Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Road to The Rise of Skywalker: Cara Dune from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III by Hasbro

    We've had two episodes of The Mandalorian so far and darn is it good. I'm loving it! Today I'm checking out Cara Dune, a new Black Series figure of a character from The Mandalorian who hasn't appeared in the show yet. Even waiting until after the second episode I still can't tell you anything about Cara Dune except that she's played by Gina Carano and she's a darn fine action figure. Seriously, she really is a highlight of the line with a great arsenal of weapons. Let's check out Cara Dune, a former Rebel trooper now turned mercenary, after the break...



 The Facts:

Height: 5 3/4ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, boot swivels, double hinged knees, thigh swivels, mid-torso balljoint, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, balljointed neck, and a balljointed head.

Accessories: Blaster rifle, sling, blaster pistol, and knife.

Non-Scalper Price: $20 dollars

 The Positives:



* Cara Dune has a look that definitely gives off a mercenary/ bounty hunter vibe. She's wearing various pieces of light armor with multiple textures and bits of damage. It's a great look. Her blue and black color scheme actually stands out a bit, too. Of all of the Black Series figures I own, only a few have a color scheme with blue being dominant, so that's another thing she's got going for her.
 * At first I thought this was an incredible portrait. It still is, as it's very lifelike, but after comparing it to actress and former MMA fighter Gina Carano, it might be off just a bit. I think it's the expression, though. It's hard to compare with this expression chosen. The features look right, though, so we'll have to see how it looks once Cara Dune finally shows up in the Mandalorian. Probably A- to A work instead of an A+, which is still a positive in my book.


 * Cara not only has a pretty cool tattoo on her right bicep but she also has really cool vambraces on her forearms. The wear and tear details are slick across the board. Seriously, there's a lot of great detail on the figure.



* Articulation is a strong feature of the Black Series and Cara Dune doesn't disappoint. She can fight, shoot, kneel, and hold her rifle with both hands, no questions asked.

* Cara Dune's pistol is very cool. It looks kind of like a Japanese Nambu model 14 pistol. So many classic Star Wars weapons were based off of World War II era firearms, so this fits right in. I love the elegance of the design. The barrel has been modified and a scope has been added to the top. This makes me hope we get a Mandalorian visual dictionary at some point, so we can admire these weapons and learn their names.


* Cara Dune has a cool belt with an attached holster. Her blaster slips right in and is held in place with a functioning strap.


 * Cara Dune also comes with a small knife, which isn't a very common accessory to see in Star Wars. She uses one, though.


 * What's even cooler is that the knife slides down into her left boot. There's a very small slot that you can put the knife into. It looks awesome. I'm also digging the dust or sand on her boots. I liked the rough, lived in look of the figure. It's so Star Warsy!


 * Cara's last weapon is a pretty nasty looking heavy blaster. It reminds me of the RT-97C heavy blaster, but it's clearly a different model. The paint work is great on this and I love the drums on the bottom. It's a fantastic weapon that looks like it could cause some serious damage.


 * Need for Cara to just tote this around? Then  use the sling! Yes, the rifle has a removable sling that is easy to put on and take off. It's a nice extra for sure.
 The Negatives:


* Cara's hair isn't poorly sculpted but it does look a bit flat. Sometimes sculpted hair looks crisp and detailed and sometimes it looks "melted." Here, it's starting to look a bit too "melted" for my taste.
   Cara is one of the figures from the second series that has hit since Triple Force Friday and she definitely is one of the most exciting yet. Incredible weapons (plus the ability to hold them), a solid likeness, great articulation, and a very detailed outfit make for another cool figure to add to the shelf. At this point Cara is the centerpiece of my The Mandalorian shelf as I haven't found the titular character yet. Cara Dune didn't pop up in episode 2 of the show, so hopefully we'll see her this Friday. I can't wait! She's an Epic figure and I'm excited to see this character in action on the show.


