Star Wars: The Black Series (6 inch): Series 1
Luke Skywalker, Darth Maul, Sandtrooper, and R2-D2 

I don't think I'm alone in having recently thought that maybe the low-end collector market was on its way out. Mattel's two fan-favorite lines, DC Universe Classics and Masters of the Universe Classics, have more or less run their course, and there's not a lot left to replace them. Sure, NECA's putting out some cool Alien and Predator figures, but those lines can't last forever. Besides, while they're very much appreciated, they just don't carry the weight of something like DCUC or Marvel Legends.

I've been on the verge of more or less calling it quits for a while now, at least as far as six-inch figures were concerned. I'm happy with my DC Collection, but that's more or less as complete as I want it to be.

Then this happened.

And it's got me thinking I might be collecting action figures a little longer than I expected.

Appearance and Construction
Luke: 7/10, Maul: 8/10, Sandtrooper: 9/10, R2: 8/10

This particular version of Luke was absolutely an essential figure for this line... but probably a bad choice for the first wave. I suspect most collectors would agree that they'd rather start with Luke from the end of Empire or even the start of Jedi then pick up this version around wave eight or nine. That's not why I'm hitting him with a moderate score, though. First of all, I feel like the grey straps need some detail. Second, the paint ops - particularly in the hair and on the chest piece - are a little weak. Overall, the figure comes off a bit garish - not overly so, but certainly when compared to the other figures in the wave.

Darth Maul is the kind of figure collectors are going to be disappointed to discover is their favorite. This is a fantastic toy, featuring some great sculpting and paint. He's actually got two heads (more on that later), and both are awesome. I'm especially impressed with the effect Hasbro achieved in creating layers to his clothing. There's some thin fabric on the innermost layer, partially covered by soft plastic (a few layers, if you count the cloak - again, more in a minute).

If it weren't for his arms, I'd have scored him even higher. In an attempt to duplicate the look of his sleeves while maintaining a large range of motion, Hasbro gave him extremely baggy upper arms with a tighter fitting costume in the lower. It's actually quite effective... in a few poses. But this guy needs to look good in a lot of poses, hence the reduction.

Next up is the Sandtrooper, who's neck-and-neck with Maul for my favorite. From a visual standpoint, he's clearly the highpoint of the wave: the sculpted armor is more or less perfect, and the weathering is solid. In fact, I almost gave him a ten. Almost.

The weathering is good, but there are some spots where they went a little too heavy with the reds. As a result, it almost looks like a kid tried to paint over it for some reason. In addition (and I'll be the first to admit this is about a minor a nitpick as is possible), there's at least one spot where the paint on the joint wasn't applied right or rubbed off. Neither of these are big issues, but they're enough to keep it from getting a perfect score.

Finally, we have everyone's favorite astromech droid, R2-D2. Throughout the rest of this article, I'll be saying some contradictory things about this toy, starting with this: the appearance is at once spot-on and kind of disappointing. Overall, it looks good, and there are some great details. The "eye", for example, is fantastic, and I like the silver dome. But the white body really needed some weathering to look less like plastic. In addition, the molding line going through the dome is far too obvious on a toy this expensive.

Packaging and Extras
Luke: --, Maul: +1, Sandtrooper: +1, R2: -1

Let's start with the packaging, which doesn't affect the score at all but is still worth mentioning. The first observation I had was that all four figures came packed together in a box that could only have held one DC Universe figure in this scale. Until I opened the box, I wondered if they sent me the 3 3/4 figures by mistake. In actuality, Hasbro's simply being more conservative in their packaging.

Also, they're being more artistic.

I was kind of floored when I first saw these in person. They're closer to a book in size and shape than what I'm used to seeing from toy companies. They also remind me of higher end collectibles, albeit scaled down. Regardless, the packages are beautiful. I was almost tempted to keep them in their boxes, but... you know me.

I could actually put them back, if I so desired. These are "collector-friendly" packages: just cut a single strip of tape and pull out the trays. It's a nice touch, though I can't help but wonder how these will fare on shelves. Stores have enough trouble keeping people from stealing and swapping figures from packages where it isn't easy.

Let's move on to the extras, because there's a lot to talk about. I'll start with Luke, who comes packaged with a blaster, lightsaber, and the helmet he wore at the end of Episode IV. All of these are fantastic, but - with the possible exception of the helmet - they're pretty much required. Even the helmet feels like it's needed to justify the figure's price.

The translucent lightsaber looks great, and I'm happy with the look of the blaster. Of the three, the helmet stands out, though. Between the Rebel insignias and the weathered appearance, it might be the best part of the figure. 

If they'd thrown in a base, we could talk about a bonus, but I'm pretty happy with what we got here.

Darth Maul is up next. He's got three or four accessories, depending on how you're counting. First (and debatably second), he comes with his signature double-bladed lightsaber. It comes apart in the middle, giving you the option of displaying him in several fighting styles.

