they looked parent-y. They were, like, twenty when they died; basically teenagers. Just why? Why? Anyway, that was a massive tangent. So I love Sirius in a sexy way. If I could choose a husband from the HP world, it'd be Sirius. Yep. ILY, Sirius.

 I bought Neville next - I actually can't remember where I got him. Wait - I do; he was a bulk purchase I made with Arya Stark and Cersei Lannister at a small gaming and hobby shop a little ways from where I live. They had some sort of sale going on - I think it was a buy two, get one free thing - so I saw a sad little Neville in the back corner and told myself I was gonna get him. He's now happy, sitting with his Gryffindor classmates and cowering from the dreaded Professor Snape. I really love the addition of Trevor the toad perched in his hand. As a Pop, Neville looks really similar to Harry - it kinda struck me how Neville and Harry were virtually exchangeable; that Neville could just as easily been the Boy Who Lived.

Cedric Diggory was a really recent purchase. I couldn't believe I'd failed to get him for my collection, and I decided that I'd order him from Popcultcha.com just in time for my re-watching of Goblet of Fire. I bawled; it was great. He's so cute as a Pop! I particularly love the colour of his hair; I just think that burnt-mustard colour is mesmerising. I also love the disparity in colouration between the eyebrows and the hair, and it wasn't something I noticed about the character until I went back and looked at Robert Pattinson in the Goblet of Fire. Speaking of Robert Pattinson, the Twilight Funko Pops have come out recently. Thoughts, anyone?

I'm hoping for the Dementor for my birthday, as well as Triwizard Harry and Yule Ball Ron. I also want the SDCC Newt Scamander Funko Pop, seeing as Fantastic Beasts was my favourite of the three "textbooks" from the wizarding world. I'm so excited to see the movie!

Thanks for reading, guys! See you all soon!

Star Wars: Finn (The Black Series™ 3.75") Review

Hello, everyone! I got my The Black Series™ Finn in his Jakku outfit last Monday, so today I'll be doing a review for you! Hope you enjoy it - I'll be enjoying telling you all about it!

I'm a little curious about this - when I went to order this figure online, I couldn't help but notice how cheap he was on average in comparison to the rest of the 2015-2016 Black Series releases. The price difference ranged from a couple bucks (e.g. Poe, Han, Luke) to around $15 (e.g. Rey). I was thinking to myself that it might be because there is more of him in stock? But then, I didn't think it was likely they'd produce more of Finn compared to the main character Rey, given his whole secondary nature and the #WheresRey riot from late last year. So I figured it must be because he isn't as popular. This makes me sad - I liked Finn well enough in the movie, but it was John Boyega himself that sold the deal for me. He's so fucking funny, and a real charmer too! And Finn has the added advantage of being the super-cool sidekick to the super-awesome Rey, and what kind of amateur collector would I be if I didn't get a Finn to keep my Rey company?

I ordered this figure from animetropolis for only $20 - that is dirt cheap for a Black Series figure here in Australia, where you pay that kind of money for basic figures sometimes. Apparently, in the US, the Black Series only goes for like 13 USD which is about  17/18 AUD - I've even read about some people complaining about these prices in the States! Please! But anyway, I digress. I think part of the reason the item was so inexpensive was because the seller used a cheaper shipping method - the carrier for the package was called Winit, I think. I was given a tracking number, but it didn't work whenever I searched it up. I ordered the figure on the 7th of September; the seller shipped on the 8th; and I got the figure on the 19th, seven business days after. This is the second time this has occurred with this seller - the earliest I would have been likely to expect it was the 22nd or 23rd - so I'm now firmly believing that the delivery time frame is not just a one-off. I'm really happy with the delivery, and it turns out the tracking number must have been muddled up, because according to the package, it was shipped by the same company that delivered my Rey figure (not Winit). Oh well; I'm not too concerned by this, seeing as I had already received some great service from the seller before.

