The Mandalorian And Grogu Deluxe VC Review

 

This was supposed to be my review last week, but I was waiting on this to arrive from Pulse, and well, it took a while. But this won't just be my typical review of a figure. With The Mandalorian and Grogu movie coming, I'm going to show off some other things related to both characters. So I'll do a full review of this figure, plus some other reviews of some Mando products I've skipped over for a while. And before I get into the review, Hasbro has finally made a definitive version of Din Djarin, so it raises a question: what do I do with my other Mando's?! I'll give some possible answers (some will be custom made into other characters). So, let's get this started! 

I wanted to do the photo above with the 3 Spider-Man movie figures but they just go for way too much money for me to afford. From left to right is the Rescue/HasLab/N1 Mando, the deluxe Mando and the Imperial Commando jetpack Mando from S3. This was a lot of fun to set up, and none of the figures fell over, although I had the hardest time with the 1st Mando figure as he's tough go stand with the jetpack on. 

Here's a better look at all 3 figures. The ones on the edge share similar upper body tooling, but the deluxe Mando has new upper body tooling, especially in the arms (and possibly the chest, which may be reused from previous Mando's like the Commander and Axe Woves). Both the deluxe and IC Jetpack Mando have barbell hips while the one on the left has the old ball socket style hips. And now onto the deluxe Din Djarin! 

If you look closely at the last photo above, you can see the differences between the deluxe (left) and IC jetpack version (right). The helmet is sculpted to match detail not seen in prior Din Djarin/Mandalorian figures. The arms as you can see look much better on the deluxe, as well as the paint applications. Another pleasant surprise was opening the figure and not having joints that were too tight. I have had to do a lot of dunking new figures in just boiled water so that the joints wouldn't break, and it's a pain in the ass. The deluxe has the standard 17 POA, but instead of ball jointed knees, he has hinge knees that move back and forth, but the lower leg/boots are on a swivel joint so you can rotate them. The joints overall have excellent movement, and aren't hindered by armor or accessories. He's got good head movement,  as well. The rocker ankles are also flawless as you can see in his "dance" pose above. He's decently balanced, and I didn't have to do a lot of poses with him leaning against the wall. But he balances best without the jetpack in his back, especially if you don't attach the included Grogu figurine on it. He can sit in your Mos Eisley Cantina, and can fit on the Blurrg. If I had the Razor Crest I bet he could fit in there just fine as well. He sort of justifies the deluxe price for me when it comes to paint apps, sculpt, and articulation. Very well done, Hasbro team! 

Accessory wise, he's got a lot of weapons. And that isn't a bad thing. For the price of a standard Sixer figure, he really needs to justify the price. He comes with a removable jetpack, with a side notch so you can attach the included Grogu figurine. Grogu looks like you can move his head  however the way he's sculpted prevents any significant head movement. More on Grogu later on this post. He comes with his pistol, which easily fits and stays in his holster (something the new General Veers figure can't do, more on him in my May 3rd post). He has a knife, a sword, and a new blaster rifle, plus an extra right hand that can best hold the new rifle. Swapping hands is easy and effortless and I wasn't afraid the joint would break, unlike some previous figures that feel like they will if you swap parts. He can get a THWG on the rifle, and while I didn't get the shot, you can tilt his head enough to where it looks like you can get him looking through the sight. You may need to get a different camera angle to pull it off, however. He has a cloth cape which is removable once you get the head off, but I am not attempting it with this figure. The IC jetpack can also fit on this figure. I am going to paint it silver later on so that he can have a spare jetpack. And you have noticed I have a few additional figures in the review, so before my final thoughts on this set, I'll cover some figures I haven't had a chance to do. 

GROGU

The included Grogu is a figurine. He can't really move and can securely attach to the jetpack. But for a definitive Grogu, the top photo has them. The one on the left is from the IG-12 figure, and he has 3 POA. His head can turn, and his arms can move without falling out. However, he's out of scale so that he can fit in IG-12. The original Grogu on the right also has 3 POA, but if you move the arms too much they fall off. His head turns perfectly, and he's in the correct scale. With all the Grogu figures, Hasbro really needs to make one that can at least move his arms without falling off, and be in the proper scale. I doubt we'll ever get one that can move his feet, but for Grogu and Grogu ONLY: 3 POA is okay. 

EMBO

I was planning on saving my review of the Clone Wars Embo for a 'Figures That Make Me Happy' post. But with the deluxe Mando in hand, and his role in the Mandalorian and Grogu movie, now is the time for a quick review. Embo is done in the animated style, and while it looks like he has 14 POA, it's really only 12. It looks like his ankles could move, but I had no luck. He has the old style swivel hips, so he can't hit too many lower body action poses. He can kneel decently enough and can sit in a Cantina chair. He can do a THWG with his included crossbow rifle, and has some knives which fit on his bandolier. 

But there's one irritating feature about Embo. His helmet. There's a hole on top of his head to let the notch stay inside, but it's loose. He can still throw it like Captain America's shield, though. The face sculpt is decent, and he's in his animated colors. How he really looks on film is unknown  as he's only been seen in shadows for the trailers. I hope we get one for the VC soon, so I can move this version go my Prequel Era bin. But it isn't a bad figure. 

BLURRG

The Blurrg has been requested heavily since the 1st season of The Mandalorian. But it first appeared in The Battle For Endor TV movie back in 1985. It would feature in the 2008 Clone Wars series and later Star Wars Rebels. He has a possible tail, and most that can open and close. His legs have articulated knees, and his tiny arms have a ball joint that can move around. I put them in a wide pose when I sat Kuiil on it so you can better see it. He's included with a S1 version of Din Djarin, and he's the 1st Din to have barbell hips. While not accurate to how he first appeared onscreen, he has the beskar shoulder patch on his right side. I got lucky finding this at Gamestop, as I hadn't preordered it, and when I could afford it, was sold out at the time. Not a bad set, if you don't already have it. But for a Mandalorian fan, it's a perfect gift idea.

The above image shows the 2 definitive versions of Din Djarin. The deluxe Mando is THE definitive version and in my opinion the only one you need. The extras included are icing on the cake. While there isn't yet a definitive Grogu in the VC, that doesn't mean there won't be one day. It's nice to get something from a new movie before the movie comes out, it almost feels like the good old days, the last time being 2015 where there was some good (not great because 2015 was the 5 POA time) movie figures available before the movie premiered. I'm glad to finally get this set, but it arrived a little later than it should have. But it arrived in great condition, and a thank you to Hasbro Pulse for that. I highly recommend this figure, and he's essential for any Mandalorian figure collection or display. 

No Lagniappe this post since I sort of already covered that portion. Thanks for reading! A special thanks to Chris and Nomad at BanthaSkull for allowing me to post this in the comments section. Please share this link on your social media accounts so I can get more readers!