Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,083: General Hera Syndulla (The Black Series)

GENERAL HERA SYNDULLA (Live Action)
The Black Series 2023 Closed Box Line Look Ahsoka Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F7109
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #06 - Star Wars: Ahsoka
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: October 2023
Appearances: Star Wars: Ahsoka

Bio: Set after the fall of the Empire, Ahsoka follows former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an energing threat to a vulnerable galaxy. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

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

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Commentary: I have some outstanding pre-orders still on the books, so figures like General Hera Syndulla are still coming - and are pretty good. It looks like someone painted Mary Elizabeth Winstead green... which is someone's lifelong ambition, I'm sure. The figure gives you a high-quality take on the Rebels character, as seen in the live-action connective tissue limited series that will get you to the next one. The costume designers did a great job bringing the CG outfit to life with enhancements like a cool jacket - which is good enough for me.

She still has orange pants and a brown top, but now there's a Rebel general bomber jacket with a cool painted logo on the back. This is a figure that looks like Hasbro saw the $25 budget and made the most of it, with those shrug-forward shoulder joints, the double-jointed neck, and a waist joint at the pants - rather than mid-torso, which looks like garbage. Hasbro cut the joints nicely, so she can easily be posed to grab her blaster in her holster, or adjust her goggles - a separately-molded piece that does not actually rotate. The jacket looks gorgeous, with a fluffy collar and painted patches. And a painted rank badge. And largely unpainted pants, so the orange color is consistent throughout. I'm looking for reasons to complain, and I don't really have one. She stands, she sits, she has an easy-to-find center of gravity.

The figure's head is amazing. Her lekku are molded green plastic with painted details, just like her face, and the brown flight cap is molded in brown. It looks way better than a paint job, but that isn't to say the paint used on this figure aren't great. The painted face turned out very well, with glossy eyes and a wry smile. With no human skin tone to match, Hera looks eerily realistic. Obviously it's not a high-end Hot Toys figure, but for the low price she does almost look like she might start talking.

The one thing I don't love is how her blaster fits in her holster - the little tab doesn't quite lock in because the blaster gets in the way. She can hold it perfectly in her flexible fingers, and it's worth noting that the blaster has multiple colors of paint on it to make it look like more than a toy accessory. It's great - you're paying for it, but at least you can't fault its quality.

While I'm planning to stop buying the 6-inch line in the very near future, mostly because of cost and space considerations, Hasbro's quality seems to be going up with each new wave. Any newly-designed figure looks amazing, poses well, and has so much personality in the face I can't not recommend it to a fan, or as a gift for someone who loves the character. You will like this figure, but this format isn't necessarily as fun if you want to buy a lot of figures. Like I said, she can stand and sit - but she'll never pilot a vehicle. You can't ask for a better figure to display on your desk, but I need a smaller figure to play around with and thankfully, we're getting two soon for Vintage and Retro fans. Even though I don't have them in-hand yet, I can't deny that this 6-inch one is going to be the best-looking of them.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,083: November 21, 2023