Sunday, September 9, 2012

Comparing 12-inch Boba Fett Action Figures by Marmit, Medicom Toys and Sideshow Collectibles

Just how many 1/6 scale Boba Fett 12-inch Bounty Hunter figures are out there? Hasbro released the first original 12-inch Boba Fett action figure way back in 1979 but that one was plastic molded and upsized from the 3 3/4-inch figure which wouldn't count since it is not fabric clothed with accessories and weapon. Hasbro would release two more 1/6 Boba Fett action figures, the really fugly obese version in 1997 using the bulky Hall-of-Fame 12-inch body and the 2004 Vintage Original Trilogy Collection 12-inch Boba Fett which was an improvement but still fell short of the standard expected for a Star Wars 12-inch figure. No pictures posted sinceI didn't get any one of the three by Hasbro.

So not counting the three by Hasbro (some say "Has-been"), there's also one 12-inch Boba Fett by Marmit (released in 2001), two by Medicom Toys and the most recent 1:6 Boba Fett figure produced and released by Sideshow Collectibles. As far as I can tell, of all the seven Boba Fett 12-inch figures released so far, all except one (which is Medicom Toys' version 2 Boba Fett) is based on the Boba Fett as seen in "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back".


In this toy blog post, I'll be showing comparison pictures of the three 1/6 scale Boba Fett 12-inch figures released by Marmit, Medicom and Sideshow Collectibles in my Star Wars 12-inch figure collection. All are based on Boba Fett as seen in "The Empire Strikes Back". The most distinct difference between the two film versions of Boba Fett are the gauntlets (green in ESB and red in ROTJ - "Return of the Jedi"). There are other differences as well and I have covered these in my earlier post HERE.




Just like what "TheRightEarOfNash" said in one of the comments, "No one has managed to get the color pallet right for ESB Boba Fett." All three ESB Boba Fetts (starting from left: Sideshow Collectibles Boba Fett, Medicom Toys Boba Fett and Marmit Boba Fett) have different color schemes / paints on their helmets and armor. I think Medicom's Boba Fett jet pack is of the wrong size as it appears to be too big on the figure. The rocket portion protrudes out from the back and can be seen from the front. That is not the case with Marmit's and Sideshow's Boba Fett figure which is in line with screen grabs and shots taken of Boba Fett as seen in the films.


Here's a comparison of the Marmit 1/6 scale Boba Fett 12-inch figure with the recently released Sideshow Collectibles sixth scale Boba Fett 12-inch bounty hunter figure. In terms of size, Sideshow's ESB Boba Fett figure is slightly taller by a bit. Details wise, Sideshow Collectibles 12-inch Boba Fett is much more decked out and detailed than the Marmit Boba Fett figure which was released more than ten years ago.


Scroll down to see the turnaround views and comparison pictures of Sideshow Collectibles Boba Fett 12-inch figure and Marmit 1:6 scale Boba Fett bounty hunter.


Interestingly enough, Marmit Boba Fett has spats around his ankles over the ties. In the Star Wars films, Boba Fett only wore spats in "Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi", along with red gauntlets and a more colorful jetpack.



Close-up comparison pictures of the Marmit 12-inch Boba Fett vs Sideshow Collectibles sixth scale Boba Fett bounty hunter figure. Click on the pictures below for a bigger and better view of Boba Fett's helmet and armor...

click for a BIGGER and BETTER view

As well as gauntlets...

click for a BIGGER and BETTER view

Knee pads with rocket dart launchers and boots with spikes (spring loaded)

click for a BIGGER and BETTER view

And now comparison pictures of Medicom Toys ESB Boba Fett figure with Sideshow Collectibles Boba Fett. Medicom Toys Boba Fett is way too short and puny to be considered a 1/6th scale figure (more like 1/7th scale) as you can see from the height and size differences between Medicom Toys Boba Fett vs. Sideshow Collectibles Boba Fett figure.


It is because of Medicom Toys size issues (TOO SMALL) and price issues (TOO HIGH) that stopped me from collecting Medicom figures completely. That and the fact that some of their figures BREAK apart (BRITTLE bodies) for no apparent reason (BAD DESIGN). Not to mention Medicom's bio-degradable costumes that are designed to disintegrate, flake / peel and fall off over a short period of time (LOW QUALITY). See my post HERE on cracking rubber bodies and disintegrating suits.


Medicom Toys Boba Fett figure is small sized (puny) yet has a HUGE rocket jetpack - guess those guys at Medicom feel that they must over compensate for something they are lacking haha. The rocket protrudes too much from the back so much so that you can see it from the front over the helmet. If that isn't over compensating, then I don't know what is.


