Dengar (Archive) — Star Wars The Black Series

Overview

Dengar at the Archive Collection captures the canonical bounty hunter — crude and slovenly in manner, but nonetheless an effective hunter who preferred firepower and destruction over finesse and style. Released late May/early June 2022 single-carded as part of the Wave 6 Archive Collection. Mainline non-exclusive at $22.99 — Phase 4 standard mainline pricing. 19 joints. Three accessories: a pluggable backpack, a blaster, and a blaster rifle. The figure is a re-pack of the 2018 Black Series Dengar (figure id=16306).

If you already own the 2018 release, the Archive variant is essentially the same figure — the differences are cosmetic rather than structural. If you missed the 2018 release, this is the version to get.

The Photo-Real Face Printing

The photo-real face printing technology on Dengar looks amazing in person. This is the meaningful upgrade the Archive variant delivers over the pre-photo-real 2018 source body’s hand-applied portrait. The canonical Dengar visual — the heavily bandaged head wrapping, the weathered skin, the distinctive bounty hunter facial character — reads correctly through the updated face printing commitment.

The photo-real portrait is the structural reason to upgrade from the 2018 release if you collect Archive figures specifically for portrait-quality improvements. Dengar’s source body is otherwise functionally identical between the 2018 release and the 2022 Archive variant, so the portrait is where the real value sits.

The Three-Accessory Loadout and Holster Engineering

Dengar came with a backpack which plugs into the back of the figure. Specific equipment-mount engineering note worth flagging — the backpack uses a positive-engagement plug-retention mount rather than gravity or pressure-fit. For collectors who build active-combat pose configurations, the plug-mount backpack stays in place reliably without accidental detachment.

Two weapons included — a blaster and a blaster rifle. The small blaster is a good fit for the right hand, and Dengar’s index finger can be placed on top of the weapon’s trigger. Specific right-handed grip-fit commendation — the trigger-finger engagement detail captures appropriate canonical gunslinger weapon-grip configuration. The holster on the right side of the hip can house the small blaster perfectly. Standard sidearm-stowage engineering supporting clean at-rest display configuration.

A specific weapon-accuracy critique worth flagging — the long blaster rifle fits only okay into the hands. Dengar held a different blaster rifle on the Star Destroyer Executor; the one included here seems to be from publicity or behind-the-scenes photos rather than the on-screen weapon. For collectors who care about strict on-screen weapon accuracy, the rifle mismatch is a meaningful structural critique — the correct Executor-scene blaster rifle is not what shipped with this figure.

Both weapons have only one color without any weathering, wash, or dirt on them. Specific weapon-paint critique consistent with the broader Wave 6 Archive Collection cost-optimisation pattern — the same single-colour-no-weathering approach appears across C-3PO (Archive)‘s zero-accessory release and Grand Moff Tarkin (Archive)‘s also-zero-weapon release in the same wave.

The Costume Configuration

There are no removable parts on the outfit beyond the backpack. The canonical Dengar visual configuration — the full-body bandaging-and-flight-suit combination — ships as single integrated configuration without modular costume variation. The wrappings, the vest, the flight suit underlayer are all sculpted and painted as one unified figure configuration.

Specific paint commitment note — the 2018 source body delivers appropriate environmental-detail paint commitment that the Archive re-pack inherits. The Dengar character class benefits from the worn, dirty bounty-hunter aesthetic that the source body’s paint approach captures correctly.

Articulation

19 joints. Ball-jointed top neck, swivel-jointed lower neck, ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed elbows, ball-jointed wrists, ball-jointed upper body, ball-jointed hips, swivel-jointed thighs, swivel-joints above knees, swivel joints below knees, ball-jointed ankles. Above the 17-joint Phase 4 baseline thanks to the dual-axis neck engineering (top ball + lower swivel) and the dual-axis upper body.

The figure stands well on display — standard human-scale character-class standing-stability engineering. The slightly hunched Dengar posture reads correctly through the figure’s physical configuration.

Distribution and the Wave 6 Cluster

Standard mainline Archive Collection release at $22.99 through wide retail channels — released late May/early June 2022 as part of Wave 6 alongside C-3PO (Archive), Emperor Palpatine (Archive), and Lando Calrissian Skiff Guard (Archive). The Wave 6 cluster covers original-trilogy character-class restoration across a wide range — protocol droid (C-3PO), bounty hunter (Dengar), Sith antagonist (Palpatine), and Rebel-Alliance-in-disguise (Lando Skiff Guard).

For collectors building canonical The Empire Strikes Back bounty hunter assembly displays, Dengar pairs with the broader Executor-scene bounty hunter character class. The Executor assembly on screen placed six bounty hunters in the same scene — Dengar sits alongside Boba Fett, Bossk, IG-88, 4-LOM, and Zuckuss. All six have Black Series releases across the broader catalogue.

Other Dengar Figures

Dengar has been a recurring bounty hunter character-class release subject. Other notable releases include the Vintage Collection The Empire Strikes Back release (figure id=533), the Power of the Force 2 Return of the Jedi variant (figure id=534), the Vintage Collection Imperial Set II 3-Pack (figure id=1145), the Saga Collection Executor Meeting scene variant (figure id=1462), the Vintage original-trilogy release (figure id=1976), and the 2018 Black Series source body (figure id=16306). The Archive release joins this character-class catalogue as the dedicated 2022 Wave 6 Archive Collection re-pack with photo-real portrait upgrade.

Secondary Market

Single-carded Archive Collection release with dedicated Archive cardback packaging, late May/early June 2022. Available through wide retail channels at MSRP and the secondary market. Verify all three accessories (backpack, blaster, blaster rifle) are included when acquiring on the secondary market.

Verdict

Dengar (Archive) at the 2022 Wave 6 Archive Collection is a clean re-pack of the 2018 source body with one meaningful upgrade — the photo-real face printing delivers significant portrait-quality improvement for the canonical bandaged-head bounty hunter character, the pluggable backpack supports reliable equipment retention during dynamic pose configurations, the right-hip holster supports clean sidearm-stowage display, the right-hand blaster trigger-finger engagement delivers appropriate gunslinger weapon-grip reading, the 19-joint articulation sits above the Phase 4 baseline, and the figure stands reliably on display.

The long blaster rifle is the wrong weapon for the canonical Executor-scene configuration — the correct on-screen rifle wasn’t included, with a publicity-photo variant shipped instead. Both weapons ship without weathering or paint detail. If you own the 2018 release you can skip this one — they’re essentially identical except for the photo-real portrait upgrade.

Buy this figure if you appreciate the photo-real portrait upgrade as your collecting priority, if you missed the 2018 source release at original retail, if you build canonical The Empire Strikes Back Executor bounty-hunter assembly displays (Dengar is one of the six canonical Executor bounty hunters alongside Boba Fett, Bossk, IG-88, 4-LOM, and Zuckuss), or if you collect the Archive Collection as a complete set. Skip if you already own the 2018 figure and don’t prioritise the photo-real portrait refinement.

The crude and slovenly bounty hunter who preferred firepower over finesse. The figure with the photo-real face printing upgrade, the pluggable backpack, the right-hip holster, and the wrong-rifle critique. The Dengar that anchors the The Empire Strikes Back bounty hunter section of Wave 6 Archive Collection. Mainline distribution, late May/early June 2022, Wave 6.

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Part of Star Wars The Black Series | Phase 4 Archive Collection. Related: C-3PO (Archive) P4-ARC-3PO | Emperor Palpatine (Archive) P4-ARC-EP | Lando Calrissian Skiff Guard (Archive) P4-ARC-LC | Boba Fett (Archive) P3-ARC-BF.