Star Wars, Star Wars, STAR WARS! So much Star Wars has been heading (and is heading) our way as of late, and Hasbro, Bandai, and Medicom are vying for our hard-earned cash to get us to buy all of their latest action figure offerings. The good thing for them is that this is The Fwoosh, and, well, we pretty much buy it ALL!
Generally, we see at least a couple of months between MAFEX Star Wars releases, but if you have been keeping it right here, you know this is the second release in as many weeks, and the ROTS Darth Vader was featured just a few days ago. Not that I am complaining about a sudden influx of product (my wallet might be, though), it is just that I have a rather skittish relationship with the SW MAFEX figures, so when there is a short window between releases, I tend to get a little nervous. However, both Vader and Rey were delayed, and, as it turned out, the extra time was definitely worth it for both figures, and we now have two strong hits right in a row.
I almost can’t believe that this is the first Rey figure from either Medicom or Bandai. While they need to work just as far out in advance as anyone in terms of product life cycle, Rey was the best thing about TFA (by miles and miles and miles), and the wait for figure of her has been pretty maddening. Obviously, Medicom struck first, and when I first saw the early product photos for this figure, I was encouraged but still cautious about how the final offering would turn out in terms of quality. I admit, I really wanted the figure to be good because it looked good, but like all figures, you never really know what you are going to get until you have it in hand, and like I said before, this figure was certainly worth the wait.
While this figure is not 100 percent perfect (I will get to that), this is one of the best MAFEX SW figures yet, and, in my opinion, definitely the best 1:12 scale Rey released to date. I find this figure to be my favorite MAFEX release after the two Boba Fett figures, and the amount of well-done accessories included with this figure is what really puts it over the top. MAFEX has certainly had its fair share of quality issues (their original C-3PO is one of the worst action figures I own), but this figure is all square and I don’t have any production, engineering, or material issues to discuss. Sure, some things are stronger in terms of execution than others, but if you take pause with MAFEX due to past quality concerns, let me tell you, this figure has none to speak of.
Starting with the overall sculpt, most everything is represented well here, and all of the required costume and form details to make for a good Jakku Rey are present. The sculpt is very detailed, and the materials used in the costume are soft enough as not to inhibit articulation very much, but keep all of the subtle details. Now, her arms do seem to be a bit long, but it is not terrible, and she does skew a little taller to the MAFEX scale, I think she still fits in fine with most Bandai and Hasbro figures. For example, she dwarfs the Hasbro Finn figure (which might be a bit small to begin with), but the SHF Han Solo is still taller and accurately scaled by comparison, so the Rey works fine for me.
Now, the most debated topic when it comes to this figure will be the likeness, and even though the face sculpt is a little bit soft, I think that might be a stylistic choice. The skin tone, like the one used on the Kylo Ren figure is very pale, so that in itself washes away a bit of the details. Rey has a bit of a computer animated look to her, like something you might see in a next-gen console video game, rather than a pointed attempt at Daisy Ridley’s likeness. Don’t get me wrong, this figure looks like Rey, no doubt, but it is more of a filtered approach, and the likeness is DEFINITELY better than Kylo’s in the previous release.
Additionally, Medicom has started to employ the “printing” technology Bandai uses on the faces of many of their S.H. Figuarts, and while they still have a little bit to go to get to Bandai, they have done a very nice job on the eyes and other features with Rey. The sprays aren’t quite a blended as with Bandai, but I definitely see Daisy in the eyes, so I think Medicom is well on their way with this tech. The Finn figure they have shown off looks to be even closer in terms of likeness than Rey, so hopefully they will continue to improve because I would like nothing more than to have two companies masterfully using this technology to get me better Star Wars figures.
I do want to take a moment to mention the articulation and joints on this figure because if anything has been a consistent failing with MAFEX over the life of these releases, it has been that. Floppy joints that easily come apart are more normal with these figures than I would like, but I am happy to say that Ray suffers from no weak or loose joints, at least with this figure. Robo did mention in his review that he has a biceps joint that comes apart pretty easily, but I don’t seem to have that with this figure, so it might be sporadic throughout the production run. I will say that, like all other MAFEX figure I have, the pins on the wrist joints do not have the mushroom shape to help hold the hands on, so they can slide right off. They don’t just fall off, but if you are posing, especially with this staff, they will likely come off when you are fiddling, so just be warned.
While all of these things so far enough to make this Rey a good figure, it is really the accessories that set this release apart from most others I have been getting as of late. It seems like Bandai is skewing less in terms of what is included in their releases, so this is definitely a breath of fresh air. Just to start, here is everything that included with the figure:
- MAFEX figure stand
- Lightsaber hilt
- Lightsaber blade
- Lightsaber grip hands (x2)
- Open hands (x2)
- Trigger-grip hands (x2)
- Closed-grip hands (x2)
- Gloved hands (x2)
- Staff
- Backpack
- Scavenger goggles/hood
- Blaster
- X-Wing Pilot helmet
If you did not count, that is 18 separate pieces, and I cannot remember the last time I got an action figure with that many accessories. This gives you so many options for play and display and, her final scene “Resistance” outfit notwithstanding, you can convincingly recreate Rey’s look from every other part of the movie. Through most of the movie she was wielding her Jakku staff or the blaster given to her by Han Solo, but Anakin/Luke Skywalker’s included lightsaber is essential for the film’s most pivotal scene. The different hands help achieve different looks like pistol and saber grips, but the open hands also help make for the a convincing Force push, too.
All of that stuff is well and good, but the real kicker here is that you can make Rey up in her full scavenger outfit, and that is a first for the character at this scale. The gloves, head wrap/mask, and backpack are all very well done, and work to build a really cool look. I love how the backpack straps work with the mask so that everything lays nicely and nothing gets in the way of anything else. You have to imagine that Rey spent a lot time in this get up before that fateful meeting with BB8, so I love that this is included. Now, Hasbro is releasing a version of this look in the SWB line alongside her speeder, but unless it is beyond outstanding, this Rey will go on that speeder right away.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the X-Wing Pilot helmet either, simply because it is so awesome. It looks absolutely flawless, and it splits in half so you don’t have to force it over Rey’s head. Sure, she only wore the helmet for a few seconds on screen, but the scene was touching, so it is really neat that they included this and the execution is the best in this scale thus far. Now I guess I need to make an AT-AT food diorama …
MAFEX is getting better and Rey is a great example of that. As I said, she is not as good as the Fett figures, but I would put her just behind them. The facing printing technology is getting better, but the likeness still isn’t as strong as what Bandai is doing right now, but it is getting closer. Personally, I am perfectly good with this being the default Rey (from EPVII) in my display. Bandai has shown off the Resistance look for Rey, and I would be just fine if they went right to that. This figure isn’t perfect, but I really like it, and the accessories are wonderful in quality and quantity. If you have been on the fence about this figure, I certainly recommend it, and the future is looking bright for SW MAFEX, so bring them on!
