Jodo Kast - TLC - Basic (BD 18)

Wearing Mandalorian armor, this cunning and ruthless bounty hunter lets everyone assume he is Boba Fett to take advantage of Fett’s notorious reputation. Unfortunately, the real Boba Fett is not flattered by Kast’s impersonation and intends to stop him.

Jodo Kast was released as part of what seems to be an annually released “repack and repaint” wave of figures. And interestingly for this wave, it seemed to appear out of nowhere at retail without warning. While not unexpected, we didn’t get any advance notice that they were coming. And the surprise of finding something new at retail after a long period of “nothing” after the first two waves (of The Legacy Collection), the initial excitement quickly turned to chagrin. You see, Hasbro decided to use the body of 2006’s TSC Boba Fett (SAGA 006) figure and while it is a step up from the 2003 SW Boba Fett (The Pit Of Carkoon) (’03 #08) and 2004 OTC Boba Fett (OTC #14) figures, it still has an action feature that really hinders the quality of a potentially well-sculpted figure. Yes, there is “everything” wrong with that! His jetpack bobs up and down to make his arms do the same. This puppet like action is terrible and we really wish that the 2004 VOTC Boba Fett sculpt would have been used instead. We are pretty confident that many of you out there wished for this too. Despite the mechanical issues (which is definitely a heavy burden here), Jodo Kast also has quite a few ‘saving grace’ features nonetheless. For one, he has a beautifully striking paint job. And by beautiful, we mean stunning. Not many figures get painted this well and get this much artistic treatment when it comes to deco and it appears that where Hasbro failed for aesthetics and unnecessary action features, they made up for in art. The treatment of yellows looks fantastic against his gray uniform and his green chest plate armor makes him reminiscent of our most beloved Mandalorian bounty hunter of all, Boba Fett. (This was actually his role in the Expanded Universe, an imposter Boba Fett.)

Although Kast has appeared in several media events and publications throughout the years, (even including the McQuarrie “Bounty Hunters On Bespin” concept art), Hasbro was good to us in capturing his look from the Decipher Card Game. And if you don’t futz with him that much, you may even like this action figure a great deal! His loosely jointed arms are so frustrating! This figure does however have another glaring problem. Because Jodo is a rework of The Saga Collection Boba Fett, he has a hole on the top of the shoulders where the cape plugged into on the back of the Boba Fett figure. It is a shame, because it really confuses you and makes you think you lost a part to him. We actually started looking for this “missing” piece while writing up this review. This is a testament to the fact that something looks wrong and missing here. While not super-articulated by any means, you can still find 14 points of articulation on this figure including: range finder, neck, shoulders, biceps, waist, hips, knees, ankles, and jetpack (the action feature) but unfortunately most if the joints are swivel. This provides a great array of movement for a figure that is less than ideal, so we have to give Hasbro [some] credit for choosing a fair base figure (or blueprint) for which to design this figure. But it certainly could have been done better. Jodo has sold very well at retail, but we believe that many collectors may have suffered from ‘buyer’s remorse’. None of us expected for Hasbro to use the 2006 TSC Boba Fett (SAGA 006) body. And it would be quite an even more stunning figure if they thought about it a little longer and used the VOTC one. Despite his limitations and what he is, Kast can be posed easily and can stand very well. This may seem like a simple thing, but collectors like us go crazy when a figure chronically tips over! It is something we don’t take lightly and hold Hasbro accountable to designing a perfect center of gravity for every figure they release. They mastered this task easily here.

Wookieepedia outlines Kast’s history very well and we recommend checking out that article. If you’re into this character and his Expanded Universe exploits then you probably already know this bounty hunter went around pretending he was Boba Fett. While not the most twisted plot, most Star Wars fans love disguised characters. (Luke Skywalker in Stormtrooper Disguise and Princess Leia as Boushh are just two that immediately come to mind.) Yes, this juxtaposition concludes he is a minor character disguising himself as someone bigger rather than the other way around, but it is still cool! And while we learn that they are not entirely diametrical opposites, Boba Fett and Jodo Kast certainly have their unique qualities and differences. And these unique differences are captured well into the respective action figures. This is not to demean the value of “repaint and repack: waves of figures because we love them. But it is still a modern era of collecting so we wish Hasbro would ensure that they use the absolute best bodies for even these figures. Jodo Kast is a character that will likely never be revisited again and it would have been nice to get him right the first time. Maybe we can beg Hasbro for a redo, but only time will tell is it ever comes to light. While we wait, Jodo Kast will look great in your collection, but just don’t touch him or you’ll realize just how much he is lacking. So there you have it. While he may never appear as a better sculpted figure in our Star Wars collection, he certainly at least makes for a unique Mandalorian; and a beautifully painted one at that!