Mandalorian, The - TBS [P4] - Six Inch Figures (TM01)

His body shielded by beskar armor, his face hidden behind a T-visored mask, and his past is wrapped in mystery. No one is quite sure who this well-eqipped stranger is.

It’s usually commonplace that a Mandalorian character would have multiple outfits or gear. We saw it with Boba Fett, and then Jango Fett. Now we see it with the lead character in the Disney+ The Mandalorian series. As expected, when allowed to amortize costs, Hasbro brings us these additional costumes out in the basic figure line, and they’ve done it relatively quickly for the first wave of The Black Series [Phase IV] lineup. While The Mandalorian television show’s central character is called “The Mandalorian” in the Hasbro toy line, we’ll likely learn more details about this character as we get further into the new seasons. Besides, Star Wars works well when less is more. Hasbro put together one of the most exciting groupings of characters for the first wave of The Black Series [Phase IV] 6” figures. They’re from across the Star Wars saga and offer a wide array and diverse group of characters. With representation from The Mandalorian, Return Of The Jedi, The Empire Strikes Back, and The Clone Wars, Hasbro has gone the way of color-coding the various Star Wars sources while keeping the line organized for the anal-retentive. The new version of The Mandalorian is again the highlight of the first wave of 6” figures. With a standout sculpt, modern tooling, and a beautiful paint job, The Mandalorian will be a popular figure with the 6” collecting community, but they’re still going to wish for vac-metallization. Let’s take a closer look at the figure.

For this new version, Hasbro took 2019’s TBS [P3] The Mandalorian (94) figure and tweaked it quite a bit. This time, The Mandalorian comes with an all-new torso, retooled upper arms (for new shoulder armor), all-new forearms, and an all-new upper left thigh (once again required for the different armor shape). The new chest armor is entirely geometrical in form and has a brightness to it that we haven’t seen previously on this character. Also, The Mandalorian comes with an all-new jetpack that plugs into the back of the newly tooled torso. The ray staff doesn’t fit as well this time around (the hole on the back is different and intended to work with the jetpack), so don’t think you’re going crazy when you can’t press the plug into the back all that well. With a little patience, it’s possible, but this is a different figure now. The smaller blaster still comes with the figure. And interestingly, we recently learned that it fits best when it looks installed backward, with the butt of the gun facing forward. The cape is still simple to remove from the figure, and you will have to remove it if you decide to use the jetpack instead. While you think of Boba Fett while looking at this figure, there are immediate differences to the classic bounty hunter’s armor to this new figure. For instance, there is no antenna on the helmet. There is more armor throughout the figure’s outfit. And there is an overall militaristic theme in The Mandalorian’s style and design.

Hasbro worked in a functioning holster for the included blaster pistol. It fits snuggly into place, and the right hand has been designed to accommodate when using it for defense. The figure also comes with a removable cape. It looks fantastic on the figure, so you’ll probably want to keep it on at all times. Still, the most significant part of The Mandalorian 6” figure is the included ray gun. Inspired from The Star Wars Holiday Special, this version of the ray gun has a personality of its own and fits The Mandalorian beautifully. The figure can hold it with one hand or two hands, as a staff, or as a blaster. The options are yours, and the figure offers the freedom to display it as you wish. Overall, The Mandalorian in the protective Beskar armor is an excellent addition to The Black Series [Phase III] 6” line. There are multiple ways to add it to your collection. Between the original costume in the white First Issue box and the standard “black and red” packaging, as well as the bronze-colored “Carbonized” version, this makes the fourth distinct release of this character in the 6” line, albeit the first in this armor. The Mandalorian comes packaged in a beautifully colored black and orange box. The Star Wars sources are now color-coded, and they look gorgeous displayed on a shelf. THere are so many other characters Hasbro needs to make from this television series. So, when are they coming?