This is the Way: Boba Fett (Carbonized) from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III by Hasbro

 

   Last year on Triple Force Friday 2019 Hasbro debuted a number of "Carbonized" exclusive variant figures which largely became quite popular among collectors. I didn't pick any up as my Star Wars: The Black Series collection tends to mostly be "in universe" figures but when I stumbled upon the recently released Carbonized Boba Fett I couldn't resist. I'm typically always down for Boba Fett and he's a figure that looks pretty impressive with the Carbonized Graphite ink process Hasbro is advertising here. While there is a new Return of the Jedi styled Boba Fett coming out next year in the Black Series Phase IV collection this Boba Fett is 97% a repaint of the Boba Fett figure originally released in 2013 as both an SDCC exclusive and as part of the Black Series Phase I collection. This version of Fett is a Hasbro Fan Channel exclusive, meaning you'll find him available through e-tailers and stores like GameStop, which is where I picked him up. We'll check him out after the break but first I want to draw attention to the heading for this review series. Since the second season of The Mandalorian is in full swing I wanted to pay tribute to it so, for the duration of the season, all of my Star Wars reviews will have the "This is the Way" heading. I've done similar events for all of the Sequel Trilogy and spin-off films as well as for other movies such as Justice League. It's just a fun way to tie all of the reviews together to celebrate a big event. Anyways, on to Boba Fett (Carbonized)...

The Facts:

Height: 6 inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed hips, ball jointed mid torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, right bicep swivel, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, hinged neck, and a ball jointed head.

Accessories: Jetpack, blaster rifle, and pistol

Non-Scalper Price: $25 dollars

Comparison:

* The Carbonized Boba Fett is on the left while the standard Boba Fett from 2013 is on the right. Build-wise and accessory wise they are the exact same figure with different paint jobs. The only physically different pieces are the capes. The Carbonized Fett's cape is longer and made from a shinier, more satin like material than the rougher cape of the original figure.

The Positives:

* Boba Fett looks really cool with the Carbonized paintjob. This has always been a strong sculpt and even though it's now seven years old it's still quite impressive. Hasbro has always done nice work on the armored and alien characters in this line. The Carbonized paint gives the impression of the figure being metallic as it has a shiny gloss to it. Like I said above, I typically want my Black Series figures to be all "in universe" characters but Boba Fett looks so nice that I made an exception. This is his costume from The Empire Strikes Back, by the way, so the upcoming Return of the Jedi Boba Fett is going to be giving us something new, which is fantastic.

* The helmet is fantastic and the Carbonized paint really makes the green look fantastic. The range finder isn't functional (how cool was it to see Cobb Vanth use that in The Mandalorian?) but the proportions are excellent with a lot of detail in the sculpt. The various dents and paint scuffs add a lot of character.

* Boba Fett has a lot of nice detail, particularly his weaponized gauntlets and the mythosaur logo on his shoulder. The paint details are super clean on these, too. 

* While he's an older figure overall Boba Fett still has pretty decent articulation. The joints don't have the range of motion or the smoothness of newer figures but he's still a durable, fun figure and you should be able to get some great poses out of him. 

* Boba Fett's BlasTech EE-3 carbine rifle is the same as the rifle included with the earlier figures but the paint job is a bit sharper here, particularly on the stock. It's a nice looking blaster that really captures the prop used in ESB.

* Boba Fett's Sacros K-11 disintegrator also has a really nice finish to complement the paintjob. This is a sleek little pistol! 

* Of course, Boba Fett also has a working holster for The Disintegrator on his right hip.

* Last up is Boba Fett's Z-6 jetpack. It's also much shinier, given the Carbonized paint scheme, but with fewer colors, which is true to the jetpack from ESB. It fits perfectly on Fett's back where it plugs in and has two little teeth to help keep it in place. 

The Negatives:

* While the intention of the figure is to show off the Carbonized graphite paint, it is a bit disappointing that there are so many paint applications missing. The items sticking out of the leg pouches on Boba Fett's jumpsuit and his right gauntlet have fewer details than on the original figure. Especially given the premium pricing of this figure that seems like quite an oversight. 

* I know the sculpt is 7 years old now but I'm still disappointed by the elbow articulation. It takes a lot of work to get Boba Fett to hold his rifle with both hands as he has limited elbow motion. 

* It's interesting that Hasbro used a shinier material for Boba Fett's cape to match the carbonized paintwork and while I like the effort, the cape seems way too long. Like, "Boba Fett is in danger of tripping on it" long. That's kind of weird, right?

  This is the first of the Carbonized figures I've picked up and while it looks quite cool, it's not a variant I'm really looking forward to more of. Boba Fett isn't a bad figure but considering he's now from the first year of the line some of the articulation is definitely outdated now. The overly long cape and the missing paint applications are also kind of weird. Add those in with the premium pricing and some of the luster is taken off of the figure. He's still a Good and a 1/2 figure but definitely not a highlight for the year or anything.

If you're a fan of Boba Fett then check out a couple other Boba Fett toys on the site, including the Black Series Boba Fett, the Walgreen's exclusive Boba Fett (Prototype Armor), both the standard Hero Mashers Boba Fett and the Han Solo Vs. Boba Fett two-pack version, the Funko POP! #102 Boba Fett, andBoba Fett as a background character in the Bossk Micro Machines Mini Head and in the 4-LOM Micro Machines Mini Head. 

For more figures from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III 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 & Babu Frik
C-3PO (Resistance Base) 
Cal Kestis
Captain Cassian Andor (Eadu) 
Captain Phasma
Captain Phasma (Quicksilver Baton)
Captain Poe Dameron
Cara Dune
Chewbacca (Target Exclusive)
Chewbacca (The Force Awakens)
Chewbacca & C-3PO

The Child

Chirrut Imwe 

Chopper (C1-10P)

Clone Captain Rex (HasCon Exclusive)

Clone Commander Bly

Clone Commander Gree

Clone Commander Fox

Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi

Clone Commander Wolffe 

Constable Zuvio

Count Dooku

Darth Revan 

Darth Vader (Emperor's Wrath)

Death Star Trooper

Dengar

Dewback/ Sandtrooper

Director Krennic 

DJ (Canto Bight)

DJ R-3X

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 Jet Trooper
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)
Heavy Battle Droid
Heavy Infantry Mandalorian
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 Probe Droid
Imperial Shock Trooper 
Imperial Royal Guard 
Inferno Squad Agent
Jaina Solo (Legends)
Jango Fett
Jannah
Jedi Knight Revan
K-2SO
Kanan Jarrus
Knight of Ren (Vicrul)
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 Knight)
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master) 
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master)- Ahch-To Island
Luke Skywalker (Skyalker Strikes)
Luke Skywalker (Yavin Ceremony)
Mace Windu
Maz Kanata 
Moloch
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Force Spirit)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Padawan) 
Obi-Wan Kenobi (SDCC 2016) 
Offworld Jawa
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)
Purge Stormtrooper
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 & D-O
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)
Shadow Stormtrooper
Sith Trooper
Snowtrooper 
Stormtrooper (Mimban)
Stormtrooper (With Blast Accessories)
Supreme Leader Snoke (Throne Room)
Tobias Beckett
Tusken Raider 
Val (Vandor)
Vice Admiral Holdo
Wedge Antilles
X-34 Landspeeder & Luke Skywalker (SDCC Exclusive) 
X-Wing Pilot Asty 
Yoda (Force Spirit)
Zorii Bliss
Zuckuss