Thursday, January 20, 2011

Capping Off One's Star Wars Collection Of Bossk Figures, The Executor Meeting Bossk Is Perfect!





The Good: Great sculpt, Wonderful detailing, Good balance, Good articulation, Adequately produced.
The Bad: None that I can find!
The Basics: The Executor Meeting Bossk is a great bounty hunter figure and the best casting of this character that Hasbro produced.


When it comes to the Star Wars action figures, there are few characters that have not been cast or recast so many times that if one has been collecting all along, they have such an army of the figures that they will overcome one's entire living space. For all my love of the bounty hunters from the Sextet, each of them has appeared on multiple cards, in multiple sizes and has been recast enough to make each one a distinctively new figure. Take, for example, Bossk, the Trandoshan lizard-man bounty hunter. Since Kenner and Hasbro rebooted the Star Wars line-up in the mid-1990s, there has been the Power Of The Force Bossk, the Star Wars Unleashed Boosk, the retro Bossk, and the 12" Bossk. Even the new dolls that look like animated versions of every major characters have a Bossk figure. But the ultimate version for most fans' collections came in the 2004 Saga line of Star Wars toys.

For those unfamiliar with Bossk, it was one of six bounty hunters Darth Vader hired around the midpoint of The Empire Strikes Back (reviewed here!) to find Han Solo. Intended to lay a trap for Han Solo to lure Luke out of his training, Bossk was a lizardman who growled for a few seconds on screen and thus worked his way into the hearts of innumerable Star Wars fans!

The 4" Bossk figure is exceptional, with great detailing and balance and an accessory that is actually appropriate and proportional to the figure. In other words, this is a perfect figure.

Basics

The Bossk is a great villain figure for anyone's Star Wars action figure collection as it is a distinctive bounty hunter that fans who collect the toys will instantly recognize and want to include in their collections. This Bossk figure stands 3 7/8" tall and he is dressed in the yellow and white flight suit he was seen in in the film. The Bossk figure is cast so that he may either appear to be seated or look like he is in an active pose ready to leap into action. The figure is made almost entirely of soft plastic, though the chest does seem to be more solid than the rest of the toy.

This toy is an incredible sculpt, looking precisely like the lackeys of the Empire. The Bossk is well-detailed in his coloring detail, even when it comes to the figure's skin tones. There is no shading on his face, and his lips are not colored at all, but given that the alien was a latex mask in the film, this is actually realistic. As well, Bossk has white teeth - fangs - and there is an exceptional level of costuming detailing, including patches on its shoulder and scales on the figure's head! As well, the Bossk figure does have intense little red eyes with appropriately black pupils.

The costume is incredibly detailed, from the life support equipment on his chest to the tools on the character's belt. As well, he has both molded and painted details on his belt buckle and wonderful molded details on the figure's tube extending from his back. His shoulders even have the blue and red patches painted on that Bossk had on its flightsuit! This is a surprisingly cool figure and fans of the bounty hunters will be impressed by the level of detail it has to it.

Accessories

This Bossk figure is appropriately armed, with only the one firearm the character was shown with in the movie. This Bossk is outfitted with a blaster rifle with its strap. The blaster rifle is a decent-sized (yet proportional) gun that was cast for this figure alone. Larger than most, it is a two-inch long rifle with a strap and it may be held easily in the figure's right hand; that is the only claw curved enough to hold the gun's handle. As well, the blaster rifle may be slung over the toy's shoulder, as Bossk did while aboard the Star Destroyer Executor. The gun is perfectly proportioned and looks exactly like the gun Bossk held in the film, with a good amount of surface details etched in, but monotonally colored. Still, it looks perfectly appropriate for the character!

The Original Trilogy Collection figures come with stands, including the Bossk. The stand is a two and three-quarter inch long by one and a half inch wide by one-quarter inch tall gunmetal colored plastic stand. It features tabs which allow it to connect with other stands in the set and a peg which fits the hole in either of the Bossk's feet. On the stand, the figure is completely stable and posable. The stands make these figures into display pieces and the Bossk is a worthy one!

Playability

The four inch toy line was designed for play and Bossk is good in that regard. The figure is very articulated and he has exceptional balance when off his stand. This Bossk has great articulation and the figure is clearly designed to appear battle-ready by his stance! Even if the feet are moved out of a flatfooted position, this figure remains standing most of the time. As well, when the figure is posed flatfooted, he is fairly stable, and on his base, he is solid! The Bossk figure comes with twelve points of articulation, all of which are simple swivel joints! He has joints at the groin socket, shoulders, ankles, elbows, forearms, neck, and waist.

The elbows do not extend, but the figure's shoulder rotate up and down and given how this is a support character, this is not a serious liability for the figure. Otherwise, the joints are fine, and with its stand it both becomes a decent display and play piece.

Collectibility

The Bossk is part of the 2003 Original Trilogy Collection four-inch series, a series of Star Wars action figures that was not very common at all, but largely recast figures that had been previously released by Kenner. Hasbro sought to improve the old figures by having a greater attention to detail, coloring and accessory detail and proportion. As such, this Bossk is a distinct improvement as far as balance, detailing and accessories from the earlier Bossk. Released as Original Trilogy Collection figure #18, this figure is a great toy for fleshing out the full range of "Star Wars" characters.

Overview

Bossk is an essential bounty hunter from the Star Wars Trilogy and the 2004 recast is arguably the best Hasbro did with the character and is one of the few perfect figures created in the 4" line.

For other Star Wars bounty hunter figures, please check out my reviews of:
2010 Saga Legends IG-88
Power Of The Force 12” Zuckuss
2008 Legacy Collection Bane Malar

10/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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