It has been a minute, but it is finally time for another #MandoMonday, and this time, it’s a… MUDDY Mando Monday. Hey, we don’t make up is exploits, we are just along for the (highly entertaining) ride.
It is probably still a little early to get into spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett, but I think it is pretty common knowledge now that the show helped give us our fix of The Mandalorian. The main course (The Mandalorian season 3) will be up later this year, but priming us with a bit of a team-up was a smart move on the part of Lucas Film. I am positive that also made Hasbro quite happy as it helps to continue to keep the spotlight on one of their biggest pushes in terms of action figures as well. Let’s face it, we have gotten the chance to collect multiple iterations of Din Djarin and well, with this new Target-exclusive Arvala-7 version, you have the chance to dirty up your display just a bit.
The defeat of the Mudhorn turned out to be a pivotal storyline early on in the series not only for practical purposes (those Jawas wanted that egg in return for those Razor Crest parts), but the Mudhorn ended up being Mando’s sigil as well. The battle to get that egg dirtied up his armor something terrible, and it took the help of wee Grogu (then, The Child) to get it done, but that partnership was very important for establishing the dynamic we know today, and their future adventures stand to be a lot of fun.
So, of course the SW team at Hasbro was going to help celebrate that seminal event, especially since muddy Mando could be accomplished mostly via paint. In fact, that was one of the main selling points of this figure when it was revealed: the paint would not only look authentic, but it would also add texture and depth of the recreation of the caked-on mud. Having the figure in-hand, the mud does look good, and there is a bit of texturing here and there, but not quite as much as I would have expected. I know, I am sure that is me being a little nitpicky, but I guess I was just expecting something a bit more messy, I guess. It is not that this final piece looks bad or unconvincing, because it is actually pretty neat, and maybe there will figure applications of this technique that will take it to the next level.
The look is certainly unique, even amongst the many Mandalorian figures we already have in the Black Series line, so while I probably wouldn’t call it *essential* it is pretty fun. So, once you take the mud applications away, you should be pretty familiar with this figure. The base body is re-use save for the damaged chest overlay, and the IB-94 pistol and Amban pulse rifle are carryovers as well. These have been kept surprisingly clean but that is okay, at least they won’t jam up.
Grogu and his pram are also along for the ride, and while we know Mando doesn’t go anywhere without him, he was especially important on Arvala-7. The pram is slightly re-decoed from previous releases, and I think this coloring matches the source material a bit better for the time. Grogu is build on the Force wielding body (with the outstretched arm), but this time his eyes are closed amidst concentration. The heads can swap around, so this might be a nice head to recreate a sleepy version on the non-preposed body.
The Mudhorn egg is the new piece here, and it is a fun little accessory to include, and I will be immediately be giving it to the Off-World Jawa figures, even if that scene is kinda gross. The size seems to be correct to the source, and the outer “furry” shell is nicely detailed. The top does come off so you can see the golden yolk inside, so again, those Jawas should be be pretty happy. This little piece is likely to be the highlight of the set for many.
Even though I am feeling a LOT of repaint fatigue and seem to be overdosing on Mando and Boba variants, this one is actually pretty nice, and quite different from any of the other figures we have gotten, even if it is a glamorized repaint. I am hoping to be seeing NEW figures of NEW characters as we head into the Kenobi and Andor series ahead of Mando season three, but I don’t expect the Din and Fetts to slow down any time soon.
Now, I know the SW marketing team hasn’t been a rock of trust throughout the collector community as of late, but they are saying that apparently, this figure will be up for sale at Target in March, but… I got mine from there already. It was a challenge as it comes and goes into stock pretty quickly, but you can set in-stock alerts and try your luck HERE.
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Source: Fwoosh