If you've read any of my previous reviews, you know the drill by now - I make sure to ask the seller to ship the best-looking figure out of their remaining stock. Again, the seller was very willing to oblige this silly request, and again they delivered. I cannot actually point out a single flaw in the paint job for this figure, that's how pleased I am about it. There was a black spot on his face in the box, but it was likely just a plastic scraping or something because it came right off when I rubbed it. I'm really excited to show you all this great figure!

Finn (Jakku)

I usually start this little bit off with why I chose this particular figure. I'd like to think I pretty much covered this above - every Rey needs her Finn, and my little 3.75" Rey is no exception. That and I thought he looked hell cool (even if he did only come with one weapon - I'll be talking about that in a minute). Also, Finn - who doesn't love Finn (aside from antis and racists)? He's the one that keeps TFA from being totally depressing ("I'm in charge now, Phasma!") and adds an entirely new dimension to the series (who would ever think Stormtroopers had mind enough of their own to break an enemy pilot out of interrogation, run away on a stolen TIE fighter and end up saving the fucking Resistance?). I think I've established that Rey is my favourite character, but Finn comes a tie with Kylo Ren (for different reasons, though). He's epic. Added to that, he was really cheap and I wanted to get him to work at completing the Rey/Fin/Poe trio in action figure format.

Due to some odd hip joints, the figure has the occasional difficulty standing. Arranging the legs in a certain way should help with this.

I'm not going to lie; this figure is not perfect. But then, I don't hold that against Hasbro, seeing as the scale is really difficult to work with. What I do hold against them is their cutting back on quality in the basic TFA figure line and not compensating by making the 3.75"  Black Series widely available. Anyway, that's for another time. On with the review!

Articulation: Finn has 14 points of articulation - the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles. Some of the joints have limited movement; the wrists are ball-jointed but cannot articulate well because of the jacket sleeves, and the ankles cannot either as the pants hinder them. This is not a deal-breaker if you can look past this!

The flaws to watch out for: I think the standard answer by now would be to ALWAYS inspect the paint job because they just aren't consistent between figures. You'll want to watch particularly for the face paint job as well as the red accents on Poe's jacket, because they look as though they could be very inconsistent - the same goes with the little silver accents, though these are much smaller (I can't figure out whether a mess-up here is good or bad; one one hand it's small enough that it shouldn't be too noticeable, but on the other hand there's a large margin for error). I'd watch out for the paint across the hairline as well, because it appears the head has been cast in flesh tone with the hair painted, the reverse of Rey's handling. I feel fortunate, as all the problems I've just described here? I can't find any of them on my figure.

The paint application on the face is really good - it even appears that they've attempted to colour in the eyes.

Weird manufacturing choices: like all of the Black Series figures I have so far, the majority of the figure has been cast in one colour of plastic, with the details painted on. This means the pegs holding joints together are one colour, and this colour often does not match the tone of the corresponding body part. It's barely noticeable, but Finn's wrist joints are the same tan colour as the jacket, while the wrists are skin colour; also, his grey shoes are marred slightly by black joints the same colour as the pants. These are both easily disguised by the folding of the pants and sleeves over the joints, so this is only a minor complaint for those who like to pose their figures in crazy stances. Also, this figure has the same kind of hip joints as Rey - instead of swivelling back and forth like Padme they swing in and out. Like Rey, you can just twist the leg out and the knee back in to pose the figure in a running stance, but it just looks plain awkward. Placing the figure in a sitting stance has the potential to be very difficult, as the joints are initially rather stiff. The jacket is removable, but the sleeves are not, so taking it off will look super weird. The particular thing with this is - despite both elements of the jacket being cast in plastic rather than the colour painted on - the removable part is a slightly darker shade than the sleeves. It isn't incredibly noticeable unless you're doing high-res photography or you're in certain lighting. Because they're quite clearly different types of plastic it is acceptable that the colour wouldn't come up the same, so I think we can let it slide.

While Finn only comes with a single blaster, his range of movement is endless.

Accessories: Finn comes with a single blaster. If I had to make a complaint against this figure, this would be it. Only one accessory? At the very least they could maybe have put BB-8 in with him (seeing as both Rey and Poe come with a decent amount of accessories), but no. Oh well - at least it's better than TFA Leia (which comes with no accessories whatsoever apparently).

