Hasbro Black Series 6" General Grievous Review

Hi all,

Here is another review of a Hasbro Black Series 6" figure.  I have to say that currently I find these smaller figures much more exciting than 1/6 stuff.  I know this is primarily a 1/6 forum but I am more likely to be contributing in this section in future I guess.  My love for 1/6 has just gone i'm afraid mostly killed by the excessive prices which are now asked in the UK for mainly franchised figures, but also the military stuff too really.

Anyway I digress and on to the review.

This time it is General Grievous.  I will admit to having a bit of a soft spot for the character.  Its not the best character ever devised, but hey this is Star Wars and I kind of like the look of this one.

This is the first in the 'Deluxe' range of Black Series figures, and as such is numbered D1 on the packaging.  Apart from the D numbering the package is standard Black Series stuff, so I won't spend more time there.





This is a tall figure measuring approximately 18cm (7") tall at full height.



It comes with  nice lined cloth cape which seems to drape well enough, and has 4 pockets on the inside for the included light sabre hilts.  There are four different light sabres which are all different in design and have the standard Black series removable blades 2 each of blue and green.  There is also a droid blaster which is a nice touch.



This is an impressive figure in person.  Its tall, with those great looking claw like feet, and has arms which can be split providing either four or two arms to suit how you want to pose the figure.  Arms are nicely done and do actually clip into one another to form the two arm mode so they do really look like single arms in this mode.  The Shoulders have a great range of movement, but due to the design the elbows are a little limited and there is no wrist movement at all.  This could have been improved but then the figure would probably be likely to cost over £30 rather than the very reasonable £25-£27 it costs here in the UK.  Its important to remember too that these are toys, and not necessarily high end posable collectables, and therefore need some strength and durability to the joints.  In any case it is still relatively easy to obtain those classic looking 4 arm Grievous poses with the limited mobility.  
Each of the hands has 2 fingers and a thumb enabling each hand to hold an item, however when joined together the hands are too big to hold the included blaster.
The rest of the articulation is very good, with good movement all round and the ability to add some subtle character to a pose by cocking the head slightly etc...  I would say that the articulation is good overall given the nature of the character.













The figure is fairly easy to pose and can achieve all those classic Grievous looks.  It balances well in most poses, and the feet whilst having multiple small points of contact are actually able to provide a very stable base in most poses.





The look of the figure is great, with very nicely detailed sculpting and for the most part great paint.  There are some of those slightly over the top silver patches, but for the most part the weathering on this figure is great.  Very subtle and not over done.  The eyes are very well done indeed on this one, looking very reminiscent of what we see on screen.
This side of a figure is more important for me these days, as I am much more a collector now than a modeller or tinkerer.  I have been there and done that in the past but it is much less a part of the pleasure I get from figures today.  My figures for the most part don't get altered and so how they look out of the box is important to me, and this one in my opinion delivers.

I love the look of this figure and can whole heartedly recommend it if it takes your fancy.

Here he is in place on the shelf.



Paul

#starwars #hasbro #blackseries #generalgrievous #6inch #productreview #scifi

Oh, I like him a lot!!!  Thank you for this detailed and honest review, along with the photos....very well done. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to share. 

You are right that he does look really good for what he is.... and I gotta say I love the rather adorable pockets in his cloak for the lightsabers. Something about seeing that in miniature form really tickles me. :'D 

When I finally get around to collecting and/or customizing more Clone Wars era 6 inch figures, he will make a 'fine addition to my collection'.

skywalkersaga wrote:Oh, I like him a lot!!!  Thank you for this detailed and honest review, along with the photos....very well done. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to share. 

You are right that he does look really good for what he is.... and I gotta say I love the rather adorable pockets in his cloak for the lightsabers. Something about seeing that in miniature form really tickles me. :'D 

When I finally get around to collecting and/or customizing more Clone Wars era 6 inch figures, he will make a 'fine addition to my collection'.

Thanks Skywalkersaga,  I am pleased this was useful for you.

Its a great figure and I am sure you would love it even more in the hand.  I love the cloak pockets too, and that is one of the more memorable Grievous moments from the films lol.

