Review of Boba Fett & Slave Leia - Star Wars Black action figures

Introduction

The second series of the new 6" scale Star Wars Black Collection is just hitting, and includes Han Solo and Greedo (which I covered last week), as well as the subjects of tonight's review - Boba Fett and Slave Leia.

After reviewing the first wave, I have to say I was impressed but not sold. Now that I have the second wave in hand, I'm still impressed, and now I'm sold.

I'm currently going through my entire stored collection and cataloging it in its entirety, deciding what to keep and what to get rid of, and my entire collection of 4" Star Wars figures is in the 'outta here' pile.

That doesn't mean I still don't love Star Wars collectibles. I'll be sticking with all the sixth scale of course, but I was really hoping this 6" line could be something new to replace the old 4" line, at least for me. After getting this second wave, I'm happy to say it is.

These cost around $20 each, depending on the retailer, and are available both on line and in stores. However, I haven't seen these four at any local stores as of yet. I received mine from Entertainment Earth, where you can pick up the set of four for $80.

Packaging - ****
I'm a big fan of these simple yet classy boxes. They are completely collector friendly, with no twisties and absolutely no reason to damage the package. They also store easily for the MIBers, and they show off the figure nicely on the peg. Great stuff all around!

Sculpting - Fett ***1/2; Leia **1/2
The sculpting on Fett is excellent, although knowing the level of anal retentiveness of some Star Wars fans, I'm sure they can find something off. Almost everything looks great to me with the only exception being the Wookie braids. They just don't look quite right, not translating well into plastic.

Leia suffers from the articulation, since all the joints are obvious. I don't really have an issue with that - it's to be expected with this series. But the face sculpt is weak, and there's not a ton of detail in areas like the hair and chain. While the exposed joints are fine, the style of ball hip makes them look much too wide. It seems like you just can't get a decent looking Leia.

These are in a 6" scale, and they've scaled them to each other properly. Fett comes in at 6 inches tall, while the shorter Leia is a smidge over 5 inches tall. Both stand great on their own, and both have hands that are properly sculpted to hold the accessories.

Paint - Fett ****; Leia **1/2
Fett has a nice weathered, slightly damaged paint job that really shows off the detailing of the armor. All the edges are clean and sharp, colors are consistent from part to part, and there's a ton of small detail work that looks terrific.

Leia isn't quite as impressive. Some of the skin tone is gloppy, and I'm not loving the eyes or the eyebrows. The silver on the chain is thick, and there's even some sloppy edges between the gold on the outfit and the skin. She's really not a lot better than the usual 4" release, and at this price point they need to step it up across the board.

Articulation - Fett ***1/2; Leia ***
I'm generally really happy with the articulation on these, although I did have a couple minor issues with these two specific characters.

While Fett has all the expected joints - ball jointed neck hips and shoulders, cut biceps, waist, and thighs, ball (pin/disc) elbows and wrists, double pin knees, and the cool ball/rocker ankles - some are a bit more restricted by the suit sculpt. For example, I love the rocker action in the ankles, which allows them to stay flat on the ground in deep stances, but there is almost no forward movement in the feet, making it tough for him to stand in some poses.

Leia has a slightly different structure. There's the ball neck, shoulders and hips, as well as the same style ball elbows and wrists, but no cut biceps. There is the cut waist and cut thighs, as well as the double pin knees, but the ankles have almost no movement, even though up under the boot top it looks like they are the same style joint.

Still, you should be able to get some nice poses out of both figures, and the articulation is certainly a step up from most figures on the mass market shelf.

Accessories - Fett ***1/2; Leia ***
Both figures have some nifty extras, although Fett is clearly the winner here.

He has both of his blasters, and the small blaster fits nicely in his holster. It also fits fine in his hand, as does the blaster rifle. While the plastic is a little soft on these, the sculpts and paint work is great.

He also has his jet pack, which affixes to his back with a post/hole attachment. You can use it or not, depending on your preferred look.

Leia has two weapons, although I suppose you could say the chain around her neck is a third weapon, considering what she did to Jabba with it.

She has a Vibro-Ax, one of the main weapons used by Jabba's guards. She also has another of the guard weapons, the long staff without the ax. Sorry, I don't remember what this one was called, but it was featured on the barge.

They can hold their weapons easily, always a big plus, and Hasbro was smart enough to give us the critical extras.

Fun Factor - ****
With this size and all this great articulation, these are really fun toys. Hopefully kids that are young enough to actually play with these will manage to get their hands on them, maybe when their collector parents aren't looking.

Value - **1/2
The twenty dollar price point is a bit tough to take, but with several accessories each, solid articulation, and an improvement in sculpt and paint (generally), these do seem worth the price. I'm hoping they keep the releases to a minimum though - I really don't want to see more than 12 - 16 figures a year.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - Fett ***1/2; Leia **1/2
Leia is the first disappointment in the series for me, but I have to cut them some slack. I think as collectors, we've come to accept the idea that we aren't going to get truly attractive female figures, at least not in an articulated figure.

On the opposite end, Fett is excellent. Great sculpting, paint, articulation and accessories add up to another winner. I still like Greedo just a smidge better, but fans will be extremely happy with this version of the infamous bounty hunter.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has the full set of four for $80.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I covered the first half of this second wave last week, and the first wave earlier in the year, including X-Wing Luke and R2, and Darth Maul with the Sandtrooper.

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

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!