The Good: Great sculpt, Wonderful costume detailing, Generally decent accessories, Wonderful posability and balance!
The Bad: It's like breaking it out of Fort Knox, trying to get it out of the package!
The Basics: The perfect bounty hunter makes for a perfect 12" figure with great balance and detailing, making Boba Fett a must-have doll!
Have you ever opened something up that you've had around for a while just so you can review it? Those who follow my many reviews know that I have a collection of 12" Star Wars dolls - the bounty hunters - and I am one of the few collectors who takes them out of the box and has them in a display case. After all, what's the point of holding onto things so when you're dead someone else has an incredible estate sale? I don't think there is one! Even though I haven't transferred many yet - in fact, only the 12" Lando Calrissian doll (click here for that review) - I've been through my whole 12" collection. When that happened, I found that I had one I had been holding onto since my divorce and I thought, "There's no better time than now to open that puppy up and see what it's made of." So, in some ways, it is a case of saving the best for last.
Now, I opened up my Boba Fett figure! One of the hardest 12" Star Wars Action Figures to find is the incredibly popular bounty hunter Boba Fett. While I have an appreciation for all of the Star Wars bounty hunters, I've met people at conventions who only collect Boba Fett merchandise. So this is a serious bounty hunter by any standard! As far as the 12" figures go, they are dolls by all accounts with cloth costumes and one of the best they did was Boba Fett. Boba Fett, unlike many of the bounty hunters, was a speaking part (though the voice was redone in the new DVD version of the films) and he appeared in The Empire Strikes Back (click here for my review!), as the bounty hunter who successfully hunted down Han Solo for Darth Vader. It is Boba Fett who captures Han on Cloud City and takes him to Jabba The Hutt. Boba Fett, being such a powerful character was one of the loose ends that needed to be cleaned up in Return Of The Jedi (click here for my review!), so in that film, he meets his end. Ever since then, fans have clung to the books and comics that insist that he was rescued from the Pit of Carkoon and returned to his life of crime and bounty hunting, but I'm actually fine with the idea that even Boba Fett couldn't escape the giant toothed hole in the ground.
Anyway, the 12" Boba Fett figure is so cool that now that I DO have him out of his package (which was quite a feat!) I don't know if I'll ever be able to see my monitor again. I have the doll standing before my monitor as I evaluate it and it is just too cool to not gawk at for a few minutes!
Basics
Boba Fett is a human bounty hunter that had over five minutes of screentime in The Empire Strikes Back and perhaps as much in Return Of The Jedi. The figure stands 12 1/8" tall to the top of the antenna array on his helmet. It turns out Boba Fett is slightly shorter than most of his compatriots as Fett himself is actually only 11 1/2" tall in this incarnation (to the top of his helmet). Is it possible the infamous bounty hunter has a little complex from being half a head shorter than most of the other 12" dolls? I suppose the jet pack makes up for his insecurities if that is the case. Boba Fett is so armored that there is no skin showing, which makes him inscrutable and thus a more intimidating bounty hunter. On the 12" action figure, he is clothed in his french blue jumpsuit, which is covered with bright yellow knee pads, a pretty impressive and detailed breastplate and cool yellow shoulder pads. The figure is made of hard plastic and it was refreshingly stiff coming out of the package, so it does not seem to wobble that much. The head, unlike the main body of the figure, is made of a slightly more elastic (or rubbery) plastic, though the coloring is consistent with the rest of the figure. This is good because if you mess up Boba Fett's helmet, you've pretty much screwed up the figure.
This toy is a wonderful sculpt, looking precisely like the bounty hunter. Boba Fett is amazing in his coloring detail, dirt and dust on the breastplate joints and the dents in the helmet and armor that illustrate that not every bounty has gone off as planned for the hunter! Costuming details like the pockets which seal closed with Velcro are amazing touches!
Accessories
Boba Fett, armored as he is, comes dressed in a flight jumpsuit made of actual cloth. However Boba Fett's outfit is held on, all of the fasteners are hidden under the plastic breastplate, belt and codpiece. In fact, it is only by lifting the pant cuff up that one sees any portion of action figure! The stitching on the costume is actually fairly impressive and the figure looks good. The outfit is accented with pockets, tool belts and secret compartments! In fact, it was only when going over the figure for the review and looking really closely at it that I found a pocket on the figure's right calf that had a little plastic pad in it! Very cool. Furthermore, plastic accents like the chest piece and braided wookie scalps on his shoulder add some pretty extraordinary detailing to him. As well, on its ankles, there are little tools or bombs or ammunition that are actually carefully inserted into fabric loops. This is a level of care and detailing that makes this a superlative display piece!
Boba Fett, like a good bounty hunter, comes with a firearm. This is a five inch plastic blaster rifle that fits perfectly in his right or left hand. The blaster rifle is detailed well as far as containing all of the nooks and crannies the firearm appears to have in the film, including the hook that makes it virtually impossible for him to drop the weapon! There is no detailing that makes it look worn or more realistic, though, as this is simply solid black plastic. It is a fairly faithful replica of what appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, save that in the film it did seem to be more gunmetal color than black.
As well, Boba Fett comes with his indispensable jet pack. Detailed beautifully and colored with realistic highlights, especially on some of the tiny antennae-like parts, the jet pack easily clips onto the back of Fett's breastplate and makes the bounty hunter look like he's ready to take off! The jetpack has not fallen off and it looks rather sturdy on the figure's back.
Playability
I don't know who plays with these twelve-inch figures. As far as displaying, though, there is much to recommend Boba Fett. First, this is a well-articulated action figure. Boba Fett is impressively posable, whatwith having fourteen points of articulation. This bounty hunter has joints at the ankles, knees, groin socket, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist and neck. The neck is a ball and socket joint, which is wonderful. As a result, he can turn his head left to right as well as front to back in a nodding motion. Also, the shoulder joints and groin are both ball and socket joints, so the hunter's arms and legs move realistically! As well, the joints are all hidden beneath the fabric costume allowing for decent range-of-motion without looking doofy from inconsistencies in any aspect of the creature or its costume.
There are almost no limits to the arm's range of motion. As a result, Boba Fett can hold the blaster rifle in a two-handed supporting position. Boba Fett can turn at the waist, which further increases his posability. As well, this Boba Fett is one of the best balanced figures I've yet encountered! When posed in a flatfooted position, or a running pose, he may be reasonably positioned and will remain standing! As a result, it is incredibly easy to get Boba Fett to stand stable so that he does not wobble or shake at all from vibrations near one's display.
Collectibility
Boba Fett is part of a retro-look twelve-inch series, a series of Star Wars action figures that was actually more limited. The focus on this set was recreating packaging from the earliest Star Wars toy releases while providing figures that were up to current toy and doll standards. Boba Fett was shortpacked in those cases making him exceptionally hard to find. The result is that this is one of the most valuable Star Wars 12" figures and his value has held up remarkably well in the secondary market over the years.
In other words, this Boba Fett is a decent investment as well as being a prized piece for those who have a fetish for bounty hunters.
Overview
Boba Fett; he's a great bounty hunter, but a tough figure to create in intricate detail. Still, Hasbro pulls it off completely with this 12" figure which becomes the indispensable bounty hunter for Star Wars enthusiasts to pick up!
Good luck finding it! Then again, you can always use a bounty hunter to track one down . . .
For other Star Wars figures reviewed by me, please check out my reviews of:
Power Of The Force Mynock Hunt 3-pack
Attack Of The Clones Deluxe Yoda with Force powers
Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot
10/10
For other toy reviews, please be sure to check out my index page by clicking here!
© 2010, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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