Review of Chewbacca & Sandtrooper - Star Wars Black 6" action figures

Introduction

The next series of the 6" Star Wars Black figures have begun to ship from online retailers, and should start to arrive at local stores like Target and Toys R Us any day. This wave includes four figures, all new (sorta). There's Chewbacca and a Sandtrooper, both of which I'm reviewing tonight. There's also a Jedi Luke, as well as a Darth Vader, and I'll cover them in the next week or so.

I said 'sorta', because we did get a Sandtrooper in the first wave, but this one does have the different shoulder pad, indicating rank.

These will run you around $20 each, depending on the retailer, although I know some places are as cheap as $18.

Packaging - ***1/2
Between these and the Funko Game of Thrones figures, I've talked about these boxes a whole lot. Attractive, collector friendly, and easy to store - that's pretty much a winning combination. I'm surprised Hasbro hasn't switched their Marvel Legends to this style of packaging as well.

They did include a rubber band with the Trooper this time, holding him into the tray. I'm not sure why - he certainly doesn't need it - but it's only a minor inconvenience.

Sculpting - ***1/2
This is pretty much the same Sandtrooper we got in the first wave, with the black shoulder pad rather than the orange. No surprise then that he's just as good the second time around. 

This Sandtrooper is really just an army builder, a second release with only a minor color variation. But that's enough to make it slightly less painful when you spend another $20 on a figure you really already have.

Chewbacca is a wookie of a different color. With his very unique fur sculpt and large size, he'll stand out on the shelf without really trying.

You might have a little trouble coming up with a perfect stance for the sculpted expression. With his mouth open wide, fangs bared, he looks ready to attack, but the fur sculpt tends to restrict the body from any pose too extreme.

I also think he seems a bit thin, particularly in the torso and legs. The head seems right, but on this body it almost looks too big, which is a problem with the body, not the head. Still, this is one of the nicest action figure versions we've gotten of the big fur ball.

These are done in a 6" scale, and that's right about where the Trooper comes in. Chewie is much bigger of course, hitting 7 1/4".

Paint - Chewbacca ***; Trooper ***1/2
The paint work on Chewbacca is solid, if a bit uninspired. They've done some variation with the brown fur to avoid making him overly consistent and boring, but I'm not really digging the sharp transitions between the light and dark colors. By doing an upper leg all dark, a lower leg all light, and upper arm all dark, a lower arm all light, they've made the switch from one to the other too distinct and obvious.

The same can be said for the Trooper and his dirt effects. Rather than go with a soft touch, they've plastered him in sand, with some really big splotches looking out of place and sloppy.

The only real difference between this guy and his predecessor is the color of his shoulder armor - it's black this time, instead of orange.

The saving grace for the Sandtrooper that gives him the one up on Chewbacca  is the small detail work. There's plenty of it on the armor, especially the helmet, and it's all extremely clean and sharp.

Articulation - Chewie ***; Trooper ***1/2
One of the selling points on this large scale line is the increased articulation. There's plenty here, although not all of it works, due to the unique design of one of the characters.

That's not really an issue for the Sandtrooper. He has a ball jointed neck - double ball, actually. The neck post has a ball at the top and bottom, giving the head a terrific range of movement.

The shoulders are ball, with cut biceps, double pin elbows, and a ball waist at the armor. The wrists are pin/post joints, but are restricted by the armor quite a bit. There's ball hips and double pin knees too, as well as ball ankles with a nice rocker action.

The soft, rubbery plastic is a bigger problem again for this trooper. I mentioned it with the first release, and they haven't changed anything yet. I was worried I'd tear a pin or post when I was working with him, and I worry he'll tend to topple in any pose over the long haul.

Chewie seems to have a much harder plastic, but the fur restricts most of the joints quite a bit. The neck can barely turn, and there's certainly no tilt or lean ability. The ball shoulders work pretty well, but the pin elbows, pin wrists, pin knees, and pin ankles are all very restricted. There's also a waist and chest joint buried in all that hair, and ball hips with cut thighs. You can get a few good poses out of him, but he's not nearly as easy to manipulate as most of the other figures in this line.

Accessories - ***1/2
In general, the 6" Black series has not been the poster child for lots of accessories. However, these two figures break that pattern.

Just like the first Sandtrooper, this one comes with three different guns. There's the short blaster, the long thin blaster with the tripod (that does not fold out), and the heavy cannon blaster with the strap to hang it over his shoulder.  All three fit nicely in his hands, but the soft rubbery plastic is still an issue.

He also has the large backpack, which attaches with a small post, inserted into a hole on his back. The sculpted ammo pack slings over his left shoulder, and it looks great in place. In the first review I shot the trooper without the pack for the majority of the photos - this time I went the other way, showing it off. While it is a bit heavy, he can stand with it on without any special accommodation.

Chewie has his bowcaster, which is actually in three pieces. There's only two in the box - the main gun and the 'bow' that attaches to the front - but the scope/sighting mechanism on top also slides off. Both pieces tend to fall off at the slightest touch, and I found working with it to be extremely frustrating. If you don't plan on sticking him back in the tray, I'd suggest gluing the pieces together permanently.

He also has his unique messenger bag, which he comes wearing but which can be quite easily removed.

Fun Factor - ****
In general, the 6" Black series has not been the poster child for lots of accessories. However, these two figures break that pattern.

Just like the first Sandtrooper, this one comes with three different guns. There's the short blaster, the long thin blaster with the tripod (that does not fold out), and the heavy cannon blaster with the strap to hang it over his shoulder.  All three fit nicely in his hands, but the soft rubbery plastic is still an issue.

He also has the large backpack, which attaches with a small post, inserted into a hole on his back. The sculpted ammo pack slings over his left shoulder, and it looks great in place. In the first review I shot the trooper without the pack for the majority of the photos - this time I went the other way, showing it off. While it is a bit heavy, he can stand with it on without any special accommodation.

Chewie has his bowcaster, which is actually in three pieces. There's only two in the box - the main gun and the 'bow' that attaches to the front - but the scope/sighting mechanism on top also slides off. Both pieces tend to fall off at the slightest touch, and I found working with it to be extremely frustrating. If you don't plan on sticking him back in the tray, I'd suggest gluing the pieces together permanently.

He also has his unique messenger bag, which he comes wearing but which can be quite easily removed.

Value - **1/2
Sadly, the $20 that these cost is getting to be the going rate for figures in the 6 - 8" range, particularly if they are intended for the 'collectors' market. Funny thing is, these are some of the best toys on the shelf right now.

Things to Watch Out For -
You may find it necessary to glue the bowcaster together - it was mighty frustrating.

Overall - ***1/2
This is a really good time to be a collector of action figures in the 6 -  7" scale. With terrific offerings from Hasbro in both Star Wars and Marvel Legends, Mattel still putting out MOTUC for another year, great stuff from Funko in the Game of Thrones line, and a plethora of cool figures coming out of NECA across multiple licenses, there's no shortage of quality product to choose from.

Not every figure in the Black series has been a hit, but I really like both of these, even with the few warts they have. Han shouldn't be on the shelf without his BFF - now he doesn't have to be.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - Chewbacca ***; Trooper ***1/2
Articulation - Chewie ***; Trooper ***1/2
Accessories - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has them for $24 each.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered most of the series so far, including the Biker Scout and Speederbike, the Clonetrooper and Anakin Skywalker. Before that there was Bespin Luke, the Stormtrooper and Obi-Wan, Slave Leia and Boba Fett, Han Solo and Greedo, and Darth Maul and the Sandtrooper, as well as X-Wing Pilot Luke and R2-D2.

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!