Jawa — Star Wars The Black Series 40th Anniversary

Overview

Jawa at #JW2 in the broader 40th Anniversary lineup is the Black Series tribute release of Tatooine’s scavenger species — the small hooded desert dwellers whose Sandcrawler appearance and droid-trading scenes anchor much of A New Hope’s first act. Released May 2017 in Hasbro’s Black Series 40th Anniversary Collection on Kenner vintage-inspired packaging. Mainline non-exclusive at $19.99. 15-joint articulation — lean count, partly explained by the species’ small frame and the integrated robe configuration. Two ION blasters: one permanently attached to a power pack and chest strap, plus one separate blaster that can be hand-held or stowed in the holster. The figure was re-released by Hasbro in March 2018 as Black Series Jawa #61 (figure id=9102), giving the same sculpt two distinct production-run variants across an 11-month window.

The Tatooine Scavenger Class

Jawas are the small hooded scavenger species native to Tatooine, depicted across A New Hope’s first-act sequences as the operators of the giant Sandcrawler vehicle that captures C-3PO and R2-D2 for resale. The character class is defined by the deliberately-obscured visual identity — heavy hooded robes with only glowing eyes visible underneath, no exposed face or distinguishable individual features. Hasbro has released Jawa figures across multiple lines (the 2008 Legacy Collection version with LIN Droid at figure id=46, the various Vintage Collection releases, the Clone Wars-era versions), but the 6-inch Black Series 40th Anniversary release is the dedicated flagship-collector representation at the contemporary scale.

For collectors building Tatooine dioramas alongside the various Sand People (Tusken Raider at #P4-40A-TU2), Sandcrawler crew, and droid-trading sequences, the Jawa is essential. The species’ small frame and distinctive silhouette read as instantly recognisable on the shelf even at the small scale.

The Integrated Robe Configuration

The Jawa’s hood and the plastic robe are not removable — both are sculpted as part of the body tooling rather than separate removable components. Standard design choice for the species; the costume IS the character at this level. Without the robe, there’s nothing meaningful to display — the species’ canonical visual identity depends on the obscured robed configuration, and unmasking would deviate from the source material.

For collectors who want kitbashing flexibility or alternative costume display, the integrated approach is restrictive. For collectors who want a screen-accurate Jawa, the integrated design is appropriate to the character class.

The Chest Strap and Pouches

The strap with the pouches across the figure’s chest is its own piece and can be moved around a little, but it’s not possible to take it off without breaking the figure or the strap. Semi-detached engineering — the strap is structurally separate from the body tooling but mounted in a way that prevents safe removal. For collectors who want to display the Jawa without the chest strap, the configuration is structurally inaccessible without modification.

The pouches across the front and back of the figure were given a subtle dirty wash and the small knobs on the pouches were painted well — the strap-mounted equipment carries meaningful paint detail despite the limited removal flexibility. For collectors who care about screen-accurate scavenger-equipment display, the chest strap configuration is appropriate.

The Two ION Blasters

Hasbro included two ION blasters with the figure. One is permanently attached to a power pack and to the chest strap — this is the figure’s primary armed configuration, with the weapon integrated into the costume’s structural design. The second is its own piece — a separate detachable blaster that can be hand-held or stowed in the holster.

The Jawa can hold both weapons in his hands, but he can’t hold them in a shooting position. Specific articulation limitation worth flagging: the figure’s arm articulation supports holding configurations but not the screen-accurate firing-stance posing. For collectors who want active-combat display, this is restrictive; for collectors who want stowed-weapon or held-weapon at-rest configurations, the design works correctly.

Both blasters can be placed into the holster — either the loose blaster can be holstered for the stowed configuration, or the harness-mounted blaster can be configured into the holster for an alternative storage setup. The dual-weapon engineering provides display flexibility despite the no-firing-pose limitation.

The Sculpted Detail

Hasbro detailed this Jawa nicely. There are fringes on the end of the sleeves, wrinkles in the clothing, and small sculpted details on the ION Blaster’s power pack and the pouches across the chest and the back. The sculpted detail extends into small components that most Phase 3 figures undershoot — the sleeve fringes specifically are the kind of attention-to-source-material detail that elevates the figure above generic-Jawa territory.

For collectors who care about screen-accurate sculpt fidelity, the Jawa figure is a well-tooled example of how Phase 3 Black Series can capture small-character species detail at the 6-inch scale. The figure’s small frame doesn’t compromise the sculpted detail commitment — Hasbro tooled the figure with appropriate detail density across all components.