The lightsaber looks extremely good, and the peg does the trick. You can snap it together, pop it in one of his hands, and it won't fall apart.

His least interesting accessory is the pair of binoculars he had in the film. It's a nice touch, albeit a largely symbolic one. Who the hell is going to want Darth Maul posed on their shelf bird watching?

The last accessory is a second head. The reason I'm giving this figure a bonus point is that the head is is attached to Maul's exterior cape.

I actually prefer the other head, but it's an incredible extra, all things considered, and I thought it deserved recognition.

The Sandtrooper also comes loaded. In addition to a backpack, you get three varieties of blasters. All the blasters look great, though I'm not entirely sold on the pack. Don't get me wrong - I'm happy to have it and it's a good size, but it's made from very soft plastic. It also weighs quite a bit, which makes it that much harder for the trooper to stand. Still, it is awfully cool, and three blasters is quite a bit above expectations for this scale. So +1 it is.

Remember earlier when I said R2's review would be chock full of contradictions? Well, here's a big one. They gave us more or less everything I can think of in terms of add-ons and plugins, and I'm still hitting R2 with a penalty. On top of everything else, the quality of all those extras is really good. I love the deactivated lightsaber from Jedi and the scanners. 

It's less that he didn't come with enough accessories than the fact he himself feels like a glorified accessory. Let's be honest here: the astromech isn't really any bigger than a 3 3/4 inch figure, but he costs as much as a 6 inch one. By rights, he should have come in a two-pack with 3-PO. Barring that, he really needed something substantial - a base, a computer terminal, or Salacious Crumb (a.k.a.: that creature he zapped on Jabba's barge). A bunch of knick-knacks, no matter how cool, don't feel like enough.

Play and Display
Luke: --, Maul: +1, Trooper: --, R2: +1

Let's start with the human (and humanoid) figures, then move onto R2, who's an entirely different situation.

In terms of articulation, the figures are very well done. There's a lot of range on here. Luke and Maul appear to have the same joints: swivel-and-pin wrists, ankles, head, shoulders, and elbows, along with double-knees, cut upper legs, and ball-joints in the mid-section and connecting each leg to the waist.

The Sandtrooper is similar, though he trades the swivel/pin on his elbows for cut biceps.

All the articulation seems to work pretty well, though the feet take some getting used to (they're designed to work similarly to rocker joints, though the construction is entirely different.

The wrists on mine were somewhat stuck. I managed to get them moving without damaging anything, but be careful - they feel somewhat fragile. They seem to "click" into place, giving you a few options - just make sure you're not bending them a way they're not supposed to go.

In terms of balance, the figures seem a little unsteady. Maul feels more sturdy to me, largely because he can take deeper stances without anything getting in the way. I had trouble getting the others to stand. I'm giving Maul a +1 for the articulation; the other two would get the same consideration, but the balance issues cancel it out.

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R2-D2 is a completely different story. He's got no issue standing, due to his squat form. He's got the joints you'd expect - pins on the legs and feet and a turning dome - along with several other features.

He has two hinged panels which open to reveal a hand and a computer port. Both look good and are fun to play with.

He also has three panels on top of his head which pop off, allowing you to replace them with two kinds of scanners and with Luke's unlit lightsaber.

There are also pieces on his legs that pop off, letting you replace them with what I believe are inhibitors.

Finally, turning his head causes his third leg to lower or raise from his midsection. This also has a joint on the foot, by the way. And don't worry about this preventing you from getting the dome pose you want - you can keep turning the head when the leg is extended and therefore change the side facing forward.

None of this is really shocking - I expect options out of a toy like this - but it's nice to see how much they managed to cram into the droid. As such, I'm giving him a +1.

Price Tag and Final Analysis
Luke: 8/10, Maul: 10/10, Trooper: 10/10, R2: 8/10

These ran me about $20 a piece, plus shipping. I believe they're going to land at toy and department stores soon, as well.

While twenty is certainly not cheap, it's more or less what I'm used to paying for six inch figures. And overall, these are better than most, even without build-a-figure parts or bases.

The only one who feels like a cheat is R2, though there's no way in hell I was going to skip him. He doesn't exactly feel like a bargain, but - come on - it's R2-D2. Besides, if you can get over the price, he's an awesome toy.

It might be premature, but I've got to say it: I feel like Hasbro's just launched a series with the potential to be one of the greats. I'm talking about the next Marvel Legends or Nightmare Before Christmas - something worth getting excited about.

Of course, that's dependent on the line continuing. I've heard a lot of people suggest it won't last, though I'm a bit more optimistic. These are good figures, and the brand "Star Wars" still counts for a lot. I suspect sales will be extremely strong, even if there's a price increase down the line (I can be pessimistic, too).

I've already got the next wave on pre-order, and I'll add the third as soon as it appears.

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Thanks for reading. Check out movie reviews and more over at The Middle Room, more toy reviews on Toy Remix, get your holiday fix at Mainlining Christmas, and - hey - why not check out some of my fiction?