Star Wars Black Series Wave 25 arrived in Summer 2020 and was predominantly based around Episode II : Attack of the Clones. It brought us four new Jedi in the shape of Kit Fisto, Plo Koon, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Bolstering the Separatist forces with a re-pack of Count Dooku from Wave 24 and a new Geonosis Battle Droid.
Packaging 3.0
Wave 25 arrives in the Phase 3 packaging, and is the last wave to feature the black box with red spine and cardback as the Black Series moves to a 4th Phase in the 2nd Half of 2020 with the Galaxy collection packaging split by movie.
Kit Fisto is number 112 in the 3rd Phase packaging, with the numbering featured on the side spine and reverse of the box. Kit Fisto will have the honour of the last numbered release in Phase 4. The figure name plate is simply Kit Fisto, and there is no specific placing of him as the Attack of the Clones release until you reach the back of the box.
The packaging carries the usual Gregory Titus artwork on both front and back. I do not like this illustration as the forehead seems too large considering the face is not looking down - but straight ahead. Alongside the illustration on the box reverse is a short piece of text with a very loose overview of Kit Fisto's role at the battle of Geonosis.
"As part of a Jedi rescue mission to Geonosis, Nautolan Jedi Knight Kit Fisto fought Separatist droids and saw the first shots fired in the Clone Wars
Paint & Sculpt 3.5
Th head sculpt for Kit Fisto is impressive with a good likeness to the character we see on screen, The eyes are round and dark and the skin rone a light green with mottled blues and pinks wove in. There are some paint variations and rolling changes with a version released with none of the pink tones added to give a greener skin tone overall. Painting is a little messy with the placement of the mottling and of the lips in particular which do look off under close inspection.
Kit Fisto simply recycles the Obi-Wan Jedi body from the same wave, that itself was re-used from the Padawan Obi-Wan. It is recoloured appropriately with a darker brown for the tunic and much darker tones for the trousers. The belt remains the same, down to the hole for the lightsaber.
New hands have been cast for Kit which are painted like the head.
Accessories 2.5
Kit Fisto is equipped with his lightsaber. This I believe is taken from the General Grievous Deluxe pack and is not quite a match for Kit's actual on screen saber that is predominantly all silver and configured much differently. This is a shame considering the usual attention to detail on such weapons.
What we get is coloured silver with two black bands and some red for the lower buttons. It fits snugly into Kit's right hand, less so in the left which has a force motion pose with two fingers outstretched. The green blade is removable and after issues with some of the other lightsabers recently, this one has a substantially longer and more robust peg to attach to the hilt. While the figure has been left with the peg hole to hang a saber from Obi-Wan, the saber itself has no peg and therefore cannot be worn on the belt when not in use.
Lie many of the Hasbro Jedi figure, soft goods robes have been omitted for Kit Fisto. While he does not wear them in Attack of the Clones, including them would have allowed fans to use this for his Revenge of the Sith appearance facing down Palpatine. I am still unclear on why some Jedi can be sold with robes (Mace, Plo Koon) and others are not? Thankfully there are options on the secondary market to fix this if you wanted to.
Articulation 4.5
As Kit Fisto uses the newer Obi-Wan Jedi body he arrives with 19 points of articulation including the new two joint neck articulation, where the neck is articulated at both top and bottom - removing the unsightly pivot. The arms also get the butterfly shoulder joint which makes a big difference for posing, particularly two handed saber grips.
Head : ball joint neck base, ball joint neck top
Body : ball joint torso
Arms : ball joint shoulder, butterfly shoulder joint, single rotating elbow, pivot wrist
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh split, double jointed knee, ankle rocker
The head tails for Kit Fisto do restrict quite a bit of the head movement, while on the arms the robes do extend a little and stop the shoulders going all the way up. The lower parts of the tunic are flexible enough to facilitate seated poses as well as kneeling and crouching.
The arm range is great for saber posing with overhead attack and two handed striking options possible - although the shaping of the left hand doesn't lend itself fully to a two handed pose and the figure I was sent had a tendency for the left hand to pop out of the joint.
All of the joints on Kit FIsto are tight and secure with satisfying ratchets in the majority of them. He has not trouble standing unaided in numerous poses.
Summary
I do like the fact Hasbro are going deeper on Jedi figures from the Prequel era, and Kit Fisto is a good example of a strong head sculpt and tweaked paint job with a re-use of an existing body to keep costs down. The Obi-Wan base body is well articulated and as a general "Jedi" option is perfect.
The saber is a bit of a let down, being taken from the Grievous pack rather than having a correct Kit Fisto saber sculpted and cast. It also doesn't have the peg that connects to the belt, which is another missed opportunity. Packaging wise it is sad to see the end of Phase 4, and Fisto represents the last numbered figure - it is a shame that we don't go out with a bang, and the illustration for me is not one of the best the line has produced
Adding it all up, I score the Star Wars Black Series Kit Fisto - as seen in Attack of the Clones - a score of 3.5
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...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, star wars, hasbro, black series, attack of the clones, episode 2, jedi, kit fisto