Star Wars Retro Collection - THE ARMORER!

Star Wars Retro Collection: The Mandalorian - The Armorer - Hasbro 2022

The Armorer has surprisingly become one of my favorite characters in the Disney+ Star Wars Universe. When she first appeared in The Mandalorian, I was excited to hear a female voice behind one of the helmets, and I thought it was very interesting to see a detailed view into a weaponry-and-armor-centric culture like the Mandalorians. But she definitely didn't seem like a character who would play a part in major plot developments. She seemed non-combative in role and Din Djarin was literally only visiting the planet when we met her. But as the years have passed, we've seen her become an influential leader and voice of reason among the Mandlorians. She's been prominent in later seasons of the The Mandalorian and even appeared in The Book of Boba Fett. I should have realized there were bigger plans for her since we've seen her 6" Black Series figure released three times already. It's amazing how clairvoyant the toy world can be. Let's check out the Armorer below!

Star Wars Retro Collection - BO-KATAN!

Star Wars Retro Collection: The Mandalorian - Bo-Katan - Hasbro 2022

I'm amused by my love of the Star Wars Retro Collection. When Star Wars figures were all the rage in my youth, I only cared about Ewoks. When I got into Star Wars figures again in the early 2000s, I found the world of 3.75" figures overwhelming. The modern ones were plentiful and the vintage ones cost a fortune (and had a fair number of reproduction accessories being passed as original). I probably only picked up a dozen figures before I got burnt out. The Black Series 6" line provided the fresh start I was looking for as a collector. But I didn't have any nostalgic connection to this universe in that scale. But then the Retro Collection started and I was ecstatic. Finally I could satisfy my modern (read: more-than-ewok) love of the Star Wars franchise with the retro Kenner style that is so signature to the brand. And I love that the line tends to focus on the new properties, letting the vintage Kenner collectors retroactively incorporate these new characters into their displays. Let's check out Bo-Katan below!

The Mandalorian - BO-KATAN!

The Mandalorian - Bo-Katan Kryze (Limited Articulation Figure) - Hasbro 2022

Limited Articulation figures are a very interesting trend in the modern action figure market. I presume that the big toy companies wanted to tap into the dollars being "stolen" by the knockoff and bootleg market by producing their own lower-budget, lower-quality, and limited-articulation figures. I personally love these figures. They show up in weird places like grocery store checkout lines and drug stores and they tend to look pretty great since they are using simplified, re-scaled versions of the collector lines. The main downfall for me is that they very rarely include female characters. The only ever female ever made in the Star Wars assortment was Rey back in 2016. The inclusion of Bo-Katan was a surprise and also a foretelling of her prominence in the Disney+ Star Wars Universe. So far, only the A-Listers ever seem to get recognition in these discount lines. And after seeing The Mandalorian Season 3, I can see that prediction was correct. Let's check out Bo-Katan Kryze below!

Mission Fleet - BO-KATAN!

Star Wars Mission Fleet: Gauntlet Starfighter - Bo-Katan - Hasbro 2021

Star Wars Mission Fleet is a fun line of miniature articulated action figures with stylized vehicles. They seem more like a maturation of the Playskool Galactic Heroes line (which I loved) as opposed to the more "serious" Micro Galaxy Squadron miniature line. The Mission Fleet line started out strong back in 2020 with a lot of initial releases, but there has been a steady slowdown ever since. I've had this Bo-Katan set in my stash for quite a while but delayed opening her since I assumed she would be the last lady in the line. But to my surprise we got a Reva Third Sister figure late last year and there is an upcoming Fennec Shand this Summer. So the line is definitely alive, just really slow. This figure also marked a turning point in collecting for me as she was the first Hasbro figure I saw (and purchased) in plastic-free windowless packaging. It may be commonplace now, but back in October of 2021 we were still waiting to see if it was real. Luckily mine looked good. Let's check out Bo-Katan Kryze below!

The Mandalorian - KOSKA REEVES!

Star Wars Black Series - The Mandalorian #12: Koska Reeves - Hasbro 2021

As an adult toy collector, the thing that always drew me into the Star Wars market was the rare instances (historically only in the Expanded Universe) of female characters in the different established (mostly male) factions of the Star Wars mythos: Female Storm Troopers, female Imperial Commanders, female X-Wing Pilots, female Ewoks, female Twi'leks, etc. My goal was to have a recognizable Star Wars collection with all female characters. My favorite of these factions was always the Mandalorians. Years ago they released two 3.75 female Mandalorians (and of course Sabine Wren) and I assumed that would be all we would see. But then The Mandalorian came into my life and everything changed. Suddenly there were multiple Black Series toys in the pipeline of amazing female bounty hunters. I'll confess I haven't had my Star Wars ladies on display in years, but these new additions now qualify them for a prominent spot. The latest figure is Koska Reeves and she is amazing. Let's check her out below!

The Mandalorian - BO-KATAN KRYZE!

