Heavy Infantry Mandalorian - TBS [P3] - Six Inch Figures (D2)

A brawny warrior encased in the strongest beskar armor, the mysterious Heavy Infantry Mandalorian is part of a secretive enclave of his people. A born survivor, he guards a precious armory and helps to keep the flames of Mandalorian heritage flickering in this time of galactic chaos.

Hasbro may have decided to use a generic descriptor for the Heavy Infantry Mandalorian featured in the third episode of The Mandalorian series, but fans of the show now know he’s called Paz Vizla. Vizla is a common name in Mandalorian circles, and it makes sense that it has made its way into a show about this species of warriors. Collectors have referred to characters as a portly Mandalorian. The character is thicker than the standard Mandalorians we’ve seen represented in the Star Wars universe thus far, but we don’t find him abnormally large or out of place with the rest. Hasbro designed an all-new figure called the Heavy Infantry Mandalorian and made it a Best Buy exclusive. What bothers us most, however, is how they added the figure to the line. Best Buy exclusivity is one thing. But setting its MSRP to $29.99 is pulling the wool over the eyes of collectors who have supported the 6” line from the beginning. There is NO WAY Hasbro can justify charging $10 more for this character. Then Baze Malbus (37) would have to be a $29.99 figure as well. There is absolutely no difference in size or amount of accessories between a character like Baze Malbus and the Heavy Infantry Mandalorian figures. And there is no more complexity in the design of the Heavy Infantry Mandalorian that would warrant the higher price either. We’ll give General Grievous a pass due to all the extra parts and articulation, but not this figure.

Paz Vizla's character was designed by Brian Matyas, and he worked many existing and new features into the character. He included heavy Mandalorian armor made of beskar with blue color and a mythosaur skull emblem on his left shoulder armor. The Heavy Infantry Mandalorian also wore a jetpack and carried a heavy blaster cannon. He has additional gear in the television series, but Hasbro opted to exclude the extra pieces for this Best Buy exclusive release. And it feels like salt in the wound here. Where is the vibroblade? Where is his cape? Doesn't the extra $10 cover anything.... extra here? With that said, the Heavy Infantry Mandalorian is a nice-looking, well-designed action figure that should impress collectors of the 6” line and, more importantly, fans of the television series. Produced with the standard articulation of the other action figures in the line, Hasbro worked in a wide array of movement that is as functional as it is hidden on this stunning action figure. Despite the chunkier proportions, the Heavy Infantry Mandalorian can achieve some incredibly flexible poses thanks to a smartly configured articulation system. The paint operations are fantastically applied here, as well. Hasbro added silver flecks of paint to recreate battle-damage and paint chipping. The effect is beautiful, and we’re thrilled with how visually impressive this action figure looks. Collectors will quickly fall in love with the Heavy Infantry Mandalorian.

We aren’t able to overlook the $29.99 price point here at all, but Hasbro did include some decent accessories with the Heavy Infantry Mandalorian. He has a crafted, realistic jetpack that has some functionality added to it. The bottom of the jetpack welcomes the ammo belt from the heavy blaster cannon, and it attaches to it to keep it in place. This ammo belt also attaches to the gun, but we haven’t been successful removing it from there. It looks like it should be interchangeable, but again, we’ve had no success removing it. The Heavy Infantry Mandalorian holds the heavy blaster cannon with two hands STUNNINGLY well. Hasbro added two handles to the gun that are designed to interact with the hands they tooled for the figure perfectly. The realism here is impressive. Collectors are going to love what Hasbro accomplished here. Hasbro also added a separately sculpted “fuel line hose” that attaches from the jet pack to the left arm gauntlet that also has a blaster attached to it. The figure still has wonderful mobility despite them attaching to multiple moving parts. Overall, we’re impressed with the Heavy Infantry Mandalorian from head to toe. Hasbro did a great job translating the character from the streamed series to the action figure. We hope that a version of this character is in the works for The Vintage Collection. Again, the price point here is highway robbery. Nothing Hasbro can say or do will change our opinion here. But it’s a gorgeous figure nonetheless.