“You have no power.”
Following on from the first season of Ahsoka in 2023 and the initial wave of figures, a late 2023 Galaxy Collection wave brought us two of the key protagonists in the Black Series format with the releases of Baylan Skoll and his apprentice Shin Hati. Both figures had flaws in terms of their scale/height and also that they lacked the soft goods robes that both of them wore for many of their scenes in Ahsoka. Roll forward nearly a year, and Hasbro are revisiting both characters with the Autumn 2024 releases of Baylan Skoll (Mercenary) and this figure titled Shin Hati (Arcana), with Arcana being the planet on which the series starts with Ahsoka finding the star map.
The Arcana release of Shin Hati is a Galaxy Collection exclusive and sold via Target in the US and the Fan Channel elsewhere, including here in the UK. It is a numbered release at number 14 in the Ahsoka collection - following on directly from the companion Baylan Skoll (Mercenary) release. The box is the newer squared-off format with black base and the light blue colour assigned to the Ahsoka releases used on the text, numbering and the side artwork which features Shin Hati in her outer cloak. The rear of the box talks more specifically about Shin Hati rather than a synopsis of the Ahsoka series, specifically her role as Baylan Skoll's apprentice and their work for Morgan Elsbeth. The inner tray of the box is now colour-coded to the rest of the accent colour and also features some backdrop art of the Arcana ruins.
Out of the box Shin Hati is pretty much identical to the 2023 release but now features the soft goods robes. She is wearing her beige-toned ‘apprentice’ outfit which is made up of both armoured sandy panels on areas like her torso and shoulders, and a mix of sculpted robe pieces around the belt and down into a skirt piece. These robes vary in colour and texture while the armour pieces are flat and plastic in colour tone on the torso, but improve significantly with the use of additional silver metallic wear details on the shoulders, wrist gauntlets, and boots.
The head is a good likeness in the face to actor Ivanna Sakhno enhanced with face print application. The hair remains the same harsh cut fringe and lacks the soft fly-away nature of Shin Hati’s hair on screen. It is also a very bright blonde colour so has no variation in shading. Her Padawan braid extends out from the hairpiece to sit down over the shoulder. It's a softer plastic piece and while the first release had the braid sticking out too much from the body, this one is better shaped and sits naturally against Shin’s shoulder.
vs. Shin Hati release (2023)
The robes use the standard ‘Jedi’ fabric and the tailoring most recently seen on The Acolyte figures. This means the robes sit naturally on the figure, shaped around the shoulders with a stitched clasp and then shaped to flow down and around the shoulders rather than hanging flat or sitting unnaturally on the figure. Similar tailoring is applied to the hood and it's one of the better-fitting hood pieces we’ve seen in the line. The cloak is of course removable if you want to vary the look of your Dark Jedi Apprentice, particularly if you didn’t pick up the first release.
Shin Hati comes with her lightsaber and this is the usual two part accessory with a sculpted grey an silver hilt and a clip in red/orange blade. The hilt fits on her belt by way of a hook connection or will sit comfortably in either hand. The blade - criticised on the first release for not matching the orange glow seen on screen - remains too red for my liking so the opportunity to tweak the colour has been missed.
There is also no adjustment made to Shin Hati’s height. The figure is technically too tall vs her onscreen stature, and this is exaggerated due to her master Baylan Skoll standing too tall - making them look ridiculous and out of scale when placed side by side. Articulation is also the same as the first release with 17 points of pinless articulation. There are restrictions caused by the costume with the legs held in check by the skirt piece extending to the knees, and the shoulders impaired slightly by hinged shoulder pauldrons which feel a bit too stiff. These restrictions aside, there is sufficient movement available for lightsaber poses in particular with Shin Hati perfectly capable of two handed grips thanks to the butterfly shoulder joints.
Like the accompanying Baylan Skoll revisit, the Shin Hati brings us an enhancement to the original by way of the very well-executed soft goods cloak. What it doesn’t do is revisit any of the other points that disappointed fans when the original came out - namely the height, the hair piece, and the colouring of the lightsaber blade. Making this an exclusive but then numbering it as part of the wider Galaxy Collection also creates an issue for boxed collectors who will need to double-dip on these characters and have a montage that repeats the pairing of Skoll and Hati with only Grand Admiral Thrawn sitting between the two batches of releases in the side art. Perhaps a two-pack might have been a preferable release for the duo.
The figure does have a standard £24.99 RRP and is easy enough to source, particularly outside the US where you have multiple Fan Channel retailers to choose from. The figure is better than the original 2023 release and therefore if you missed it the first time around, then this one is the better choice now it is on shelves.
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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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