Review of Jango Fett - Star Wars
Exclusive Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

Sideshow Collectibles has held the Star Wars license for many years now, and have been cranking out figures, statues and other collectibles over that time. With the rising bar in the sixth scale market, they have been upping the quality - and price - of their offerings, trying to keep up with the ever increasing standards and expectations.

The latest release is Jango Fett, big daddy of fan favorite Boba Fett. They shared a distinctive style of armor and an outlaw attitude, but they never got to hang out together in their famous duds thanks to Sam Jackson.

There is a regular and an exclusive version of this guy.  I'm reviewing the exclusive here tonight, which has a very important extra accessory and is available only through Sideshow for $220. The regular release, without that key extra, is available through various online retailers for $210 - $220, depending on the seller. See my Where to Buy section for links.

Packaging - ***1/2
This is pretty much the same package design we've seen them use for years.  With it's magnetic closures and wrap around lid, it was ground breaking back then. It's gotten long in the tooth at this point, and needs an update. Easier said than done with a license as tightly controlled as this one.

On the big plus side, it's all completely collector friendly, and there were some very useful, well written instructions.

Sculpting - ***1/2
This score is very dependent on whether you pick up the exclusive, or simply the regular.  The exclusive includes the unmasked head of Jango, complete with the pilot headgear.  Without this, the sculpting score would lose another half star.

But the quality of the helmet-less Jango is solid, very similar to the work we've seen with Sideshow's Cad Bane or Captain Rex. There's some very nice, realistic skin textures and wrinkles, and they've done a nice job of including the scars and heavier wrinkles without going overboard. Comparing it to screen shots, you can find a few nits to pick (for example, I think the nose is slightly too narrow), but overall it's very solid work.

The hair is an improvement over some of their earlier releases, with a very fine stranding and texture. The pilot head gear looks great, and the small microphone comes as a separate piece that attaches to the left ear with a keyed post.  It works great, looks great, and was a smart choice. Once you have him in hand, you can glue the mic in place if you'd like - he looks funny without it - but not having it attached in the box means it didn't get warped, bent or broken.

The same can't be said for the range finder on his helmet.  The helmet itself is great, at least to my non-extremist eyes. If you compare to this shot, you can see that size, proportion and scale are great.  Details are sharply defined, and the helmet is appropriately sized to the body.

My big issue is with the aforementioned range finder. The first problem is that it came out of the package warped, and it took quite a bit of (careful) effort to get it back into something resembling straight. It never quite made it, but it was close. The even bigger issue - since you can't fix it - is that it's too short.  Remember, this is sixth scale, so even an eight of an inch makes a massive difference in scale and proportion.  You can compare with this screen shot and see the problem, particularly when compared to the tip of the rocket on his back. It's not a huge issue when it's up, but when it flips down it sits off to the side and almost touching the front of the helmet, making the issue much more obvious. I think going with a metal shaft would have also helped, both in avoiding the warpage and in making the finder look a bit more svelte and realistic.

If I were rating on the regular release without the extra portrait, this score would drop another half star.

Paint - ***
This is another category heavily effected by the inclusion of the exclusive Jango portrait. The work here is very good - not Hot Toys good, but much better than I've seen in some washed out photos and videos. The darker skin tone is consistent and even, and has that slight depth to it that we associate with more realistic work.  The color is a little darker than the actual actor, but it tends to depend on how bright the lighting is of course. The eyes are clean and even, with no bleed or slop.  The hair lines (both at the hair and around the brows) could be a little more subtle, but it's a minor nit.

The work on the helmet is again not as good. They've gone for a weathered worn look, which isn't a bad idea. This character shouldn't have super clean armor, since it's seen many battles. This weathering does look good on the various pieces of plastic plating (say that fast three times) that are glued to his costume, and it's more than just a worn look. In several places it gives the fake metal a burnished look, which adds to the metallic effect.

Ah, but then there's that helmet again.  They clearly went for a weathered look here too, but it doesn't work as well. Instead of looking intentional and realistic, it looks like poor quality. The slight clumpiness to the silver color on the finder's arm doesn't help, nor does the weird wear on the 'cheeks' of the helmet.

Again, if I were looking at just the regular release, this score would fall another half star, but the work on the portrait improves things quite a bit.

Articulation - **1/2
The underlying body is on the shorter side, as you'd expect.  He comes in at about 11 3/4" (in the helmet), which is about right for the character.

The body itself is generally tight, with a good range of movement.  The ankles and neck joints are highlights, since both have a terrific amount of mobility, allowing poses to be more natural and flowing.

On the down side, I do have a loose left elbow, almost to the point of being floppy. It made posing with the guns a bit more challenging, although it was obviously doable.

I've heard some complaints that it appears the figure has no neck - this isn't the fault of the helmet, or the underlying body/neck. It's actually caused by the tunic, which I'll get to in the next section.

