Thursday, June 14, 2018

Action Figure Review: 4-LOM from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III by Hasbro

 I actually procured 4-LOM the day Solo: A Star Wars Story was released but it's just taken me a few weeks to get to him. The fourth member of The Empire Strikes Back bounty hunters to be released, 4-LOM is definitely one of the most wanted figures of 2018. Hopefully this year will see us completing the sextet as Dengar should be coming out in a future series later this year and Zuckuss, who was once planned to be a Toys 'R Us exclusive, apparently has now been picked up by another retailer. There's still just something insanely captivating about the group of bounty hunters gathered by Darth Vader aboard the Executor and the prospect of completing them has me majorly excited. 4-LOM is included as part of the second series of figures released for the Solo film and is one only two new figures in the case of eight (Qi'ra is the other) meaning that unless Hasbro repacks this guy down the road he is probably going to be difficult to find. Seriously, Hasbro: You really should have double packed this guy! Original Trilogy figure + Empire Strikes Back + bounty hunter equals hot commodity! Let's check out the lovable 4-LOM after the break...



 The Facts:

Height: 5 3/4ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, hinged knees, swivel thighs, balljointed hips, balljointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel shoulder covers, bicep swivel/hinge elbows with hinged pistons, swivel/hinge wrists, and a double balljointed head.


Accessories: DLT-19 Heavy blaster rifle


Non-Scalper Price: $20 dollars

 The Facts:


* 4-LOM looks near-perfect. Being a protocol droid with a head modeled after the Gand species, 4-LOM contains a great mixture of both droid and alien in his design. While the figure is completely new from the waist up, 4-LOM does reuse the legs and possibly pelvis of C-3PO. This is accurate to the film and the in-universe lore, so I can dig it. The plated armor features some excellent detailing and a great paint job that captures the look of the droid bounty hunter.
 * While 4-LOM is a protocol droid he still has a pretty great complement of articulation featuring every joint you'd expect from a Black Series figure. The joints are really well worked out to fit the droid's body, though, as 4-LOM has his mid-torso joint right above the mass of wires at his stomach and hinged knees that function in the way you'd expect due to the design of the costume. While he only stood around on the bridge of the Executor, you can have 4-LOM do about anything you want him to.

* One of the coolest features is the functioning piston hinge on 4-LOM's elbows. Unlike C-3PO, who featured non-articulated elbows, 4-LOM has a piston that is on a balljoint which attaches into a groove on the forearm. Moving the elbow joint in and out makes the piston function. Very, very cool design!

* 4-LOM is a LOM series protocol droid featuring a head based off of the appearance of the Gand species, this explaining his insect-like appearance and his resemblance to Gand bounty hunter Zuckuss (whose names were switched in the vintage Kenner line). The paintwork and sculpt of the head is incredible, especially the detail on the eyes.


* Want to know something else cool about the eyes? 4-LOM's eyes are translucent and green, just like the movie prop helmet. It's tough to see but shine a bright light around the figure and the eyes glow a brilliant green.


* The figure features a very worn and battered paintjob that makes the droid look very worn and rusty. Hasbro went all out here and did an excellent job of capturing the droid's appearance. He's really in need of a good oil bath, isn't he?
 * 4-LOM includes his DLT-19 Heavy Blaster rifle.

The Negatives:

* The blaster rifle has no paint applications on it, which makes it look kind of cheap. Most figures lately have features some excellent paint applications on their blasters and other accessories, so the lack of anything on 4-LOM's is kind of frustrating.
   Hasbro really goes all in on the Original Trilogy figures and 4-LOM is another winner. The Black Series is easily one of my favorite action figure lines at the moment (possibly my favorite) and I'm always thrilled to add more characters to my ranks. 4-LOM has a great sculpt, some excellent paintwork, and some clever engineering on the eyes and elbow pistons that help him to stand out just a bit more. He's a Great and a 1/2 figure who will, unfortunately, probably require you to hire a bounty hunter of your own to track down.



The only other 4-LOM collectible I've reviewed is the Micro Machines Mini Heads 4-LOM.

