Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,991: Mandalorian Super Commando (The Vintage Collection)

MANDALORIAN SUPER COMMANDO Toy Debut!
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. E7763 No. F5634
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #243
Includes: 3 blasters, jet pack
Action Feature: Working holsters for smaller blasters
Retail: $14.99
Availability: July 2022
Appearances: The Clone Wars
Bio: A coup topples the pacifist regime of the New Mandalorians led by Maul. His loyal Mandalorians modify their armor to reflect their allegiance. They wear red and black armor, and some even fashion horns atop their helmets . (Stolen from Hasbro's marketing copy. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: We're spoiled. We got so many good Mandalorians last year that I'm only now getting to this Mandalorian Super Commando from summer. Hasbro has sort of gone full-blown overkill with Mando variants, making new ones like they're going out of style - which, I guess, they may be. Parts of this figure have been used to make multiple troopers, and no doubt more are on the way. This one doesn't have horns (that's another guy) but it does have great battle-damage paint and working holsters.

As one of the Maul-aligned Mandalorians, this figure is something I'd wanted to see for ages. You get the scraped-up helmet, the scuffed-up armor, the exposed metal kneepads, and what's one of the best translations from animation to "real" action figures. Hasbro did a bang-up job here - banging up the armor perfectly. Deco is superb, the only weak points are the mostly plastic jet pack and blasters being a little light in color. A darker color (or a less translucent plastic) would have made them perfect. I appreciate the bonus blaster, plus the holsters for the two smaller ones. They're nothing special, but they look right and fit in hands and holsters. Not the big one, though. He's gotta hold that.

Figure sculpting is as good as we've seen, and this is where it's sad to say it's both good and nothing special. That's no knock on Hasbro - every now and again they get to a ceiling and there's only so much you can do with an armored guy with some faux cloth elements. The belt and holsters look great, the body suit is good, and the armor is perfectly digitally sculpted. The shoulder armor is connected to the shoulders, so you can move the arms without moving the pads. It looks good - the greaves and vambraces also look excellent, but it's the paint and the greaves that have subtle detailing in the paint that are just plain impressive.

Articulation is as good as most modern figures - not Hasbro's best, but close. Each of the roughly 27 points of articulation move well, but not as smoothly as some of 2022's finest figures. You won't have a big problem finding the sweet spot to get him to stand without assistance, but there's a little resistance in moving each part that makes it harder than, say, Bo-Katan Kryze. (She's perfect.) He can stand and sit, and could probably fit in most ships if there was a sensible one for him to go in - it's good! Plus they could repaint these guys in the cartoon blue Death Watch colors earlier on the series... and probably make a swell Pre Vizsla with this mold, too. It's good!

I'd recommend it because it's nice to have more Mandalorians, even if it is a sudden flood. This is the kind of figure fans will no doubt seek out later unless Hasbro overproduces them because they're cool and I assume we're going to see a lot of Mando specialist collectors as time goes on. Also it's the 20th anniversary of the original Clone Wars project this year, so it seems likely fans will suddenly be reminded of things they missed - so get this one while it's still cheap.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,991: January 3, 2023