Star Wars The Black Series Captain Phasma

After four months of searching just about every retail store in my area on a regular basis and failing to find her, I finally ordered The Black Series Captain Phasma from Amazon (paid a 50% mark-up, but at this point, I was willing to do it).  She was the most wanted figure in my collection for The Black Series, as I just loved her overall aesthetic and presence.  As Falldownthemountain noted, she turned out to be a bit of a disappointment in The Force Awakens; barely having any lines or action sequences, but there is always the next film.

Unlike S.H. Figuarts or other high end articulated productions, this Phasma barely moves.  Sure, she has several joints and swivels, but she is hampered by a rubber/plastic cape that restricts movement of any kind, except for her right arm holding the blaster.  I haven't tried it, but I suspect if one popped off her head, the cape could be removed, and limb/joint movement would be a bit better, but not by much.  In short, she is a very blocky figure, lacking the looseness to pose her in any kind of action sequence.

What Hasbro *did* get right, however, was the accuracy of Phasma's likeness.  The sculpt is spot-on, the proportions of Gwendoline Christie's body are perfect.  Ms. Christie is a tall, beautiful woman, and capturing that in scale to the other Black Series figures is the key to a successful toy.  When eyeballing the figures on my shelf, I saw she was even a bit taller than Darth Vader, so here is a comparison pic of Kylo Ren, Phasma, and Vader for scale:

In proportion to the First Order Stormtroopers, she towers above them like a true Captain should, both in physicality and presence.  Something tells me that if Disney really lets her loose, she would be a true force to be reckoned with, provided she survived the trash compactor.

Star Wars The Black Series Han Solo

When Lucasfilm and Hasbro came out with the Black Series of 6" figures a few years ago, it set a higher standard (and price) for Star Wars figures as a whole, making them able to compete with Marvel Legends and other figures in the same scale.  They are also highly valuable once retired.  I think this will be the case with Mr. Han Solo as he appears in The Force Awakens (and also indicative of his fate in said film).  I think I lucked out when I randomly found him at Target a few days ago, as I didn't even know he had been released yet.  Instant purchase.

Han appears much as we remember him from the Original Trilogy, perhaps most closely dressed as his appearance in The Empire Strikes Back, although his vest (which is removable) is more of a brown now than navy blue.  He comes complete with his infamous DL-44 Blaster Pistol and holster, and as standard in The Black Series, has a high level of articulation (although nowhere near as much as S.H. Figure Arts or other high-end companies).  His likeness to Harrison Ford is pretty spot-on; even the 30 years of aging since Return of the Jedi have been captured well.  All I can picture in my mind when looking at the figure is his trash compactor joke with Finn when they take Captain Phasma hostage and are thinking of ways to "keep her busy."  I definitely get a good chuckle out of that.

My only regret?  I should have grabbed Chewbacca a few months ago when I had the chance.