Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,845: General Hux (The Black Series 6-Inch)

FIRST ORDER GENERAL HUX 2015 Debut
The Force Awakens The Black Series 6-Inch Figure
Item No.: Asst. B3834 No. B4598
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #13
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: December 2015
Appearances: The Force Awakens

Bio: A young, ruthless officer in the First Order, General Hux has complete confidence his troops, training methods and weapons. (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: By the time that First Order General Hux came out, fans stopped caring - the run size was initially pretty low before someone initiated a rerun, making the figure seemingly not-terribly-desirable if you compared the low secondary market prices against the availability. (I never saw this one in an actual store - just Asty, once.) For whatever reason, the new guys from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi - and most of The Rise of Skywalker - failed to strike a chord with the core audience for The Black Series. It even took a while for that audience to warm up to the new scale, as the first waves in 2013 sat around (except Boba Fett) for quite some time. By the time Hux came out people who just saw the movie wanted the then-sold-out Rey and people weren't super interested in Screaming Space Fascist Weasley.

Upon his debut, this was a new sculpt - and when Hasbro did another 6-inch First Order Officer figure, they didn't reuse parts here. It's a pretty impressive release with a coat from his "let's shout from the balcony" scene as well as a hat, and of course he has a partially-painted blaster without a holster. The hat does not appear to want to come off. The costume looks great, with silver trim, glossy black boots and gloves, and an ornate hat that do wonders in completely drowning out the facial details of this figure. The hat's First Order symbol and glossy trim look superb, but also drown out the human face that has some painted hair and eyes... and that's it. The lips are incredibly pale and Hasbro no doubt took note when they did the First Order Officer figure later, as he seems less like the waxy corpse that we got with Hux. This isn't to say Hux is a bad figure - if anything, he's an excellent sculpt that could benefit greatly from a makeover in the Archive collection. You can tell the sculptors did a great job, but the slightly-waxy flesh plastic combined with no make-up or facial details may fall flat with 2021 audiences, much like fans seemed to more or less ignore him completely in 2015.

Articulation is typical for his day, with double-jointed knees, rocker ankles, and perfectly fine hips which are blocked by both a skirt and a coat. On one hand you have to appreciate Hasbro putting in the extra articulation that you paid for, even if it's basically superfluous. On the other hand, Hasbro could probably keep costs down and drop the price of the assortment by taking functionality into account and leaving out joints you can't possibly use - especially since they opted to not reuse parts of this figure for other First Order officers for whatever reason. Even if they didn't cut our costs, they could have put the extra tooling money into deco and an extra 20-30 pennies could do wonders to giving Hux the snarling, twisted performance we got to see on the big screen for the character's memorable debut.

It's great that Hasbro made this guy - even as a year-end wave that initially didn't see much distribution - and made more later so fans who missed him could get it. But also fans didn't really show up for this one. (Check your collection, I can wait.) Heck, mine even stayed in the box until somewhat recently and I like the figure and the character a lot. The coat detail is great, the fine texture on the uniform is superb, and I love the clean silver lines on the sleeve. But - and this is increasingly an issue for me - these tip-top 6-inch collector figures aren't much fun. They stand, and thanks to the ankles they often topple over. There are virtually vehicles or playsets to use with them, unlike other toy lines that practically demand that you interact with them and get some sort of fun results. For fans of the sequel trilogy, this is a must-have figure until/unless a redeco comes out with an improved head. I hope they do it eventually, but I assume that the sequel trilogy - and General Hux - will be swept under the rug like the prequels for a few more years. You kick the sequel movies like the football. Oh! Oh movie jail for the sequels. Movie jail for the sequels for One Thousand Years!!!

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,845: August 10, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,753: General Hux (Celebrate the Saga)

GENERAL HUX Redux, Redux
Celebrate the Saga The First Order - Unmarked Best Buy Exclusive
Item No.: No. F1415
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #01 - Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
Includes: Mouse droid, pistol, also BB-9E, First Order Stormtrooper Officer, Flame Trooper, Captain Phasma
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $29.99
Availability: September 2020
Appearances: The Last Jedi

Bio: In the galaxy's unknown regions, former Imperial officers, nobles, and technologists plotted a return to power, building fleets and armies in secret. This movement became the First Order. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This may be the best damn thing I bought this year. And I didn't even want it when I placed the order. Before Hasbro finally broke my completism with the triple-threat of carbonized, holiday, and credit repaints all in a week I was ordering everything - including the Celebrate the Saga packs. It turns out this was a good move, because General Hux and other humans got that fancy hyperreal paint treatment and it was worth it. I'm not saying you should pay $30 for Hux and barely-changed reissues of troopers you already own... but have you seen how well they nailed Domhnall Gleeson's face?