This is the first figure of Cara Dune I've reviewed. For more Star Wars: The Black Series figures, check out the following:
0-0-0 (Triple Zero)
442nd Siege Battalion Clone Trooper, 212th Attack Battalion Utapau Trooper, Coruscant Guard ---(Phase II), and 501st Legion Clone Trooper 4 pack
4-LOM
Admiral Ackbar and First Order Officer
Admiral Piett
Ahsoka Tano 
AT-AT Pilot 
Battle Droid
Baze Malbus
BT-1 (Beetee)
C-3PO
C-3PO (Resistance Base) 
Cal Kestis
Captain Cassian Andor (Eadu) 
Captain Phasma
Captain Phasma (Quicksilver Baton)
Captain Poe Dameron
Chewbacca (Target Exclusive)
Chewbacca (The Force Awakens)
Chirrut Imwe 
Chopper (C1-10P)
Clone Captain Rex (HasCon Exclusive)
Clone Commander Gree
Clone Commander Fox
Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi
Clone Commander Wolffe 
Constable Zuvio
Darth Revan 
Darth Vader (Emperor's Wrath)
Death Star Trooper
Dengar
Dewback/ Sandtrooper
Director Krennic 
DJ (Canto Bight)
Doctor Aphra
Dryden Vos
Elite Praetorian Guard
Elite Praetorian Guard (with Heavy Blade)
Emperor Papatine and Throne
Enfys Nest's Swoop Bike/ Enfys Nest
Ezra Bridger
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
Gamorrean Guard
General Grievous
General Leia Organa
General Veers
Grand Admiral Thrawn (SDCC Exclusive)
Grand Moff Tarkin 
Guardians of Evil 4-Pack
Guavian Enforcer
Han Solo (Exogorth Escape)
Han Solo (Mimban)
Han Solo (Solo)
Han Solo (The Force Awakens)
Hera Syndulla
IG-11
Imperial AT-ACT Driver
Imperial Death Trooper
Imperial Death Trooper, Captain Cassian Andor, and Sergeant Jyn Erso (Jedha) 3 pack
Imperial Hovertank Pilot 
Imperial Jumptrooper
Imperial Patrol Trooper
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) 
L3-37
Lando Calrissian (Solo)
Lando Calrissian (The Empire Strikes Back)
Lando Calrissian (Skiff Guard)
Luke Skywalker 
Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape)
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master) 
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master)- Ahch-To Island
Mace Windu
Maz Kanata 
Moloch
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Force Spirit)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Padawan) 
Obi-Wan Kenobi (SDCC 2016) 
Padme Amidala
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 (Bespin Escape)
Princess Leia Organa 
Princess Leia Organa (Hoth)
Qi'ra (Corellia)
Qui-Gon Jinn
R2-A3, R5-K6, and R2-F2
Range Trooper
Rebel Trooper
Red Squadron (R2-D2, R5-D8, and R2-X2)
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)
Rio Durant
Sabine Wren
Sandtrooper Sergeant, Crimson Stormtrooper, Lieutenant OXIXO, and R2-Q5
Scarif Stormtrooper
Scarif Stormtrooper Squad Leader 
Second Sister Inquisitor
Sergeant Jyn Erso (Eadu)
Sergeant Jyn Erso (Jedha)
Snowtrooper 
Stormtrooper (Mimban)
Stormtrooper (With Blast Accessories)
Supreme Leader Snoke (Throne Room)
Tobias Beckett
Tusken Raider 
Val (Vandor)
Vice Admiral Holdo
X-34 Landspeeder & Luke Skywalker (SDCC Exclusive) 
X-Wing Pilot Asty 
Zuckuss

4 comments:

  1. It's so sad that they're putting out great figures from this show but I haven't been able to find any! Well...except for a Jawa but I'm not counting it.

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    Replies
    1. I only found Cara the day I picked her up. IG-11 isn't too hard to find (but he's not that great of a figure). I really want a Mandolorian, though! He should be way easier to find! The Jawa is a little better than the previous Jawa. After watching episode 2 (which I've now watched 3 times) I'm quite glad to have the Jawa. That was an awesome episode!

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  2. Nice figure. I still haven't picked her up though. Maybe sometime soon after she appears in Ep 3 perhaps?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope she shows up this week. I love that the show actually has new episodes rather than dropping all at once. The anticipation and ability to talk about each episode and speculate is so much fun. Good luck finding her! Cara seems to be difficult to find.

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