Black Series vs Elite Series: Rey

November 12, 2015 at 12:02 am | Posted in Reviews, Star Wars, Toys & Collectibles | 4 Comments
Tags: bb-8, black series, elite series, rey

She’s going to be one of the central characters for The Force Awakens, and we know so little about her. Nevertheless, Hasbro has made a highly details, highly articulated 6-inch action figure of Rey for the Black Series. But Hasbro isn’t alone in the mid-scale deluxe figure market as Disney’s Elite Series also has a Rey. Which is better? Look below and decide for yourself as we dive into a photo review for both figures.

The 6-inch Black Series Rey comes with the ever lovable BB-8, and let’s face it, everyone wants BB. But Rey’s not bad looking either if you take your time and hunt down a figure with a good paint. It really pays to get these figures in person and to compare them with the other figures on the pegs to find the best one.

Rey comes with only one accessory, her trusty staff, which is taller than the figure itself.

Note how Rey’s clothing does not form a barrier that prevents her legs from being bent backwards. Thus Rey has pretty good leg articulation without much restriction from her clothing. The plastic is also soft and flexible, thus having some give for posing.

Close-up of Rey’s face with one of the best pain apps I saw for the figure. It has clean eyes and a nicely painted mouth. However, the sculpt does lack a little in its likeness to Daisy Ridley.

Rey’s staff has a shoulder strap that’s a little odd. It doesn’t easily fit over the shoulder, and it’s not very intuitive to which way it’s actually suppose to be worn when shouldered. That said, it does work to an extent.

When holding it with both hands, Rey does well with the staff.

All in all, it’s not a bad looking figure, and getting BB-8 with it makes Rey all that more desirable.

However, the Disney Elite Series trumps it. Here, Disney goes the extra mile and actually makes a figure that looks like Daisy Ridley. Behold!

And check out that BB-8! Keep in mind the Elite Series features diecast parts. BB-8’s main body is diecast (head is plastic), Rey’s body is diecast (except her feet) and the body parts of her robe thing is a soft plastic. Like the other Elite Series figures, it’s heavy.

Like the Hasbro figures, you’ll want to shop around to find a figure with the ideal paint app. Disney is not immune to bad paint apps. I saw some figures with some awful eyes. I had to sift through almost 10 figures to find the perfect one, and even then, I only found two that were really good. One had the eyes looking more to the right, which I almost went with because it looked pretty cool, but I ended up getting this one instead. With the paint app, you’ll want to pay close attention to the eyes, the mouth, and the hairline as that was where most of the flaws were located. Also take some time to look at BB-8 as I saw some issues with the paint that circles his head.

The Elite Series Rey comes with more accessories than the Black Series. In addition to the staff, she has a backpack and a cool looking blaster pistol, plus the standard base.

Unfortunately the backpack doesn’t work so well. You can’t slip it on and keep the straps secured to the pack. It’s just too stiff and not secure enough in its fittings. The loops for the straps needed to be a little bit bigger for it to work.

Side-by-side, you can see the difference between the two figures. The Elite Series is taller and has a darker color scheme. But more importantly, Rey’s face is more accurately proportioned with the Elite Series.

So who’s better? Well that’s a fight to the death for the eye of the beholder.

Aside from Rey, BB-8 is worth focusing on. The Black Series 6-inch BB-8 has a nice paint app that makes him look used and dirty.

There’s an articulated pivot point for the head which allows it to be tilted around. This also acts as a balance point which helps in keeping BB-8 standing.

The Elite Series BB-8, on the other hand, has a very clean paint app. The head is less articulated and can only be turned side to side, there is not tilt to it.

Visually, he looks good aside from the soft plastic antennas on his head being a little crooked.

The bad thing about the Elite Series BB-8 is he has no balance. He will not, under any circumstance, stand up on his own. His natural position is to roll over and fall on his head. By not putting that balanced articulation point like the Black Series figure, the Elite Series just falls over every time. Thus you constantly have to find something for him to lean on.

Side-by-side, the Elite Series is bigger. I don’t have a Sphero so I’m not sure how they compare, but between the Elite Series and the Black Series, you get two very different figures.

The question is, do you prefer the clean version or the dirty version?

Then there is also the 3-3/4-inch BB-8 which rounds out the BB-8 family. Honestly, I had a lot of fun playing around with all three of them in the backyard. Why pick one when you can get all three?

Next to the other Elite Series figures, Kylo towers over Rey.

Put the Black Series Rey next to the Elite Series Kylo, and he looks like a giant.

The Elite Series Rey, however, is very close to the 6-inch scale. Next to the Black Series Han Solo, it fits in.

Here’s the Elite Series Finn and Rey.

All in all, the articulation on the Black Series Rey is better. The sculpt and paint app on the Elite Series Rey is better. The Black Series BB-8 can stand-up on his own. The Elite Series Rey comes with a blaster pistol. It’s give and choose either way, but personally, I like the Elite Series Rey better. I’m not sorry to own both, and I think they both have a place in either collection. The scale of the Elite Series Rey is close enough that you could go with it as a substitute. However, I think in the end you’ll want to get both just to have both version of BB-8.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.