What Is The Best 6-inch Scale Rey Action Figure?

Whether you like the sequels or not, whether you like the character of Rey or not, Rey is an important character in Star Wars. There are quite a few 1/12 scale action figures of her. So in today’s retrospective of 6-inch scale Star Wars figures we will look at all the Rey action figures. Which of the many versions is the best figure? And is there an ultimate Rey figure? Click through for an overview of all the 1/12 scale Rey action figures!

Would Finn approve of any of the 6-inch scale Rey action figures?

Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Let’s dive right in!

The Force Awakens

	Daisy Ridley in her The Force Awakens Rey outfit. Try to remember that face as you scroll down.
	#WheresRey – well here she is, or whatever Hasbro thought an action figure of Rey should look like. The sculpt may be decent, but it’s almost impossible to tell because of the atrocious paint apps. Back in 2015 and early 2016 The Black Series had hit a new nadir as far as quality is concerned. Human figures just looked terrible. Sadly, Rey makes no exception.
	Hasbro actually gave Rey a running change and improved the paint apps. This Rey was released in wave 3 of The Force Awakens figures and yes, the paint apps are indeed better, now the figure no longer looks like a china doll but more like a comic book version of Daisy Ridley as Rey. If you still need a Force Awakens Rey action figure then track down this version.
	Hasbro also released an exclusive Starkiller Base variant of Rey. The harsh lighting here does the figure no favor, the paint apps are very similar to the wave 3 version of TFA Rey. So it’s at best a comic book likeness of Rey. But still better than the atrocious wave 1 version.
	The speeder version of Rey doesn’t really have a face, since you are not supposed to remove the hood and goggles. Which actually works in favor of the figure, since bad paint apps don’t distract you all too much. If you want a scavenger version of Rey with hood and mask (the mask is an accessory) then this version is actually pretty good.
	MAFEX also released a The Force Awakens version of Rey. This figure comes loaded with accessories. All the hands you would ever need, a backpack, an optional head with hood and goggles to recreate the scavenger look and the figure also comes with the X-Wing helmet. Unfortunately the MAFEX figure has several issues. The skintone is just not right. The likeness is only passable, but the much better paint apps make the figure look more like an actual person and not a comic book version. However, there is one huge issue which can’t be ignored: the MAFEX Rey figure is MUCH too tall, it’s not in scale at all with Black Series figures and it has a similar height as Marvel Legends figures. You cannot really pose this figure with other 1/12 scale Star Wars figures from either Hasbro or SHF.

The Last Jedi

	Daisy Ridley in  her “Island Journey” Last Jedi outfit, mere seconds before Luke Skywalker decides he wants a new career as a stand-up comedian.
	The Black Series “Island Journey” Rey was not the first Last Jedi action figure of Rey by Hasbro, but it’s certainly their very best version of Rey. The sculpt is great and the all new photoreal paint apps make this figure look like a human, not a caricature.
	Later in the movie Rey changed outfits and hairstyle. Here is Daisy Ridley with her main outfit from The Last Jedi.
	In 2017 Hasbro had improved on their “classic” paint apps and they were indeed much improved compared to previous years. Now the figures look like comic book versions and no longer as if a visually impaired preschooler finger painted them. The likeness here is pretty good, the paint apps are at least tolerable, but still something from the last century.
	Hasbro went a bit overboard with their exclusive variants of The Last Jedi action figures. This version of Rey comes with soft goods. The sculpt is the same, of course, but Hasbro decided to turn Rey into an overslept drug addict, similar to the exclusive Luke Skywalker figure. In my opinion the regular version with plastic robes looks better.
	Hasbro released yet another exclusive version of Rey with their Disney parks exclusive “Smuggler’s Run” set. The very best Black Series version of that Last Jedi Rey outfit is therefore only available to people who either pay too much money online or who venture to a Disney theme park. Brilliant move by Hasbro! This figure has yet to see a single release.
	S.H. Figuarts also released a The Last Jedi Rey action figure. The sculpt is ok, but not really all that accurate. The face is somewhat too broad, but you can certainly see a strong resemblance to Daisy Ridley here. As expected this figure comes with various useful accessories. Among them a backpack this version of Rey doesn’t really use but which Black Series Island Journey Rey can put on her back, so by getting this figure you can even enhance your TBS Island Journey Rey figure!
	The SHF Last Jedi Rey figure looks a lot more like Daisy Ridley from certain angles. With the head turned slightly to the side the likeness is actually pretty great. If you wonder what that splotchy texture on Rey’s face is: this gives Rey a very natural skintone when viewed with your own eyes. A camera picks up small details, but in real life you never notice the texture on Rey’s face. It’s similar to what Hot Toys is doing with their figures.
	SHF Rey also comes with an alternate “angry” headsculpt. The likeness is pretty good and ideal for any of her fighting scenes, especially the throne room fight. The splotchy texture is once again something your eyes will not see, you will just see a very natural skin tone for the face. Sadly, SHF didn’t apply the same texture on the neck, cleavage, arms or hands, so there is a visible difference between the face and the other parts of the skin that are visible.

