Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,350: Baze Malbus (Deluxe, The Vintage Collection)

BAZE MALBUS TVC Debut
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Deluxe Action Figure
Item No.: No. G2533
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #397

Includes:Heavy repeater cannon, cable, backpack, detonator
Action Feature: Heavy repeater cannon, cable, backpack, detonator connect to figure
Retail: $27.99
Availability: May 2026
Appearances: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Bio: The harsh reality of his Imperial-occupied home world has hardened Baze Malbus into a pragmatic soldier and a crack shot with his heavy repeater cannon. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This Baze Malbus figure walks the line between perfect and eye-rollingly expensive. It's a good figure - Hasbro's best Baze Malbus yet. They did a great job with deco and articulation, did a bang-up job with the accessories, everything in terms of the actual product is above and beyond previous toys - including the very good The Black Series figure (and its improved repaint.) Every artist, craftsman, and nitpicky person should be very proud of the finished product... which is a 3 3/4-inch figure that costs the same (actually, technically more) than the equivalent 6-inch figure. It is better - but a lot of fans don't realize that this is a new-for-2026 figure, and the previous one was a 2017 ForceLink figure. As a 10th anniversary release for Rogue One, I'm particularly pleased that I can't find anything bad to say here - heck, it showed me that I had misconceptions about the costume that even Hot Toys seems to have wrong.

I was under the impression that his gloves were all fingerless - every figure or collectible that I've seen has shown them to be that way, except this figure. Hasbro made this figure with the right index finger on the glove intact, and when I look for reference photos that sure as heck seems to be how it actually was in the movie. Pictures of the costume from various exhibitions seem to show this too, but it's hard to tell given a lot of the mannequins have black hands (or no hands) plus nobody was really focused on shooting gloves. So, kudos to Hasbro for finding something that was wrong, fixing it, and having less ego than I'd have had by seemingly not taking a victory lap about the correction. (Or if you did, I missed it.) Reference on the left index finger seems to vary, so I've got no reason to say that it's not accurate.

Textures look great. Skin is about as good as it gets at this size, with perfectly good plastic wig hair. The plastoid armor has some very subtle panel detail, and the cloth body suit looks great. Textures look different, and that's great to see. The cloth cape is also a very nice touch, as Hasbro's previous Baze capes have all been plastic. (I assume cloth is cheaper, but I don't know this for a fact. I don't get to see their contracts.)

The hip joints are really good. I've come to appreciate the new-and-improved joints, and Hasbro's taking cues from G.I. Joe by carving a little more of the torso out so they can swing forward for any poses you may need in the future - like sitting in a vehicle. Thigh swivels, ankle tilts, and everything else you might expect are about as good as they always are. They took their time making sure the backpack fits, the blaster can be held in both hands, and there's no fighting, or "not quite there" with the elbow bends. This one got a little more time in the oven, which is crucial because every single fan (myself included) will look for an excuse of how to say it wasn't worth the 40% upcharge over a typical The Vintage Collection figure, which is already quite expensive.

But there is a place to nitpick, and it's deco. It's very good for the size, but once we pass $25 I don't think anyone is expecting anything less than perfect. The face paint is very good, but seems a little cross-eyed and the eyebrows are a little thin. The body suit's color is good, but it's lacking some of the stains of the costume, and the off-white armor bits are a little too clean. If it sounds like I'm picking nits, I am only doing it because of the price. If I'm paying for 1.4 figures, I expect 1.4 figures' worth of paint.

The price is the figure's biggest flaw. With "basic" figures at $20, this figure simply doesn't have another $8 worth of value. The part count isn't far off from an Emperor's Wrath Darth Vader, and while this figure does have extra deco I think they really needed to cap this one at $25. $28 is "I've got one at home" price, even though it is very good - but it's not perfect. That's a tall order, but when you're paying twice what The Vintage Collection figures cost five years ago, I don't think it's an unreasonable expectation to be flawless.

Should you buy it? If you don't have a Baze, yes. If you're in the future when it is on sale because people balked at $28 for it? Also yes. If it's over $30 because, for some reason, the future gave it a price increase? No. Hasbro did a real nice job here, but I think there has to be a limit on what you can charge for a single figure before fans need to get bonuses in the packaging (coins, sidekick aliens, etc.) This doesn't meet the standard of good value right now, and I hope Hasbro considers a price cut if it is sitting on inventory. This is a very good figure, and at $25 I'd begrudgingly say you'll feel you got a quality item for the price. But $28 is the price we should be paying on Amazon after it sold out and is now collectible, so vote with your wallet here. Just be aware if you skip it, you'll be missing out on one of Hasbro's best figures.