For more figures from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III, check out the following:
442nd Siege Battalion Clone Trooper, 212th Attack Battalion Utapau Trooper, Coruscant Guard ---(Phase II), and 501st Legion Clone Trooper 4 pack
Admiral Ackbar and First Order Officer
Ahsoka Tano 
AT-AT Pilot 
Baze Malbus
Captain Cassian Andor (Eadu) 
Captain Poe Dameron
C-3PO
C-3PO (Resistance Base)
Captain Phasma
Chewbacca (Target Exclusive)
Chewbacca (The Force Awakens)
Chirrut Imwe 
Clone Captain Rex (HasCon Exclusive)
Clone Commander Gree
Constable Zuvio
Darth Revan 
Darth Vader (Emperor's Wrath)
Death Star Trooper
Dewback/ Sandtrooper
Director Krennic 
DJ (Canto Bight)
Elite Praetorian Guard
Elite Praetorian Guard (with Heavy Blade)
Finn (First Order Disguise)
Finn (FN-2187)
Finn (Jakku)
First Order Flametrooper
First Order General Hux
First Order Snowtrooper
First Order Snowtrooper Officer
First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter
First Order Stormtrooper
First Order Stormtrooper Executioner 
First Order Stormtrooper (with Gear)
First Order TIE Fighter Pilot
General Leia Organa
Grand Admiral Thrawn (SDCC Exclusive)
Grand Moff Tarkin 
Guardians of Evil 4-Pack
Guavian Enforcer
Han Solo (Solo)
Han Solo (The Force Awakens)
Hera Syndulla
Imperial AT-ACT Driver
Imperial Death Trooper
Imperial Death Trooper, Captain Cassian Andor, and Sergeant Jyn Erso (Jedha) 3 pack
Imperial Hovertank Pilot 
Imperial Shock Trooper 
Imperial Royal Guard 
Inferno Squad Agent
Jaina Solo (Legends)
Jango Fett
K-2SO
Kanan Jarrus
Kylo Ren 
Kylo Ren (SDCC 2016)
Kylo Ren (The Last Jedi) 
Kylo Ren (Starkiller Base)
Kylo Ren (Throne Room) 
Lando Calrissian (Solo)
Lando Calrissian (The Empire Strikes Back)
Luke Skywalker 
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master) 
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master)- Ahch-To Island
Maz Kanata 
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Force Spirit)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (SDCC 2016)
Phase 1 Clone Trooper Commander, Phase II Clone Trooper, Imperial Stormtrooper, and First Order ---Stormtrooper Officer four pack
Poe Dameron
Poe Dameron and First Order Riot Control Stormtrooper
Porgs
Princess Leia Organa 
Qi'ra (Corellia)
Qui-Gon Jinn
R2-A3, R5-K6, and R2-F2
Range Trooper
Resistance Tech Rose
Resistance Trooper
Rey (Island Journey)
Rey (Jakku) & BB-8 
Rey (Jedi Training)
Rey (Jedi Training)- Crait
Rey (Starkiller Base) 
Rey's Speeder (Jakku)
Sabine Wren
Sandtrooper Sergeant, Crimson Stormtrooper, Lieutenant OXIXO, and R2-Q5
Scarif Stormtrooper
Scarif Stormtrooper Squad Leader 
Sergeant Jyn Erso (Eadu)
Sergeant Jyn Erso (Jedha)
Snowtrooper 
Supreme Leader Snoke (Throne Room)
Tusken Raider 
X-34 Landspeeder & Luke Skywalker (SDCC Exclusive) 
X-Wing Pilot Asty 
 

4 comments:

  1. Ah man, I'm gona be going nuts hunting this one! I GOTTA HAVE HIM.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BBTS still has him available for preorder. Target seems to be the best place to find these figures, though. That's where mine came from.

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  2. I'm still on the hunt for 4-LOM; he continues to elude me (I guess that's one of the things he's supposed to do, being a bounty hunter and all?). I've missed him every time Target seems to get a restock (some have gotten him from Gamestop too but no reports of him showing up at Wal-mart). And normally I'd happily pay BBTS for him (since that's where I get all of my collectibles), even at $5 over MSRP, but I still have the vague hope I'll spot him in the wild. That hope is dwindling as the days go by. I hope Hasbro will reveal at SDCC where Zuckuss will be allocated now that TRU is no more in the US.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm also really waiting for Hasbro to reveal where and when Zuckuss is going to be available. Hopefully he won't be too difficult. I really want to hear about where the battle damaged Captain Phasma will show up in the US, too.

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