Boss Nass - EI - Basic

Boss Nass is the leader of the amphibious Gungans who live in the Naboo underwater city of Otoh Gunga. He initially resists the Jedi's pleas for help against the Trade Federation invasion, but later comes to realize that the fate of the Gungans and Naboo are intertwined.

What a diverse world of characters Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace brought Star Wars fans. Perhaps the most controversial are the Gungans, beautiful and very cool looking characters that are quite interesting until they open their mouths. (Well, we can only make that accusation against one particular Gungan to be fair.) There are two Gungan types in Episode I: the Ankura which includes Boss Nass and the Otolla which includes the annoyingly popular Jar Jar Binks. Each is unique from the other, but they also have their share of similarities which help to explain how they are closely related visually. As one of the main characters in Episode I, Hasbro ensured that Boss Nass was on tap as one of the very first figures created for The Phantom Menace. The final figure came out decently, but it is strewn with issues, one major one in fact, and the character itself is sadly anything but screen accurate. Those who haven’t paid close attention to the film may not notice right away, but Boss Nass will require a redo from the ground up, and Hasbro must perfect it.

Perhaps because they didn’t have access to good reference materials for the film or maybe someone was just asleep at the wheel, but Boss Nass is much too short than his onscreen character. He is equally as tall as most of the Otolla Gungans (and likely twice as wide). Yes this Boss Nass figure is shrimp when standing next to Jar Jar Binks. Why in the world would Jar Jar Binks be so frightened when questioned by Boss Nass in the film if he was half his height? His fear makes no sense at all. What is most tragic about this Episode I action figure release of Boss Nass is that he is a very nice action figure. The unnecessary removable coat makes little sense to us if any. There is no need to have this part of his clothing removable. But for reasons unknown they tooled the figure this way. If you remove the shell of the coat, his arms do not match what he is wearing underneath of it. There is no reason to remove it. Boss Nass also comes with an ornate staff which only his left hand can hold. It’s very tall, and we don’t recall seeing it in the film. It may just be an off-screen extra here.

If you can overlook the small size of Boss Nass just long enough for us to make this point, he has a very nice sculpt, and this is especially true in the head sculpt. There is an inordinate amount of detail that shows the shape of his crown as this detail continues into the transition of his skin. This action figure looks like the onscreen character. They managed to capture a decent (yet simple) expression on his face but this is housed around an action figure that is strewn with the finest of details. Boss Nass is quite impressive from this point of view. What blows us completely away is the paint job Hasbro has given this character. As you know from Jar Jar Binks, Gungans have a beautiful skin pattern. Well, so do the “other” Gungans like Boss Nass. Hasbro has also ensured that Boss Nass has received the same treatment on his hands and ears just like the other Gungans have. All in all, Boss Nass is a train wreck because of his much too small size. But if you can appreciate what Hasbro has achieved here, then this figure isn’t without merit.