Cad Bane - TBS [P4] - Six Inch Figures (TCW06)

A ruthless bounty hunter from the planet Duro, Cad Bane was the preeminent blaster-for-hire in the galaxy at the time of the Clone Wrs. No quarry was too dangerous for Bane... if the price was right.

Why does it feel like this is Hasbro's pattern? They introduced a half dozen or so new 6" figures planned for general market release, but they'll all come in an exclusive format first? If you think about it, five-eighths of the second wave of The Black Series [Phase IV] figures all made their debut part of expensive and exclusive 6" sets, for conventions or otherwise. Why not release them generally in the mainline first, then change things up a bit for exclusive release, making it worthwhile for a second purchase? Whatever their reasoning, Hasbro puts a hamper on ordering full case assortment, especially when more than half of it is a retread or repack. Perhaps releasing a character like Cad Bane two different ways back to back doesn't negatively affect the figure's sell-through. Cad Bane is now released singly as part of the second wave of The Black Series [Phase IV] 6" figures to help meet demand and increase widespread availability. The single version of Cad Bane comes without Todo 360, so if you see the little walking toaster oven anywhere on the aftermarket, be sure to grab it. It won't be arriving in the 6" line again, or at least anytime soon. Regardless of that character's omission here, you get a lot of plastic here, so Cad Bane still has value without Todo 360.

Hasbro approached the Cad Bane 6" figure with respect and fortitude. Hasbro worked in a removable "cowboy" hat, which firmly fits Cad Bane's head. It won't necessarily fall off while you pose the figure, and you can angle it in different ways to capture the various expressions and attitudes it adds to the character's aura. We're especially impressed to see the figure's leather duster is removable. The detail etched into it is nothing short of impressive, and the tails that hang down the back of the character are long, but not too long where they might inhibit the movement of the figure. With some poses, the duster's tails may anchor the figure with some aggressive action-oriented poses because they'll touch the ground. But they mostly don't interfere. Hanging around the front of Cad Bane's chest and lying on the figure's posterior is the satchel. It's another removable accessory. There's not much to write about it. It doesn't come with pouch openings, but Hasbro designed it to lay flatly against Cad Bane's back. The angle of the strap helps "keep" it there. Collectors will appreciate the forethought immensely here. Thankfully, Hasbro included two LL-30 blaster pistols and sculpted two hands to accommodate them perfectly. And you house them in the holsters that dangle down the figure's sides.

Interestingly, although not removable, Hasbro added articulation to Cad Bane's ankle rockets. They rotate a full 360 degrees, and it would have been nice if they included flame effects as bonus accessories. Cad Bane comes loaded with premium articulation. The inclusion of updated "butterfly" joints gives the figure the extra movement needed to pose arms tucked behind and some aiming poses. The absence of double hinge-jointed knees and in their place ball-jointed knees provides the figure with smooth and even movement. We have nothing to complain about here when it comes to the figure's articulation. The paint operations are generally excellent. But we noticed that on this sample, the head sculpt received shoddily applied and uneven paint operations. You'll see that where the blue and black separates on the figure's head is quite sloppy. And some artifacts that don't belong on the figure's face makes this action figure look a little messy. Again, we'll attribute these issues to our sample alone unless we see this to be the trend. Overall, it's great to see Hasbro add Cad Bane and many of The Clone Wars characters into the 6" line. Cad Bane is sequence number 06 in this line already. Not even the episodic films are this far along the numbering system yet.