Confidential to Hasbro: if you can't bring prices back down, throw us a bone and consider throwing in a cheap unpainted plastic display stand behind the figure in the bubble. It won't cost you much, and it might earn back some goodwill on the cheap. (We got them when figures were $6.99.) That, or maybe some figures just can't be done in the current economy and would need to be reconfigured to a non-super-articulated model. (Super articulated wasn't the standard until 2010 - before that we'd have gimmicks, swappable limbs, figure 2-packs, and other variation on what a figure could be.)

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,350: June 2, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,918: Baze Malbus (Photoreal Redux, The Black Series)

BAZE MALBUS Second Edition
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Green Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Packaging
Item No.: No. F2898
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #05 - Rogue One: A Star War Story
Includes: Belt plug-in gizmo, backpack, blaster/cape, cable
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $22.99
Availability: December 2021
Appearances: Rogue One: A Star War Story

Bio: The harsh reality of his Imperial-occupied home world has hardened Baze Malbus into a pragmatic soldier and a crack shot with his heavy repeater cannon. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

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

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: When it comes to reissues with improved portraits, I'm always a bit torn - on one hand, this Baze Malbus has a stunningly good portrait and it's one of Hasbro's best. On the other, Hasbro is asking you to spend another $23-$25 on more or less the same Baze Malbus from 2017 [FOTD #2,349] that offers little beyond giving you a head that actually has some life to it. His previous release had a head that was good for 2016 and 2017 - nice sculpt, everything is where it should be. You couldn't begrudge it for being pretty much as good as Hasbro could do at the time.

The new version comes to life with much more painting and shaded detail. The eyes seem to be gazing with purpose, the facial hair seems a bit more realistic, and the skin tone is much more like that of a person. If Hasbro had a bit more time in 2016, I bet they could've done a much better job the first time, but not quite as good as this one. If you're looking to buy a 6-inch Baze and you don't know which one to get, this is the one you should get. The other one? Not worth keeping around unless it's valuable to you for some reason, because the new aesthetics are what you really want.

Accessories are more or less the same, except I noticed the grey on the blaster is a bit darker and the body suit is more saturated. (More accurately, some of the parts of the 2017 Baze are more saturated - the 2021 model seems more uniform.) Articulation is the same as before, but mine did have issues getting him to pose standing up. He kept wanting to flop over.

If you simply must have the best, this is it. If you bought the original version and never gave him a second thought, consider that with the realistic face repaints, Carbonized figures, Credit Collection, and so forth, you've potentially paid several hundred dollars to re-buy different versions of characters you already own. It's inevitable with long-running properties, but even though I can't stop singing the praises of Hasbro's Rogue One rereleases in terms of realism and life, it's also about a hundred bucks to re-buy figures that I didn't really have any reason to buy again until Hasbro said "here's take two, check this out." And that makes me feel bad. But at least I now have something in my hands that I can look at and say this is so good, I have no reason to buy another Hasbro 6-inch Baze Malbus figure for as long as I live. Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,918: April 21, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,349: Baze Malbus (The Black Series)

BAZE MALBUS And the Force Is With Him
The Force Awakens The Black Series 6-Inch Figure
Item No.: Asst. B3834 No. C1366
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #37
Includes: Belt plug-in gizmo, backpack, blaster/cape, cable
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: January 2017
Appearances: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Bio:  The harsh reality of his Imperial-occupied home world has hardened Baze Malbus into a pragmatic soldier and a crack shot with his heavy repeater cannon. His bravado that provides a contrast to the spiritual centeredness of his best friend and moral compass, Chirrut Ímwe. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

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

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  R2-D2 needs C-3PO and in Rogue One,  Chirrut Imwe needs Baze Malbus.  The two former members of a Force-related temple on Jedha seemed to be hanging out in a slum for reasons we never really saw on the big screen.   He's basically as good as any other 6-inch action figure from Hasbro, with a skin translucency that's different than Chirrut, but quite good.  You'll see a little more light passes through Baze's face, unlike Chirrut's.   This gives him a slightly softer look, not unlike the Vaseline-lens used in old Hollywood movies.   Considering he's a harsher, tougher character it's certainly an interesting design choice.

He's good - the head sculpt looks more than a little like him, thanks mostly to the recognizable hair and beard.  It's one of the better Hasbro beards, and the hair turned out quite nicely.  The eyes and eyebrows are good, but they're not as good as Chirrut's.   In any other wave, this would probably be the winner - it's just tough to compete with something as good as his predecessor.  The costume itself is dang near perfect as you can get, with a suit that looks like it was made out of junk found around IBM's dumpster in 1976.   This is what you want.   The off-white plastic bits on the weathered, body suit just plain work, and the shiny red armor bits are pretty great.  They're not all consistent in color, but it doesn't seem they were exactly the same in the movie either.  There could stand to be a bit more weathering on the figure and a hint of grey in the beard, but given the size it's probably better to understate than overstate these details.  Stuff vanishes as you go smaller.

