It was 2016 when Hasbro brought us the first animated Rebels character to life with the release of Kanan Jarrus, soon followed by Sabine Wren. Hera and Ahsoka followed in 2017 as did Grand Admiral Thrawn. We've then had a two year wait to add the next members of our Ghost crew, and its two together as wave 21 in 2019 brings us Ezra Bridger and Chopper.
Packaging 4/5
Chopper is number 84 in the 3rd phase packaging red & black boxes. His character text reads as "Chopper" with his official designation of C1-10P added in brackets. Like all Black Series figures there is a illustration of Chopper in grey lined art and this is a more realistic Chopper as the Black Series translates all the Rebel characters over to a more real world look.
This illustration is repeated on the back of the box along with a short piece of background text. Like the other Rebels figures there is no designation on the box that explains their source material.
"Chopper is the resident droid of the Ghost, assisting the crew in everything from ship maintenance to combat, even though he doesn't always want to. After many years of repairs and patch jobs, Chopper has a beat-up, worn look that matches his sometimes cranky personality."
Paint & Sculpt 4/5
Like the box artwork, Chopper is realised in the Black Series in a real world style - very much the Chopper we saw briefly in Rogue One. He remains squat and with that angular head and large communications antenna on top.
The colours are not muted too much from the show, with a bright orange dome trimmed in yellow and some green and yellow patchwork on the body and legs. There is also some nicely applied weathering and dirt around the body - giving him some character and age.
In terms of scale, we can only go off what we see on screen - and therefore if you use the episode Droids in Distress as a guide, then Chopper is indeed the right scale alongside a Black Series R2-D2. Of course there is the long held view that the R2 itself is undersized.
When we lineup Chopper with the other Rebels characters he remains in scale, coming up just short of Ezra's waist - the same height as we see him in the show.
Accessories 4/5
As this is a small droid with limited articulation, Hasbro has tried to pack in a lot of accessories with Chopper to add value to the release. This starts with his central leg. In previous astromechs this has been a permanent piece that retracts with a turn of the dome. For Chopper it is a slot in piece that can then be adjusted to the height needed to position all three points to the floor as Chopper rolls around. This central leg does include a working castor wheel.
Chopper, as we know from "The Forgotten Droid", has two odd legs. Hasbro has packed an alternative version of his left leg in the box if you wish to amend his look. The legs pop off from a socket on the body and the new one clips in place. This new leg is painted and weathered like the rest of the droid and is a good match when installed.
The final accessory is a two part piece that is designed to show Chopper in flight using his rocket boosters. You first slip a smaller piece into the central hole we were using earlier for the central leg. This flame piece, cast in translucent orange, then slots into a wider base piece that is cast in the same translucent plastic to look like Chopper is taking off. FX pieces like this are not everyone's cup of tea - but for me this works and gives Chopper a bit of focus on display if you choose to pose him in this flight position.
Articulation 4/5
Chopper has 10 points of articulation through his astromech body.
Head : swivel head, two part extending claw arms
Body : two part extending manipulator arm
Legs : jointed hip, jointed ankle
While the head and legs are standard, and expected on this type of droid, the other elements are well designed and thought through. The two arms on the dome extend out then bend to create the claw arms Chopper often brandishes in the show. And similarly the manipulator arm folds out and then articulates on a second joint along its length.
While not articulation as such, the droids legs do carry two small wheels each to aid rolling him around if you wish.
Summary
While he may be small, there is a lot to like about this Black Series release. The sculpt is good and not too "animated" while the original colours are kept and then dirtied up in keeping with Choppers age and environment.
The extending arms are a very neat feature as is the swap out leg. The FX piece won't be to everyone's liking, but it does what it promises and adds a dynamic posing option to Chopper if you want one.
I score C1-10P a commendable 4 out of 5 and welcome him to my Rebels crew. With him and Ezra both secured in Wave 21 we now have to hope Hasbro won't wait too long before completing our crew with a Zeb figure.
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