Arguably one of the more interesting (if chaotic) characters in the sequel trilogy, Hux went from screaming space Nazi to decent comic villain to petty turncoat, making his arc arguably more interesting than most of our heroes. While he didn't necessarily grow as a person, you got to see his bluster for what it was, effectively making him a very Starscream-y villain. How appropriate! It would've been interesting to have him stick around as a post-trilogy villain in some future installment because as a true believer and someone who wanted to keep his job and power, he would be worth following. And if you didn't see The Rise of Skywalker yet and this somehow ruined it for you, you're welcome, just go watch the cartoons instead. Any cartoon. You'll be served better.

Anyway, this figure is a redeco of the 2017 The Last Jedi Hux. It was a big improvement in the facial area when compared to the 2015 figure, but this one does it better by giving him better eyes, better eyebrows, great hair, and painted lips. Under a macro lens it may not be perfect, but to my human eyes it's a remarkable advancement given his melon is about the size of a raisin. It amazes me that this is a mass-produced thing and not a bespoke redeco for a crazy person. The sharp cheekbones are perfectly sculpted, the scowl is just perfect, the hair is sharp, and the eyes are piercing. The First Logo symbol on his sleeve is sharp and has some red in it - that's impressive. The silver stripes on his cuffs are clean, the belt buckle is good, and the glossy boots? Also nice. You can slide off his coat if you like, and he has a nice blaster. When the coat is removed, the articulation is perfect - he can sit! Remember sitting? When I was a kid, everybody except Anakin and Amanaman could sit pretty well.

He also has a Mouse Droid, and it turned out well - rolling wheels, the whole bit. You might already have one of these, but now you can have another one. They're small, they're cool.

It's maddening that Hasbro says they're stopping the 5POA line, because they finally got it right. These sets give you a lot for your money - four full-size human figures and sometimes a fifth full-size (or pint-size) droid for $30 with the best-paint ever is a bargain. The last time Hux was sold, he was $8 - and didn't look this good. For an average of six bucks a figure, we can see we were probably overcharged for the last few movies what with their excessive accessories and useless ForceLink chips. This line could've been amazing. Hasbro's still got it, if they want to go for it, they can still impress the daylights out of me which I didn't think was going to be possible in the year where this amazing paint is glossed over and time is spent applying peppermint and cheer to troopers for some reason.

This is one of the best things Hasbro ever made as a 3 3/4-inch release. If I was making a book with the 100 best Star Wars figures of all time (publishers, call my agent) this one would make the cut. And I've reviewed enough of these things to know what constitutes "best."

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Best Buy.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,753: November 19, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,483: Finn (First Order Disguise, The Last Jedi Line Look)

FINN (First Order Disguise) with Captain Phasma
The Last Jedi Deluxe Action Figure 2-Packs
Item No.: Asst. C1242 No. E0624
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Pistol, Riot Baton, Cape, Backpack, Rifle, Pike, Phasma figure
Action Feature: Force Link sounds
Retail: $17.99
Availability: April 2018
Appearances: The Last Jedi

Bio: Finn and Rose recruited a codebreaker named DJ to help them break into the Supremacy, but ended up worsening the Resistance's situation when DJ left them behind to be captured by Phasma. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.  Packaging has 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:  While not one of the most popular characters as toys go, tastemakers know Finn (First Order Disguise) is a dang fine figure in a pretty great set.   For a figure with five joints, Hasbro made sure it had a great range of motion along with good paint and accessories.  In short, it's better than I would have expected.

This Finn is way more interesting than the single carded Finn [FOTD #2,442] last year - with the same weapon and jacket, to many fans he basically was the same figure from 2015.  (He wasn't, but perception is everything.)  This outfit is new, distinctive, and has a cool weapon - this is the one I wanted.  Too bad it wasn't a launch toy!   The arms and legs are stiff and rotate rather freely, with the soft "skirt" bits easily giving way to the legs swinging forward.  It's great!  This is how figures should be.

The sculpting seems to be from the same digital source as other figures in this costume, like the 6-inch one.   There are differences for articulation, but they're staggeringly similar.  He has no problems standing, and while I kind of wish we had better arm articulation for dueling purposes it's decent.  He can still wave around his weapon, but his hat isn't removable so you can't exactly replicate the climactic anti-climax of the duel. The cap is great, though - there's a tiny First Order symbol and a lot of tiny, difficult-to-see detail in the emblem.  They did a nice job here.  The facial details are crisp, and while it's easy to knock at this size it's also tough to paint good eyebrows on something smaller than a peanut.  I'm pretty impressed.   I'm also biased, but I like it, it's different, and that's about all I can ask for.  Get one if you can!

Exclusive Notes: This item was not produced for the North American - and perhaps Global - market.  The item was effectively rescued from oblivion by Entertainment Earth, a story I am not at liberty to discuss at this time but hey, maybe some day.

