I LOVES me some Star Wars. And being an action figure collector, I LOVES me some Star Wars action figures. So it is reasonable to assume that I love Star Wars Black Series figures, which I do. However, that doesn’t mean that there is not room for improvement with this line, and for me, it all starts with the paint.
1:12 scale Star Wars figures (that is, 6-inch scale) has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. Sure, I was too young to be a real collector of the vintage figures, but for most of us, no scale other than 1:18 had ever really existed until a few years ago. 1:12 is my preferred scale, so between the Black Series, S.H. Figuarts, MAFEX, and others, I am living during a golden age. The Black Series really got things started and set a standard that was so exciting back when that first series was released. That X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker, Darth Maul, and Sandtrooper still stand as some of the absolute best figures of the entire line.
Sure, the sculpting and articulation and engineering has a lot to do with that, but those qualities have been mostly consistent throughout the line, and I have been pleased with the vast majority of the individual figures when it comes to these qualities. So what made this first series unique to the point that most of the figures therein are still stand out? Well, I have been harping on that for a long time now: it is the paint. Paint is a VERY tricky thing when it comes to action figures, and a good paint job can help elevate a sculpt, but a poor paint job can completely mask a sculpted work of art. It is a big part of action figure production, and frankly, ever since that first Black Series release, I have felt that the paint on the figures could be better.
When you are passionate about something, it can be easy to hyper focus on all of its qualities. I mean, the cliché “you are always hardest on the ones you love most” has not stuck around for no reason, and when I consider SWB, that is pretty much my approach. Overall, when it comes to this hobby, I am pretty easy to please, but when I see opportunity or room for improvement, I tend not to shy away. This becomes especially clear when I know I am not asking for a bar to be set so high it is unreasonable, and that is why I felt I could proceed with this article. Star Wars Black Series, especially the faces, and extra-especially the faces on the humanoid characters, needs to be painted better. In fact, they need to be painted as well as they were for that first series.
The X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker’s face was painted perfectly for a mass-market, but collector-focused, figure. It does not have an impossible amount of paint applications, but what is there is well done. So if you are like me, that Luke as a good standard for expectations of the line going forward. However, when series two hit (the one with Han Solo), the painted faces changed COMPLETELY. The applications were greatly reduced, and the plastic was used for the complexion, thus making the sculpt look flat due to the lack of shading. Oh, and it has been that way ever since. Obviously, Hasbro is capable of good paint applications, they showed that in the first series, and while not perfect, Marvel Legends (another Hasbro line) boasts more detailed applications. So what’s the deal?
Well, years of suffering toy company conspiracy theories has made it so I always look for the simplest solution, so I am positive the paint applications were reduced because of cost. Skilled painting doesn’t come cheap (I know this due to Articulated Icons), so I understand that, but I also know that this is a Hasbro collector-grade line, so that marketing cannot be ignored. For years, Star Wars figures only existed in one scale, and if you look at the current crop of 1:18 figures, you can see that the same method of painting faces used there has been applied to the 6-inch figures. To be blunt, this is something that just cannot be handled from one scale to the next. 1:12 figures are bigger, so their production details are easier to see, so what might work at the 1:18 scale can start to fall apart when you upsize. This is what is happening.
The trouble is that paint applications don’t exist in a vacuum. As I said before, poor paint applications can degrade even the best sculpt, and that is a real crime with this line. Most of (not all, to be sure) the sculpts in this line are fantastic, and worthy of a collector line. But when not paint is used on the faces, and the eyes are given their due details, you are left with something much more mediocre than what lies beneath. You know how I know this? Because I asked Ibentmyman-thing to help me prove my point, and he (and some other people on eBay) has been doing this for a long time.
The pictures in this article are side by side comparisons of SWB figures right out of the package, and then those SAME EXACT figures with custom painted faces. Think the sculpts are soft in this line? Think again. The softness comes from the lack of care in the applications, and the lack of paint in general. Sure the bodies are not 100 percent painted either, but you can get away with that much easier than the faces because just like their real life counter parts, the face of the figures is are the focal point. The difference is striking, and it shows that not committing to one step of the process can bring down the entire figure. This is the difference between a “B-” figure and a straight “A.”
Now, don’t misunderstand me, just because Benty (and RoboKillah, Oldboy CTTS, and Camarodude) helped me with these, that does not mean I have unrealistic expectations. I get it, these guys are REALLY talented, so I am not expecting custom-level work. But my point still stands that the sculpt is alive and well with most of these figures, and paint is the real key to unlocking it. Cassian Andor, Poe Dameron, and most of the females suffer the most, but when you see what the paint can do, you know that sculpt is there, but its being hindered by the paint — that is a shame!
My point is, give us painted faces like X-Wing Luke. Just get us back to that point, and this line will be pushed back to the level of where it started, which was GREAT! I realize I am asking to spend a little more money (so this might be a fruitless venture), but when a target audience has discriminating tastes, and now options from other companies, doing stuff like this becomes more and more essential. I love this line, and I buy a TON of it (I am a completist and an army-builder), so I am coming from a loving place because I want it to be the best it can. I DO NOT criticize just to criticize, and I certainly do not spend time complaining if I don’t care or feel it is with an impossible standard. The sculpting in this line is so great, I just want the paint to match it, and it did during that fleeting first series.
You can do it, Hasbro — you have proven that you can. I know YOU know your sculpting is great, you show off the digital sculpts of these figures at SDCC, so I want paint to match, that is all. Like I said, these customs are beautiful, but I had them done to show off the sculpt with good paint, not to have an impossible standard to achieve. Just think X-Wing Pilot Luke, then rinse and repeat for all of the figures. Do that, and you will pretty much be all the way there, I will save the soft goods conversation for another time.
YOU CAN DO EEEEEEEEEEEEET!
Oh, and dear reader, if you want to take matters into your own hands, but are like me and cannot paint, Benty is your answer. His work is fantastic, especially in person, and you can have instant improvements for so many of your figures. So be sure to keep an eye on his eBay store. He will have you covered.
Thanks to Benty, Robo, Oldboy, and Camarodude for helping me with this article.