The Best 3 3/4-inch 5POA Action Figure:

With all the Darth Vader and Rebels packaged Saga Legends and Mission Series figures released in 2014 it was pretty hard to narrow it down to just one action figure, so we'll go through a short laundry list of our favorites, including the MS08: Utapau General Grievous, SL11 Stormtrooper (technically a 2013 release, but only just barely), the Canadian released SL15 Darth Maul, the beautifully repainted SL10 Luke Skywalker, the SL01 Rebels Stormtrooper, and the SL03 The Inquisitor. All of these are all truly wonderful action figures, but the one we love more than all others is the SL05 Agent Kallus action figure. It resonates classic Star Wars in every way possible. The character design seems to have had Kenner's Death Squad Commander in mind and perfectly melds together designs we saw in The Clone Wars with the costumes of the original films. All of these elements translate perfectly to create the quintessential Star Wars action figure!



The Best 3 3/4-inch Super Articulated Action Figure: #03 Darth Vader

The Black Series 3 3/4-inch figures released in 2014 were for the most part lackluster. The line many think is made specifically for the adult collector is a crock that sells itself on perceived value over actual content. Of the sixteen figures released this year you got the following: four slight repaints, one straight pack forward, one slightly retooled pack forward, four kit bash figures, and only six completely new figures with 100% unique parts. Thankfully, those six new figures are all pretty good, and most of the slight repaints and kit bashed figures are decent. There were only two release in the bunch that are truly exceptional: The #28: Reeyees and the #03: Darth Vader. The Reeyees, any other time would have taken top honours, but Hasbro's slight retooling of the neck on their #03 Darth Vader makes it untouchable! The original #26: Darth Vader was already pretty stunning, but by fixing its easy pop off head with the blue carded version Hasbro set the bar so high that they will find nothing but resistance if they dare release any older Darth Vader sculpt. You need this figure loose. You need this figure carded, You need an extra loose one to leave in the kitchen to play with when you have breakfast.




The Best 6-inch Action Figure: #03: Luke Skywalker

We'll be the first to say that the repaint exclusives need to stop right now. They cheapen the line and it doesn't build consumer trust to continue moving forward with this practice. It's obvious that Hasbro intends to keep The Black Series 6-inch line going for years to come, and why not? The cost associated with producing a 6-inch super articulated action figure is almost the same as producing a 3 3/4-inch super articulated figure. The big difference is the retail price associated with the slight production cost increase. That means Hasbro would be foolish to abandon this line or to allow it to sour. We hope that they see this line for the gem it is and try harder to protect its integrity moving forward.

Beyond the repainted exclusives, the other 2014 releases were pretty strong and we'd have a shorter list naming the duds (Yoda and Darth Vader) than praising the best (all of the other ones released this year). Narrowing it down to two figures, we had a hard time picking between the #12: Anakin Skywalker and the #03: Luke Skywalker, so it became a contest of accessories. A Revenge Of The Sith Anakin/Darth Vader is naked without a Jedi robe. Sure, he fought in two very cool battles without the robe and walked around his house without one but he was always quick to get cosy in his robe the rest of the time. He wears it in almost every scene in the film so the figure is missing something that a (former) representative at Hasbro publicly stated barely affects the budget to include. On the other hand, Luke had plenty of costume changes in Return Of The Jedi, but you get everything the character owned from the time he surrendered to Darth Vader until the end of the film. No other accessories were required to make this figure complete (though Imperial binders would have been a nice touch). All that said, the #03: Luke Skywalker is our pick for the best 6-inch Hasbro figure released in 2014.