The Client, as seen in the first season of The Mandalorian, was released as part of the 7th full wave of Star Wars Black Series figures in the Galaxy Collection (Phase 4) packaging. Originally scheduled for a very late 2022 release - the wave surprised many by showing up in April 2022 and beating some of the preceding Wave 6 figures onto shelves and into people's collections.
Like all Mandalorian Galaxy Collection releases, The Client features the deep orange accent colour across the central band, figure name, and as a phased colour on the black and white artwork used on the side panel and reverse of the box. The Client is the 20th release in The Mandalorian Galaxy Collection, following on directly from Ahsoka and preceding the Deathwatch Trooper - both also part of Wave 7. Next to the artwork and above the numbering on the reverse of the box is our usual brief character outline.
"A mysterious Imperial who keeps a low profile in a safehouse on Nevarro, the Client is the face behind an otherwise faceless bounty, an off-the-record assignment with a high value."
The Client is dressed in the outfit seen throughout his Season 1 appearances, starting with a larger dress coat cast in grey-brown plastic with an unpainted belt, and with sculpted fur shoulder panels painted in a leather brown finish and with a golden chain connecting the two sides of the coat. Under this, we find a sculpted brown uniform, not too dissimilar in style to the usual Olive Green Imperial Officer garb, particularly with the belt design and the pinstripes on the legs. These clothing elements are cast in brown plastic and left unpainted save the black belt and the bronze buckle.
The uniform, as such it is, is finished with knee-high black boots and a medallion that is worn around The Client's neck with a cream and brown ribbon and golden medallion stamped with the Imperial sigil. The only other paint application can be found on the coat arms with a deep burgundy cuff - and it is here the paint does show some errors with the colour on one arm going too far onto the darker grey-brown of the coat.
The head sculpt is brand new and features a very good sculpted likeness to Actor Werner Herzog with the applied face print technology enhancing this further but perhaps not to the extent we have seen on other figures and I'd have liked to have seen the face application go further in enhancing the lines and definition of Herzog's facial features - as it stands the face does look a little waxy.
The hair is sculpted as part of the head and includes a bald spot to the reverse. I don't think we see The Client from the rear in the show so this is a detail Hasbro must have got from the Actor's likeness and it doesn't really work and looks more like an unpainted element. Some license could have been taken here to give The Client a full head of hair.
The head sits on an individual neck section cast in the skin tone and then with the base collar painted to match the upper tunic. The paintwork here is very sloppy due to the location and we have a lot of paint bleed from the collar to the neck and on our review figure a large blob of brown on the neck itself. Thankfully the medal does a good job of covering most of this neck section up and hiding the issues.
The Client didn't wield a weapon in his scenes and is instead packed with some scene-appropriate accessories. The tracking fob has been released before with the Mandalorian Beskar Deluxe set. It is cast in dark grey with a gun-metal trim and antennae as well as a small red-painted LED on the front section. As small as it is, it will fit snugly between the fingers and thumb of the Client's right hand for display.
The Client is also packed with the first Camtono in 6-inch Black Series scale. This is scaled well and includes the ability for any of the three side panels to open on a plastic hinge - and the top too can be popped off for easier access. The Camtono is cast in an off-white finish with painted details around the base with grey triangular panels - while the crisp sculpted control panel on the top goes un-painted which is a shame.
Your Camtono need not be empty either as the set also includes two sculpted stacks of Beskar ingots. These stacks are well defined in some places, including being able to make out the Imperial stamp on the face of the top one, to quite non-descript on others. You can just about make out there are 10 ingots per stack and there is also a kink in the sculpt as though one ingot is sitting just out of line. They are painted in metallic gunmetal. The two stacks fit side by side inside the Camtono - although this is where the fat-fingered collector like myself will find the pop-off top an easier access point. There is even a bit of space for the single Beskar ingots we got with the Beskar Mando Deluxe release if they need a home.
The Camtono top includes the handle within the central circular section and this can be held by the left hand of The Client where the grip is wider, although the fingers will still need coaxing into the gripping position.
The Client features 17 points of articulation, although he is not a character you would expect or need a lot of dynamic posing options for. His legs are held in check by the longer cut of his coat so he definitely would not be sitting behind a desk for your display. The arms are fully mobile and he can hold or cradle the Camtono if you wish to display him with it, as well as extending the arm out to present the tracking fob to Mando. I found no concerns with any of the joints as such, although the ankle rockers are not ratcheted so may be an area of weakness over time. The two-part neck is also limited in its movement where it meets the chest section.
The Client is executed well in terms of both sculpt and decoration - although the facial print needed to be a little bit more in-depth to bring out the detail of the facial sculpt and to do away with the waxy finish. The accessories work well and allow for further scene building from Season 1 and there are no obvious articulation complaints in terms of a character who does little more than sit behind a desk.
Hasbro are doing a great job of world-building The Mandalorian in the Black Series, in the same way Kenner treated the original movies, and The Client is another great tertiary character addition to our Mandalorian collection.
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About Me : As a child of the '70s and '80s 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 licenses - 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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