@normdapito Now that you mention this, you just helped me figure out why I'm NOT super hurried to see Han upgraded like this. It's the soft goods improvement that sells these two. (I immediately put a blaster from an older version of Luke in his hand and was surprised he didn't come with one.)
But give us an OG Kenobi with the robe style they gave Leia, who finally has the ROM with plastic robes we'e needed? Sold, immediately, IMO. Those long robes get in the way so much with the existing Ben Kenobi figures.
Watch them pull the ultimate switch-up and make ANH Han, who never had soft goods, with a new soft goods vest. 🤣
Ben is a bit trickier for me. I'd certainly be curious to see what a full plastic robe would look like. Maybe I'm just so used to the soft goods Jedi robes that I don't really ever think about seeing them in anything else. If it turns out well, then I'd want them to make all the Jedi in the same style. I feel like the full plastic capes/skirts they've tried always restricts movement in some way, or looks unnatural if posed certain ways. Some figures like Lando or TROS Kylo you can always just take it off to help with posability, but others like Dark Side Rey, Morgan Elsbeth, Jawas, some of TLJ Luke, etc. have that traffic cone effect. Even cloaked figures like Luthen, the Client, etc. don't always look natural in some poses. I know Ben, like Leia, wasn't exactly super spry in ANH, so you wouldn't necessarily even need to get him into crazy poses, but would still be nice to have the option.
Jedi aside, I feel like the only characters they ever really got "right", or close to it, as far as fabric/plastic were TFA Kylo and TFA/TLJ Phasma. Then again, Kylo is helped a lot by the belt cinching the fabric in the middle, and Phasma is only a half cape, so either way it doesn't really restrict movement. Some of the figures that blend soft goods and hard plastic, like hermit Luke or Palpatine, turn out pretty well, though still not perfect.
I feel like the best way would be to have a more personally tailored fabric to each individual character, but that'll never happen, as it would take too much time and effort. I don't know if there'll ever be a "perfect" option.
@joshsquash729 He doesn't always look natural, but Luthen is almost TOO spry for his age. That figure has so much ROM it makes me laugh every time I mess with him.
I didn't love it, but the Ventress soft goods worked pretty well at least for letting her have posing options.
I think you're right about how much movement old Ben needs. He doesn't need to go full Ninja Jedi, but just being able to get him into a nice, dramatic, come at me Maul pose without having to delve up is undercarriage to get the legs would be nice.
And yeah, Kylo really is, weirdly, the benchmark for long soft goods robes. They did good work with him.
From some of the leaks from the factories, it does look like we are indeed still getting Qimir as The Stranger from the Acolyte. I'm glad we're still getting him. After how bad that show performed, and how poorly the merchandise moved, I was worried we wouldn't get him.
But the Stranger was the most enjoyable part of the show. He was the most interesting character and the actor in the role did the best job.
He'll make a really cool looking figure. I'm always happy to get any Jedi or Sith.
I got a push notification from Amazon that BeeTee for less than retail, and saw that Triple Zero and Aphra could be had for less than $60 for the 3 of them, so I was finally able to get these characters for my collection.
I don't even know who Dr. Aphra is, but she looks like a cool figure and has been on my "maybe if I get a chance" list for a while.
I got Luke, Leia, Degan, and Vernestra in from Pulse today. I like all 4 of these figures a lot. Luke and Leia are much needed updates, and they look excellent. Especially Leia. Then Degan and Vernestra are a couple more lightsaber wielding characters I'm happy to have. Degan looks so cool. He may even be my favorite out of this Wave.
Got Bazil and Vernestra. It's too bad everything that went sideways with the show cos they knocked it out of the park with all the Acolyte figures so far. She's wonderful, and as always Black Series is really doing a great job with lil guy characters.
Vernestra needs her “floppy” light saber. Shame Hasbro didn’t try or Lucasfilm didn’t want the accessory included. Stranger had to come. They may never make Jedi Trinity’s Padawan but Smilo Ren had to be made.
Thwipp!
I bet Hasbro found out about the lightsaber whip the day that episode aired - and Vern was already on the production line.
Yeah, I picture someone on the toy design team seeing the trailer for it in the episode six months after the figure is sent to the factories yelling at the TV "OH COME ON MAN"
I received Leia, Vernestra and Bazil from Gamestop and Amazon today. I forgot I had ordered the three from Amazon so they will be going back. I like all three but for me the head sculpts could be slightly bigger for Vernestra and Leia. Leia's head sculpt is smaller than her previous figures. The likeness is better for sure but again head sculpt could be bigger.
Thought the finale of Skeleton Crew was really fun. Not perfect, and could've used another scene or two at the end, I think, but I quite liked it overall. And luckily, I think most of the figures I'd really want from it are already released or on the way (SM-33). The only one I'd really still want would be Kh'ymm, but I'm not sure if she'd ever get released, at least by herself. She's more of a pack-in. I suppose I'd also take Vane, the Nikto pirate, but I don't really need any of the other pirates or security droids.
Got my Leia, Bazil, and Vernestra today as well. I'll echo everyone else's sentiments- they're all quite nice. It turned out to be a really solid wave overall. Leia is undoubtedly the best one we've gotten; the sculpted dress is certainly the way to go, and I really appreciate being able to have the swappable hood- that's the only way to really get the screen-accurate look of it. I like that you can still see the iconic buns too (tee hee).
Vernestra is really nice too. I know she's mostly reuse, but I just really dig the aesthetic and color scheme of the High Republic stuff. I wish her head tattoo thing was a little more prominent, but I suppose it is accurate. And I do agree that not including her lightsaber whip is a bummer. I'm sure it was a late production thing too, but who knows when else we'll see a lightsaber whip on screen again? Hopefully someone will make an affordable custom. No real complaints on Bazil; he's a perfectly fine, fun little figure. Getting him to hold the PIP droid isn't the easiest, but it works. He didn't really leave much of an impression on me in the show, but I still wanted to get him to support the line and show love for the Acolyte. Now bring on Qimir/The Stranger! Can't come soon enough, as far as I'm concerned!
Does anyone know if there's a paint out there that matches the orange Hasbro used for the 212 from Walgreens? I got Waxer and Boil from the new set that went up on Ali Express. And while the figures themselves are pretty good, as is the paint on the helmets, the paint on the chest is crooked on both chest pieces. I need to fix it, and I'm hoping there's a paint out there that is close, if not exact.
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