The Tatooine Sand Critique

The colour tone on the outfit seems correct, but we would have liked to see more Tatooine sand on the clothing. The figure ships with appropriate base-colour brown application but limited deployment-grime weathering. Detailed reviewers’ specific note: Hasbro did add some dirt on the bottom of the robe, but we would have liked to see more of that. The deployment-grime application is the recurring Phase 3 paint critique that affects most 2017-era releases — the figure ships clean despite the source material depicting Jawas in deeply weathered desert-deployed configurations.

For Tatooine-specific weathering, the standard workaround is aftermarket custom application — collectors can apply additional sand-tone wash and paint distress to the robe lower components for screen-accurate desert-deployed display. As shipped, the figure reads as too clean for screen-accurate Jawa display.

The Articulation Question

15 joints. Ball-jointed top neck, swivel-jointed lower neck, ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed elbows, ball-jointed wrists, ball-jointed waist, ball-jointed hips, ball-jointed knees, ball-jointed ankles. Lean joint count for the Phase 3 baseline, partly explained by the small frame and integrated robe configuration.

A specific articulation observation: it’s interesting that Hasbro gave the figure ball-jointed hips and knees, even though the legs can’t be adjusted due to the plastic robe being in the way. The lower-body articulation is structurally tooled but functionally inaccessible — the integrated robe restricts leg movement entirely, making the hip and knee joints decorative rather than functional. For collectors evaluating articulation usability rather than joint-count specifications, the figure’s effective articulation is meaningfully less than the 15-joint nominal count suggests.

The figure has no balancing issues — Jawa stands reliably on display despite the small frame and the limited functional articulation. The standing-stability is appropriate to the character class, even if the dynamic-pose flexibility is constrained.

The 2018 Re-Release

This very same Jawa figure was re-released by Hasbro in March 2018 as Black Series Jawa #61 (figure id=9102). Same body sculpt, same paint application, same accessory loadout — only the packaging changes from the Kenner vintage 40th Anniversary cardback to standard Phase 4 Black Series packaging. For Jawa collectors, the question is whether the packaging variation alone justifies a duplicate purchase across the two releases.

The 11-month re-release window suggests Hasbro saw continued collector demand for the Jawa character class beyond the 40th Anniversary commemorative line. The 2018 standard release made the figure available to Phase 4 collectors who weren’t building the 40th Anniversary set specifically.

Distribution and Mural Position

Standard mainline 40th Anniversary release at $19.99 through wide retail channels — Target, Walmart, Toys R Us (still operating in May 2017), Amazon, hobby shops. The mainline distribution and the standard pricing make the Jawa accessible. Aftermarket pricing on the secondary market has remained reasonable due to broad initial availability across both the 40th Anniversary release and the 2018 standard re-release.

The Jawa sits in the broader 40th Anniversary lineup as one of the secondary character class releases — the line’s primary anchor figures cover the headline characters, and the Jawa joins the broader A New Hope ensemble (Tusken Raider, Death Squad Commander, Stormtrooper) that round out the planet-side roster. For collectors building Sandcrawler dioramas, the figure is essential.

Secondary Market

Single-carded mainline release on Kenner vintage cardback, May 2017. Available at MSRP through standard retail and the secondary market with broad availability. Verify both ION blasters (the harness-mounted permanent blaster and the separate hand-held blaster) are present and functional. The separate blaster is the small component most likely to be lost during transit. No production variants documented beyond the 2018 re-release packaging change.

Verdict

Overall, this Jawa figure turned out nicely and can easily be recommended. The screen-accurate hooded Tatooine scavenger configuration, the multi-shade brown paint application across the robe and pouches, the dual ION blaster loadout supporting both held and stowed weapon configurations, the sculpted sleeve fringes and pouch detail demonstrating Hasbro’s small-component commitment, and the figure’s reliable standing display all combine for a competent secondary-character release.

The integrated robe limits costume kitbashing flexibility. The structurally-tooled-but-functionally-unusable lower-body articulation is an engineering quirk worth noting. The clean paint application undershoots the screen-accurate Tatooine deployment grime the source material depicts. The chest strap’s semi-detached non-removable design constrains display flexibility.

Buy this figure if you collect the 40th Anniversary line as a complete set, if you build Tatooine or Sandcrawler dioramas, if you want a well-tooled Jawa species representation at the 6-inch scale, or if you missed the 2018 standard re-release. The $19.99 mainline pricing is fair for the engineering quality and the accessory loadout.

The hooded Tatooine scavenger with the integrated plastic robe. The figure with the dual ION blasters and the decorative-only knee articulation. The Jawa that pairs with the broader Tatooine ensemble for Sandcrawler dioramas. Mainline distribution, May 2017.

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Part of Star Wars The Black Series | Phase 4 40th Anniversary Collection. Related: Tusken Raider P4-40A-TU2 | Stormtrooper P4-40A-ST2 | Death Squad Commander P4-40A-DS2.