I don't know how available these will stay or if there are limited numbers of them, but I know Star Action Figures here in the UK have a one per customer policy on these at the moment.

Paul

Good review. I don’t hit this section much, but you’re review was interesting. I can understand the lack of interest in 1/6 scale, they seem to be pricing more and more of us out of the hobby.

Stryker2011 wrote:Good review. I don’t hit this section much, but you’re review was interesting. I can understand the lack of interest in 1/6 scale, they seem to be pricing more and more of us out of the hobby.

Thanks Stryker,

There is often a lot of interesting stuff here  and I am glad you enjoyed the review.


It's not that I can't afford 1/6 anymore, Quite to the contrary, I have plenty of cash spare for my other hobbies, I just really resent paying the inflated prices which are often asked now for 1/6 figures particularly here in the UK it seems.  

Take the recent HT stormtrooper as an example, nice figure, very well done, but for the £280 asking price I can buy 2/3 of a  new 1-1 Stormtrooper armour kit, or almost buy a second hand set outright (a mate of mine is currently selling a set for £300). Or I could buy a couple more really nice 1-1 blaster rifle replicas for about the same money.

The prices of 1/6 figures when compared to other of my hobbies now are truly ridiculous for what you get for the money, and I am out of the hobby because for me the value for money is simply just no longer there.  

As long as people are prepared to keep paying more and more for them the manufacturers will just keep increasing the prices, and once one increases prices they all do.

These 6" figures are way, way more value for money in my opinion (they cost about 1/10 of what a 1/6 figure does now) and for me they are just as much fun now. The shipping costs are less, plus I can have 2-3 times more of these figures for the space I have available.

Paul

Thanks for the tip on the vendor, scalawag!

As for Grievous himself, I recall not being all that into him at first, but then while watching the TCW animated series he was just SO well portrayed (not to mention hilarious) that something finally clicked and I ‘got’ him as a character. Now I think he’s great. But I can totally understand people not finding him all that interesting just from the film itself. There simply wasn’t enough time in the movie to do his character justice.

And I really do understand where you’re coming from on the issue of collecting 1/6 figures. After only just over a year or so in the 1/6 world, I likewise feel the boxed figures are indeed often highly overpriced, especially since SW figures (the main area of my collecting interest) are either Sideshow or Hot Toys, both of which are on the extreme side of an already expensive hobby. ;p

From the start, I knew I’d be lucky to afford a HT figure once or twice a year at best (if that), so ‘collecting’ those has never been my aim. What drew me to this hobby was the potential for customisation, and that is what keeps me here still. So, because I’m currently just trying to create custom figures and/or kitbashes, there’s still quite a big draw for me to stick with 1/6 (as I personally find customising 1/6 to be more satisfying than smaller scales). But for those whose main focus is collecting, I can understand why smaller scales would be so appealing these days. My own collecting focus for a long time was on the super small 3.75” figures for that very reason — it was nice to be able to find all kinds of goodies for under 10 gbp! ;D

Thanks for the detailed review, Paul. A figure like this is an interesting challenge and opportunity for the designer, and despite the limitations you pointed out, it does seem like they did a very nice job with it. On the whole the 6-inch Black Series line is proving pretty solid, and this is another fine addition to it.

skywalkersaga wrote:Thanks for the tip on the vendor, scalawag!

As for Grievous himself, I recall not being all that into him at first, but then while watching the TCW animated series he was just SO well portrayed (not to mention hilarious) that something finally clicked and I ‘got’ him as a character. Now I think he’s great. But I can totally understand people not finding him all that interesting just from the film itself. There simply wasn’t enough time in the movie to do his character justice.

And I really do understand where you’re coming from on the issue of collecting 1/6 figures. After only just over a year or so in the 1/6 world, I likewise feel the boxed figures are indeed often highly overpriced, especially since SW figures (the main area of my collecting interest) are either Sideshow or Hot Toys, both of which are on the extreme side of an already expensive hobby. ;p

From the start, I knew I’d be lucky to afford a HT figure once or twice a year at best (if that), so ‘collecting’ those has never been my aim. What drew me to this hobby was the potential for customisation, and that is what keeps me here still. So, because I’m currently just trying to create custom figures and/or kitbashes, there’s still quite a big draw for me to stick with 1/6 (as I personally find customising 1/6 to be more satisfying than smaller scales). But for those whose main focus is collecting, I can understand why smaller scales would be so appealing these days. My own collecting focus for a long time was on the super small 3.75” figures for that very reason — it was nice to be able to find all kinds of goodies for under 10 gbp! ;D

Yeah I have not seen much of TCW, I'm afraid I am not so much a fan of the Star Wars animated series I'm afraid.

