Black Series 6″ NED-B Figure

Today’s unboxing features The Black Series NED-B 6″ Figure from the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. We really enjoyed the series, so we’re keen to build up an Obi-Wan Kenobi series action figure display with both TVC 4″ and Black Series 6″ figures. NED-B was a neat character in the series, and a fun new droid design so we’re really happy to add him to our collection.

Check out my unboxing video –

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This figure is part of Hasbro’s recent ‘plastic free packaging’ initiative, which means it has a windowless box. You can’t see the specific figure you are buying – which is not an issue if you predominately order online, but we mostly get our figures from local store shelves. Personally I like the opportunity to see the figure I’m choosing, and comparing the details, especially the paint job, with other figures on the shelf.

The windowless box also causes some headaches for collectors who keep their Black Series figures boxed – you can’t ‘display’ the figure anymore, it’s just a picture on the front. For the most part, we open our Black Series figures, but we appreciate the option for those rarer/collectible/exclusive ones we would choose to display sealed in the box.

Apart from the front missing the classic window, the rest of the packaging matches the modern Black Series boxes, with artwork on the right side slanted panel that forms a wider picture when displayed alongside other figures from the same series – in this case, the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. The colour scheme for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series packaging is a light blue, which we see in the stripe across the front with the series name, and used to accent the side panel artwork.

As the box notes, the packaging is free from plastic, with the exception of tape and glue. Inside, the figure is wrapped in ‘The Black Series’ branded tissue paper, held in place in a brown cardboard insert with some thin cardboard bands taped closed. The accessories are stored inside a waxy paper pouch that is sealed closed, so they can’t fall out. All in all, this holds the figure well, and is easy to open – similar to how starships are packaged, but of course this only works in boxes without windows.

The NED-B figure is primarily made in two colours – grey plastic at the joints and yellow plastic for the main body parts. This colour scheme is accented with dark grey/metallic weathering, and some blue painted details around the neck, left forearm, and backpack.

This figure is quite articulated as we would expect from a Black Series figure. Interestingly, I couldn’t get movement at the waist, instead the figure moves at the mid-torso join instead. Otherwise, it has all the joints and movements needed to pose for display.

It’s a little hard to show in photos, but the circular joints in his elbows, knees, and ankles have a clear plastic center, to give the effect of being hollow. A good option to maintain stability for poses, but still looks accurate to the original droid design. Considering the top-heavy nature of NED-B, he needs good stability in his legs so he doesn’t topple over.

For me, the frustrating part of this figure is the backpack. This was separate to the figure, and needs to be assembled to display. Putting the backpack on was relatively easy, it connects to the back of NED-B with a simple peg-and-slot attachment, but the problem is the small tubes on lower sides.

The tubes are attached to NED-B’s back and insert into the backpack once the backpack is attached in place. Simple in theory, but very tricky to actually do! Honestly, it took the both of us quite a few minutes to get those tubes into place – the dark grey knobs just below the attachment point really get in the way of your fingers. But anyway, once we finally wrestled them into place, it looks good.

NED-B comes with two accessories to hold – a hammer, and battle droid blaster. He holds the hammer really well, and it’s my favourite of the two accessories. His right hand has a finger pointed out like it would fit into the trigger section of the blaster, but his hands are bigger than a standard Black Series figure, and it looks like they used a standard blaster accessory, so he does hold it, but it’s a little awkward.

While there were a few frustrating notes with this figure (the windowless box and hard-to-put-on backpack), I think it looks really cool. The expression in the face captures the character well, he looks great holding his hammer, and the paint job really makes him look like a worn, beaten up old droid. I can’t wait to start building up our Obi-Wan Kenobi display – he is a fine addition to our collection.

May the Force be with you!