Welcome to another Dan's ToyBox Action Figure Review! Today we get a look at the Hasbro Star Wars Black Series: The Mandalorian and Grogu (Maldo Kreis) figure set. I will readily admit that I was totally unaware this pack even existed until I quite accidentally stumbled upon it at a Target in Buffalo NY last weekend. Mrs. ToyBox has agreed that Mandalorian related figures are acceptable in my ongoing hunt for figures to add to my collection, much to my joy!
In the second episode of Season 2 of The Mandalorian on Disney + we see the titular character and his adorable little mischief maker take on a job for Peli Motto in exchange for information regarding another covert of Mandalorians. The job... transporting a passenger (unironically referred to as "Frog Lady") to the estuary planet Trask. She is carrying the eggs which will protect her species from extinction and her husband awaits on the planet to fertilize them. He also has access to the information Mando needs. Unfortunately, the big hitch is that the Razor Crest cannot jump to lightspeed for travel, as this will destroy the eggs. Mando informs his passenger (also in the process learning he cannot understand her language) that they will be forced to avoid pirates and other mercenaries while travelling at sublight speeds. The Crest takes flight and not long after, runs afoul of two New Republic X-Wing patrol fighters. It seems that Mando has deactivated his ship's transponder, hiding its identity. Our stalwart Republic Pilots soon learn that Mando was involved in a New Republic prison break (in season one), carefully maneuver into attack positions and the chase is on! Mando flies the Razor Crest to the nearby frozen planet of Maldo Kreis, in hopes of losing his pursuers. His plan works, but the ice shelf he lands on doesn't turn out to be stable. The Razor Crest crashes through the ice leaving Mando with a damaged ship and a mission to still try to complete. To make matters worse, Grogu has gleefully discovered the Frog Lady's eggs and is delighted at the prospect of new snacks! After being chased away from the eggs (multiple times) Grogu soon discovers ANOTHER delicious source of eggs. While Mando is working to make the Razor Crest spaceworthy, Grogu has found a nest of Krykna eggs. Unfortunately, the spider-like creature is none too happy about seeing her children being devoured and attacks the Razor Crest. Just when all seems lost, our Republic patrol show up for the rescue, killing the Krykna and saving Mando, Grogu and the Frog Lady. Due to mitigating circumstances, the Republic pilots leave after essentially giving Mando a "warning." Mando is able to patch the damaged Razor Crest sufficiently, allowing the trio to continue their voyage and as the episode closes... we see the little egg muncher, Grogu, has secreted himself one final egg to snack on.
Let's take a look at our review categories: Accessories, Appearance, Articulation, and Affordability before giving The Mandalorian and Grogu (Maldo Kreis) their final overall rating on the zero to five Toybox scale.
ACCESSORIES
The Hasbro Star Wars Black Series Mandalorian and Grogu (Maldo Kreis) package comes with Mando, Grogu, a Krykna, a small base with a broken egg casing for Grogu, Mando's blaster and rifle. This package is, I feel, more about the three figures than any additional accessories. To be frank, other than Mando's weapons and the Egg Base for Grogu there really aren't any other accessories that this figure could come with. His hands are multifunctional and can hold both weapons, or even Grogu and the spider-like Krykna is a very cool addition that can be used to menace the unaware Grogu. I honestly am having a hard time deciding on the grade for this, because I really cannot think of anything else this set could benefit from including. I suppose, as long as Mando has both weapons and Grogu has an egg sack he can greedily try gobbling up, there isn't much else to desire. I'll give it an A for Accessories, simply for packing the absolute necessities for the figure(s).
Images © Dan's ToyBox 2022
APPEARANCE
Really very impressed with how great these figures look! Starting with the Mandalorian... I have the first Black Series Mandalorian with Beskar Armor and this version has some updated paint apps. The armor is more of a shiny silver and the browns are a darker, richer color for his under-armor garments. The white snow splotches are applied painstakingly so as not to be too obtrusive and help give the figure a more realistic snow-covered look. I also noticed that the color applications on some of his pieces are different from the first figure. His belt, holster, and rifle bandolier strap are a darker brown than before. The armor pieces on his right thigh are missing the brown paint from the first figure and his knee pieces are red and blue, where on the previous figure they are different shades of brown. Even the stock and barrel of his rifle are different shades than the original. I actually really like the way this figure looks. The darker colors, brighter armor and snow highlights really pop on this figure and make him look exceptional! The sculpted details on this figure are very intricate and certainly very accurately depict the look of the character. Many collectors will find cloth capes for their figures and though I know one would look fantastic on this figure, I think I'm going to stick with the plastic cape. I don't know why... I just really like how it looks. Yes, it's inflexible and gets in the way of the rifle but the dark brown with white snow highlights really completes the look of the figure.
Grogu is really more of a statue than a figure but he looks adorable. The paint apps are clean and when you look at the bottom of the statue, you can see his little feets are painted on.
The snow effects are painted on cleanly and not overpowering on his little cloak and the highlights on his head and face are very clean and look really nice. Lastly, the Krykna is molded in white with some wash over it giving both shadow and highlight to the figure. I do wish there was a bit more around the "mouth" area but overall for a relatively plain figure, it's done well and looks good when posed with Mando and Grogu. This set easily gets an A for Appearance!
Images copyright Dan's Toybox 2022
ARTICULATION
At first I was pretty excited when I started posing Mando around, but in spite of the decent engineering, there are some limitations which hinder posing. Mando's head will turn side ways but is limited in up and down movement. His arms will raise out at the shoulders, but the shoulder armor does limit how high the arms can raise. The arms will rotate 360 degrees and there is a swivel at the elbow. His elbows have a single visible joint which doesn't bend much past 90 degrees. The hands have up/down and "dice throwing" hinging and can also pivot. Mando's torso has some crunch and rotational movement, but is hindered by the rifle strap and the rest of his torso movement is also limited. His holster strap does unbuckle, but when I have his pistol in the holster, unfortunately the strap plug doesn't port in properly. His rifle will port onto his back, but is very difficult to plug in. Mando's legs will split out to degree, but not as far as the previous figure. His legs will kick forward nicely, but his knees won't bend back much further than 90 degrees either. Mando's ankles do hinge and pivot well though, which is nice. Grogu, as mentioned, is just a little statue with no movement. The eight legs of the Krykna will move up and down and rotate at the joints connected to the body, but none of the other leg joints will move. Honestly, I feel that this Mando has less mobility than the previous version and to that end, I just don't feel good about giving him a grade for articulation.
AFFORDABILITY
As I mentioned at the beginning, I found this figure at Target and paid $34.99. For two articulated figures and a little statue with base, I could see this being considered equivalent to , say, a Deluxe Marvel Legend and though I don't collect a lot of Star Wars figures any longer, this does seem to be falling in line with they typical pricing structure for this brand. If you are a big SW fan or just a fan of The Mandalorian, I feel that it's worth the pricing value, so with that, I'll give this figure an A for Affordability.
Overall, the Hasbro Star Wars Black Series: The Mandalorian and Grogu (Maldo Kreis) figure is, to me, a just above average action figure. It looks great, but has some issues as well. so with that in mind, I will give him...
3 Toyboxes out of 5
I like this figure, myself, but I don't think it's necessarily a must have for any collection unless you really are a big fan of the show, character, or Star Wars in general. Thank you, as ever, for spending some time playing in Dan's ToyBox and until next time... GEEK OUT!!!!