Kanan Jarrus (Rebels) (Star Wars - Black Series

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Kanan Jarrus (Rebels) (Star Wars - Black Series - Red) Review

Kanan Jarrus (Rebels)
Star Wars - Black Series - Red (Hasbro)The Star Wars: Rebels show does an admirable job of giving the character models subtle textures without actually physically giving them a texture. Of course, this "painted detail" wasn't going to fly in Hasbro's Black Series, so the cartoony designs got a dimensional detail upgrade for their plastic incarnations. (Plastinations? Do I sound like a stuffy, over-educated droid yet?)

Even after some creative license on the sculptor's part, Kanan's figure ended up about 95% accurate to the on-screen character. The figure even stands about 6 1/4-inches tall which matches up with Kanan's 6' 3'' height. Surprisingly, the inaccuracies aren't aggravating, and I think they're sensible changes for this more realistic appearance.

The most noticeable discrepancy is the shades of greens used for the, uh, wool battle sweater? The coarse texture it has (the pants too) gives it that vibe, but whatever, I like it. Could even be a canvas texture. The greens are much darker, with the armor plates being so dark they almost look like straight gunmetal. I've seen the kneepads be greyish-green but they're black on this figure. Overall, the colors work well together and I welcome the changes.

There are a few spots I noticed on the figure that are physically different from the on-screen model. The differences are innocuous, but worth noting as trivia...and to pad reviews lol.

-One of the buckles on the chest now resembles a typical adjustable device, like on a backpack's shoulder strap.

-One of the holster straps now attaches to the inner panel of the holster instead of bolting to the front panel.

-There is a tiny rectangular detail missing to the right of the belt buckle, it's only present to the left. The sculptor probably just forgot to mirror it.

Digital sculpts lose detail when translated into molds, and unfortunately it's noticeable on this figure's hair. The beard looks soft and mushy, but the hairdo and ponytail can probably be salvaged with a better paintjob.

The rest of the figure fares much better though, there are wrinkles and folds in the clothes and Kanan's rougeish good looks shine through...even if it's through eyes pointing in different directions.

That brings us back to the paintjob. The eyes are jagged, off-center and devoid of life, on par with every Hasbro figure I've gotten recently. The skin isn't painted and has a semi-gloss finish. There are faint silver marks along the edges of the armor, they're supposed to be scuffs, but they're so neat they may as well be cool pinstriping by Sabine.

There are no washes to add depth to the figure, I guess it's to maintain the cartoony vibe. There's some lazy drybrushing to highlight the hair though. Factory paintjobs are rarely impressive nowadays, but here it's acceptable for the most part.

In the SW:Rebels show, Kanan carries his lightsaber as two ubiquituous doohickeys stuck to his belt. He doesn't want everyone knowing he's one of the last living Jedi Knights, too many scumbags want to collect his head! The figure can also carry the lightsaber in pieces on the belt, they attach via slots and tabs and can be assembled, complete with a blue laser beam. Yes, the tabs get in the way when holding the lightsaber, and can be eyesores, but you can fudge the handle in there. At least the blaster fits neatly in the right hand. I like that it accommodates the trigger guard but also looks natural while not holding it.

As a side note, I think there's a missed opportunity here for adding some play/display value. The lightsaber beam simply pops into the handle via a peg, why not drill a little hole in the blaster's muzzle and let the beam attach there too? Granted, the gun is too flimsy to support the beam, but...but still!

All the articulation we expect from a figure in this price range is present. Though, as usual, I would rather have double-hinge elbows instead of swivel-hinges because I like the extra ~50 degrees of movement it offers, especially when the alternative is this 90-degree let-down.

The only other grievance is that the ball-socket in the torso doesn't let the upper body pivot back at all. This is totally unacceptable because you just know anyone with a girlfriend as beautiful and commanding as Hera Syndulla is going to be bending over backwards for her all the time lol.

Even if you're not a Star Wars fan, you'll most likely find something to like in the Black Series. It's one of the most interesting toy lines out there thanks to the constant stream of unique molds for the figures.