In 2021 Hasbro announced that their Rogue One figures would get an update to the new photo-real face decor and be released in the Galaxy Collection packaging. Alongside these original re-releases was a new figure of Bodhi Rook to complete the crew, and two exclusive releases to expand the Rogue One roster - General Antoc Merrick, and Galen Erso.
The Rogue One packaging uses a duck egg blue colour scheme against the black backdrop of the box, running around the centre and acting as an accent colour on the side image of Galen in his Imperial Research Facility uniform. The rear of the box carries a repeat of this image and a short piece of text
"Galen Erso was coerced into using kyber crystals to enhance energy yields - work the weaponized to create the Death Star's superlaser."
Out of the pack and immediately something is off about Galen? Most exclusives rely on a level of re-use or repainting but Galen Erso is a real Frankenstein of a figure with parts that do not quite go together. The arms and hands are taken from The Grand Moff Tarkin, a figure that itself had quite oversized head and hands, and these look quite lengthy against the other body proportions. The legs are taken from Cloud City Lando, including the side seam and the Cuban heeled shoes - shoes that were far too small on Lando and look even worse on Galen. In actual fact, his hands are nearly bigger than his feet.
For the upper body, we have a new jacket piece for the Imperial Uniform over what we assume is a generic torso. All the body pieces are cast in the green-grey drab Imperial colours with the paint applied only for the belt and buckle, and the light blue shoulder section of the uniform complete with the code cylinders set to either side. The uniform is finished with an Imperial Research decal applied to the right shoulder.
The head sculpt is new and carries a passing likeness to Mads Mikkelsen but looks too small on the body with the neckpiece actually the same width as the head. The photo-real decor does add a level of realism to the head with the dark shading around the eyes, the shading on the cheeks and mouth, and the neatly trimmed facial hair.
When you look at Galen Erso on screen in his Rogue One scenes while wearing the Imperial uniform he has much more facial stubble and his hair is messy (or wet) and not the neat side parting we get with this figure. The head we have been given is the more groomed and neatly presented Galen we see in flashbacks in his Imperial Uniform - and either that likeness was incorrectly used for this figure, or an Imperial Uniform Galen is also in the works.
The hair is painted in one colour only so lacks definition and doesn't quite cover all the way down so I do have a flesh coloured line on my figure - as well as blue paint on the neck from the uniform paint job.
Galen comes with a solitary accessory, a re-use of the Death Star plans originally packed with the Rebel Fleet Trooper. While they do have a strong link to the character and the storyline for Rogue One it is not an item we see Galen hold or use in any of his scenes. The piece is cast in grey with a shaped edge and gold circular panel on either side. It fits neatly into either of Galen's hands.
I have thought long and hard over any items or accessories Galen may use on screen in Rogue One and cannot come up with a better option - other than a generic blaster, or perhaps an information tablet or even an MSE droid as a pack in.
We get a total of 17 points of articulation on Galen Eros, including a newer format dual joint neck. The arm and leg joints - having come from older figures - use the older joints with double joints at the knees, with visible pins, and a single rotating elbow.
The ankle rockers work fine, but the smaller feet do make standing Galen a little trickier, you will probably need to widen the stance a little.
I cannot help feeling disappointed with this new addition to the Black Series. It is a figure that has compromised itself through the re-use of other parts but is probably only a few tweaks away from being great. There is nothing wrong with the Tarkin arms, but the hands needed to be smaller. The Lando legs also work but he needed new shoes that would be both larger and more aligned to an Imperial uniform. The head probably needed to be a touch bigger and with slightly messier hair and more stubble.
What we get is passable as Galen Erso but he will most likely sit more towards the back of your display than proudly at the front - although I suspect the more talented customisers may be able to tweak the figure to look much more He is not likely to get a do-over at any point, so this is perhaps the best we can hope for - although considering how the head sculpt looks vs the onscreen appearances, I suspect an Imperial Uniform Galen Erso is in the works.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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