Fett Friday: Jango Fett (Vintage Collection)

When I was ordering Mario's birthday present off Amazon.com back in June, I got myself this toy at a very reasonable price so my purchase would qualify for Super Saver Shipping. Released in the Attack of the Clones-themed wave of the current Hasbro Star Wars Vintage Collection in early 2011, Jango is based specifically on the fight scene between the bounty hunter and Obi-Wan Kenobi on Kamino, as indicated by the extended gauntlet spikes and the Boba Fett-style jetpack. It also sort of explains the rain poncho--I say "sort of " because he never actually wears it in the film (though Boba sports one in the scene being referred to).

In addition to the poncho, Jango come with plenty of accessories that actually appeared on screen: two laser pistols, a jetpack with removable missile, a removable helmet, and a removable pilot's headset. Though he naturally can only wear one piece of headgear or the other at any given time, he can carry everything else on his person all at once, which is appreciated. If you absolutely must display the figure carrying everything he's packaged with, you can store the guns in the functional holsters and have him hold his helmet in his hands.

I do wish that the forearm spikes were either removable or retractable, because after ditching the poncho and putting on the helmet this figure is pretty close to a standard Jango instead of a conspicuously scene-specific one. The arms can be posed to hide the spike from a head-on angle, if you choose. Additionally, some of the articulation wasn't as functional as I would have hoped. I worry about stressing the plastic on the wires that connect the bicep pieces to the forearm gauntlets, which inhibits elbow movement. And though I don't demand that my Star Wars figures boast the highest amount of articulation possible for the scale, there's something about the design of the hips that makes me wish balljoints were incorporated there.

Don't mistake my quibbles for griping, for they are ultimately minor. Once the poncho is removed, this is a well-sculpted, well-articulated, and highly versatile figure of the character. I certainly have a ball posing it with pistols drawn. As for what I've done with the poncho, currently it's being sported by my Marvel Universe Iron Man. Gotta make sure that metal suit doesn't rust in the rain, after all.