In Summer 2020, Hasbro moved to a Phase 4 packaging for their Star Wars Black Series figures, entitled the Galaxy Collection. This new design moved away from a fully uniform look for the series and introduced accent colours for each movie or show within the Star Wars Universe. The Galaxy Collection launched with two full waves - a Rebels wave with a number of repacked figures, and Wave 1 of the new Collection made up of 7 figures from across the Star Wars Saga. In this review we look at the 2nd figure in the Return of the Jedi Collection, and the first Ewok in the Black Series, Teebo.
Packaging 3.5
The new Galaxy Collection packaging uses the same footprint dimensions as the previous Phase 3 boxes, although the window section is reduced and the right hand side is cut in at an angle. The base colour of the box remains black, with the Black Series logo on the top rail above the figure window. Each part of the Saga has been given an accent colour, and for Return of the Jedi this is green - a potential reference to the green forest moon of Endor. The green is used as a border under the window where the movie is named, and again as text for the character name, I am not sure why Teebo is given both his name and species, the species detail has never been added to other figures to date?
This angled panel on the right is used for an illustration of the character. This is done in a grey scale with the green accent at the base of the image. Teebo is illustrated with his axe in hand and is drawn smaller than the human characters that will surround him. Above his head in the Forest Moon sky is the second Death Star. You can also see some Endor Forest trees and the back end of the Mon Cal starships that adorn the figure preceeding Teebo, Admiral Ackbar.
Each art panel in a collection lines up with the next figure in the line to create a larger montage. When you begin to look how this works in practice then it will take up a bit more room as the figures have to be angled to create the wider panel. However, the logic of the side panel is more evident when figures are displayed side on where both the figure and the art are on display.
The green band wraps round the other box side and angles upward and round to the back. It is here we still get a numbering system for the figures - now specific by movie or series. Teebo is the 2nd Return of the Jedi figure.
The inner part of the box separates fully from the outer box, including the window which is actually a cover on the figure tray. This arguably makes recycling easier by separating plastic and cardboard components. The backing tray is quite dull in a pale grey and I have said that I wonder how impactful using a shade of the accent colour as a backing card would have been?
Teebo and his spear and axe are held in purely by the shape of the tray. His knife, being quite smaller, is taped into place.
Paint & Sculpt 4.0
Teebo is the first Ewok in the Black Series line, taking 7 years to make his debut despite the popularity of the Forest Dwellers and their numbers in the original Vintage line and since in the 3.75 inch collections. Teebo will no doubt lay down the foundation of an Ewok body that will go on for re-use and quite possibly the head too. The sculpt of both is impressive with a lot of fur detailing having gone on. Teebo's eyes are set back and realistically painted like a bear, with the stubby nose and pink tinted lips.
The headdress is a rubbery piece designed as a boar's head of sorts with horns, teeth and feathers attached. It is a little plain in paint and a dark wash would have boosted this quite a bit.
The other detail on Teebo is added in similar rubberised parts. He has a necklace of teeth that sits around his neck. This has a habit of getting stuck in the neck joint and then sticking out too far - I ended up tucking it behind the other accessories, the straps. These leather look straps cross over the shoulders and round the waist. The right hand side includes a hunting horn (not removable) while the left has a sheath for his knife.
The paint detail where applied is neat and tidy. The fur is cast in a base grey colour with the black stripes added and this dual striping is neat and tidy and matches around the body and arms/legs.
The headdress can be removed but doing so may see the head pop off also as the fix on the headpiece round the ears is tighter than the neck peg. These rubbery parts and hoods will open up the opportunity for multiple Ewok's going forward, and possibly some army building releases.
Teebo stands around 4 inches tall and is in scale in terms of the other human characters. You can see him here lined up with other figures from Return of the Jedi.
Some will argue the smaller scale would warrant some added value or a price reduction, but smaller figures like this are not new in the line (Yoda, Jawa) or across any of the Star Wars lines going back to 1977. Teebo looks the part and therefore fits as well in the line as a human figure or even a larger character like Darth Vader or Chewbacca.
Accessories 4.5
Teebo is armed with three seperate weapons, starting with a rudimentary knife. This is roughly cast with an uneven blade and plain handle - as you'd expect. The blade is painted in a grey while the grip is brown. It fits best in Teebo's left hand, and when not in use slips snugly into the sheath that hangs on the left hand side of his strapping.
Weapon two is a spear that is cast in a similar way to the knife, but now with sculpted fur detail and tied string just under the head of the spear. The shaft can fit into either hand, and the spear is long enough for a two handed pose thanks to the arm articulation.
And finally we have a stone axe, another rough cast with stone head, some sculpted wrapping around the axe head and a wooden effect shaft. Once more this fits into either hand for wielding and can also just about make a two handed pose - although only just considering it is a bit shorter than the spear.
Articulation 4.0
Teebo, and therefore the defined Ewok buck, has a total of 15 points of articulation. The count is good, but the body shape has seen some of them changed from more mobile double joints to single pivots only.
Head : ball joint neck post top and bottom
Body : ball joint torso
Arms : ball joint shoulder, single joint rotating elbow, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, single joint rotating knees, ankle rocker
The head is reasonably mobile on its double ended ball joint post and it can be rotated and tilted, which is great as an Ewok mannerism in the movie is the tilted head quizzical look. The body joint allows rotation of the torso and also allows a degree of lean forward and backward and side to side.
While the arms are quite stubby they are fully mobile and the elbow in particular can bend well beyond 90 degrees. While they do not have a butterfly joint, the length of the weaponry and the articulation of the arms allows two handed poses for the axe and spear.
The legs are also stubby, and will just about allow Teebo to sit. Balancing him in stances needs you to work with all three leg joints or a secure stance, but once posed Teebo stands fine. All the joints are secure and tight.
Summary
For the first Ewok in the Black Series, Teebo is an excellent release with a great sculpt, good paint job and appropriate articulation for the size of the character. We get three weapons to choose from and each one is well executed with the sort of details you would expect from forest assembled weapons.
The new box design shows off the figure well and I do like the choice of the green accent colour for the Return of the Jedi, and it is particularly apt for the Endor based figures. There is not a lot to dislike about Teebo - save perhaps a darker was on the head-dress. I score Teebo an impressive 4.5.
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, star wars, black series, galaxy collection, return of the jedi, ewok
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