Review of Resistance Fighter - Force Awakens
Star Wars Black Series action figure

Introduction

And so it has come to pass - the release of the movie we all awaited. And in its wake it crushed records, making ridiculous money in a matter of days.  It's only been a couple weeks, and yet the film as been dissected and evaluated from every possible social and political angle, scrutinized for its portrayal of women, of African Americans, of men with excessive body hair. Ninety percent of the discourse I've seen has been worthless noise, less about the film and more about the viewers own perception of the world. As a film, it's not a perfect story. There are plot holes, or at least they seem that way with two movies still to go in the story. There are rushed story lines, there are convenient contrivances. But there's also a well told hero journey, a terrific set up for new characters that fans can embrace, some really terrific acting, and a fun movie that will introduce a new generation to outer space escapist fare. My father's generation had Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, I had Han Solo and Captain Kirk, and my kids now have Finn and Rey. That's not a bad thing at all.

While we've already gotten a metric ton of toys, we haven't gotten a lot of new characters. Most of these were being held for later assortments to avoid any potential spoilers, but with the release of the film we can expect a much broader set of figures.  The newest installment of the Star Wars Black 6" series are hitting, including the Resistance Fighter that I'm reviewing tonight. I snagged him at a Meijer, but he (along with 3 other new figures) should be at most Target and Toys R Us stores soon. Expect to pay the usual $20.

Packaging - ****
The packaging hasn't changed, and that's not a bad thing either. While it's simplistic, the graphics on the front capture the character in a simple line drawing. The window shows off the figure well, the large number on the spine makes it easy to find the figure you seek on the pegs, and the collector friendliness makes it stand out in the mass market.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Fighting in the resistance is a Star Wars tradition, whether you're resisting the Empire or the First Order. The uniforms have a WWII trench fighter meets modern fighter pilot look to them, and I think it meshed with the overall design and style of the film.

The helmet is the best part of this sculpt, with a translucent yellow visor that allows you to see the face of the fighter inside. The uniform has all the appropriate folds and wrinkles, and there's some nice texturing on the pouches and belts. I particularly like the boot sculpt, and overall the amount of detail is impressive.

He stands about 6" tall, right where you expect him to be, and his hands are sculpted to work perfectly with the blaster rifle.

Paint - ***1/2
A very solid paint job, although there's not a ton of details.

I mentioned the translucent visor in the Sculpt section, and the yellow color adds a nice pop to the otherwise drab military color palette.

The overall uniform is done in earthy tones, as you'd expect. A wash is used to bring out the folds and texturing in the costume, and there's some very cool weathering and wear on the helmet. Small touches like this make a big difference in the overall realism, especially in this scale.

Articulation - ***
Black series figures are generally known for their articulation - at least when compared to other 6" lines, and particularly when compared to other Hasbro Star Wars lines.  All the usual joints are here, but some of it is more restricted thanks to the costume.

The neck works reasonably well considering the large helmet, but the chest and waist are completely useless due to the long, thick coat.  The arms work quite well, with rotating hinge shoulders, elbows and wrists, and the double pin knees, cut thighs, and hinge/rocker ankles give the legs decent mobility.  The hips are also a bit restricted by the coat, but not as much as the torso.

While I was generally happy with the ankles - and with the overall increase in good ankle articulation that we've seen with almost all 6" scale action figures - I do wish the foot could move a bit further forward.  The sculpted boot cuts it off at about a 90 degree angle moving forward, which makes walking poses difficult. The rocker does allow for a great side to side movement though, so the feet can remain flat even in very wide stances.

The lower half of the helmet - protecting the jawline - lifts up to expose the face. I had a tough time getting mine to work, until I realized the clear visor was blocking it. I had to squeeze it a bit to lift it over the front of the yellow visor, and then it was able to move freely.

Accessories - ***
There's only one, but it's a critical extra: his blaster. The plastic is a little soft, and I'd like a better paint job, but the sculpt is good and he can hold it in both hands in any number of poses.

I have seen that some people were able to completely remove the helmet, but that doesn't appear to be intentional on Hasbro's part.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
Solid articulation, good sculpt and paint, and an army building figure - yep, he's a great action figure for play. His weakness is with collectors, who may find him less than exciting for display, although you could argue that without a few of these guys, it's hard to mount a Resistance on the shelf.

Value - **1/2
This series runs the usual $20 each, and this guy has about the same level of quality and accessories as the rest of the line.  This seems to be the going rate these days, and while today's prices got to where they are under the guise of the cost of oil, the year long drop in price there doesn't seem to translate. Funny how that works.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - ***1/2
This is a bit of a weird situation, because if you look at the quality of the figure, he's extremely well done. And yet, he's also going to be a peg warmer. It's not his fault that he's on the boring side, or that the resistance fighters don't have cool uniforms like the Stormtroopers. But he'll still pay the price and end up hanging around long after the other new characters are snatched up.

Of course, if you are building a Force Awakens battle diorama, you're going to need a whole lot more than one of him. Even a basic display needs two or three, but it might be awhile before collectors start snagging him up to fill out their war scenes.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has the case of wave 3 for $135.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered quite a few of the Star Wars Black Series figures. The most recent was Captain Phasma, and before that we had the Target two pack of Poe and the Riot Control Trooper, the first Poe, the basic FO Trooper (along with the Disney die cast version), Snowtrooper, and Captain Zuvio.

I've covered a ton of the earlier Star Wars Black 6" figures as well, so you should also hit the Search Reviews page to find them and in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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