So finally we can have a sixth scale Boba Fett 12-inch figure we can be proud of - Sideshow Collectibles Star Wars Scum and Villainy 1/6th scale Boba Fett 12-inch Figure. If only Sideshow Collectibles can do something about their articulated Prometheus 1.1 body which is still pretty weak at the joints which makes it rather hard to hold any pose other than the standing upright posture.


Scroll down for MORE close-up comparison pictures between the Medicom Toys 1:6 scale Boba Fett vs Sideshow Collectibles Boba Fett 12-inch figure, including differences in Boba Fett's helmet and armor...

click for a BIGGER and BETTER view

Braided Wookie scalps...

click for a BIGGER and BETTER view

Rocket Jet Pack...

click for a BIGGER and BETTER view

Gauntlets and cape...

click for a BIGGER and BETTER view

Knee-pad rocket dart launchers...

click for a BIGGER and BETTER view

Versatile boots with two spikes (spring loaded) attached to the front of each boot...

click for a BIGGER and BETTER view

Holster with Blaster Pistol and pouches on his hips and thighs (one on each side) plus pockets on his shins which contained an anti-security blade, a survival knife, a jet-pack adjustment tool and a sonic-beam weapon (all removable)

click for a BIGGER and BETTER view

Related posts:
Review I: Sideshow Collectibles Star Wars Scum and Villainy 1/6th scale Boba Fett 12-inch Figure
Review II: Sideshow Collectibles "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" 1/6 Boba Fett 12-inch Figure
Sideshow Collectibles 1/6th scale Boba Fett, Han in Carbonite and 12-inch Stormtrooper escorts POSTED HERE

Earlier posts:
Sept 28, 2007 - Star Wars Bounty Hunter 6: Boba Fett
Sept 29, 2007 - Comparing Marmit Boba Fett and Medicom Toys Boba Fett figures

Check out Darth Vader and the 6 bounty hunters aboard the Executor in "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)" (see link here)

10 comments:

Super-Duper ToyBox said...

i love a comparison post! those are cool!

alex teo said...

thanks Colin :)

humanbeingill said...

You are so right about Medicom issues..

Jaster Mereel said...

The Sideshow Fett has a myriad of problems unto its own that you failed to mention aside from the crappy Prometheus body. The Hot Toys slim is the best body to port him to but requires more out-of-pocket expense in addition to the cost of the Sideshow figure. The paint apps are way too green. Helmet/armor should be more of an olive drab. The vest protudes too far due to a thin clear plastic backing underneath that needs to be removed/modded. The helmet does not flare out enough or is wide enough and requires alteration. The cod-piece belt is too reddish brown. The jetpack is wonky and does not stay hooked onto the vinyl straps even though it is screwed directly into the back of the base body. There is so much wrong with this figure out of the box. For best results you are better off kitbashing parts from the Medi (helmet/armor) and others to make the perfect and most accurate 1:6 Boba Fett.

alex teo said...

Thanks Jaster for the very detailed observations and comments :) Always glad to be able to receive such information regarding colors and such from people who are really into their characters and have spent so much time studying all the intricacies of the character's armor, costume and accessories.

For most of us, we are only able to derive our pleasure from what comes out of the box (being non-experts in kitbashing and having limited resources or out-of-pocket expenses for additional parts to make THE perfect Boba Fett figure ;p). So we can only go by what we see and from what we have seen, Sideshow Boba Fett is the best by far IMHO and since this is my personal toy blog, everyone's entitled to my personal opinion haha

CHEERS

akomei said...

Hey can you post images of both Sideshow versions side-by-side? Would love to see how Sideshow compares with its own previously released Boba Fett!

akomei said...

Oh wait, misunderstood the blog post, haha so out of all of these, Sideshow released just the one, the most recent one, and from what it looks like it's been the best representation of the bounty hunter so far.

Anonymous said...

This is a great look at the 3 best 1.6 Boba Fetts out there. Obviously none of them are 100% perfect, but one thing that makes Boba Fett, well Boba Fett is his distinctive helmet. THough the deisgn is rather simply, I've noticed it's hard for many toy/model manufacturers to get it just right. The Medicom helmet nails the look. THe Marmit is close but I find the Sideshow is quite a bit off.

Anonymous said...

I do not know whether it's just me or if everyone else encountering problems with
your blog. It appears like some of the written text within your content are running off the screen. Can someone else
please provide feedback and let me know if this is happening to them too?
This could be a issue with my internet browser because I've had this
happen before. Thanks

alex teo said...

Everything looks fine on my end :) no issues with text running off screen Could be an internet browser issue. Cheers