I’ve spent a long time trying to ignore the 12-inch action figure collecting that goes on, mainly because of the cost. Sure, I’ve seen a few things here or there that I’ve admired, but I’ve always been able to resist. They’re pretty pricey, and it’s not like the price of 6-inch-scale figures will be going back down to 8 bucks anytime soon.
But as with anything, it only takes one to drag you kicking and screaming down a road you didn’t know you wanted to be dragged down until you were too far to turn back… pretty much like this metaphor. Hot Toys Crow was a gateway figure, and after that I found myself looking more and more at the 12-inch side of things.
It’s only fitting that I ended up getting a 12-inch Star Wars toy. Star Wars is one of my favorite properties, and I still have a pretty substantial collection of the 12-inch figures from when Star Wars burst back onto the action figure scene in the mid-’90s. And if there’s anything that’s going to get my attention, it’s a bounty hunter.
I’ve already gone on about my love of the bounty hunters from The Empire Strikes Back, so I won’t bore anybody on that note, but, long story short, if I were going to bother to collect anything in every possible scale, then it would be the bounty hunters. So when I ran across Bossk on BBTS a few months ago, I knew it was pretty inevitable I’d be getting him. It was just a matter of time. He’s been out a while, but having not paid much attention to Sideshow’s offerings, I wasn’t aware he existed. Now I’m kicking myself that I apparently missed out on IG-88’s release too. Oh well.
To be honest, I hadn’t been completely enamored with Sideshow’s Star Wars offerings before. Something seemed a little off in some of the likenesses, and it was a lot of money to be spending on “close enough.” But they’ve clearly upped their game because Bossk is extremely impressive in hand. There’s something inherently photogenic about 12-inch toys, and Bossk is no exception.
He comes with all manner of trinkets and doodads connected to his flight suit, either threaded through or hanging from. The wires and nozzles all add a very heightened level of realism to the figure. His clothing hangs just right, with just enough give to allow him maximum poseability without looking “off.”
His face has just the right amount of distaste for everything, mixed with malevolence. After all, this is a guy who apparently ate his siblings right after being born and then ate his father later in life. That… probably requires psychiatric evaluation of some type. While the version of him sold on Sideshow (that I didn’t get) came with a variant head with an open mouth, I prefer the subtlety in this expression. We all first met him leering down at a frightened Imperial Officer with an evil glare, so this is the way I’d have him 100 percent of the time anyway.
While the majority of his body is covered by his flight suit, the exposed shins and arms don’t suffer for it; he’s covered in nicely sculpted scalework with just enough paint shading to give them depth without making them overshadowed.
Bossk comes with his signature Relby-v10 micro grenade launcher that he can hold a bit awkwardly, but it is befitting of his inhuman hands. Speaking of hands, he comes with two sets: one for holding his weapon and a neutral set for when he’s just intimidating the crap out of someone. He also comes with a second set of feet with the toes flexed as if he were frozen in mid-walk. I can’t see myself using them that much, but they were a nice addition to throw in just in case somebody wants the option.
Overall Bossk hit all the highlights that I wanted when I first saw tiny little pictures of him, and I was not disappointed when I got him in hand. I hope Sideshow continues this tradition, because – sucker that I am —I will probably be in for at least a full set of Bounty hunters. I wonder if it’s too much to hope for a re-release of IG-88? Either way, Bossk was a winner.