Star Wars The Black Series Tusken Raider review – Archive Series
Thanks to The Mandalorian, Star Wars fans have a different perspective on the Tusken Raiders. They’re not just the nightmare fuel that terrorized Luke Skywalker, sniped at pod racers or enslaved Shimi Skywalker. They’re also a noble crew of nomads who just want to live their lives out in the deserts of Tatooine.
Regardless of your preferred take, the Sand People are a significant supporting crew in the Star Wars universe making for an ideal army builder for Black Series collectors.
For whatever reason, I’d neglected getting any Tusken Raiders when Hasbro first released them way back in 2017. With my renewed interest in the Black Series line, I figured it was long past time to start building an army of Sand People.
Lets see if the Tusken Raider is set to conquer my collection single file or if it needs to get lost in the Dune Sea.
Packaging: The Archive Series is a throwback to the old Black Series presentation. This edition references the 50th anniversary of Lucasfilm, which seems like an odd thing to commemorate for a figure line, but whatever.
The gold lettering is a nice touch and I still like the greyscale drawing of the Tusken Raider. While short, the bio summarizes the Sand People and their role well.
Likeness: Hasbro went for the best approach with the Tusken Raider going with a hybrid of plastic and cloth for the attire. Cloth doesn’t always cooperate in terms of being accurate so using it for the outer robe was a smart approach.
The head sculpt is outstanding with tremendous work with the wraps around the horns and eye pieces. Just as intimidating is the mouth piece with the teeth-like front apparatus.
Beyond the robe, the cross bandolier covers the chest leading to the belt full of pouches. His feet also feature good sculpting with wrappings to keep them protected from the harsh sand — which gets everywhere.
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Paint: The paintwork on the head is fantastic and should have been the model for the entire figure.
It’d be nice for a bit more paint detail specifically washes to help dirty up the tunic and bring out more of the sculpt of the belt’s pouches. Everything is clean at least so there’s no sloppiness anywhere on the figure.
Scale: The Tusken Raider is about average height so he should be taller than Luke Skywalker and eye to eye with Mandalorian.
Articulation: The Tusken Raider shows the limitations of the older molds. It would benefit from double-jointed elbows so he can hit a true sniping pose.
There’s not a lot of great crouching/kneeling options due to the plastic cone nature of the lower skirt piece.
You can still get some decent threatening the farm boy and protocol droids, but hopefully Hasbro will release a new Tusken Raider with tweaked articulation.
The Tusken Raider has:
- neck
- shoulders
- elbow (with swivel)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- torso
- hips
- thighs
- knees (double jointed)
- ankles
Accessories: The Tusken Raider comes with far more accessories than the usual Black Series figure.
He’s got his cycler rifle, which is spectacularly detailed with silver studs and barrel. The scope is solid as well. Hasbro didn’t skimp on the paint with silver, brown and black throughout.
Finally, the Raider has his trademark Gaffi stick. It’s very well done with intricate detailing on the club portion and handle.
Then for some added functionality and display versatility, there’s three different options — a metallic silver piece and two darker spear and mace attachments. That’s helpful and appreciated if you’re army building Tuskens.
Worth it? The Tusken Raider normally retails for $22.99, but I got him for $14 during the holidays. That’s a solid price for any Black Series figure.
Rating: 8 out of 10
With enhanced articulation, the Tuskens would have been exceptional. The various weapon options certainly help but they are hurt by their inability to strike really dynamic poses.
Where to Get It? The easiest bet now is probably going online via Amazon or Entertainment Earth.
As an Amazon Associate and Entertainment Earth affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.