Sunday, November 18, 2018

Action Figure Review: L3-37 from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III by Hasbro

    Today I'm checking out another figure from the newest series of Star Wars: The Black Series figures and this time it's a character from Solo: A Star Wars Story: L3-37. A droid who is constantly improving herself, often literally, L3-37 has oddly became a popular character to hate on by many Star Wars fans. Portrayed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, L3-37 is a a droid companion of Lando Calrissian who has cobbled herself together from a variety of droid pieces. She's also very interested in the concept of droid rights, and it seems to be for this reason that the character is getting so much hate. While C-3PO wasn't what anyone would call an activist, aren't there plenty of times when he opines about how droids are treated? It seemed like a logical perspective for an in-universe character to have to me. Anyways, I'm still mystified why Hasbro didn't release many of these main Solo characters when the film was released but we're just now getting a few of them so let's check out L3-37 after the break...



 The Facts:

Height: 5 7/8ths inches

Articulation: Hinged ankles, swivel knees, balljointed hips, balljointed mid-torso, balljointed shoulders with hinges, bicep swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, balljointed neck, and a balljointed head.

Accessories: None

Non-Scalper Price: $20 dollars


 The Positives:

* L3-37 is an impressing looking figure. Hasbro did a rather admirable job of taking the character's unique, cobbled together design and translating it into an action figure. While the actual film design has some elements that would be nearly impossible to capture, the figure visually works really well within the Black Series. There is a lot of detailed sculpting and paintwork here that shows off some really strong work by Hasbro.


 * From the back you can see the many intricate wires and small elements Hasbro has captured here. I love the work here. L3-37 is a pretty unique looking droid and the piecemeal nature of her design is definitely represented.


 * The paint work is overall quite impressive. I love the various colors and weathering here. It's quite well done and definitely shows off the improvements the line has experienced over the past year or so.



* The legs have detail inside and out and capture the character's unique design. The various wires that run up and down the interior of the legs are separate pieces permanently attached but they give off the feeling of a mixed media piece.
 The Negatives:


* It might be faithful to the film but L3's small feet really make standing difficult. Near impossible, you might say. Hasbro should have either made them a bit larger or included a stand of sorts. L3-37 is probably going to be making a few tumbles from your shelf if you're not careful.


* L3-37 doesn't have the best articulation. Some places are fairly solid but the elbows and hips are really poorly executed. The design has wires in these places so when you try to move anything you risk straining and breaking the wires. You gotta be really careful here, something that makes a toy much less fun.
 Not sure how I feel...

* So... L3-37 has a pretty nice looking dome with some great detail and some nice paint applications, but it's not as accurate as you would hope. It seems that Hasbro's design is based off of some earlier images that didn't have the photo-receptors in place. It' a good sculpt, but it's not as accurate as I would like. What do you do with that?
   I like L3-37 as a character, and she's incredibly visually interesting, but the Black Series figure has some problems. The figure doesn't stand well and she doesn't move well. I don't quite know how Hasbro could have approached this figure more successfully, but I'm not thrilled with what we have. I think Hasbro will probably knock the 5 point of articulation 1/18th scale figure out of the park, but this one is just kind of an Eh and a 1/2 figure. She's definitely not one of the standouts of the line but she's a character I doubt we'll ever see again in the 6 inch scale. Do what you gotta do.


This is the first figure of L3-37 I've reviewed. If you're looking for more Star Wars: The Black Series figures, 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
4-LOM
Admiral Ackbar and First Order Officer
Admiral Piett
Ahsoka Tano 
AT-AT Pilot 
Baze Malbus
C-3PO
C-3PO (Resistance Base) 
Captain Cassian Andor (Eadu) 
Captain Phasma
Captain Phasma (Quicksilver Baton)
Captain Poe Dameron
Chewbacca (Target Exclusive)
Chewbacca (The Force Awakens)
Chirrut Imwe 
Clone Captain Rex (HasCon Exclusive)
Clone Commander Gree
Clone Commander Wolffe 
Constable Zuvio
Darth Revan 
Darth Vader (Emperor's Wrath)
Death Star Trooper
Dengar
Dewback/ Sandtrooper
Director Krennic 
DJ (Canto Bight)
Elite Praetorian Guard
Elite Praetorian Guard (with Heavy Blade)
Enfys Nest's Swoop Bike/ Enfys Nest
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 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 (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 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) 
Lando Calrissian (Solo)
Lando Calrissian (The Empire Strikes Back)
Luke Skywalker 
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master) 
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master)- Ahch-To Island
Maz Kanata 
Moloch
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 (Bespin Escape)
Princess Leia Organa 
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)
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 
Stormtrooper (Mimban)
Stormtrooper (With Blast Accessories)
Supreme Leader Snoke (Throne Room)
Tobias Beckett
Tusken Raider 
X-34 Landspeeder & Luke Skywalker (SDCC Exclusive) 
X-Wing Pilot Asty 

7 comments:

  1. Its too bad i dont collect 6 inch figures because the black series is pretty dope.I collected the 3 3/4 black series figs but im not sure if theyre still making them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They have now been moved to the vintage collection but are mainly repacks

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    2. Yeah, what Peter said Big Tone. The Vintage Collection is about 1/2 new figures, half repacks from the Black Series. They're a bit better paint apps wise than the Wal-Mart exclusive Black Series, although they cost a bit more. I actually recently found a Vintage Collection Rey at a Bargain Hunt for $4 or $5 bucks. She's quite nice.

      Delete
  2. I think the issue is not that she's an activist, it's that she's much more annoying and loud compared to C3-PO.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Could be. I seem to hear lots of references to her being a SJW, though, which makes me think it's more related to her content. I didn't mind her at all and thought she was quite funny.

      Delete
  3. I was really wondering how well she would stand up, sadly that might sway my decision to get her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, she's definitely a character design that looks cool but that doesn't work well as a figure.

      Delete

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