“I hope these two groups get along. They’ve never met. And what little they know of each other they hate”
Hasbro is leaning heavily into the Mandalorian for 2024 and in particular the Mandalorians seen in Season 3 of the Disney+ series and the journey to reclaim Mandalore. Across the Summer and Autumn of 2024 there are 5 new figures incoming to bolster your Mandalorian Covert and the first of these is the September 2024 release of the Nite Owl Mandalorian.
This is a single release and exclusive to Walmart in the US, but sold through the Fan Channel here in the UK including Hasbro Pulse. It is one of the first figures to move into the new squared box packaging with the older Galaxy Collection slanted artwork side removed. The overall design principles remain the same with a matt black box and an accent colour assigned to each Star Wars property. For The Mandalorian this burnt umber colour scheme continues allowing some level of continuity from the previous box type. The numbering is also continued, with the Nite Owl being number 38 in the Mando collection sitting after the Mines of Mandalore Din Djarin release and before the Mandalorian Privateer. The side artwork is retained and done in the same style as the older boxes and it does connect into the larger montage, but there is a definite darkening of the colours and shading with the Nite Owl imagery. The background info is limited and talks about the Nite Owls joining forces with The Children of the Watch. The new packaging design also features a minor change inside the box with the card back of the figure within the box now colour coded and inclusive of what looks like a planetary scene.
In hand, our Nite Owl is very simply a repaint of the 2021 Koska Reeves figure who herself utilises the Bo-Katan body. The main body of our Nite Owl is a purple tone with the armoured panels in dark blue with gunmetal panels. The gauntlets are also gun metal in colour with the left bracer brighter than the right and inclusive of a touch of gold detailing. Gun Metal is also used on the panels on either side of the figure's thighs. The outfit is finished with the single holster gun slinger belt with a burgundy base colour and painted silver and brown clasps & straps. Nite Owl decals are added to either shoulder Pauldron.
The helmet is the same as Koska Reeves and there is a sculpted head under the helmet with a flesh-tone finish and with a hairline that indicates it is a flesh-cast Bo-Katan head. The helmet is glued into place. It features the same dark blue as the amoured body with silver panels round the back and framing the visor which itself is a gloss black. A smaller silver insignia sits above the visor and the helmet also features an adjustable range finder in silver and black that can pivot down and sit adjacent to the Nite Owl's visor.
Our Nite Owl comes with her jetpack and this plugs into a single hole on the reverse of the figure with reasonable security. Like the armour it is blue in colour with grey panels rather than the more metallic silver pieces other than a strip down the centre panel. There are no moving parts or options to plug-in effect pieces like some of the other Mando jetpacks.
We have a single weapon, a WESTAR-35 Mandalorian Blaster, also exactly as included with both Bo-Katan and Reeves. The sleek weapon has a dull metallic finish with a slightly brighter grip and it can be slotted into either hand on the Nite Owl who retains the dual grips with trigger fingers that originated with Bo-Katan. When not in use the blaster slips into the working holster on the belt.
Our Nite Owl features 19 points of pinless articulation. The legs feature the standard hip and knee joints supported with ankle rockers and a thigh swivel. These facilitate plenty of options in posing our Nite Owl including kneeling shots and more dynamic running or flying options with a stand. The upper torso includes a hidden joint in the waist with limited movement, while the arms are more extensive in their movement. The upper shoulder armour retracts into the chest piece when the shoulder joints are raised with the combined butterfly joints allowing the arms to swing in or out from the main body. Elbow joints work to the 90-degree position with further wrist joints to line up your blaster or align the wrist weapons. The joints are all tight and secure with no obvious flaws, and despite her slimmer frame, the Nite Owl is secure once posed into your display.
The Mandalorian Nite Owl is what we have come to expect from many of the Star Wars Black Series retailer exclusives, a variant or rework of an existing character. There is nothing aesthetically wrong with the Nite Owl as a figure with a crisp paint job, strong articulation and an appropriate accessory. She is not necessarily based on any onscreen character directly that I can see, although is likely modelled closely on the Privateers we see in the background when Bo-Katan challenges Axe Woves to reclaim her fleet and when the Privateers arrive on Nevarro. The re-use of Koska Reeves in her entirety is masked partly by the new paintwork, but like the Mandalorian Fleet Captain, I would have preferred to see some minor physical variances like a variant helmet, belt or jetpack. A recommended figure with army-building potential for those expanding their Mandalorian Covert.
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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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