Purge Trooper (Holiday Edition) - TBS [P4] - Six Inch Figures (Exclusive)

Celebrate the season with specially designed Star Wars figures from The Black Series.

We understand that The Black Series 6-inch line is in trouble, and Hasbro has been doing terrible things with it, namely overcharging collectors with ludicrous MSRPs and incessant repacks and repaints. Some of us look forward to the latest batch of Holiday Edition action figures each year. And in perfect timing, Hasbro is back with another wallop of colorful, tacky, and kitschy The Black Series 6-inch Holiday Edition action figures. The community, however, is split on them. There is a certain charm with many of the figures released in this line, but others are almost painful to the eyes because they are a far stretch from the reality the original base characters represent. However, there is always some magical cheer during Christmastime that allows the most stringent collector to overlook the novelty of these celebratory action figures. Even still, others won’t touch this sub-line with a ten-foot pole. The figures that make up the Holiday Edition series are expensive, but they resonate with many by adding nostalgia to the lineup while nodding at some of the most recognizable holiday symbols of culture. So, no matter where you land on these action figures, we here at Jedi Temple Archives will review each one, and hopefully, you’ll find a place in your tiny scrooge hearts to welcome these overpriced action figures into your collections. You may want to investigate each one carefully as some have little surprises while others may have details or features you might have overlooked. Let’s take a closer look at them all.

The Ewok (Holiday Edition) figure is based on the Paploo 6-inch figure. This time, Hasbro painted the figure white with blue trim, giving it a micro-abominable Snowman look and feel. It’s reminiscent of the Wookiee (Holiday Edition) action figure released in a previous series but also unique beyond the size differences. The cowl is Christmas wreath green, and they converted the detail on the cowl into holly leaves and berries. And we’re not sure, but they also added a mistletoe to the arrangement. The Ewok offers Christmas cheer in many ways. Also, Hasbro added an all-white porg, perhaps a Star Wars version of a snow owl, and an opening case that looks to contain metal parts at the bottom of it. We’re not sure what the debris is supposed to be inside. But the red chest offers collectors a superb accessory for their Christmas displays at home. Ewok (Holiday Edition)is a Fan Channel exclusive. The Jawa & Salacious B. Crumb set is perhaps the oddest. The pairing of a Jawa and a Kowakian monkey-lizard is strange at best. But between the Santa costume given to the Jawa and the green color of Salacious B. Crumb (perhaps inspired by The Grinch), the duo offers a lovely transition of color that breathes and shines Christmastime. Hasbro must have felt the need to include two “characters” in this set due to their small stature while simultaneously ensuring value to the consumer. But you can easily make the two tolerate each other by displaying them together. The Jawa & Salacious B. Crumb set is exclusive to Amazon.

The KX Security Droid is based on The Black Series 6-inch K-2SO figure. This action figure has remained a favorite amongst collectors, and it’s lovely to see Hasbro use it to create a Holiday Edition version of the character. This time, Hasbro opted for a “negative effect” on K-2SO by painting it all white. The paint operations are clean, and you’ll find some colorful tiny details throughout the figure. KX Security Droid stumps us the most out of all the 2023 Holiday Edition figures. It has a gold mouth and nearly looks like a beak. With the white color, is KX Security Droid supposed to be some holiday duck? We’re perplexed about the relevance of the colors and paint operations here. The figure comes paired with the BD-1 droid that Hasbro included with The Black Series 6-inch Cal Kestis release. Out of the half dozen released this year, we don’t feel that the KX Security Droid has a necessarily intense “holiday” feel, but it fits in well with the rest of the collection as it does support the theme of the sub-line. The Mandalorian Scout may be the freshest figure of the set. Instead of red, green, or white, Hasbro focused the palette of this figure on blue. It is based on the Death Watch Mandalorian (TM21) 6-inch figure released a couple of years ago. The figure is “wearing” an ugly sweater with a blaster and a “Babu Frik” micro figure, also repainted in blue and gold. The Mandalorian Scout has a beautiful articulation system and looks excellent because it has the most detail, in our opinion. It is an Amazon exclusive.

The Fan Channel exclusive Purge Trooper may be the most popular release of the 2023 series. Its inspiration is a “wooden soldier” and, indirectly, a nutcracker. It comes with a large blaster rifle, perhaps a NERF gun, and an MSE droid that looks like a wrapped tan gift or maybe some other Christmas-related accessory currently eluding us. Hasbro cleverly recreated a soldier’s look, feel, and style, and by default, a nutcracker with many standout colors, including red, white, gold, and blue. The pauldron is removable, and the figure holds the white and orange blaster rifle well. It’s one of the oldest sculpts in this assortment, so its articulation system is a bit weak compared to the others. The final figure in the series is the Target-exclusive Snowtrooper, who happens to be the second Snowtrooper in this Holiday Edition series in the last couple of years. Hasbro’s been good about not repeating characters, but to their credit, they haven’t reused a previous character until now. The inspiration behind the transformed Snowtrooper (Holiday Edition) figure is a snowman, and Hasbro faithfully recreated its traits and characteristics, like wooden arms and legs, a black top hat, and a painted carrot for a nose and coal for the mouth. The Snowtrooper comes with a snowy white and blue IT-O interrogator droid. Is Hasbro conspiring to remind people to get their COVID-19 vaccinations for 2023, or is it an innocent take on a snow globe or snowball instead? No matter your take or feelings on this collection of Holiday Edition figures, we’re happy to say they’ll bring cheer this year when so much has gone wrong with this line this past year. Here’s to happier times ahead for Hasbro!