Sith Trooper & Babu Frik (Holiday Edition 2-Pack) — Star Wars The Black Series

Overview

The Sith Trooper & Babu Frik Holiday Edition 2-Pack is the fourth of five Holiday Edition 2-packs released in November 2020 exclusively through Best Buy. Best Buy exclusive at $24.99. The Sith Trooper is a repaint of the 2019 Black Series Sith Trooper (figure id=21518) in a festive colour scheme highlighted by elf-striped socks. Babu Frik accompanies in holiday colours. Pack #4 of 5 in the 2020 Holiday Edition series, and a fun novelty item.

The Elf-Striped Socks

The paint application is fun — look at his elf-striped socks. The Holiday Sith Trooper’s specific seasonal detail is the striped sock paint on the lower legs, visible between the armour plates. It’s one of the more charming small-detail Holiday Edition paint commitments in the 2020 series. The Sith Trooper’s canonical dark-red armour base provides a strong contrast backdrop for the holiday paint additions.

The figure’s sculpt looks cool with lots of grooves in the armour on the front and back — the 2019 Sith Trooper source body carries well-regarded sculpt detail into this novelty repaint.

Soft Plastic Shoulder Bells — Above 90 Degrees

The Sith Trooper’s shoulder bells are made out of very soft plastic so when the arms are lifted more than 90° the shoulder armour doesn’t get in the way. This is the same engineering commended on the Imperial Death Trooper and Paz Vizsla Credit Collection releases — soft-plastic bell engineering delivers practical above-90-degree arm movement that hard-plastic armour blocks. In the context of the 2020 Holiday Edition series, where the Snowtrooper’s hard-plastic bells prevent above-90-degree movement, the Sith Trooper’s soft bells are a genuine positive engineering differentiator.

18 joints. Ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, elbows, and wrists, ball-jointed upper body, ball-jointed hips, swivel thighs, swivel joints above and below the knees, ball-jointed ankles. Standard Phase 4 baseline. The helmet is not removable.

The Two Accessories

Removable scarf — a repaint of Lando Calrissian’s scarf. The scarf fits well around the neck and can easily be taken off the figure. It’s the most thematically appropriate accessory in the 2020 Holiday Edition series — a scarf on a winter-season figure is an obvious fit.

Blaster cannon — a repaint of the 2019 Sith Trooper accessory. Unfortunately it’s folded up and too big for the figure to hold properly. The cannon is the Holiday Edition’s equivalent of the wrong-weapon critique on other packs — it’s a repurposed accessory that doesn’t function as intended in this configuration. The scarf is the better accessory.

Babu Frik in Holiday Colours

Babu Frik — the tiny Anzellan droidsmith from The Rise of Skywalker — accompanies the Sith Trooper in festive holiday colours. The small-scale companion pairing works well for the Holiday Edition format, and Babu Frik’s diminutive proportions make for a natural seasonal companion figure.

Distribution Context

Best Buy exclusive, November 2020. Part of the five-pack 2020 Holiday Edition series across five separate retailers.

Verdict

Sith Trooper & Babu Frik Holiday Edition 2-Pack is the most engineering-positive entry in the 2020 Holiday Edition series — the soft plastic shoulder bells enabling above-90-degree arm movement is a genuine structural advantage over the hard-bell entries in the same wave, the elf-striped socks are a charming detail, the scarf is the series’ most thematically appropriate accessory, and Babu Frik is a genuinely fun seasonal companion. The blaster cannon that can’t be held properly is the meaningful accessory critique.

Buy this if you collect the 2020 Holiday Edition series, appreciate the soft-bell above-90-degree arm articulation, or specifically want the Sith Trooper in a seasonal novelty format. Best Buy exclusive, November 2020, Pack #4 of 5.

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Part of Star Wars The Black Series | Holiday Edition. Related: Range Trooper & D-0 (Holiday) P4-HOL-02 | Snowtrooper & Porg (Holiday) P4-HOL-04 | Stormtrooper & Snow Porg (Holiday) P4-HOL-05 | Clone Trooper & Porg (Holiday) P4-HOL-01.