Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,914: RC-1138 Boss (Gaming Greats, The Black Series)

RC-1138 (Boss, Gaming Greats)
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Blue Star Wars: Gaming Greats GameStop Exclusive
Item No.: No. F2869
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #07
Includes: Backpack, blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: June 2022
Appearances: Republic Commando

Bio: Republic Commando introduced the elite Delta Squad, a team of clone commandos dispatched to handle the most dangerous missions for the Republic. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I feel that now - especially now - the high amount of repaints, reissues, and slightly retooled figures just leaves me complaining to you guys. And that's not what I want. I got into this hobby because I like toys, and while this one isn't exactly a wild kid's toy RC-1138 (Boss) is a pretty solid action figure. As I predicted - heck, any of you predicted - when Hunter came out, this figure borrows a lot of parts from Clone Force 99, the bad Batch. You can look at Hunter [FOTD #2,787] and it's easy to see just how much of the figure can be reused - and indeed it was.

Boss is effectively Hunter with no knife sheath anew a new head, and of course new deco. All the great sculpted cracks and dents are there, you get a whole mess of new dirt and damage, and the orange-on-white armor is pretty much what you picture in your head from the game, toys, and other appearance. The metallic blue visor is there, there's no human head under the helmet, the backpack is great, and the blaster is a smidgen on the small side. But it looks good. Articulation is still fairly excellent, and he has little problems standing or being posed - but the knees do click a bit.

I particularly like the battle-damage, in that it seems slightly different in size and placement on the two figures I compared side-by-side. The little splotches and scuffs seem unique, possibly hand-painted in spots, which means it's worth your while to eyeball him if you luck into seeing one in stores. (I assume/hope this one just sold out to pre-orders, it's too good to warm pegs.)

While it's easy to dislike a repaint, it's just as easy to like it when it's exactly what you want. And this is what I want! I ordered Fixer and look forward to Sev and Scorch. The bulky design clearly takes a nod from the then-new Halo Master Chief character, and is a pretty swell example of Star Wars taking at least some of its design influence from contemporary popular culture. If you like the game, you should get this figure. I have barely played the game, I just like the designs so much that I couldn't pass this up. No real notes. Hasbro nailed it. May they reissue him until demand is met.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from GameStop.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,914: April 7, 2022