RC-1140 (Fixer) - TBS [P4] - Six Inch Figures (GG13)

Republic Commando introduced the elite Delta Squad, a team of clone commandos dispatched to handle the most dangerous missions for the Republic.

Ugh. It’s another dull and inaccurate repaint. Unfortunately, this is what The Black Series 6-inch line is now. Not only are the figures boring, and the repaints inaccurate to the source material, the price of an individual figure is unaffordable. Collectors can now welcome RC-1140 (Fixer) into their collections, but will they want to once they know how Hasbro designed the figure? It’s mostly a repaint of the RC-1138 (Boss) figure with a revised portrait and a different backpack. And that’s about it. Hasbro didn’t take nuances in the armor seriously, so we’re left with an action figure that looks like the video game character but is off on many counts. Collectors are growing tired of Hasbro’s nth clone trooper variation anymore too. As they produce new figures for the line, they’re quicker than ever to reuse that tooling to create an entirely different character. While this protocol is expected, the fact that Hasbro doesn’t tweak any existing tooling to make the “new” characters specific to their entertainment aggravates and exhausts longtime supporters of the line. At first glance, you’ll believe that RC-1140 (Fixer) is primarily an all-new figure. The base of this figure is 95% of 2021’s TBS [P4] Hunter (TBB01). The Republic Commando helmet, and a starkly contrasting paint job, that’s all that separate the two characters.

That isn’t enough difference for discriminating 6-inch collectors waiting for Hasbro to bring forth the latest and greatest with every successive action figure released in this format. Hasbro’s laziness on this figure makes RC-1140 (Fixer) feel like a painful purchase. Hasbro didn’t bring any newness to the action figure except for an antenna and the backpack. As expressed, RC-1140 (Fixer) is almost a 100% “copy and paste” reuse of The Bad Batch’s Hunter figure. But the finest of details are the same here as well. The scuff marks on the legs are identical to Hunter’s, the chest armor is the same, the arms are the same, and the blaster is the same. It doesn’t seem right that the only detail that separates the two characters is Fixer’s unique Republic Commando helmet is different. And since this is the case, why did RC-1140 (Fixer) cost more than the all-new figure (Hunter) when first released? To make matters worse, Hasbro did nothing to “cover” or “hide” the knife/sheath attachment spot on Hunter for RC-1140 (Fixer). So, Boss has a big hole in the left arm, and it does nothing. All of these shortcuts make collectors bitter, and ultimately, they will leave the 6-inch line behind. Expensive, repainted figures are unacceptable in a premium line like this.

The figure has excellent articulation, but the legs still cause some consternation. It’s a bit difficult to pose the figure in a kneeling position. Also, some running or action-oriented poses don’t turn out as you wish, thanks to the complexity of Hasbro trying to work in premium articulation while hiding it under clone armor like knee pads. But if you compare Hunter side by side with RC-1140 (Fixer), you’ll be pretty surprised how Hasbro phoned this action figure in and didn’t bother doing anything new. Is this what we have to look forward to with the remaining Republic Commando character not yet released? Part of the Gaming Greats sub-line between Hasbro and GameStop, it feels like the character’s sourcing makes the most sense, although it would have been nice to see it placed in The Clone Wars sub-collection. What won’t make sense is the complete lack of disregard for the character’s uniqueness in a line where Hasbro has the widest profit margins to tweak things here and there to freshen things up a bit. But they’d instead rinse and repeat. RC-1140 (Fixer) is a GameStop exclusive and will set you back a laughable $27.99. We cannot believe how expensive the 6-inch line has become. This format was supposed to save the Hasbro Star Wars brand, but it seems to cripple it.