Things to love: firstly, the likeness to John Boyega. It's almost perfect! They just did a really awesome job with capturing the character in this figure. The detailing on the face is great, and the hair is adorably curly. Obviously, the articulation is something to love about this figure, not only in terms of how it can move but the level of stability the joints are given; you aren't likely to get loose joints in this figure, so it should hold up to hours of kiddy playtime. The figure is scaled to the correct height ratio, being only a little bit taller than Rey (and a slightly more when placed beside Padme) and the figure interacts well with the other Black Series figures. The design of the clothing is another really big win; the wrinkling of the pants and shirt, as well as the application of sand to the shoes and the bottom of the pants, really gives the impression that Finn has been wandering the deserts of Jakku, which makes this figure a really great piece for scene-specific play. Due to a minimalistic design and a simple but neat paint job, the figure should age really well and be a solid part of your collection for years to come.

Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed this little review!

The Black Series™ 3.75" figure of Finn in his Jakku outfit.

Star Wars: Padme Amidala (The Black Series™ 3.75") Review

Hello, readers! I got my The Black Series™ 3.75" Padme Amidala figure in her Geonosis Arena outfit! Today I'll be telling you all about the buying experience - but the main part of this post will be reviewing the figure itself. Hope you like it!

First off the bat, I want to apologise for the shitty stock photo I've used up above - I wanted to keep the theme running from my first Star Wars action figure review of Rey. Because this figure is fairly old (not really, but, in comparison to the new releases it is) it was bloody hard to find any useable stock photos of it. I did what I could, but sorry. It is just for introductory purposes anyway.

I ordered this from eBay from a Phillippines-based user named tunghori - unfortunately, there were no brand new Padme Amidala figures online for less than $70, so I went with buying an opened figure that, according to the seller, was used only for displaying in store. I'm not too fussed by this - I would've opened it anyway - and I got a really good price for it, seeing as it is the first figure made in an adult collectable series. I had it sent to me via standard delivery, and it seems to be the seller's policy not to provide an estimated delivery date or a tracking number; this didn't bother me excessively, but I have to admit I do wish they allowed me the peace of mind of knowing where exactly my package is. I got my package around fifteen business days after I placed my order - sounds like a long time (and it was), but the seller did explicitly state this was common on their site for international orders, so I knew what I was expecting. I didn't mark them down for it either, seeing as it actually did come within the vaguely estimated time frame they set out. I got it at some ridiculously early time in the morning - someone in the house had to have brought it in from the front door before they left for Jake's school at 7:30. It was a tiny little box, basically the size of the figure with a little extra room for packing material. The figure came in a little zip-lock bag and was surrounded by pellets. I do admit I wish it had been packed a little better because the box was crushed a bit, but luckily the figure itself was unharmed.

Like I did with my Rey figure, I asked the seller to ship the best-painted version out of their remaining stock (at the time there were like six or seven left), and like the Rey figure, they really did deliver on that! The paint job, especially for the face, was flawless, and I'm super pleased about this (seeing as my only other decent Padme has a shit paint job), and the overall quality of the figure was outstanding! I definitely recommend the seller if you are looking for expensive figures at low prices, and are willing to accept an item technically marked "used"!

Padme Amidala

 Growing up, I was basically indoctrinated into Star Wars. My dad grew up with the originals; I liked them, sure, but at the time I was aware they were quite outdated and all the characters would be middle-aged by the time I had watched them. I dont know why, but Leia didn't really do it for me at the time; I couldn't connect with her or identify her as a personal heroine. Even now I struggle with this, which isn't  reflection of anything lacking with either character or actress - I do love her quite a bit now, don't worry. But, I grew up with the prequel trilogy; they weren't "great" but they were new, with new characters and a different take on the world built by Lucas. Even as a child I was always a feminist, rooting for the female characters - naturally I gravitated to Padme. I just really loved her - she was so pretty, and later I looked back and saw all the awesome shit she did (a lot of it cut out of the actual film storylines for Anakin's piece-of-shit plot) and I admired her greatly. I got this figure as a sort of homage to that, Padme being the first sci-fi character that really resonated with me.