I have done a lot of kit bashing and modding in the past, mainly with WWII subjects where i don't have any out of the box items, but now my creative side is inclined more towards the Costuming and prop collecting/building side of things, so I am really only a collector of 1/6 these days.

Prop collecting is expensive too (even if you build your own from kits etc...), and I have some items that cost me £800+, and yes they are probably over priced too, but generally you get a lot more for your money when compared to what you get in 1/6 these days. Officially licensed Star Wars 1-1 replicas are usually super expensive, but even with these items, which are surely over priced, you get a lot more value for money than you do buying franchised 1/6 here in the UK. When you add in that modding or altering a figure in any permanent way is almost certain to reduce any future value it has too, the costs just do not stack up for me anymore.

Now if companies were producing figures that we didn't feel needed modding from the box, or altering in some way, then maybe the prices asked would be more justified. But all too often we are expected to pay exotic prices for less than acceptable final offerings.

Paul

GubernatorFan wrote:Thanks for the detailed review, Paul. A figure like this is an interesting challenge and opportunity for the designer, and despite the limitations you pointed out, it does seem like they did a very nice job with it. On the whole the 6-inch Black Series line is proving pretty solid, and this is another fine addition to it.

Yeah I totally agree, this is a great compromise between accuracy, durability and articulation, and is certainly another very nice addition to the range.

I suspect that over the coming months and years we will see all sorts of developments in the 6" size figures.  We are already beginning to see more sophisticated paint application in the Black Series and smaller companies are playing with things like cloth costuming etc...  
I think in time this will be seen as an almost as detailed rival to 1/6 scale, and certainly a more accessible one for those who like to mod and adjust things.  Repaint or chop up a £20-£30 figure or a £200-£300 one?

Paul

Re: Grievous in the animated series... no worries, I realize that it's not your thing and I wasn't trying to push on you or anyone. Was just trying to clarify why I had warmed up to the character after the fact.

scalawag wrote:I have done a lot of kit bashing and modding in the past, mainly with WWII subjects where i don't have any out of the box items, but now my creative side is inclined more towards the Costuming and prop collecting/building side of things, so I am really only a collector of 1/6 these days.

Prop collecting is expensive too (even if you build your own from kits etc...), and I have some items that cost me £800+, and yes they are probably over priced too, but generally you get a lot more for your money when compared to what you get in 1/6 these days. Officially licensed Star Wars 1-1 replicas are usually super expensive, but even with these items, which are surely over priced, you get a lot more value for money than you do buying franchised 1/6 here in the UK. When you add in that modding or altering a figure in any permanent way is almost certain to reduce any future value it has too, the costs just do not stack up for me anymore.

Now if companies were producing figures that we didn't feel needed modding from the box, or altering in some way, then maybe the prices asked would be more justified.  But all too often we are expected to pay exotic prices for less than acceptable final offerings.

That's so neat that you are into the 1:1 stuff, and having done reenactment/living history in the past, I can certainly understand the appeal. : ) 

It would indeed be nice if existing figures didn't 'need' to be customized, though I suppose that is a rather subjective matter -- to one person, a certain figure may be perfect as it is; to another person, it may simply be kitbash fodder, or even completely worthless. In my case, I tend to be creating things almost from 'scratch' these days, since many if not most of the characters I want in 1/6 scale have not been made, or have not been made in the versions I prefer, etc. And while of course the price of kitbashing and customization does add up quite a bit, at least one can do it gradually and on one's own time, rather than feeling compelled to purchase many boxed figures right up front. 

scalawag wrote:I suspect that over the coming months and years we will see all sorts of developments in the 6" size figures.  We are already beginning to see more sophisticated paint application in the Black Series and smaller companies are playing with things like cloth costuming etc...  
I think in time this will be seen as an almost as detailed rival to 1/6 scale, and certainly a more accessible one for those who like to mod and adjust things.  Repaint or chop up a £20-£30 figure or a £200-£300 one?

