This.  This is what we need more of in TVC.  This is exactly the type of item that I want to add to my collection, and I want Hasbro to do this for so many more of the main environments we see on screen.  To me, this is better than a large vehicle.  It’s the perfect way to enhance a display and elevate it to the next level.  There have been rumors around the the community that this item was intended to be a HasLab.  If that’s true, I’m glad Hasbro decided to bring it to reality as a non-HasLab item so it didn’t bump something else in the precious few slots that seem to come around only once about every 3 years. 

Let me digress for a moment to share my thoughts on the 3 TVC HasLabs so far.  The Khetanna was about as good as it gets.  It’s a shelf ready item that is both a vehicle and a display environment.  First and foremost, ROTJ has been around for 40 years at this point (actually about 35 since the campaign was announced).  It seemed like an impossibility, so it’s truly a “dream” item that HasLab purports to champion.  The thing holds 30+ figures that otherwise would just be a jumble standing on a shelf.  And because you can load it up, the Khetanna in many cases doesn’t really take up much more room than is already dedicated in your collection if you have all the figures laid out.  The Razor Crest was a step back in almost every way in that sense.  It was a brand new ship that, as of the campaign completion, was actually still flying on-screen.  It had barely scratched our collective consciousness when it was blown up near the end of Season 2.  Sure the Khetanna was also destroyed after only about 15 minutes on screen, but it had reached iconic status over the past several decades.  From a space point of view, the Razor Crest is a like finding room for an anvil.  Even if we truly had “really all the figures that interact with it” it still doesn’t really add a ton to our collections.  You’ve got Mando and Grogu, and then a smattering of characters that interact over time, but not a whole lot of partying goes on inside the ship.  And now we have the Ghost.  I feel the same way about it as the Razor Crest.  We didn’t even have a single figure in our hands that was meant to go with the ship, but at least it comes with most of the crew, with the rest to follow eventually. But that’s about it.  The thing is bigger than the Razor Crest and also only meaningfully houses about 5 figures.  It’s definitely a cool ship and had a lot more personality than the Razor Crest, but it didn’t complement my collection.  It just made me need to find room for it.

The Throne Room is more like the Barge in that you can use it to show off a ton of figures.  And it has a dual nature that works for both The Book of Boba Fett (as it is branded) and for Return of the Jedi (probably the much more popular choice for collectors).  It’s perfectly suited for a shelf, and will provide awesome context for a bunch of figures that you probably have standing around on a shelf like you did for the Khetanna.  The exception would be if you had the old POTF2 pop-up diorama (which I do), but this item obliterates that pre-skool nonsense, with prejudice.

It’s a beautiful piece, with a ton of detail carved into the architecture.  From the stucco walls to the ceiling infrastructure that allows film-worthy light to filter in, the Throne Room adds ambience to your display.  It was fun to put together, lacking the terrifying assembly moments experienced with the Khetanna (the sails) and the Razor Crest (the weapons rack).  Everything was easy to understand and easy to work with even with large adult hands.

Jabba’s dais is a new sculpt.  While very similar to 13 year old Walmart Shadows of the Dark Side Jabba’s Throne, it was sized VERY slightly narrower, but about a half inch shorter.  I’m not sure exactly why Hasbro decided against having the “slot” in the set be unable to accommodate this older dais, but the was the choice they made, so an all new rolling dais was created.  Using this piece allows you to convert the set to an ROTJ-era room for the Hutt crime lord, or you keep with the Boba theme and top the dais with Bib Fortuna’s chair. 

The accessories are all based on the way the set looked in TBOBF.  There are a ton of little doo-dads to line up around the floor. Most of them are brand new, with a few exceptions, most notably the trio of bottles - both intact and broken versions - that came with the Navarro Cantina set.  My favorite of the bunch is a little sack of spilled coins, that looks like it belongs to Robin Hood.  Along with some statues, bottles, glasses, vases, plates, food, trays, and pillows, there’s a severed protocol droid head on a platter.  You also get some “soft goods” animal skins that are meant to be laid upon the dais around the throne.  The most important accessory is the spit.  The rod rotates, and the flame effect is translucent allowing you to do some custom lighting if you were so inclined.  You even have a choice of meat to roast over the flame, either a large hunk of meat, or an unfortunate Kowakian monkey lizard.

The included figure is VC276 Bib Fortuna (Tatooine).  A couple of things to note here.  First, VC276 is already taken up by Clone Commander Blitz.  This is far from the first time a numbering error has occurred, but I already ranted about that in a recent article.  Bottom line, Hasbro needs to find someone to own the numbering and never let this type of thing happen again.  Second, for some reason Hasbro found it important to give the character a name pill parenthetical of “Tatooine.”  VC224, which is the original ROTJ version, doesn’t have the parenthetical.  Hasbro probably wanted to differentiate the two, but “Tatooine” is just lame.  I’m going to assume that anything relating to Bib’s large frame would be insensitive, but something like “Crime Lord” would have been more fun.  Third, I have two of these sets, and both Bib figures have large glue rings around the base of the bubble. Your mileage may vary, but if not, it seems the cards may be ruined for mint collectors who care about such things. Nevertheless, once you rip that thing open and toss the cardback and plastic bubble in the recycle bin where that stuff belongs, you’ll get to enjoy Large Bib in all his glory.

Bib is a really nice figure.  He’s quite hefty, about the size of Paz Viszla - even a bit bigger.  The articulation is all modern, down to the new hips and the rocker ankles.  The range of motion of the joints isn’t particularly outstanding, but Bib isn’t exactly climbing the walls like 8D8, so that’s not a killer.  Most importantly, the figure can easily sit upon the throne and also carry out his duties while standing.  The fabric and pattern used in the skirt is excellent, and the layered overcoat is outstanding.  It looks a lot like VC224, so Bib must just go back to his same tailor and ask for the waist to be let out a little each time he goes.  Bib comes with one accessory, a staff that pays homage to the original Kenner figure. 

While this set does not directly connect to the Jabba’s Palace Adventure Set (the Han Carbonite trophy wall), the aesthetics are close enough that they work together well.  I have some IKEA shelves, and the throne room/adventure set combo lines up together very well.  And yes, the Jabba image is “backwards.”  The trophy wall should be on the other side.  But I was rushing to get this done and do the space available to me, I couldn’t shuffle my photography setup to make the proper room.  As such, I had to painfully sacrifice the accuracy of the shot for the sake of expediency.  I made no effort to even check the screen accuracy of the figure locations themselves.  I did lose some sleep over this.

Overall, this very impressive set is a great addition to anyone’s collection. I decided to get two, so I can use one for Boba and one for Jabba.  It is well sculpted, well accessorized, and well thought out.  I wish Hasbro would do more things like this, rather than making gigantic ships.  I am thrilled to own this.  I give it a 10/10.  Now lets get a Cantina, a Death Star, a Jedi Council room, a collector-oriented Geonosis Arena, and Home One, so I can continue to massively upgrade large chunks of my collection at a time.  Please and Thank you.  This gets a 10/10.