Updated Review: Chris - 4/29/21 07:05 AM

Two lines emerged on a green chest plate.  And that has made all the difference.

The readout on the upper left of Fett’s chest was missing from the original production run of this figure with the date stamp of “03571” (December 22nd, 2020).  This is a small but iconic detail that had been featured on all previous modern Boba Fett figures.  The second production run is date stamped “10501” (February 19th, 2021).  The chest readout detail is present on some of the figures from this run.  We say “some” because our friend John Miko from the TVC Facebook Group received a figure date stamped “10501” that doesn’t have the chest readout.

With the restoration of this little, but important detail, we’re increasing the score to a perfect 10 out of 10, and calling this figure definitive for Episode VI Boba Fett.

Update:  As pointed out by the eagle eyed Binary_Son in the comments, the center rectangle on Fett’s chest armor is now a sculpted recess on the “10501” release.

Original Review:

I don’t love this figure.

That is the most gut wrenching and massively disappointing sentence I’ve written on this site in its history.  Don’t get me wrong, I like this figure a whole lot, but I wanted to love it the way I absolutely love the VC166 - The Mandalorian figure. My main gripe is that I don’t find the figure a lot of fun, and I feel to my core that it’s a production issue.  My sample is difficult to stand, and my gut instinct is that it has something to do with the plastic materials used in the ankles/feet.  The design is flawless, but the execution is lacking. My sample wants to tip over backwards even in the most simple of poses.  Dynamic shooting crouches were an outright chore to set up.  The exaggerated wide stance in photo number three is the only way I could get the figure to balance in a crouched shooting pose.  I get frustrated when a figure has all the requite articulation to strike every pose in my mind’s eye, yet it can’t be executed.

None of that is meant to say that this is a bad figure.  It’s not.  It’s one of the best in the history of the line.  I just don’t…love it.  Perhaps I’m being overly critical because this has probably been my most anticipated figure since the POTF2 Removable Helmet Darth Vader.  It was a little over a five month wait for this figure from the announcement on October 15th until its arrival at my house after an excruciatingly long shipping time.  It literally took twelve days for my case to go from New Jersey to my door.  I can make that drive in four hours.  It was absolute hobby torture.  I haven’t even given the other figures from the case a second look yet.  I honestly could have been shorted the other six figures from the case, and I would have been barely perturbed.  (And Zutton is a figure that would be my favorite in just about any other TVC 2 case to date with the exception of the Yak Face case.)

Again, my main issue is the lack of balance.  The range of motion of the articulation is outstanding.  All of the joints move to at least a full ninety degrees.  The figure effortlessly achieves realistic two handed weapon grip (THWG) poses.  I feel like the two kneeling poses above show the true potential of the poseability.  One of my biggest complaints about the VOTC Stormtrooper figure (and its innumerable descendants) is that the hands were cast in the most unforgiving rigid plastic known to science.  This Boba Fett is the polar opposite.  The hands are completely malleable.  This allows the left hand to easily grasp the barrel of the BlasTech EE-3 carbine rifle which facilitates the aforementioned easy THWG grip poses.  This aspect of the figure I do love.  It can even grip the top of the stock with the off hand, as Boba Fett does when engaging Luke on the Skiff, but you have to compromise a little. If you look at the original digital renderings in the official images HERE, you can see that the LED readout on the upper left of Fett’s chest was digitally sculpted.  This feature has been on every single solitary modern Boba Fett figure including the first 1995 release.  It was included by the designers in the digital renderings.  It was somehow lost in production.  I’m not going to lie and say that doesn’t sting a little.  That and the lack of balance of the figure results in the 9 out of 10 score, and is all the reason for the lack of definitive status for this figure.  It’s close.  Veeeeeeery close, but I can’t call it definitive due to these issues.

Lastly, if you click on the announcement link above, you will see that the original card had an orange pill/background and a more tightly cropped photo.  It was INFINITELY better than the Kenner version with the yellow pill/background and full body photo which required the pants to be drawn in.  Naturally, the vintage Kenner purists complained about the “orange card” version, and Hasbro pivoted to this far inferior Kenner replica complete with ridiculous cartoon pants and a codpiece that bisects Boba Fett’s bathroom bits.  Enjoy your replica of garbage.  Anyone that campaigned for this change is now my sworn enemy.  The originally shown Vintage Collection card is markedly better than this ridiculous replica.  Hasbro has said that some of the orange pill cards made it into production, but thus far no samples have surfaced.