BOBA FETT (Tython, Boba Fett's Starship)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Shared Exclusive Vehicle Pack-In
Item No.: No.
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Vehicle, blaster pistol, rifle, gaffi stick, cloth robes
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $199.99
Availability: March 2023
Appearances: The Mandalorian and
The Book of Boba Fett
Bio: A powerful pursuit craft made famous by Jango Fett in the days of the Republic, this ship was inherited by Boba Fett for his career as a bounty hunter. (Taken from 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: It is rare - but not unheard-of - for Hasbro to pack a new mold figure with a very expensive vehicle, and I have to admit this one is a little ridiculous. At $199.99, it's worth noting this vehicle sold for $149.99 in 2020, and (without the stand) for about $69.99 a few years before that. And also in Jango colors about 12 years ago, with multiple exclusive figures and a Jedi Starfighter, all for under $100. So the real question is "is it worth it to pay $200 for a Desert Nomad
Boba Fett?" And I'd say "probably not unless you're a completist." Costs are going up but this is the kind of thing that will probably make you reconsider any completism you have left, but Boba Fett completists are legion so it's still going to sell a bunch of units.
The vehicle has been offered enough times before that I am feeling a little stupid for having bought it. I don't need a
fourth release of it, and at $200 even the improved dirtier deco isn't worth the asking price. It's still the best version of this ship to date, but I feel if Hasbro wanted to charge us $200 they should just make an all-new, bigger one that can actually fit Boba Fett in the pilot's seat without a fight and charge us $250, or $300. I had a hard time getting him in the seat so I gave up - it shouldn't be that hard. Retool it, remove the clip, do
something to make me not feel like I wasted $200 on a toy that's not a very good toy. Further - and I know this is an annoying comment - I think they would've been better served to throw one of the armored figures in the box. The Target-exclusive Morak version, but with scuffed-up paint, probably would've been more fun. But that's not the
real real question - which I am now changing to is "Is this a good figure?"
It's fine. The figure itself is acceptable for a standard carded release, but for a pack-in with a $50 upcharge I expected more since they probably had the budget to do better. His face doesn't have the scabby skin, but it is eerie how good it looks. They also gave him too-defined eyebrows, when they should have been reduced to match his look on the show. But there are very subtle hints of scars on his face, and at the size of a peanut, I'm not going to say it's bad. The quality of work is good, I just wish they could've replicated his, uh, battle-damage.
He comes with a new gaffi stick, a new rifle, and a tiny pistol. And oh my God, be careful with the pistol. When I opened the box it fell out of the paper wrapping and was rolling around in the box loose - I found it by accident, I didn't even realize it wasn't in the holster when I was opening the box. It also falls out of the holster really easily. I hope Hasbro rereleases this figure on a card later, just so future fans won't have to fret too much about the blaster if they lose this one. But it looks good - all the gear is nice, and the cloak is one of Hasbro's best efforts. It hangs nicely, it looks good. I don't feel like arguing about the color being right nor not, but it certainly seems correct enough that I wouldn't fuss over it. I would've liked it to be a little more tattered, but since it hangs well, I'm just going to say "well done" and move on. Most of the times the hoods just looked awful and whoever is working on these now has certainly improved them over the years.
If Hasbro put this figure out by itself for under $20 you'd probably happily buy it. But they didn't - instead it continues what fans have dubbed the Boba Fett Tax which I don't really think you can argue isn't a thing (outside the kid lines, and Retro Collection, that is.) I think this figure does a good job of giving you that Desert Nomad figure that you want, but he's too wide to easily get in the driver's seat of his ship - and that's a sin as a pack-in figure - and I assume this vehicle is probably going to wind up on clearance somewhere, some day, just because it started at $200 for the
fourth release of the mold. If money is no object, or if you missed the ship before, I'd recommend it for those reasons. But if you just want a version of this figure in this outfit,
Amazon is selling him for $5 under retail as I write this, and he's bigger. But Hasbro knows 3 3/4-inch fans are picky about size, so you can either wait for a sale, wait for the "Kenner" one (which looks pretty darned great honestly), or pony up the cash to get this one right away just in case it
doesn't it markdown later.
Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth. It's worth noting this is the first 3 3/4-inch scale release of the vehicle to be called "Boba Fett's Starship" rather than some variation on "Slave I" and this seems to make some people very upset. Personally I don't care what you call it, as long as it's a decent toy at a decent price. And this is most certainly not that. If Hasbro wants to put out a Vlix on a cardback that says "The Easter Bunny!" on it, I don't care, I'd still want the figure.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 3,018: April 6, 2023
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