The floppy elbow hurt this score of course, but the big problem was with swapping the heads. It's a fairly difficult process, and one that risks the well being of the rest of the figure.

Popping off the helmet isn't hard, but once you do you'll be greeted by the black neck, covered by the cloth neck sleeve. The entire underlying body is cast in jet black plastic, which is a smart move - that way, no color can show through the clothing. To put the portrait in place, you must remove the sleeve (just keep pulling), and then the entire neck (also keep pulling). Getting this neck off was tricky, since the fit inside the torso is VERY tight. Pulling on the upper ball post won't help, since the fit there isn't as tight and it just pops out. I ended up using my teeth, and now the neck has incriminating bite marks. Thankfully the sleeve will cover it.

Once you get the helmet, sleeve and neck off, popping on the neck and head of the portrait is pretty easy. Just be sure you don't have the mic on the side of the pilot gear yet - you don't want to squeeze on that delicate plastic.  In general, don't squeeze anything. I managed to snap both black tubes off the left gauntlet, and I didn't think I was putting any pressure on them at all. Sadly, I tried re-gluing them and came up empty. If I can't get a replacement, I'm screwed.

Getting the portrait head off again wasn't quite as difficult, but getting the black neck back in place was, thanks to that aforementioned tight fit. There is another option here that will avoid too much risk - leave the sleeve and black neck in place, and just swap the head itself.  The additional portrait is a separate head and neck piece, so it is possible. It looks a little weird, since the sleeve has to go all the way up to his jawline to hide the color of the neck post, but it's an option.

Unlike the previous two categories, having the non-exclusive is actually a plus here, and you can add a half star if you don't have to swap heads.

Accessories - ****
Now this is what I'm talking about - here we get the kind of assortment of goodies that we should see on a more regular basis.

Jango comes with not one but TWO jetpacks, the Z-6 and the JT-12.  The rocket tip is a separate piece in the box, and attaches easily. Both packs attach to the back thanks to two metal hangers, and putting them on and taking them off is an easy process.  To complete the look, there are two flame effects, and these can be used with either pack.  They are keyed to fit the holes, so be sure you put the right one in the right hole.

Speaking of flames, he also has two blast effects, one for each pistol. You can also use an alternate smoke effect, and all four of these slip into the barrel of each gun cleanly and add a lot of potential to your posing choices.

I've already discussed the second head in great detail, but of course it's inclusion is a major factor in the high score in this category as well.

The twin blasters look great, and fit in his hands well enough.  I think the hand sculpts could have created a slightly tighter fit, but it's a minor gripe. The blasters slip into the leather holster cleanly and look great.

There's an additional accessory you might miss if you're not paying attention. The very, very small Kamino dart on the outside of his right gauntlet is actually removable!  Be careful though, since it's very easy to lose with normal handling.

There are a number of hands provided, each with their own wrist peg.  He comes wearing a set of fists, and there's obviously a set of gun grips.  A third set of hands includes a relaxed left and a pointing right.

I'm going to include the poncho as an accessory, although some folks may consider it part of the Outfit. The fit is quite good, with pleats on the back and a smooth front.  It's tailored to fit the shoulders with the left arm through a hole, while the poncho snaps together under the right arm. Unlike most capes and extra coats, it hangs nicely with very little futzing necessary.

Finally, he comes with his display stand, but not just any display stand. This stand can be used for either standing poses with a crotch support, or flying poses with a waist gripper. They've created a double post system that allows the shorter post (for standing poses) to slide inside a larger, thicker, taller post (for flying poses). This arrangement works great, and is quite easy to work with, swapping between one or the other. While the base itself is pretty simple, the overall design is quite ingenious.

Outfit - *1/2
And now we go from the high to the low.  What could have been an excellent figure ends up taking a huge hit on the costume.

I'm counting the tunic with armor plating, the jumpsuit, the wide belt, the smaller belt with pouches, the gauntlets and hoses, the holster rig, the boots, and the various pieces of leg plating as the 'outfit'.

Some of this is quite good.  The jumpsuit is well made and nicely tailored, and the boot sculpt looks great.  I also like the sculpt and paint work on the various pieces of armor, including the gauntlets.  I did manage to break off the hoses on the left side, and cannot yet find a way to re-attach them. Breakage issues are a big problem in my opinion, and one that always hurts the score in my reviews.

Both belts and the pouches are also quite nice, made from quality material with a great fit.  The inner, wide belt has metal hooks to hold it closed, while the thinner belt with the movable pouches has two metal posts. There's even a wide loop of stretchy material that wraps around both belts in back, hiding the seam.  That's a nice touch, something you expect to see at this price point.

But then there's the tunic. I really like the leathery material they used, and the plates are tightly attached. But those plates aren't fitted as well to the torso as they should be, much like what we saw with Sideshow's Boba Fett and some of their troopers. The armor looks too flat, losing some of those realism points.