Star Wars Black Series - The Mandalorian #10: Bo-Katan Kryze - Hasbro 2021

My favorite thing about The Mandalorian on Disney+ is that we finally get to see female Mandalorians in live action. Way back in 2007 I saw advertisements for exclusive Isabet Reau and Rav Bralor action figures and was instantly obsessed with the idea of female Boba Fetts. But with the exception of some Sabine Wren animated figures in the years since, there was a drought on these bounty hunter toys until 2020. I was hoping The Mandalorian would give us lots of fun characters, and I was thankfully right. Bo-Katan was probably my favorite part of Season 2. I love her costume, her skills, and her flawed power-hungry motivations. I never watched any of the Star Wars animated series, but I'm aware she was a very popular character on both Rebels and The Clone Wars - voiced by Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck) who was also cast to play her the The Mandalorian. Bo-Katan was a leading a small group of Mandalorians who rescued Din Djarin and quickly made an impression on me. Let's check her out below!

The Mandalorian - THE ARMORER!

Star Wars Black Series - The Mandalorian 04: The Armorer - Hasbro 2020

One of my favorite things about the various modern Star Wars media is the introduction of female characters in the style of different factions from the original Star Wars trilogy. We've now seen numerous female Jedi, female Imperial Officers, and female Stormer Troopers. But my favorite additions have been the great female Mandalorians. Starting with Isabet Reau and Rav Bralor, and soon the very popular Sabine Wren. But now with the groundbreaking Mandalorian show on Disney+, we are being exposed to so many more. The upcoming Bo Katan figure looks fantastic (and I hope she is followed by a Koska Reeves). But I think a lot of us were surprised to see a figure of the Armorer. She had a couple quick appearances in Season 1 and I remember being thrilled to hear a female voice emanating from the armor, but I never once expected to get an action figure of her. Her Rocketeer-esque color palette and her non-combat armor is a very interesting addition to the lore. Let's check her out below!

Star Wars 6" Black Series - SABINE WREN!

Star Wars: The Black Series #33 (Rebels) - Sabine Wren - Hasbro 2017

When the Star Wars Black Series was just announced I wasn't sure how robust the line would be with female characters. I wasn't too excited about getting a dozen different Leias (This was before we knew any details of The Force Awakens or Rogue One after all). And sure, I have three Black Series Leias already and they are all great figures in their own ways, but what I was really waiting for were characters from the Star Wars animated universe in this scale. Last year we saw Ahsoka Tano and now we get the infamous Mandalorian graffiti artist (and bounty hunter dropout), Sabine Wren. Hasbro alters these characters a little bit to fit in with their live-action Black Series counterparts. I really appreciate the stylistic changes because Star Wars will always be one unified universe in my head, but the animated designs really don't blend in well on my toy shelves. Rest assured this Sabine fits in perfectly. Now I'm super excited about the Hera Syndulla figure. I love this line. Let's check out Sabine below!

Star Wars Rebels SABINE WREN!

Star Wars Rebels - Mission Series 08 - 2-Pack w/ Stormtrooper - Hasbro 2015

Star Wars is on the cusp of a major renaissance.  The long-rumored, long-denied sequel trilogy is finally hitting the theatres later this year, the new Star Wars Rebels cartoon is a success, and the long awaited return of Star Wars comics from Marvel are hitting the shelves.  All of this means that the expanded universe is rapidly growing, and my fingers are crossed for some great new female characters.  Sabine Wren is the token female in the first season of Star Wars Rebels.  The series takes place five years before A New Hope and follows the adventures of a group a young rebels in an unassuming freighter ship. Sabine is the weapons experts of the group.  She is a Mandalorian who previously served under Emperor Palpatine but now uses her skills for good (along with her artistic graffiti skills).  These animated style Star Wars figures never appealed to me before this purchase.  The Clone Wars toys had a heavy presence on the toy stores for years, but it look this purple Boba Fett to get me hooked.

The Unknown Women of STAR WARS!

A Selection of 8 of My Favorite 3.75" Star Wars Ladies From Hasbro

If you're expecting the usual Star Wars lineup of princesses and strippers you can skip this post right now.  The original Star Wars films were never known for their sexual diversity.  Yes, Princess Leia was an awesome commanding character, but beyond that, where were the females?  Were there any females?   Luke had an aunt, there was that alien with lips in the Cantina band, and then that green stripper of Jabba's.  Where were they all hiding??  Was there a galactic epidemic that made women an endangered species?  Luckily the expanded Star Wars universe of novels, comics, and toys has created a number of cool ladies filling the ranks and helping balance the gender ratio (a little bit).  There have actually been ton of unique characters added, including many amazingly cool Jedi and Sith warriors that rival the main male characters we know and love.  But for this review, I have set some stipulations:  (1) They can't be princesses or strippers, (2) They can't have lightsabres, and (3) They have to look like they could fit into the original trilogy... here goes nothin'...