While I most certainly welcome advances in quality in this scale, I still do not and probably will never view 1:12 as an 'alternative' to 1/6. I don't mean as a financial alternative, but rather from a purely artistic perspective. However advanced, well made, or highly detailed 1:12 figures might become, they will simply never possess the same exact qualities as 1/6, and vice-versa, and I don't think viewing 1:12 as a replacement for 1/6 is the answer. I don't see why it has to be an either or thing. I get why it has to be for some people as individuals due to financial considerations or other personal reasons, but I'm just talking generally in terms of them as hobbies. Surely the more ideal scenario here would be for advances in 1:12 scale to take place while simultaneously having 1/6 companies wising up and lowering their prices a bit and/or giving better value for the prices they do ask? I mean, that would be my personal preference, because then we could have the best of both worlds.

skywalkersaga wrote:Surely the more ideal scenario here would be for advances in 1:12 scale to take place while simultaneously having 1/6 companies wising up and lowering their prices a bit and/or giving better value for the prices they do ask? I mean, that would be my personal preference, because then we could have the best of both worlds.

Yep, I totally agree, that would be my preferred option too.  But it aint going to happen, not now the manufacturers know that people are prepared to pay the higher prices for figures with less accessories

They simply do not reduce prices.  
Take the SideShow re-release of the Biker Scout and speeder bike for example.  These both sold really well when they were originally released, so one would hope that all the development and preproduction costs for moulds etc. for these figures would be repaid in the initial sales, and surely any subsequent re-releases of the same figure/product may consequently be a prime candidate to be priced the same or possibly lower than the original release.  But no, that is not what SideShow have done, they have increased the price from what the originals sold for with no discernible change to the products.

They are not going to reduce prices, they will keep increasing them to the point where sales start to drop (if that ever happens).  They also look constantly for ways to reduce production costs whilst increasing prices.  Look for example at SideShows older packaging and the newer stuff - there is no comparison, the newer packaging I have is inferior in quality and design, but at increased cost.

Customising or modding figures is of course a personal thing and I am not suggesting that every figure would be to everyones taste out of the box. But many figures these days seem to be to no ones taste without some form of modding being hinted at by all that comment on them.  When was the last time you recall anyone saying "oh yeah, I want this one just as it is"?  Its more often the case that we accept sloppiness, laziness and bad research from manufacturers at a high price point and excuse it by saying "it would make a good modding project though"  That's just not for me anymore, I'm sorry but I am sick of being taken advantage of by 1/6 manufacturers who think they can charge what they like for these things regardless of what value they represent.  No matter how much I love 1/6 scale, and I do believe me, I can no longer participate in it while I feel I am being constantly taken for a ride by the manufacturers.  They take advantage of collectors and model makers  mentality and 'need' to have their products because they know that this will mean that the people who want them will pay ever increasing amounts to get them.

Whilst kit bashing and scratch building will always be a potentially cheaper option than buying boxed figures to work on, the pricing policies in 1/6 figures will effect it too ultimately, as it will affect the price of parts from parted out figures.  It may also make parts harder to come by as less figures get bought to be parted out as the prices rise.  The people parting them out simply can't make back the cost of the figures anymore.  I know things can still be made from scratch, but how will we kit bash if the parts are not available or too expensive to warrant buying them?  As prices for figures go up, parts become harder to get and the prices for them rise, its what I have already seen in military 1/6 scale bashing.

I don't see it as an either or thing myself either, and i would happily work in both scales if they were proportionately equally reasonable in their cost, but  I think ultimately both scales will suffer the same fate......Greedy Manufacturers.  

