Diminutive mentor figures have become a bit of a tradition in the Star Wars universe and Kuill the Ugnaught fits that role in the first series of The Mandalorian. It’s no longer guaranteed that secondary characters get a figure these days, so I’m so happy that Hasbro is throwing some support behind The Mandalorian and it’s diverse cast of characters. Let’s take a look at Black Series Kuill!
The box art looks fantastic again here, though it is kind of funny to see Kuill kind of floating there, usually the figures are somewhat obscured by the box front, but he’s just the right size to float there.
Kuill comes with a removeable cap and a blaster rifle. His backpack and scarf are one piece and aren’t designed to be removed, but you can heat and pop the head off and take it off for a casual Friday Kuill. I think I would have preferred separate pieces for more variety.
The cap fits snugly, but comes off easily enough that I’m not concerned about scratching any paint. I don’t remember him taking the cap off in the show, but it is a nice option. I would have preferred if the goggles had been a separate piece so he could pull those down over his eyes. Maybe they could do a goggles down cap in the one that comes with a Blurrg (I’ve got no insider info about a Blurrg release, I’m just trying to will it into being).
The gun is really cool and has a perfect old west feel to match with Kuill’s crotchety archetypal miner/rancher character from a classic western. The stock has wood grain texture sculpted in, which adds a little bit of depth to a fairly plainly painted accessory. The strap is removeable and fits nicely under the scarf when over the shoulder. Unfortunately he doesn’t really hold it well and I couldn’t really effect a firing pose, so it looks best hanging off his shoulder.
Sculpting on this guy is absolutely fantastic. The likeness is dead-on and the costume details are gorgeous. I’m seeing detail in these recent figures I never caught on screen and that’s really fun.
The proportions are also really well done and he scales great with the rest of the Black Series. It’s so nice to add that scale variety to the shelf where appropriate and fun to get more aliens up there too.
Articulation is in line with typical Black Series figures for the most part, though he’s missing a ball socket at the base of the neck and butterfly hinges at the shoulders that we’ve seen lately. Kuill has:
- Swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles
- Barbell ball and socket neck and ball and socket waist
- Swivel thighs
The ankles have a floating swivel/hinge where it is attached to the leg and the foot and the pants get out of the way of that articulation point really well. The barbell joint in the neck also gets an impressive range of movement. I do actually miss the butterfly joint and the softer plastic upper torso we saw on Greef and some Jedi. Maybe that would have helped get Kuill in a good two-handed blaster firing pose.
His wrists also hinge in/out instead of up/down and an up/down hinge might have helped make a decent rifle firing pose. Finally, the elbow swivel hinge is pretty atrocious. It doesn’t get a 90 degree bend and the swivel is pretty limited by the cloth fold sculpting around the upper arm. While it is a beautiful sculpting job, it really could have used a bit of tweaking for poseability.
Paint is decent with some very effective face printing, but he seems a little too clean and could use some washes and drybrush finishing. Overall I like this figure a heck of a lot despite some of my articulation frustrations. It’s a good looking figure, though he really cries out for a Blurrg. We need a Blurrg. I have spoken.
