Packaging-Vintage Original Trilogy Collection 12"
Sculpt
This ones my first 12" ever from Star Wars, and I think I picked just the right one. Just standing there, it can look like Jeremy Bulloch on a set filming. Its that good. I compared it to pictures of the POTF2 releases and it blows them away completely. First, the helmet is now much more accurate. Its not removable but its better shaped and has expertly detailed dents and so on. The scuffs and scratches looks o real, even on close inspection. There are two things thta bug me though. One is that in the packaging, his transmitter on the helmet is held to the top with an elastic band. This is extremely stupid as the material used for the piece is soft and it becomes bent in the package. It would be more than fine without it. The second thing is that he seems to have lost his neck. The photo on the back of the packaging has a neck, but it doesn't appear too well on the finished figure.
The torso and chestplate armour are as good as the helmet. The armour here is not removable, but sewed together under the arms. The shoulder pads are also attached to this piece meaning they won't droop or fall off. On the back of this are two holes one above the other, this is where the jet pack plugs in. Attached to the left shoulder just behing the shoulder pad is a piece of rough brown material sewed in places to have permenant creases. This also means it hangs better. On the right shoulder are three real seperate braids which hang down both his back and front.
The wrist gauntlets are the same piece as the gloved hands and are pushed up the arm and over the cloth jumpsuit he is wearing. Hard to explain but yu should get what I mean when you think about it. All the necessary gadgets and weapons are on the gauntlets including a pipe on the right one whcih tucks under a layer of the jumpsuit.
The shoes look extremely accurate and even have sculpted soles. I read that previous versions actually had shoes over sculpted feet whereas this just has the shoes. Looks better as they are more accurately scaled.
The grey (depending on whether you get the blue or grey jumpsuit version) fits over the whole body. It would be removable if not for the permenantly attached chest armour. It has two pockets on the thighs which open with velcro, and also has some open top pockets on the shins for some gadgets. Underneath the jumpsuit is a very basic articulated body, it is coloured black and therefor not meant for display.
Paint
Judging from the paint scheme, this Fett is based on his appearance in The Empire Strikes Back. All his armour and jetpack, apart from the knee and shoulder pads, are in green. The green base colour is just right and the weathering also helps bring it to life. All the sculpted dents and such are accompanied by a silver/grey dash of paint making for a very realistic job. All the little symbols like on the shoulder pad and chestplate are also accurate. The shoulder and knee pads are the same yellow, but the shoulders seem to have more weathering on them. The shoes are painted with a number of colours to add that extra bit of realism.
Articulation
Fett has 15 points that are movable and they are the ball jointed helmet, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles. But bear in mind that joints like the shoulders, elbows and knees can move in just about direction due to the larger size of the figure and that they are all hidden by the jumpsuit. The helmet is on a ball joint and can turn a fair bit but is restricted because of it being so low on the shoulders. The gauntlets can twist round on their joint, but because the hand is the same piece, its hard to get decent gun slinging poses. He looks best holding the rifle down. Overall, alot of articulation but it can be restricted because of the armour and all that he is carrying.
Accessories
The figure has alot of stuff with him. You get his jetpack, blaster rifle, two belts, knee pads and some little gadgets. The jetpack has no movable parts but is a good enough sculpt. It uses a lighter shade of green for some of the panels along some red detailing and some weathering. The blaster is in fact the wrong one. The sculpt is taken from the prop in Return of the Jedi and has the ribbed barrel rather than the plain one seen in The Empire Strikes Back. It is matt black with no weathering applied. The top belt is light brown and has some sculpted pouches on. This clips together are the back. The second belt below is larger and is more of a sash round his waist. It looks like its covering the groin plate but it is in fact the same piece, sculpted on. This also clips together at the back using two little pegs. Attached to this, although removable, are two cloth pockets very similar to the ones sewn onto the thighs of the jumpsuit. These also have a to that opens with velcro. The knee pads slide off down the legs, and are held on by a small strip of black elastic material at the back. These are accurately sculpted, and each has different moulds on each side for more detail. The gadgets in the shin pockets are small grey pieces and slide in and out.
Final Thoughts
Probably one of my favourite pieces alltogether, and the minor gripes don't bother you once you have him posed. An excellent figure made that little but cooler by the fact he is Boba Fett!
10/10