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

Force Link Notes: "I'm with the Resistance." "I can disable the shields, but I have to be there."  "You don't know the First Order like I do."  "You want me to blast that bucket off your head?"  Baton sounds.  I believe most of it is from The Force Awakens.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,483: May 21, 2018

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,449: First Order Officer (The Black Series 6-Inch)

FIRST ORDER OFFICER with Admiral Ackbar
The Black Series 6-Inch Toys R Us Exclusive
Item No.:    No. C3225
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, second figure, second blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $39.99
Availability: November 2017
Appearances: The Last Jedi

Bio: The officers of the First Order military forces show unwavering allegiance to Supreme Leader Snoke, leading his massive armies and fleet in  relentless drive to dominate the galaxy. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  Based on the deco of the First Order Officer uniform, this could be the officer Finn clobbered to steal his outfit.   "DILLON" is the name written on the band of both figures, so seeing as the figures also apparently share engineering it's safe to assume this is the guy Finn beats up.  It works for me.   His hat is removable, the blaster fits in the holster, and he has just over 25 points of articulation.  It's good.  Since I have no idea who it is, I can only assume it's good.

The nameless fellow is sculpted with a hairless head, painted with a spray-on fade.  The hat fits snuggly over the head, with decently painted lips, eyes, and eyebrows.  It's difficult to say if it's good or not, because he's really nobody - this is just the figure you had to buy to get Admiral Ackbar.   If you're army building or doing dioramas - which I assume at this point is an audience of 3 dudes and Hasbro for their convention displays - this is a fantastically useful figure or great fodder for customs.   By virtue of giving the First Order some decent, distinctive villains it seems we're going to have fewer needs for a bad guy buck to modify for other figures.  It's a smart use of a figure that already exists, sharing parts with Finn, and it's nice to have more bad guys to fill out a shelf.   Having said that, I don't blame Hasbro for bundling a non-name character with someone fans want.

The sculpting is perfectly nice, a decent recreation of the movie uniform with a clean, undamaged look.   His glossy boots look great, the holster is useful, and the removable hat adds some personality and potential customization to the figure.   I like how it stands, it poses well, and it has great interaction with his well-painted blaster accessory.  But it's not exciting, it's not a named character - it's a great figure that you probably don't need for your collection.  Get it if you're getting Admiral Ackbar, or if you appreciate a good generic trooper figure.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Toys R Us.   This set sat around.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,449: January 24, 2018

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,230: General Hux (The Force Awakens)

GENERAL HUX New Character
The Force Awakens   Jungle and Space Figures
Item No.: Asst. B3445 No. B4164
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, drone backpack
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $7.99  
Availability: October 2015
Appearances: The Force Awakens

Bio: A young, ruthless officer in the First Order, General Hux has complete confidence in his troops, training methods, and weapons. (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:  Your new fascist!  With visuals suggesting Toht from Raiders got mixed up with Grand Moff Tarkin and a stupid hat, General  Hux is our first First Order officer.   We don't know much about him, other than his sleeve has a cuff on it and his outfit is blacker than some of the other officers we've seen in the movies.   His long coat is designed similarly to the recent Endor Han Solo - the coat makes up the legs, and of course restricts the movement ever so slightly.   Like the other figures, this comes with the usual disclaimer - I ain't seen the movie so I don't know how good it is in terms of authenticity, but it passes the smell test.  This smells Star Wars-y.

The character has a long, black coat with a cuff that reminds me a lot of Kirk's rank marks from the original Star Trek.   There's a First Order symbol on that shoulder as well as his hat, which is folded up in a way that I would say looks like the sci-fi fascist equivalent of Sherlock Holmes.  The back of his hat is folded up, and presumably is some sort of space ash tray.   The outfit under the coat is mostly obscured, so we don't know if he has code cylinders or rank badges.  The belt buckle is totally flat - the original trilogy buckles had some very, very minor detail.  His boots are glossy and black, fully painted and visible under the coat of you swing his legs forward.  I can't say if it's perfect, but I can say it feels like Hasbro didn't take any shortcuts.

The head sculpt is nice, and reminds me a lot of a young Denis Leary.   He looks like he's a thug in a gang of retro-enthusiasts, which seems to be a decent estimation of the First Order's motive.   They're kids who liked what the Empire did, perhaps misguidedly, or perhaps they were just really fond of the space-trains running on time and also space-slavery.  He has no problems holding his blaster in his hand, and he can't really quite sit right - a common problem with figures with long bulky coats.  Some handle this better than others, this one is on the worse side of things.  I'm pretty forgiving of this because he can stand perfectly well, without tumbling over.   Most figures aren't going to get to pilot their own vehicles anyway, so I really don't have a legit complaint here.  I doubt Hux will ever see his own Mini-Rig or Starfighter.

I like it!  It's a good figure.  I don't suppose it's great and I don't know what kind of screen time he gets, but he looks visibly different from my stash of commanders and moffs, so I'm all for it.   Get one if you can!  He's not bad.  He won't do much but stand around, but I assume his role in the movie gives him a similar amount of range.  (Prove me wrong, movie.)

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,230: November 4, 2015