When I got Padme, I noticed the legs weren't as widely spaced as they are in stock images of the figure - I figure the legs must have been bent a bit, because there's a little bit of a tilt to one side that indicates to me a leg has been pushed in a bit too far. I'm working on fixing that, though, and it most definitely is not a deal breaker! Just be aware that these things can happen if you order opened items (or used items, semantics). Luckily, the paint job more than made up for this, and with a little bit of bending I've already started to bring the legs out to a normal angle! The figure, much like other Padme figures, doesn't really resemble Natalie Portman; however, this one, unlike the others, does a much better job at resembling her. There's a reason this is the Black Series! I will say this - the sculpt looks pretty similar to my other Padme figures, so at the very least it is consistent. If you squint you can see Natalie in her features - it's the eyes, I think. But, again - expecting this! Hasbro's ability to replicate real-scale people as tiny little 3.75-inch figurines is not perfect, and I wouldn't have the coordination to make something that tiny into something resembling a person, anyway. As of this year, I'm pretty sure this is the best Padme Amidala figure on the market; the 6-inch series has yet to release her, so I'm placing my money on this one. There are "prettier" versions of this character available, but this one's probably the best in terms of poseability and overall quality.

Unlike some figures that have terrible posture, the midriff joint enables Padme to stand straight and proud.

Articulation: Padme has 14 points of articulation. These are:- head, shoulders, elbows, wrists (swivel, not ball-jointed), midriff, hips, knees and ankles. All the joints have a great range of movement, although the legs are limited by the T-crotch joints at the hips, meaning her legs can only move back and forth.

The flaws to watch out for: the figure is cast in two separate parts; a flesh-toned head and a white body. This means the brown hair has been painted on, and the skin colour on the body has been painted. The effect? No matter how hard Hasbro may have tried, the plastic head doesn't match up with the flesh paint tone on the body - it is very close and only noticeable in certain lights (or if you stare at it too closely for too long), but I thought it worth mentioning.  The inevitable problem with this also is that for the elbow pegs, you can see the white plastic when you bend Padme's arm (particulaly irritating on the right arm, which is skin-toned and "bare"), as it is for the knees and ankles on Rey. As with any of these figures, you run the risk of acquiring a lazily-painted figure - I was lucky not to have this happen to me for either of my Black Series figures so far. Like Rey, Padme has a little bit of streaking in the flesh paint, but it seems that's unavoidable.

There is no blush on this figure, unlike Rey - the implementation of this tool must be new. Also, just look at those scratches! Aren't they awesome?

Weird manufacturing choices: in light of the fact that this series commenced with Padme, I'm willing to let the whole T-crotch thing slide. That was the mode, the standard, and they didn't come up with something better until later. Still, it is a little irritating for both function and aesthetic; not only does it limit the figure's movement but there are two great gaping cracks on either side of her crotch, which is a little unsettling. I'd also like to talk about the holster for her little Naboo blaster - um, penis much? Again, not a new complaint, but I couldn't see it until I had actually looked at it up close. It isn't so awkward when the gun's in it, so I figure that's the way it's gonna stay. Speaking of the guns - the massive droid blaster she comes with poses some problems, too. Because the grip is so large, you really have to wedge it into the tiny grasp of Padme's hand. The figure doesn't appear to be properly moulded to fit the gun, so any sudden movement will make the gun fall out of her tenuous grip and onto the floor - be careful if you have dark floors or animals, or you'll never find it again! The company decided to alter the articulation of the figure at the waist; instead of actually articulating at the waist, the ball-joint is just below the boobs at the midriff where the shirt cuts off. Unlike the rest of the stuff I've put in this little section, I actually think this one works in their favour. Not only does it create a seamless look, but it enables for more dynamic posing like leaning forward or backward (in a manner a little more natural than waist articulation is).

