Boba Fett’s Starship

I won’t bury the lead, and get right to what you all want to know.  While the mold is identical, this 2023 release is noticeably different from the 2020 release of Slave I.  The most obvious change is that the entire ship has been given a light brown wash to approximate the accumulation of sandy grime as it sat in Jabba’s palace.  It takes on a tan hue as a result, with the wash accumulating in the recesses and groves giving it a much dirtier appearance.  I like it.  It’s more used-universe-y.  But the styling changes are not reduced to just adding a wash.  There are other changes to the actual paint applications.  If you notice from the comparison shots above, there are two changes on the wings.  First the yellow has been replaced with brown.  Second, the two outermost paint applications are no longer there and have been replaced with two new ones on the interior of the wing.  Finally, the reddish brown paint around the engines has been swapped for blue.  To me, these are significant enough changes to warrant picking up this release.  I’m glad I got it, and I’m going to pair it with the upcoming Boba Fett’s Throne Room in my display.  But it’s understandable if most don’t think the different paint scheme “juice” is worth the $200 “squeeze.”

As mentioned earlier, the mold itself is nothing new.  It’s now on its fourth release.  To go with the aforementioned 2020 edition, it was originally released in 2010 for the Toys R Us exclusive Rise of Boba Fett set. That version was painted in Jango Fett colors.  At the tail end of TVC 1.0 in 2013, the mold made its first appearance in Boba Fett colors for the Amazon exclusive 2013 Slave I release.  Since the sculpt is old news by now, I’m going to cut and paste Bret’s commentary about the negatives from the 2020 review:

Here are the basic problems:  The canopy does not stay open, which makes it annoying to try to put figures in the cockpit.  The cockpit seats are terribly proportioned, and it’s not easy to get a figure to display properly (but it can be done).  When the canopy is closed, it’s tricky to get it to snap shut correctly, so if you’re not paying attention, it can look “ajar.”  Same can be said for the hinged side panel.  It opens (but does stay open), however it doesn’t snap shut cleanly, so it looks a bit off.  The included container/escape pod thing isn’t executed particularly well, as it barely holds a figure.  The rear ramp, which is used in ESB to load the frozen Han Solo, is terribly designed so that figures can’t use it.  The wings don’t stay fully engaged in the “flight” mode.  It’s close, but they’re a bit off.  And finally, it seems counterintuitive to have the carbonite block slide into the front of the ship.  Not a terrible problem, but it’s just off from how we see it loaded in the film.

The last part is interesting since this marks the first release of the Boba Fett version that does not come with the Han Solo carbonite block.  Spoiler alert:  by the events of The Book of Boba Fett, Han got out.  I will say that, unlike Bret’s experience, the wings on my sample lock into perfectly horizontal flight position and it even includes a satisfying click.  I don’t know if I got lucky, or if Hasbro deliberately went back in to the tooling to improve this feature.  Despite this improved functionality, I’m also going to cut and paste Bret’s score of an 8 out of 10.  As time goes on, I’m finding myself more bothered by how badly undersized this sculpt is.  Of course, I would neither want to pay for, nor dedicate the space to a properly scaled one.

Boba Fett (Nomad)

Post-Return of the Jedi Boba Fett goes through numerous costume changes.  We already have figures for the Morak Boba Fett and Tatooine Boba Fett.  This “nomad” Boba Fett was definitely the next most pressing need.  All that’s left now is the distressed armor version Fett wears in the second half of the Tython episode of The Manadlorian, and the jump suit only version from the early flashback scenes of The Book of Boba Fett (like a Bantha!).  I would really like to see Hasbro make the former some day, and the latter ranks with Tzizvvt on my list of figures I hope never see the light of day.

Nomad Boba Fett borrows from the Morak release, as it should, but it also has a considerable amount of newly tooled parts.  This is shocking for a vehicle pack-in figure, but there’s probably a reason for that.  When it was revealed, Hasbro said the figure would get a single carded release some day, which likely offsets the budgetary burden of the new tooling.  I absolutely love the aesthetic of this costume and figure.  It’s like the combination of an old west gunslinger and a samurai. Hasbro delivers this nicely.  I need to highlight one small thing about the attention to detail in the Vintage Collection that jumped out to me.  Hasbro painted the buckle on the back of the ammo belt, even though most collectors would never notice it under the robes.  I love this level of detail, and it’s part of what makes the modern Vintage Collection the best 3.75” line ever.

The articulation of the lower body is a dream, facilitated by the modern barbell hips and rocker ankles.  Fighting crouches are easily achieved.  I thought the bulkiness of the knee due to the sculpt would inhibit the range of motion, but it doesn’t.  The arms are similarly well articulated, but I found the range of motion was less than perfect.  Posing the figure with the cycler rifles is about as fun as a prostate exam.  Part of the reason is that you almost need a purpose sculpted hand to properly hold the grip, but that would detract from all other functionality, so I’m glad Hasbro didn’t do this.  Another reason for my difficulty in posing with the rifle is that the arms get impeded by the soft goods robes, but there’s nothing that can be done about that.  The only way to execute this figure properly is with soft goods outer robes.  Another familiar issue with cloth robe-ery at this scale is that the hood has a tendency to “bulk up” when trying to display it in the down position.  Fortunately, when the cycler rifle or gaffi stick are slung across Fett’s back, they can be used to keep the hood in position.

Please note that the soft goods do drape and hang very well out of the package.  I put this figure through its paces during photography, and as a result, the robes probably don’t show as well as they would if gentler care were taken.

The rifle sling is sculpted plastic, which stays very securely on the figure’s back.  The gaffi stick sling is a piece of black string that can slide up and down almost like a cinch, but it doesn’t stay in place nearly as well as the rifle.  It tends to sag.  This “nomad” Fett interacts much better with the gaffi stick than it does the rifle. Realistic and dynamic fighting poses are easily achieved.  It makes me wish that the figure came with a swappable head to capture some of Morrison’s more manic facial expressions when he was shattering helmets on Tython.  My only complaint is that the grip is a little loose, which can result it the the gaffi stick sliding, spinning, or dropping entirely.  Overall though, I love this figure, and it’s a 9 out of 10.

At the time of this review, Boba Fett’s Starship is available for preorder from site sponsor Entertainment Earth: