Darth Maul - TBS [PP] - Six Inch Figures

Commemorate the first 50 years of Lucasfilm with figures inspired by Star Wars book and comics!

Darth Sidious' apprentice and enforcer Darth Maul has cut his way through the ranks of the falactic crime syndicate Black Sun to take on the pinnacle of their organization.

It seems that everything fans of The Vintage Collection are craving for in their scale is happening in The Black Series 6” line instead. And it feels that the people buying these don't know much about the old Expanded Universe, yet are getting treated to beautiful action figures, but do they fully appreciate them? Meanwhile, in 3.75” super-articulated “land,” but it’s nothing but crickets. One of the most coveted releases is Darth Maul (Sith Apprentice). Essentially, it’s Darth Maul without the shirt on, and you can see the body tattoos that are typically hidden under black garb. The Black Series 6” figure is a stunning release. The upper body and head sculpt are all-new components here, with the figure’s legs back in the first wave of The Black Series [Phase I] figures in 2013. Darth Maul (Sith Apprentice) is a testament to how far Hasbro is willing to take the 6” line. And even if they don’t have the audience to support the products, collectors of the line will probably collect these figures without batting an eyelash since they are quality sculpts and engaging to the toy line.

The new upper body tooling is in proportion and meshes with the near-decade old tooling flawlessly. You won’t know where the new and old parts begin and end, and that’s an impressive result when they’re made so far apart from each other. The musculature in the bare arms and chest is athletic and tight. Darth Maul has a perfect body. The paint operations are fantastic as well, and they’re all painted neatly. Thanks to Photo Real, Hasbro created a realistic portrait, and the paint throughout the face is highly detailed. The lower skirt doesn’t inhibit the figure’s movement at all. And the articulation in the new portions and old portions work together to allow Darth Maul (Sith Apprentice) to pose in various ways you see fit. Darth Maul comes with a double-bladed lightsaber that breaks down into four separate pieces. The two blades are removable, and the hilt breaks into two parts to recreate the battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi, although that battle happens long after Darth Maul finished his Sith apprenticeship.

The packaging is gorgeous. Hasbro attempted to recreate a comic book type of effect with the rectangular The Black Series 6” packaging. The cover is stunning and better than any box art Hasbro could create from their art department. Whenever gorgeous comics art is replicated for packaging, the result is astounding. When you open the inside cover, there is a scene from the comics and features another colorful Darth Maul sans shirt image. Coincidentally, the section of packaging that houses the Darth Maul figure appears to take a step back as it looks like the third phase of packaging in The Black Series 6” line. For us, it’s a step back. There are no angular edges here. And there is no figure numbering or sourcing, which we find disappointing. It would have been excellent if Hasbro worked in these details into the packaging to keep the line consistent. Then again, this is another release in the 50th Anniversary of Lucasfilm sub-line, so perhaps the intent is to recreate the Comic Packs boxed styles of the Star Wars [Shadow Of The Dark Side] range of two-packs. That seems to make the most sense.