Still pretty bad at posing here; I don't have many articulated figures to practice with! But anyway, here's a general idea of what to expect from this figure.

Accessories: Padme comes with two accessories here. These are one Naboo blaster and one droid army blaster, both directly from the fight sequence in Attack of the Clones. Padme actually loses the Naboo blaster in the film, forcing her to pick up a droid one; however, the inclusion of two accessories for a female non-Force-sensitive character (what is the term for that?) is pretty cool, and I'm not complaining. Both accessories are able to be held by the figure (to varying success), even both at the same time!

Things to love: there are a lot of things that make this figure a real winner. Firstly, I think the hair sculpt is awesome - they did that cool bun thing really well (on a side note, how impractical is a fancy bun in a battle? Jeez). I can't tell how well the scale fits in with the rest of the characters, seeing as the figure is a little bent out of shape; she seems the same size as Rey (whose feet are slightly further apart at the moment), and I'm definitely sure Daisy Ridley is taller than Natalie Portman, so... I dunno. The figure balances really well, and definitely doesn't need a stand if that worries you! She also keeps good balance in some more interesting poses, too. The figure I got has really solid joints - even used, the joints are quite stiff (they've gotten a little looser as I've played with her), so ensuring she holds poses won't be difficult. The overall sculpting of the outfit is awesome; they've even included the piping on her shirt and the ridges on her boots (here I was thinking there was nothing decorative on her outfit in the movie; guess I was wrong). The accessories are awesome and the figure is a really great representation of Senator Amidala from the prequel trilogy. I definitely recommend this to Padme lovers if you don't have this already!

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions about this figure, feel free to drop in on the comment section below!

The Black Series™ 3.75" figure of Padme Amidala from Attack of the Clones.

Star Wars: Rey (The Black Series™ 3.75") Review

Hello, readers! Here I am, back as promised! Today I will be reviewing the Black Series™ 3.75" figure of Rey in her Jakku outfit. I'm super excited about this, you guys, so I hope you like it as much as I do!

I'd like to start off with my buying experience of this figure because I feel like it's important. Also, I feel like animetropolis deserves more attention (not that they're at all struggling, but still). So, as I mentioned in my previous post, I sought this out on eBay after comparing the basic figure and the Black Series figure through JediBusiness.com, only to find that the most inexpensive price listed for it in mint condition was somewhere around $70 AUD. I was not willing to spend that much, so I dug a little deeper. I found a really great deal for it from the Taiwan-based seller animetropolis, who had it for $34. I was willing to pay this, seeing as she's a rare figure from a limited release of the series. And I really really love Rey, so it was worth it, I reckon.

The shipping costs were free, and that came with the expectation that the package would take quite a bit longer to ship than usual. I was okay with this, provided the package came within the expected delivery time frame. Before shipping I had asked the seller if they were able to ship to me the best-looking figure out of their stock; they were more than happy to oblige my request, and very understanding of it also. For such a collector-based stocklist, I'm sure they are asked this quite often. I ordered it on Tuesday the 9th of August; they delivered it to the post office on the 10th and the package shipped on the 12th. The delivery arrival time estimated between the 25th and the 7th of September, and so I waited. I was admittedly a little nervous about the purchase, seeing as the price was so much cheaper than everyone else's and I was hoping I hadn't been scammed.

My package arrived on Tuesday 23rd, two days before the earliest estimated delivery date!! I know that might sound like a long time, but for me, it's lucky for me to get anything within two weeks if I've ordered from overseas. The fact that it was quicker than items I've bought with extra shipping costs both surprised and delighted me. I wasted no time opening the package, and the product I received was amazing. Seriously, the seller took my queries into consideration and really delivered on them. The figure I received had no flash or excessive flaws in the paint and the accessories were super cool!

