Review : Sergeant Jyn Erso (Rogue One)
Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro)
Wave/Series : Rogue One Wave 1 (Wave 7)*
Released : September 2016
Price : £21.99
* Also released in special convention packaging at SDCC 2016 (July 2016)
Jyn Erso rounds up the four new Rogue One figures in the first wave of Rogue One Black Series, wave 7 in real terms for the Phase 3 releases.
This is not the first time this Jyn Erso has been released, having previously being packed in special convention exclusive packaging and sold at San Diego Comic Con 2017. Other than the packaging, there is no variation between this figure and the one from SDCC, although the SDCC version does include some specific art cards. This Jyn is also being packed in a 3rd time with the US Target exclusive 3 pack of Rebels vs Imperials.
Jyn Erso is number 22 in the Phase 3 series and is specifically labelled at Sergeant Jyn Erso (Jedha) indicating her rank within the Rebellion and that the outfit is location/planet specific. She arrives in the same gloss black box as the other phase 3 figures, complete with grey scale artwork front and back and that striking red spine which also confirms the figure number and the character name. The back of the box gives us the briefest snippet of Jyn's role in the movie without giving away any spoilers for the film.
Jyn arrives dressed in a grey head scarf, and with her pistol packed to the right of the inner tray. She stands 5 1/2 inches high, matching the smaller frame of Felicty Jones and therefore scaling accurately against taller characters like Cassian, and of course K-2SO.
The facial sculpt is very generic sadly and not the greatest likeness of Jones, and it could realistically be any number of general female characters. It is cast in the flesh tone plastic, so there is no paint apps to speak of. The eyes are pretty neatly done with a crisp white background, thin eye liner and then brown irises. The lips are also neat, but a bit too pink. The hair is a touch soft also in the sculpt at the front but redeems itself round the back where it seems to become more defined and runs round into a loose unkempt pony tail. The paint on the hair does vary in shade with some darker streaks on top of the base colour. The paint doesn't quite however fill its lines round the face, leaving an odd patch of skin coloured hair around Jyn's left ear.
The outfit is a really nice design that starts with a grey undershirt with some sculpted collar detail. On top of this is a green and brown flight jacket and this is ribbed with a yellow stripe down the two arms and with ribbed detail on the front lapels and a checked quilted pattern round the back - all of this is sculpted detail. The paint on this upper torso are all flat tones and it would have been interesting to see what a wash would do across these sculpted patterns. Despite the flat tones the look is enhanced with silver buckles and zips being picked out on the jacket. The gloves are finger-less and painted brown, with the final finger details then painted and are a different shade to the head which is of course cast in flesh plastic.
Jyn's trousers are slim fitting but have been made with a base texture to them and sufficient rolls and folds in the fabric to add some character. They are again flat painted in black with a slight sheen. The only details on the trousers are what appears to be a strap just under the knees on both legs. This is painted grey round one side, but left the same black as the trousers round the other. On top of the trousers is slung a separate belt and holster, similar to the one Han wears in the original trilogy. This belt hangs lob sided around the waist and is then strapped to the right thigh with a second strap. It is cast in brown rubbery plastic, but with some incredibly small studs painted in silver - and neatly painted at that.
The figure ends with ankle boots, although the top doesn't match the bottom in colour and I suspect this is deliberate and the top section are more like a separate wrap. Like everything else these two pieces are a flat colour with some very small details on the boot buckles painted in a subdued gun metal.
The other piece of clothing is of course the removable head scarf. This is cast in a flexible rubber and yet holds quite a bit of sculptural folds and wraps. These aren't quite as crisp as I'd like, but I guess that was the balance between a scarf that came off or a fixed piece in a harder plastic with better detail. The scarf is cast in a grey rubber, and for the first time on the figure there is some level of paint application on top of this to dirty it up slightly with a very subtly applied brown wash of some kind. The head scarf is not the easiest to slot on and off, it is a tight fit and that works to the figure's benefit as when in place it doesn't look oversized or awkward like a lot of removable head gear you see on action figures. The best bet is to turn Jyn's head to the side when slotting this on and off, but watch out doing it too often as I expect it will result in some rub or wear and tear over time.
The only accessory with Jyn is her blaster. This has been cast in black plastic but, unlike a lot of guns in the Black Series, it does have paint applied on top with details picked out in silver down the barrel. The blaster fits into the sculpted right hand with the trigger finger slotting into the trigger thanks to some give in the plastic on the hand. When not in use the gun can also go into the holster on the right thigh and be locked in place by a working strap that plugs into the holster to strap down the grip of the blaster.
Articulation on Jyn is brilliant, aided by her slim frame. Her head, without scarf of course, rotates fully round and can look up and down - so much so she can almost look at her own shoes. The shoulders are ball jointed moving out to the side a full 90 degrees and then rotating so they can be raised above Jyn's head. The elbows are a single joint, but do bend to a full 90 degree angle also - whilst also rotating fully. The wrists are pegged and rotate and then also pivot forward and backward, this is more evident on the left wrist where as the right is held back a little by the cut of the sleeve.
There is a torso joint built into the chest, and reasonably well disguised as a fold in her bust area and this also sits and moves behind the jacket. This joint will allow Jyn's whole torso to rotate a full 360 degrees - I know this is not natural, but what this joint does do is aid more action orientated poses perhaps when running, or shooting.
With the torso joint, the waist joint is skipped - not that I am sure it needs one anyway. The legs then start with ball joints that spread out to the side as well as forward and backward. The right leg is of course wrapped with the holster, but this works with the articulation and doesn't hold the leg back from matching anything the left one can do. A thigh swivel is cut into the thigh and allows you to turn the lower portion of the leg to aid in stances and posing. Anyone who knows me knows I don't like these joints too much as they ruin the look of the leg when the joint is turned, but here it doesn't look too bad thanks to the darker colouring of the trousers.
Knees are double jointed and means the lower shin can pretty much bend round on itself into a kneeling position.And with the ankles also bending you can kneel Jyn on one or both knees. Despite her slim frame, and being relatively light, Jyn still stands well enough. There is a future risk that I feel the ankles will start to flop in time and that might mean Jyn has to go onto a stand at some point.
By the time we are through with Rogue One I suspect we will all be over-run with Jyn figures. The great thing with this one is the hood as it does technically create two looks - so I don't actually feel too short changed that I will get this figure again in a future 3-pack. If you are mint in box collector then you will likely be looking for both this and the SDCC version, and therefore the price you will pay on each will vary quite a bit. Judging this essentially as a standard £22 release, then she does enough to warrant a score of 3 out of 5, being a few paint applications on the head and some weathering away from a higher score.
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