Star Wars The Black Series Antoc Merrick review
Antoc Merrick exuded that classic fighter pilot vibe as one of the Rebel Alliance High Command. When Jyn Erso and the rest of Rogue Squadron head off to Scarif against orders from the Rebel leaders, Merrick joins the effort to retrieve the Death Star plans.
Like so many characters in Rogue One, Merrick made the most of limited screen time to leave a big impression on Star Wars fans.
Not that Hasbro needs an excuse to crank out Star Wars figures of even the most random characters, Merrick definitely warranted inclusion in the Black Series line.
It took a little time, but we got the Blue Squadron leader as a Target exclusive. Let’s see if Merrick is all set for takeoff or warrants getting grounded.
Packaging: I dig that the Black Series uses a different accent color for each film/series. Rogue One has a duck egg blue shade. Antoc is No. 8 following his fellow Target exclusive wave mate Galen Erso.
As always, the mural image looks terrific. It’s a classic flyboy poster shot complete with X-Wings flying in the background.
His bio sets the stage for Antoc’s fate in the Battle of the Death Star.
Likeness: The head sculpt is fantastic as it shows off the face printing that’s dramatically improved actor likenesses now. This figure looks like actor Ben Daniels complete with a precisely cropped mustache.
Hasbro went way back to the well for the base body using the Black Series wave 1 X-wing Luke Skywalker for Antoc.
The mold was absolutely perfect for Luke, but it creates a few issues in various categories. In this one it makes Antoc too slim.
Luke was a 19-year-old while Antoc was a grown man who has a much fuller frame and baggier flight suit. Ideally, Hasbro would have made a new more adult size X-wing mold since it’s not like Luke and Wedge are the only pilots.
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Paint: Antoc’s paint job is pretty clean. There’s a little white overspray onto the cadet blue flight suit below the neck portion, but that’s it in terms of paint flaws.
I wish Hasbro would do more with washes. Antoc’s hair is more of a very dirty blonde and the flat muddy brown Hasbro used doesn’t accurately reflect it at all.
Scale: While the Luke X-wing suit mold was great it creates some problems for reuse namely that Luke is one of the smallest dudes in the Star Wars universe. Antoc was 6’ while Luke was 5’6” meaning the Antoc figure is way too short.
I guess on the plus side you can keep him at a distance from most of the other Rebels since he’s not running into battle alongside them.
Articulation: As a fighter pilot, Antoc sat in strategy sessions and headed to his X-wing for battle. He doesn’t need elite level articulation, but the buck allows him to hit plenty of dynamic poses.
Antoc Merrick has:
- neck
- ball-jointed shoulders
- elbow (with swivel)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- torso
- hips
- thighs
- knees (double jointed)
- ankles
Accessories: Antoc comes with the DL-44 blaster. As usual, the Black Series team gives the special touch with the silver paint on the barrel to the well detailed blaster.
He also comes with his flight helmet. It’s got tremendous paintwork with scuff marks and good wear and tear.
There’s some problems with the helmet strap since the helmet was originally designed for Luke not Antoc who has a larger head. You’ll probably need to do the hot water trick to avoid snapping the strap.
That’s not great planning and Hasbro needed to at least size up the helmet to avoid breakage.
Worth it? Antoc was originally a ridiculous $24.99 and that price was a non-starter regardless of the exclusive nature of the figure. I waited him out and got both Antoc and Galen for under $7. Black Series figures for this price make it easier to overlook some questionable design choices.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
The Luke reuse is frustrating since Antoc wasn’t nearly as short, but I like the rest of the figure a lot and he makes for a good addition to my pre-New Hope display.
Where to get it? Antoc was a Target exclusive and you can still order him from Target.com albeit at full price. You can also get him from Amazon now for the same price.
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