A bigger issue is that the tunic and armor rides up on the torso constantly.  This is not an easy issue to fix, thanks to the tight fit, but it's the reason the figure appears to have no neck. I was constantly pulling the shirt down, trying to fit it in behind the wide belt a little better and keep it tight on the top of the shoulders.  When it's in that correct position, the figure has a neck and looks much better. When it rides up, not so much. A crotch strap might have helped, although hiding it would have been an issue itself.

Then we have the armor on the legs, most notable the knees and shins. These four pieces are not permanently attached, and it's on purpose. The instructions will tell you how to attach them, but why would you not want them attached all the time?  There is one obvious answer, and I suspect it's what Sideshow was going for.  The entire rest of the suit is removable. The only two spots (four, since he has two legs) that would not allow you to remove the costume would be the knee and shin, IF they were permanently attached. Because they aren't, you can swap this outfit and helmet onto another body, or fix joint issues.

While I get their desire to be helpful, what they really did was create a really, really frustrating figure.  These pieces fall off if you look at the figure funny, and putting them back on (especially at the knees) is not all that easy. After about 15 minutes of working with this guy, I got out the Super Glue and took care of the issue myself. Had I not, someone was going to die.

I noticed something interesting when messing with the shins - the armor is actually attached to a ring around the leg, which means even when you glue it, it can turn and pose independent of the leg.

The holsters look great, and the blasters fit nicely within.  You can adjust both the tie down straps and the upper straps, but take care - they are very thin and could break under too much pressure. Unfortunately, you'll have to occasionally re-attach them even when you don't want to, because these straps tend to pop off the metal pins pretty easily.

So while I like the shelf appearance of the outfit, the fragile nature of the straps and tubes, along with the unattached leg armor and upwardly migrating, flat looking tunic make this a below average outfit, particularly at this price point.

Fun Factor - *1/2
For collectors, the fun with a figure like this is in the posing and re-posing. Unfortunately, the excessive murder-inducing frustration that I felt while working with this guy crushed the life out of any opportunity for fun.

Value - *1/2
You can find the regular release for under $210, but getting the exclusive is going to cost you the full $220 through Sideshow.  That's not the issue however, since the extra head sculpt is easily worth another $15.

It's not the difference, but the total that becomes the real issue. At $220, you're firmly in the high end market with players like Hot Toys and Enterbay, surpassing even ThreeZero and Star Ace for the most part. At that price point, you either bring it or you get beaten bloody.

Clearly, that money went to pay for a lot of really nice extras and accessories. Had they managed to maintain the quality of the costume, this Value score would be an easy **1/2 or even *** - we just don't get enough cool accessories like this any more. But with the handful of major issues I had with the outfit, the price point was too much to swallow.

Things to Watch Out For -
The tubes are tightly attached to both gauntlets, but they can snap off cleanly with just a little pressure.  Another area to watch is with the straps on the holster, which are quite thin and easy to tear. Finally, the small posts on the flame and smoke effects for the blasters are quite thin - insert them in the barrel with care.

Overall - **1/2
As Maxwell Smart would say...missed it by *that* much. Here's a figure that was so close to being great, and yet had enough frustrating issues to bring it down considerably.

I can see what Sideshow was trying to do. The quality of the materials is there. The portrait sculpt and paint are above average. There's a ton of very cool accessories. And yet, I found myself cursing their name after about 30 minutes of handling this figure.

The majority of issues here are easy enough to fix.  The armor on the calves and knees is simple enough to glue in place. The tunic is annoying but adjustable (you just have to keep doing it). The straps and tubes are fragile, but that's not too surprising in the current sixth scale market. These things are fixable, but still bring the score down because you shouldn't have to fix them.

Other issues are a bigger deal. The helmet itself, thanks to the paint job and the short range finder arm, is the single biggest deficit, and there isn't much I can do about it.  Likewise, the floppy elbow (I could swap bodies...until I glued the armor on the shins and knees) and flat look to the chest armor are issues I have little control over. At $50 less, I'd be far more forgiving, but at this price point they need to bring their A game across the board, and there are simply too many highly frustrating issues here to convince me that's the case.

In fact, the additional helmet-less portrait is the saving grace for this guy, and if you picked up the regular instead, you can drop another half star off this overall.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - **1/2
Accessories - ****
Outfit - *1/2
Fun Factor - *1/2
Value - *1/2
Overall - **1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has the exclusive for $220.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
This isn't the first sixth scale Jango of course.  Medicom did a version about eight years ago, and Medicom also did a Boba Fett. Sideshow did their own version of Boba Fett a couple years ago as well. Staying in the Fett family and in this scale, Marmit also did a Boba, several years before all the others. And before all that, in the days of square wheels and stone hammers, Hasbro did their own 'ultimate' Jango Fett.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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