Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,728: Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios (The Black Series 6-Inch)

GARAZEB "ZEB" ORRELIOS 6-Inch Debut
The Black Series   2020 Line Look Purple Star Wars Rebels Packaging - Deluxe Figure
Item No.: No. E5213
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #01 - Star Wars Rebels
Includes: 2 blast effects, Lasat Honor Guard Bo-rifle
Action Feature: B-rifle telescopes and can be mounted on figure's back
Retail: $29.99
Availability: July 2020
Appearances: Star Wars Rebels

Bio: Meet the muscle of the Ghost team. Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios was a cunning Lasat Honor Guard who adopted the cause of rebellion against the Empire.   (Taken from Hasbro marketing materials.)

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 was immediately taken by how good Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios is - but also taken aback by the fact he costs $10 more than Chewbacca, K-2SO, and other larger characters.  There may be an extra part in the body with extra ankle peices, and sure the weapon is more complex - but $10 more complex?  Maybe.   I'll also say that it's a big, satisfying, and generally good figure whose joints move smoothly to the extent that it's $10 better than most Hasbro offerings.

Zeb's about the right size, a head taller than Boba Fett and eye-to-eye with my movie Iron Man figure.  He's taller than the rest of the Ghost crew, and his "realistic" face printing is always a little unsettling, as it is on other aliens.   The printed-on face has a lot more detail than the animated model, but the same can be said of his skin - the stripes look as good as if not better than what we saw on the TV show.  His colors and proportions are about the same, but some places - like the belt buckle - look colored a bit differently.   As a "realistic" figure, Zeb stands out as an oddity given his bright colors and decidedly less bland costuming.   The green and yellow costume looks like something out of Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers, but that's also exciting from the perspective of a collector.  I mean, I've got tan figures, grey figures, black figures, and white figures.... yellow and green and purple?  That's a rarity in Star Wars.

 In terms of size and build Zeb has more in common with Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics in that he's a big, beefy barbarian build with similar - but I daresay better - articulation.   Hasbro hid the waist joint perfectly, and it's just one of the 31 joints on this figure.  A lot of that are in the ankles, thanks to rocker ankles and another set of rocker leg joints right above it, but you still get the usual great range of motion that Hasbro normally gives you.  It's just better - the elbows are well-hidden and can bend at a deeper angle.  The figure's body looks like a costume, and generally a lot of the best aliens do.  The mouth is closed, unlike the usual teeth-gnashing smiles we get from Zeb, and the eyes are looking around almost thougtfully.  His pointy ears and beard look perfect, and he's got the nifty face flourish on his shoulder armor.

The staff itself is an impressive piece with multiple telescoping parts in addition to two pop-off energy blasts.  It might be one of the most ornate weapons we've ever seen, and I imagine Disney Consumer Products was hoping Rebels to be a bigger hit so they could sell kids a full-size Nerf gun of one.  You have to contort it a bit to have him hold it, and his hands don't love holding it like he did on the show.   Mounting it on the back is far easier, but you don't have to do that either.  By stretching it, shrinking it, or shoving it out of the way, you're granted considerably more options than the usual hold-it-or-holster-it decision we usually get.

Comparing it to the other more expensive deluxe figures, this is one of the better releases.   It doesn't necessarily feel heavier or more expensive, but the joints move more gracefully and it seems like he's ready to be posed in a much more exciting action sequence.  I would've liked a stand - I am concerned about those double-swivel-rocker-ankles holding up to time and gravity.  Aside from that, this could be a new unreasonable standard to which we can hold Hasbro.  They've come a long way in engineering elbow joints, and these are much more subtle with better integration of the pins than other relatively recent releases.  As a shared "fan channel" exclusives you'll want to order it online or from a local comic or toy shop - it won't be offered in big box stores.   If you've been buying the Ghost crew you'll need Zeb - and getting him is going to make you ask if we're going to get Kallus plus important variants of Sabine, Kanan, and Ezra.  I'm guessing no - but I'm glad team Hasbro waited to do him until they could do it this well.   And also after the series ended.  (Rebels took a while to get better.)



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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,728: September 24, 2020