Rey (Jakku)

The first thing I'd like to address here is why I chose the 3.75" series and not the more expansive 6" series. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to Star Wars collecting: since the beginning of Star Wars, the accepted action figure format was 3.75 inches. My dad collected them when he was younger and we all grew up with these; before the 6-inch set the prequel series also followed the same format, admittedly with much more articulation. So, when TFA rolled around, it was a no-brainer. That, and quite honestly - while the 6" Rey does come with a BB-8, she also looks like a man. The little Rey is much more feminine, much prettier, and - in my opinion - much more similar in appearance to the actress herself, Daisy Ridley. That's my reasoning for you. But I do have to admit, the 6" line looks good for those who want to move on from the classic style and get a larger format. No judging here.

The figure is very well balanced on its own, but has holes on both heels should you want to attach it to a stand.

Articulation: Rey has 14 points of articulation. These are the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles. Each join has a pretty awesome range of movement, although the left leg is inhibited by the thickly-cast plastic draping of Rey's costume.

The flaws to watch out for: the eyebrows seem to be missing a little bit of paint in the middle of the brow at either end - it's a little bizarre, and I might end up fixing that myself, but not all that noticeable until you get up close and personal. Also, the majority of the flesh tones - wait - all of the flesh tones on the figure are painted on rather than cast plastic. You have two pieces, it seems; a brown plastic head and a tan plastic body, also with mustard-coloured plastic gloves. The skin colour is painted, and if you aren't careful you could end up with a really shitty paint job. I have a tiny bit of streaking here and there, but again, it isn't incredibly noticeable unless you're a nit-picker. I have seen some pretty fucked up paint jobs on the internet, so I think I got pretty darn lucky with mine.

There is a strange dot matrix application for the blush on the cheeks, but it isn't incredibly noticeable.

Weird manufacturing choices: they've obviously cast the majority of the plastic in the dull tan colour of Rey's Jakku outfit - this means the pegs for the joints, too. Since the joints are quite tight and stiff (at first) I imagine this is why they chose not to paint them. The result is a little annoying, with the tan joints showing at the knee and the ankles; unless you are an elitist this shouldn't be too irritating. Nothing's perfect, guys. The hip joints are pretty weird, too - I don't know what the actual name of the joint is, but instead of moving the leg back and forth, they actually move side to side; as in, out and in. It is pretty cool for action poses, but irritating if you want to put her in a running pose. You'd have to twist the leg out and the knee joint back in to make it do so. Also, Hasbro made the choice to create Rey specifically in her Jakku outfit; this means she comes with gloved hands rather than bare hands, a fact that pisses off many collectors - I personally like it, and it's still a faithful representation of the character anyway.

My posing ability is lacking, but this should give you some idea - also, check out that cool cowl and backpack!

Accessories: the figure comes with some really awesome accessories, guys! She comes complete with a backpack (one that actually slips over the shoulders rather than being pegged in or moulded on), a cowl, and her Jakku staff. She is able to hold the staff in both hands well and easily interacts with the accessories in more dynamic poses. The cowl can only go on if the head is popped off, which has been made super easy to do; you thread the left arm through the hole and press the cowl over the ball joint, and voila! Scavenger Rey. This does limit articulation in the arm, but no biggie - I've put mine away in the box, simply because I prefer the Rey head to the interchangeable cowl. All the accessories have been painted really well and are a lot more accurate to the movie than the basic figure's accessories are.

Things to love: the likeness to Daisy Ridley is definitely there, and the proportions of the body also bear resemblance to the character. The figure is really well sculpted and highly accurate to the film, and the articulation is super awesome, and definitely the winner to this figure. If you're buying Black Series, you are looking for articulation, after all. Everything has been assessed with the highest detail, even down to nailing the actress's proportions herself and in comparison to other characters in the movie. The figure stands well both posed and unposed, and the accessories are super easy to use. The joints are nice and firm - a bit stiff at first, but with a bit of moving around they loosen up a bit. This figure is definitely the superior of the bunch (both of all the Reys in circulation as well as all the other Black Series releases this year), and I highly recommend you get it if you love Rey, and if you love Star Wars.

God, this is cheesy, but - thanks for reading, and may the Force be with you!

The Black Series™ 3.75" figure of Rey in her Jakku outfit.