Originally Reviewed April 2016
One of the highlights of Star Wars: The Force Awakens for me was the introduction of Maz Kanata and as soon as she turned around, faced the camera and called out to Han Solo I was hooked. When she asks about Chewbacca and says, “I like that wookiee” I knew I had to have her in action figure form. We may never see the diminutive castle owner on a single card but we now have her as part of a pretty cool set of figures.
Hasbro’s Takodana Encounter is a 4 character set that, for me, hits all the bases. The set includes three of the breakout stars of The Force Awakens, Rey, Finn and BB-8 and of course, Maz Kanata. There is also a nice assortment of accessories that makes this package a great starter set for young fans just discovering the GFFA while providing long time collectors with high quality sculpted figures in a beautiful box that I’ll be keeping long after I’ve cracked it open and added the figures to my shelf. I like it so much I’m even going to forgive the fact that the figures have only five points of articulation (as someone who displays figures in dioramas this is a sore spot for me).
The packaging is a nice combination of the Force Awakens line and the Black Series line. There are photo images of the characters on the outside of the box while inside there is a removable, red cardboard insert with a black image of a crumbled wall of Maz’s castle. This acts as the background for the figures as they are displayed, similar to the black on red First Order emblem that is found inside the Black Series boxes. It’s a great looking background and an easy way to add some drama to your displays. According to JediBusiness.com (Thanks Criz B!) Finn, Rey and BB8 are all repacks from previous releases.
BB-8
BB-8’s head is articulated and will move around and also has a peg hole in the bottom for a figure stand. I wonder if it would be possible to ever make a 3 3/4 version that actually rolls?
Finn
The Finn figure is slightly different here than the Black Series version. The colour of his jacket is slightly darker and his boots are a lighter grey than the multi articulated version and it lays flatter against him. The head sculpts are pretty much identical. His jacket is the same soft plastic that we’ve seen on many current figures and is so much nicer than one that would just be a part of the figure’s sculpt-this is one example of the high quality sculpts we’ve been seeing in this line.
Rey
The Rey figure is a great likeness to Daisy Ridley although the head sculpt does look different than the Black Series version. Included is her backpack which goes on fairly easily, her staff which is very screen accurate and the leather strap, although fixed into position and is molded plastic, mimics the way it would look on screen. The head wrap and goggles accessory that come with the Black Series version also fits on this figure which will come in handy if I choose to display Rey in more than one scene.
Maz Kanata
The highlight of the set though is Maz Kanata and she was worth the $29.99 CDN price tag of buying figures I already had. My logic is that it will probably end up being cheaper to buy this set than what eBay sellers will ask just for Maz. The detail on all the new figures have been excellent but Maz really stands out. The different colours that make up her costume are spot on, including her orange skin. Her goggles are fixed to both sides of her head, separated in the middle and are pliable, and can be moved slightly to reveal her eyes. It’s probably a good idea that they don’t detach, it would be an easy part to loose. It’s enough to be able to move them to see her tiny eyes underneath which, by the way, reinforces my belief that my grandmother was used as a model for Maz.
Accessories
Apart from Rey’s accessories the set includes Finn’s rifle and, oddly enough a pistol for Maz. It also comes with two lightsabers-one ignited and one hilt. The coolest accessory though is the wooden chest that Rey finds the Skywalker lightsabers in. Inside the chest is a sculpted piece that reveals the chest’s contents; nothing is removable. It looks very authentic although the partially soft material lid is a little odd – hard plastic would give it more weight and I could see this breaking off or warping easily with a lot of playtime.
As I said earlier, this is a great way to get into Star Wars figure collecting or to introduce young fans to it. Exciting, colourful packaging and a handful of excellently sculpted characters representing the future of Star Wars—i highly recommend it!
Mike Tarkin.com 