Has the sheen of Star Wars: The Force Awakens worn off for you yet? I know it is still running strong for me, and now that I have seen the movie a few times in the theater, I cannot wait until the Blu-ray release so my daughter and I can watch it over and over again. Since the exact date for that has not been revealed yet, I will just have to bide my time collecting toys from the movie (such a TERRIBLE problem to have, right?), and the latest figure to find its way into my collection is Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts Captain Phasma.
This steely leader in the First Order was one of the most anticipated characters of the movie, for me at least, and while her chromed-out Stormtrooper design certainly holds true to that, I have to say that the character herself was kind of the letdown. As far as screen time goes, she never really had much a chance to be anything other than General Hux’s lap dog within the given five minutes or so, so I hate to say it, but she was actually the most disappointing character in the movie for me.
Now, Gwendoline Christie did bring an intimidating presence to the character, but she never had a chance to get it going. I realize that we still have a couple more movies to get through, so not everyone can shine in the first installment, but I had my hopes up for the character. Hopefully, Episodes VIII and IX will bring more development to the character and she will turn out to be the badass we all suspect. The First Order was not a fully developed entity in Awakens, so I am positive that Phasma will continue to grow along with organization of her sworn allegiance.
All that said, I just can’t seem to get enough of Captain Phasma on my toy shelf, and after getting lucky in finding the Hasbro figure way back in October, I thought that maybe I was done. I was still in my infancy in terms of collecting the Star Wars Bandai figures, so I had not bought into the EPVII figures yet, as I had not seen the movie yet. Needless to say, as soon as I did see the movie, I wanted to jump right into everything, but unfortunately, I had missed the pre-order period for Phasma. Well, thankfully, RoboKillah was vigilant in his Internet monitoring and he was able to pull down a pre-order for me when she briefly went back up for sale. Only seems fitting as he is really the one responsible for this new obsession of mine, and after having the figure in hand, I am thankful he came through.
I apologize if it is getting to be old hat with me trying to think of new and creative ways to heap praise on these figures, but they really are fantastic. I realize that they are expensive, but the quality and value cannot be argued, so when I look at paying at least double what I normally shell out for a Black Series figure, I am comfortable with the “get what you pay for” mantra because these are generally at LEAST twice as good as Hasbro’s offerings. I don’t mean that as a shot at Hasbro, as these are two VERY different lines, and I still love and collect SWB, but Bandai is doing something on an entirely different level.
The quality of this figure is exactly what you have come to expect from Figuarts: absolutely exquisite. The sculpt is beautiful, the articulation is abundant, strong, and fluid, and the accessories are ample. Last month’s Obi-Wan Kenobi was a little lighter in the latter category, but Phasma is a return to form with FOUR sets of hands, her blaster, optional shoulder guard, and, of course, her long black cape. Her blaster is particularly nice with its solid construction and precise sculpt, and the handle at the muzzle even folds down to help promote a better grip. All of the included hands provide options to further action and her personality traits, so Phasma can hold her blaster, direct her troops, and shake her fists in a classic case of Hollywood villainy.
The good Captain has all of the articulation that you have come to expect from this line, plus some additional points to help facilitate movement in the armor. All of the joints are solid, and they pretty much allow you to move the figure in just about any appropriate pose for Phasma. Her cape is made of plastic, so you might have to remove it to get something like a crouch or kneeling position, but the hips and shoulders continue to be highlights for Bandai, as they move very well and present a lot of options. Somewhat unique to this figure are a couple of points that really help with posing: the hinges on the belt pouches and the floating shoulder armor. The belt pouches would really inhibit the hip movement if they were not present, and the entire shoulder rig makes it so the armor pieces don’t conflict with each other when moving. This kind of forethought is certainly not lost on me, so I really appreciate it.
To get an idea of the full range of movement, check out Robo’s video review:
The sculpt of the figure is also something to behold with this figure, but I imagine it will be the point of most contention for Phasma. The overall sculpt itself is gorgeous and captures the character perfectly. For being a shiny metal tin can for the most part, there is a lot of detail going here, especially in the helmet and forearms. I especially love the form of the figure as, unlike the Hasbro figure, this Phasma cuts a strong, but still very feminine, form. The Black Series figure is hefty and very square, but this figure retains much more of the screen-accurate look. Look, Gwendoline Christie might be tall, but she is still very feminine in her curvaceous build. She is very much a striking woman, and this figure helps accurately portray that, especially in the legs and torso to hips area.
Now, the controversial thing about this figure will likely be the height, and that is a concern I have had since the announcement of this Phasma. If Star Wars Figuarts have had any challenge, it is that some of the figures, like Vader and the classic Stormtrooper, are too short. Since Phasma is a taller character (Christie is 6 foot 3 inches) that put her at risk for falling out of scale. I am happy to report that is not the case with this figure, but I think Phasma will be PERCEIVED as being too short. Here is the thing: going by the Hasbro figure, and the Brianne of Tarth (Christie’s famous Game of Thrones character), you might think this figure is too short because those are two examples that make her look HUGE. However, this figure is just a hair taller than the Kylo Ren figure, which is perfectly accurate considering that Christie is about a half an inch taller than Adam Driver.
That point made, I completely understand if she still seems small, I feel that way a bit too because I have been just as conditioned to think she is like, 8 feet tall. That is ridiculous, but it is what it is, so if that is a deal breaker for you with this figure, that is fine. Honestly, MAFEX has a Phasma on deck for later in the year that looks to hit the sweet spot in terms of height, articulation, and shininess, so you can always hold out for that. If the height works for you, then I cannot recommend this figure enough; it is absolutely great.
Once again, I feel like I have upgraded a Star Wars figure thanks to Bandai. This new Captain Phasma is just fantastic, and she joins her Episode VII cohorts in great fashion. I have loved getting a new Bandai figure on a regular basis over the past few months, but it is going to seem like an eternity as we wait for Mace Windu and the recently announced Episode IV Luke Skywalker. Figuarts has a lot of characters in the hopper, so I hope we learn more about Han, Chewie, EPII Obi-Wan, and General Grievous soon, but I am holding out that we might get a Rey figure from them this year as well. Fingers crossed.
