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.

Achieving my personal goals

Sorry for the incredible amount of time that has passed between updates! I want to say that I've been super busy (which I guess I have been), but truthfully I think I just forgot this blog even existed. Fail! So, I thought I'd take this opportunity to reintroduce my life to you all, seeing as heaps has changed from the last post to now. Here we go.

For the past couple of years I've been struggling with depression. It sucks, wanting to do things but having no energy to do it; wanting to get out and socialise but not wanting to make the effort; to go out and have fun but wanting to curl up in the dark and sleep. Feeling anxious and yet not caring at the same time. Feeling everything and nothing all at once. I had quite a struggle last year, when I finally acknowledged that there was a problem that I didn't want to address. Lately, though, I've been doing much better. I'm on a pretty high dose of anti-depressants, and while it is a little scary to think about how much I depend on them to get me through each day, I'm relieved to know that my brain is finally working the way it should. 

I've been seeing a psychologist ever since my little breakdown a couple years ago, and she's been helping me figure out who I am and how I'm going to get through each day. She set me a number of goals at the beginning of 2016; I would make the effort to be more assertive, I'd do study and exercise, I'd get a job and I'd try to overcome my anxiety and get my licence. I've been good at some of these; I skipped the back-chatting stage of puberty, so I'm more than making up for it now (kinda bad, I know, but keep in mind I never used to say what I was really thinking when someone treated me unfairly). I'm able to communicate normally with people on a daily basis without needing to rehearse the conversation, without my heart literally pounding with the anxiety of what I was about to do. I'm confident and happy in my own skin (I used to be addicted to makeup 24/7 because I hated my body and how I looked), and I'm slowly making the effort to socialise more with my friends and other people. 

The biggest issue I've had was finding a job - I've been looking since I finished school last year, but no one wanted to hire me. Seeing as I've never had a job before, I was an entry-level employee that - at 18 -  couldn't be paid a 16-year-old's entry-level pay, so no one wanted to hire me when they could hire another person for less pay. I'm also not experienced enough for the more professional jobs that my particular age group calls for; that is, they assumed I would have experience as an 18 year old.  That and the driving thing. It took me seven goes to pass my Practical Driving Assessment because I got so anxious in the car with a stiff stranger who would be assessing how well I drove. But I finally passed it, and then had to do another 25 hours of driving before I went and sat my Hazard Perception Test. I finished this and went to sit my HPT; more below.

I'm pleased to be able to say that I found a job!!!! I was on all these job search sites, trying and failing to secure a job. One of my uni friends recommended placing an ad on Gumtree, basically saying I was looking for work. I got a couple dodgy replies (I didn't know there were sugar daddies on this side of Australia), but I also got one from a lovely woman who lives in my suburb. We texted and called back-and-forth, I went for an interview in October last year, right before my 19th birthday, and I got the job! She's a single mother with two children, one of whom I'm a priary carer for. He's a little boy with a profound disability (I won't say anything to protect the family's anonymity) that physically and mentally impairs him; he's a teenager, but looks around 6, and acts around 2. He's non-verbal, legally blind, and has several other difficulties that that regularly pose a threat to his safety. But, he's absolutely beautiful, and I've really enjoyed spending the time I have with him so far. He pretends he's more disabled than he is to get what he wants; he's brilliant at bribery and manipulation. He's so, so cute, and loves giving hugs. Am I attached? Yes, yes I am.

Basically, I help him, his mum and other carers (there are none besies me at the moment) build skills that he can use to improve his quality of life. We're trying to establish the basic skills people need in order to live at least a little self-sufficiently, like feeding himself, bathing himself and recognising the signs of needing to go to the toilet (and subsequently actually going to the bathroom when necessary). His mum is wicked cool and totally my heroine (her life story is epic), her office is great and the system is pretty chill. I'll also eventually be her PA at her migration office.

I also got my licence a couple days after I got my first job! I went and took my Hazard Perception Test, seeing as I had finished my hours. I was convinced I'd failed the test as I'd kept clicking too fast. I was about to adopt the "graceful defeat" face so the lady at the desk wouldn't feel like she'd ruined my day, so imagine my surprise when she was all like "congratulations, you passed!" I went and filled out a couple forms, had my photo taken for my new licence, and was handed my Ps! I was so excited!

Those are more or less the highlights of the past couple months. Suffice to say, these things have made a world of difference in improving my self-esteem and confidence. I'm adulting now, and it's super exciting! Now, all I have to do is wait for university to start up again in March. Le sigh. Uni breaks are far too long, in my opinion.

Hopefully I'll be updating really soon. Thanks for reading!

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!

Update - Harry Potter Funko Pop Wave 3 Additions

Now, I'm pretty sure everyone's already aware of the existence of these, especially if you keep up to date with Hot Topic's release info. But, seeing as I had previously posted about the third wave of Harry Potter Funko Pops, I figured it'd make sense to continue updating you guys that may not be in the know about things.

I mentioned last time that I wasn't sure if the Wave 3 promo pics were real or just really good edits - seeing as the net has had a sudden influx of these pics and a number or reputable news sites confirming these, I'm pretty sure these are all real. EDIT: these are all officially listed as November 2016 pre-order figures on Popcultcha.com in Australia, as well as on Hot Topic and Funko's own site. At the very least, the Hot Topic exclusives are real. Exclusives, I say? Yes, of course, Hot Topic has exclusives. While I admit I will be eschewing these in favour of the basic line of Wave 3 figures, I have to say that these are all pretty great exclusive releases. In the exclusive line-up, we have Triwizard Harry Potter, Christmas Sweater Harry and Ron, Death Eater Lucius Malfoy and Azkaban Bellatrix. Here they are:

I'm a little underwhelmed by yet another set of PS/CoS-based Harry and Ron, I'm really quite impressed with that fabulous Bellatrix Lestrange in her Azkaban outfit! The reddish tinge around her eyes makes her look delightfully insane. Still, I do confess I prefer the look of the basic Bellatrix better - I also already have the basic Harry and Ron, so I won't be getting these exclusives. I had a rule whereby I only get one of each character - I broke this when I got Yule Ball Hermione, but it's Harry Potter, so the rules can be broken. I do enjoy looking at these, though!

Are you going to be getting these?

Thanks for reading!

Harry Potter Funko Pop - Wave 3

Hello, everyone! So, I was snooping around on Facebook tonight as I'm prone to do, when I came across some 'glam shots' posted by the person who runs the Facebook page Funko Pop Checklist - they had a bunch of promotional pics for the next wave of Harry Potter's Funko Pop line! A quick disclaimer; I don't own these pictures and I credit them entirely to the page (and the group) I found them on, and to the producer of said images - Funko. Also, I cannot testify as to the validity of these images - they may well be very good Photoshop attempts. Either way, awesome!

We have in the line-up so far: Harry (the Department of Mysteries/Prophecy), Fred and George Weasley (Order of the Phoenix), Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, Minerva McGonagall, Alastor Moody and Dolores Umbridge. There are a couple gaps in numbering, so I'm assuming this isn't the full line that will be released.

I'm really excited to see this line - quite a large number of fresh faces to be seen. While I liked the last wave, there were a few too many repeats. I confess that I'd hoped to finally see Ginny in this line (I'd really like her to be in the kid format; you know, the Pops based on the earlier characters that are slightly smaller than the rest? Yeah, I want her like that to match my other basic figures). I've been dying for McGonagall and Bellatrix, so I'm super excited to see this! As of today, I have no idea when these are going to be released. Sorry.

Who else do you hope to see from this line? Thanks for reading!

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.