At the moment 1/12 is a way more inventive market place in my opinion with much more development into new manufacturing and finishing techniques than 1/6 has currently.  It also represents far more value for money right now from my perspective.  However, I suspect what will happen is that as the accuracy of the figures increases the prices for 6" figures will increase too (because thats what manufacturers have seen successfully happen in the larger scale), until in 3-5 years time they are proportionately as ridiculously priced as 1/6 figures are now, at which point I will stop buying those as well out of principal.  
At some point we will almost all have to decide when enough is enough and for me with 1/6 scale, no matter how nice or unique it is aesthetically, that point has come because of the excessive pricing policies of the manufacturers.  As I said before, if the pricing of the product is commensurate with the quality of the item then I would happily pay the higher prices, and indeed I do where this is the case.  But in my opinion that is now not the case in 1/6 scale figure modelling.  We are asked to pay more and more year on year with no discernible increase in the quality of the products being produced, indeed some are even based on older products rehashed as new.  For goodness sake, who would have said 3 years ago even that any of us would be considering spending £280 for a Stormtrooper figure!!!

I have consistently been disappointed to some extent with the last few 1/6 figures I have purchased, not because they are necessarily bad figures (although some were not great) but because when I finally have them in my hand I don't think they are worth what I have paid for them.

Now, I am aware that my views will be varying to most here as this is a 1/6 scale forum, and I now no longer participate much at all in that scale for the reasons I have discussed here.  So, I will now bow out of conversation on prices and value for money in 1/6 scale and keep all my opinions to myself rather than express them further here.

Paul

scalawag wrote:

skywalkersaga wrote:Surely the more ideal scenario here would be for advances in 1:12 scale to take place while simultaneously having 1/6 companies wising up and lowering their prices a bit and/or giving better value for the prices they do ask? I mean, that would be my personal preference, because then we could have the best of both worlds.

Yep, I totally agree, that would be my preferred option too.  But it aint going to happen, not now the manufacturers know that people are prepared to pay the higher prices for figures with less accessories

They simply do not reduce prices.  
Take the SideShow re-release of the Biker Scout and speeder bike for example.  These both sold really well when they were originally released, so one would hope that all the development and preproduction costs for moulds etc. for these figures would be repaid in the initial sales, and surely any subsequent re-releases of the same figure/product may consequently be a prime candidate to be priced the same or possibly lower than the original release.  But no, that is not what SideShow have done, they have increased the price from what the originals sold for with no discernible change to the products.

They are not going to reduce prices, they will keep increasing them to the point where sales start to drop (if that ever happens).

Customising or modding figures is of course a personal thing and I am not suggesting that every figure would be to everyones taste out of the box. But many figures these days seem to be to no ones taste without some form of modding being hinted at by all that comment on them.  When was the last time you recall anyone saying "oh yeah, I want this one just as it is"?  Its more often that we accept sloppiness, laziness and bad research from manufacturers at a high price point and excuse it by saying "it would make a good modding project though"  That's just not for me anymore, I'm sorry but I am sick of being taken advantage of by 1/6 manufacturers who think they can charge what they like for these things regardless of what value they represent.

I don't see it as an either or thing myself either, and i would happily work in both scales if they were equally reasonable proportionately in their cost, but  I think ultimately both scales will suffer the same fate......Greedy Manufacturers.  

At the moment 1/12 is a way more inventive market place in my opinion with much more development into new manufacturing and finishing techniques than 1/6 has currently.  It also represents far more value for money right now from my perspective.  However, I suspect what will happen is that as the accuracy of the figures increases the prices for 6" figures will increase too until in 3-5 years time they are proportionately as ridiculously priced as 1/6 figures are now, at which point I will stop buying those as well out of principal.  
At some point we will almost all have to decide when enough is enough and for me with 1/6 scale, no mater how nice or unique it is aesthetically, that point has come because of the excessive pricing.  As I said before, if the pricing of the product is commensurate with the quality of the item then I would happily pay the higher prices, and indeed I do where this is the case.  But in my opinion that is now not the case in 1/6 scale figure modelling.  We are asked to pay more and more year on year with no discernible increase in the quality of the products being produced, indeed some are even based on older products rehashed as new.  For goodness sake, who would have said 3 years ago even that any of us would be considering spending £280 for a Stormtrooper figure!!!

Now, I am aware that my views will be varying to most here as this is a 1/6 scale forum, and I now no longer participate much at all in that scale for the reasons I have discussed here.  So, I will now bow out of conversation on prices and value for money in 1/6 scale and keep all my opinions to myself rather than express them further here.

