Star Wars Black Chewbacca: This Wookie Wins

The next truly great addition to Hasbro’s Star Wars Black Series brings Han Solo his furry co-pilot.

Most of the 6″ scale Black Series Star Wars figures have been a blast to collect, with their detailed and original sculpts, ample articulation and lean toward the OT characters most of us actually care the most about.  But there’s been a few figures so noteworthy, they stand tall, even among their really good counterparts.  I guess Chewbacca stands doubly tall, as not only is he one of the biggest Black Series figures to date, but also one of the absolute best.

The Wookie features an outstanding sculpt with a great range of motion, and much of his articulation is cleverly masked by his shaggy fur.  Whether he’s deep in an action pose or standing neutral, Chewbacca looks great, with lots of detail sculpted into his furry body that adds texture and enhances his iconic silhouette.

The portrait definitely does justice to the Wookie’s face, with his mane swept back as he appeared in A New Hope, and with his mouth open in mid-growl.  It’s a bit more expression than many of the Black Series figures, but it works considering how often this guy leaves his mouth hanging open.  Chewie is one of those characters who can be hard pressed for variants– he looks pretty much the same in all three movies– but one look at this face and I can already imagine Hasbro reissuing a Return of the Jedi version with a closed mouth and his hair draped down his face.

Chewie includes a removable bandolier, although his fur is flattened underneath so it looks awkward if he’s not wearing it.  Having this as a separate piece does mean it won’t inhibit the figure’s poseability, so it was a great call even if he looks odd without it.  And of course, Chewbacca also comes packing his signature bowcaster, which fits very well in his hand and sports a separate cross piece on the front, which plugs snugly into the hilt of the weapon.

I know Chewie is supposed to be very tall, but this figure’s one negative is that he may be too tall to be in perfect scale with the human Black Series figures.  He looks fine next to Han (which is most important, honestly), but he really dwarfs Luke and Leia, more so than I think he actually did in the movies.  When you’re dealing with a figure this well realized, though, a slight height discrepancy is easy to overlook, especially when erring on the side of our giant gorilla bear man being too tall, instead of too short.

Chewbacca is part of the fifth assortment of Black Series figures, which delivers some great figures such as Luke in his black Jedi outfit and Darth Vader.  The whole lineup is impressive, for sure, but Chewie is hands-down the best figure in the set, and one of the finest releases in Hasbro’s 6″ Star Wars universe.