Articulation is normal.  Actually, it's great - but if you're doing the same thing for several years, "great" is no longer superlative.  Consistency is good with bend-and-swivel wrists, rocker ankles, and enough arm movement to allow for double-gripping of his massive cannon.  The backpack fits nicely, and what's even more surprising is that there's a small accessory that plugs in to the back of his belt.  What is it? I don't know.  But it looks neat, and I assume loose examples of this figure will be missing this piece later.

As Baze's one and only costume, it's unlikely you'll ever see a variant costume for him ever again unless he cameos in the Han Solo side story movie.   Maybe we'll see a deluxe deco version some day, but again, I doubt it - I think this duo is only going to become more popular as the years go on, so be sure you don't skip them.   We've yet to see what kind of attention span the new Hasbro has under Disney's lead, but I have yet to see any evidence that anyone is interested in looking back with three or more new movies on the horizon over the next few years.   Thankfully Baze is well-constructed, so I don't expect him to fall over on your shelve before these movies hit home video.


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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,349: March 6, 2017

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,302: Baze Malbus (Rogue One)

BAZE MALBUS vs. Imperial Stormtrooper
Rogue One   Two Pack Action Figures
Item No.: Asst. B7073 No. B7260
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: 2 figures, blaster/backpack, rocket launcher, 2 rockets, blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $14.99
Availability: October 2016
Appearances: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Bio: Hardened by the harsh reality of his Imperial-occupied home world, pragmatic soldier Baze Malbus is a crack shot with his heavy repeater cannon who uses his natural bravado during the occupation of Jedha to face off with the Galactic Empire's deadly, white-armored loyalists, the Imperial Stormtroopers.  (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

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

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I don't really understand why someone is in a 2-pack and someone isn't, but Baze Malbus and his Stormtrooper buddy do make sense once I got them out of the box.   This Stormtrooper has an orange pauldron and is therefore different, and we'll get to him later.  Early buzz about Baze has him as some sort of master weapons smith, and the trailers show Chirrut Imwe with a large bow (which the toy sort of replicates) as a nod to this character trait.  Unless I got that wrong, of course.   This new character is all about firepower and helping his pal, so his "normal" weapon - a gun connected to a backpack via ammo belt - and this is pretty impressive unto itself.  It fits in a slot on his back, allowing you to give him a cape and a lot of firepower.

And if that weren't enough, you can swap it out for a much larger, too-large-for-him-to-balance-easily weapon which also has a cool control arm and two firing rockets with rubbery-tipped projectiles.  It's pretty nice - they fire well and, like the other 2-packs, fire via 2 separate buttons on the back.   I prefer the smaller backpack because it allows the figure to stand easily, but man, that bigger backpack.  It's great.   It's wacky but it doesn't seem wildly out of line with the character's design or armor coloring, and if it shows up in the movie I'd probably not be at all surprised.  I still haven't figured out what the thing is on his jacket with the iPod Classic clickwheel on it, but it's neat.

In terms of representation, Asian characters in Star Wars are far and few between.  The presumably wigged star of Chinese cinema Jiang Wen is all but unknown to American moviegoers, but he's a pretty big deal - this should help broaden the series' appeal a bit, and hopefully extend the cast beyond pale Americans or Brits.  As a figure, he looks a lot like the actor - the skin color isn't the same as the white figures, which is good, and the beard is filled in fairly well.   Molded in hair color brown, the skin is painted on and you can see a few spots where the skin could be facial hair or vice-versa.    Still, it looks like the dude on the box and that's probably the most important thing these days.  I really dig the armor, although it's always strange to see just how much the same (or very similar) speed suit/flight suits are used as the basis for so many costumes in the Original Trilogy timeline.   A lot of the pockets all look similar, and the slightly-baggy suit has some swell white and red armored bits on it.   This feels a lot like an action figure that could have been cranked out by Kenner or Fisher-Price in its Adventure People range three decades ago, which is pretty much 100% what I want in a toy from this era of Star Wars. The textures on his costume are good, and the figure looks like one of the better modern Star Wars figures.

Without having seen the movie, I'm more excited for Rogue One than The Force Awakens.   I like the costumes a lot more, and I love how they can inhabit the same world of imagination that my old toys had, and push the boundaries a bit.   We didn't see a lot of flame throwers or ammo belts 40 years ago, and dudes with long hair?  Unheard of.   Well, unless you count Luke, that is.   Baze Malbus looks like he'd hang out in your Creature Cantina or Imperial Attack Base playsets and fit right in, which has me hopeful for the future of the toys and to a lesser extent, the movies.  Most of the new stuff still looks like Star Wars and that's a tough thing to pull off.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,302: November 7, 2016