Darth Maul/Qui-Gon Jinn - SW [S] - Two-Packs

Did you ever think we would see Prequel Trilogy 3.75” figures ever again in the current Hasbro line? Maybe you did, but we certainly didn’t. The Prequel Trilogy is a neglected source for Star Wars action figures. And aside from getting Darth Maul once a year, it might as well be ignored altogether. Thanks to the success of The Black Series [Phase III] Qui-Gon Jinn (40) figure, Hasbro felt it was a good time to revisit him in 3.75” scale. And what better villain to pair with Qui-Gon Jinn than Darth Maul? So we also get a new Darth Maul in the Star Wars [Solo] Two-Packs line. We wish we could look favorably on these action figures, but they didn’t turn out nearly as well as the prototypes did when shown by Hasbro as media events. Darth Maul is not an easy character to mess up, but we strongly feel that Hasbro messed this version up thanks to not only terrible paint operations, but a not-so-great sculpt. This particular Darth Maul’s head sculpt resembles Freddy Kruger more than Darth Maul. If you look through the paint job carefully enough, you can see this uncanny resemblance. Also, Qui-Gon Jinn’s face is bloated or swollen. And the paint used to color his head flesh-colored is dull and ceramic. This set didn’t get the finishing touches it required. And that saddens us because it could have been tremendous.

Darth Maul isn’t without merit. In a very rare move, Hasbro abandoned all of the gimmicky play features that are usually paired with the figures in this line (see the tragic The Force Awakens line). Instead, Hasbro LOADED Darth Maul up with incredible screen-accurate accessories. He not only comes with a removable robe (like 2005’s ROTS The Sith Evolutions Darth Maul figure), Hasbro also tooled an all-new lightsaber (that breaks into two pieces), macrobinoculars, a wrist communicator and a Sith probe droid (with “invisible” display stand). No one can fault Hasbro for not giving us enough accessories here. They can be used for better versions of Darth Maul action figures released in the past. If you compare this Darth Maul to 2014’s SW [DV/ROTS] Darth Maul (SL15) figure, the latter has a significant advantage over this current version as far as likeness is concerned. One benefit to the Two-Pack version of Darth Maul is the enhanced articulation. Hasbro added swivel elbows which are extremely important for holding the included lightsaber accessory with screen-accuracy and believability. With the removable cloak/robe accessory, Darth Maul looks incredibly better and more villainous. A revised head sculpt will improve this figure greatly, however. Oh, and of course better paint operations will seal the deal.

We wanted to love Qui-Gon Jinn a whole lot more than we do. It seems as if Hasbro developed a wonderful sculpt for this action figure, but the deco makes that very difficult to see or realize. As we briefly mentioned, Qui-Gon Jinn has a bloating issue on his face. It could be the beige-colored paint that Hasbro used, or this could be inherent in the sculpt. Whatever the reason, some revising is needed to make this figure look better. The rest of the deco on Qui-Gon Jinn is equally disappointing. While the hairline and shape of the hair are passable, the “caterpillar” eyebrow technique that Hasbro employs needs to come to an end. This makes all of their action figures look like “deer in headlights” or “stoic beyond comprehension.” They did manage to apply his mustache and beard nicely on our sample. What’s heartbreaking about this figure is that from the neck down it looks incredible (for a simply articulated action figure of course). The Jedi outfit, the belt, and the boots are stunning, and the silhouette of the figure is near perfection. The addition of swivel wrists also gives Qui-Gon Jinn and edge over past 5POAfigures. It’s the dang face deco making this figure looks worse than it is. Hasbro also tooled an all-new lightsaber for Qui-Gon Jinn. It’s a little too thin, but it’s a beautiful design. We expected more from this Two-Packs set. Hopefully, changes will come.