The Rise of Skywalker

	Daisy Ridley in her The Rise of Skywalker outfit, which looks a lot like her The Force Awakens version.
	For some reason Hasbro completely bungled the sculpt here. They did have an excellent The Last Jedi sculpt, as you can see with the Island Journey version of Rey. The Rise of Skywalker Rey in the Black Series has a face that is too round, too broad and for some reason it also has a few Asian features (mostly the eyes). Why Hasbro failed the Rise of Skywalker sculpt is puzzling. This figure also comes with D-O the droid.
	The S.H. Figuarts The Rise of Skywalker Rey action figure certainly has the very best Daisy Ridley likeness of any 1/12 scale action figure of Rey. However, the SHF figure has a few issues. It’s over-engineered. SHF decided to provide collectors with a “hood-up” option, which is certainly a nice option to have. But for that to accomplish they gave the figure an extra part for the cleavage where the hood is attached to, which just looks wrong, even if you manage to insert it correctly. Also, the overall finish of the figure, while using very high quality materials, looks too clean and a bit plasticky. A hint of a wash would have made the difference here. Just like the TBS version SHF also gives you D-O as an accessory. While this article is not about D-O I can tell you that the SHF D-O does look a lot better, with crisper details and better paint apps.
	And this is the hood-up option for TROS Rey you get with the SHF figure. Getting the cleavage part to fit correctly is quite an achievement and not all that easy to do. I feel it would have been better not to give the figure the hood up option and to instead focus on better overall aesthetics. However, all that being said articulation here is excellent, you can actually recreate some of the more extreme poses Rey has in some of the promo shots, something the Black Series figure cannot do.
	Dark Side Vision Rey is not really “Rey”. Her action figure representation is quite decent, at least from an aesthetic point of view. Due to the nature of the sculpt and use of plastic robes Dark Side Rey is very much a traffic cone. One could also argue that this figure needed Rey with pointy teeth. Hasbro apparently revisited the TROS Rey sculpt for this figure, since it looks more like Daisy Ridley than the regular TROS figure of her. Still, this is just a very minor version of Rey and extremely scene specific. You can of course use it to roleplay all your wildest Reylo fantasies.

And that’s it! These are all the 6-inch Rey action figures you can get.

So is there an ultimate Rey figure? In my opinion the answer is “no”. All of Rey’s 6-inch figures have some serious flaws.

So what is the best Rey action figure?

In my opinion to talk about a “best” The Force Awakens Rey action figure is just choosing between the lesser evil. None of Rey’s TFA action figures are really good. The MAFEX version has all the accessories you may ever need, but it’s completely out of scale and the likeness is just “ok”, and the skintone is just all wrong. Version 2 of the Black Series TFA figure looks ok-ish if you are in a good mood but still doesn’t hold up. And the less said about version 1 TFA Rey, the better.

The very best The Force Awakens Rey action figure is actually the unreleased S.H.Figuarts prototype which they showed back in 2017. The figure will probably never see the light of day. Which is unfortunate, because if you like Rey’s The Force Awakens look this is the only figure that does the character justice. Sequel fans can only hope that SHF may eventually release that figure. But it’s now more than three years later without even a hint of this figure seeing a release.

This figure will probably never be released

And here is a close-up of the face:

This is certainly the very best The Force Awakens Rey likeness

When we talk about The Last Jedi Rey action figures then The Black Series Island Journey Rey is a great figure and one of the best, the likeness is excellent and the all new photoreal paint apps make this figure look like an actual person. But the cloth cloak is just “so-so” and the figure is missing an essential accessory with the backpack.
As an overall package and action figure the SHF version of Last Jedi Rey is probably closest to being an”ultimate” Rey action figure. While the likeness is not as great here as the TBS version, it’s still really good and SHF TLJ Rey simply has the much, much better body, with much, much better articulation. The SHF Rey can attain any number of extremely dynamic poses, something which no TBS Rey figure can do. You also get more options with SHF Rey and you can more faithfully recreate the throne room fight with the Praetorians. As an added bonus you can give the backpack to the TBS Island Journey Rey figure and make it look more accurate for the pivotal lightsaber scene with Luke. The Galaxy’s Edge exclusive TBS Rey looks pretty good as well, thanks to the photoreal update, but this figure is unavailable to most collectors and still has the same limitations as most Black Series figures: articulation and accessories. SHF Rey is very much superior here.

When we talk about The Rise of Skywalker Rey action figures I once again feel that you have to choose between the lesser of two evils. The overall aesthetics of The Black Series Rey figure are quite good. What works against the TBS figure are the bad likeness and the quite limited articulation.
The SHF Rey figure does have a fantastic likeness, it’s maybe the best 1/12 scale sculpt of Daisy Ridley. However, the figure is somewhat over-engineered with fiddly and somewhat ugly parts and looks much too clean and a bit plasticky here and there (especially the pants).
Still, I would go for the SHF option here because a) you do get two display options and b) the articulation of this figure is excellent. It’s called “action” figure for a reason, and SHF TROS Rey can be put in very dynamic action poses, something TBS Rey can’t achieve.
Dark Side Rey is more of a novelty to me. The figure does look good, but it has very limited articulation and it’s not really Rey, technically speaking.

Overall, I feel that the S.H.Figuarts Last Jedi Rey figure is the best of them all, followed by The Black Series Island Journey Rey (which can be enhanced with the backpack you get with the SHF TLJ figure), with SHF TROS Rey coming in 3rd and the Galaxy’s Edge TBS exclusive a somewhat distant 4th.

So, do you think there is an “ultimate” 1/12 scale Rey action figure? What is the best one? What is your favorite? Would you like for S.H.Figuarts to release their The Force Awakens Rey figure?

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