Paul

Totally agree that it's almost certainly not going to happen anytime soon, but we can still dream and talk of ideals. :')

Also agree completely that, unfortunately, it is indeed likely that the same thing will eventually occur with the higher-end 1:12 figures. :/

Whether or not one still gets any 'value for money' with the 1/6 figures is, again, a subjective matter. Same with the 'artistic value' of it all. I cannot comment on the innovation side of it, because I do not currently collect in higher end 1:12 and don't have much knowledge of what is out there compared to 1/6. It does seem like there have been some really good products and collection lines in that scale recently, but I don't think that the existence of those completely negates the worth of 1/6. Maybe it's because 1/6 is currently my main creative outlet and sole medium for creating fan art, so I tend to view it from that lense and don't take much notice of the commercial side of it all. My current enjoyment from 1/6 comes from customizing and modifying, and I already find it difficult enough on a physical level to accomplish much of that in 1/6 [painting faces in tiny detail, tailoring at a small scale, constructing faux leather accessories, re-hairing, styling hair, etc.], hence why I find it hard to imagine trying to do precisely the same in 1:12. A machine/robot could probably do it; I, on the other hand, could not.

Of course, that doesn't mean I don't value 1:12 either, just that I appreciate it and approach it in a different way. As you say, with that scale, I tend to prefer being able to purchase figures that I'm ok with straight out of the package, since customizing them is a lot more difficult for me. That said, I do have some tentative plans to customize 6 inch figs at some point down the road, but since that would likely end up being just as time and effort consuming as 1/6, if not moreso, I'm waiting til I finish my current projects before starting yet more in an even tinier scale. ;p

And goodness... please don't worry about expressing your thoughts here.  It's completely ok to prefer working in/collecting one scale to another, and I don't mind it at all if others prefer 1:12.  I guess it's just that, from my perspective, as someone who is still quite new to 1/6 and enjoying it very much, it's not very encouraging to hear such negativity about the scale or the 'state of the hobby' all the time.   I don't mean that directed to you specifically, but it's something I've noticed recently. Many others seem to feel similarly, and I regularly come across this sentiment: that 1:12 is the 'new 1/6', so to speak. It can feel disheartening, even though I do understand perfectly why people might feel that way. And this is coming from someone who is actually struggling to afford the 1/6 hobby at this time myself! It's just that, being so new, I still happen to feel enthusiasm for the scale, and am determined to continue as long as I can. But I likewise feel for those who have been in it a long time and are feeling discouraged/jaded, etc, and so I can't help but wish to dream of a happy medium for us all. 

No worries, Brother. They are valid arguments, to say the least. My interest in new HT figures, and Sideshow, has waned considerably due to insane prices (I know, I know, I just spent a small mint on Jabba and some older SW figures from both of those companies — but it’s OT Star Wars!). I find myself looking more and more at reasonably priced custom figures, head sculpts, and stuff for bash fodder (or things I can make myself). I also find some of these smaller companies (at least in the 1/6 market) like Asmus and QMX, and of course, the bootleg companies, are a far better value than the big two, and the quality isn’t nearly as bad as the die-hards make them out to be. I used to go crazy over just about anything TBLeague put out, because the technology astounded me... now I’ve passed on most of the last several releases just out of sheer boredom, repetitiveness, and — rising prices. I’ve got a guy making me a synthetic, and highly poseable, Gamorrean Guard for less than the cost of an HT figure! That is becoming more and more the future for me — bootlegs and customs — some of the customs can get even more expensive than HT or SS, but at least it’s a character I’m really, really interested in, rather than the same regurgitated stuff the big guys always seem to go for. And bootleg companies are at least still relatively reasonable.

As far as rising prices in 1/12 — I’m afraid it already happening. I’ve seen 1/12 dios recently (from manufacturers, not one-offs) that they want $130 for! For a 1/12 base to put 1 figure on?! That’s nuts — when you can still get 1/6 figures for that in some cases. I’m afraid those “high-end Collectibles” companies that are getting into that scale are going to screw that scale up, price-wise, a lot faster than 3-5 years.