By now, you have seen the loose images of the Yoda (3-3/4″ scale) from the Black Series over at Jedi Temple Archives and to say that many are disappointed in the final product would be an understatement. How did things go so wrong? Click on through to be reminded of the original/proposed design for this figure.

Here is a rendering by the designers at Boss Fight Studio on how the Black Series Yoda was envisioned. A far cry from the 5 POA in the final product, no? I will stipulate that the figure looks fine while wearing the soft goods but is that enough, in your mind, to make up for it? Was it really necessary for Hasbro to pull back this far on the articulation for what is advertised as a “collector” line?

(Click image above to supersize)

Alas, this isn’t the first or last time we’ve been disappointed in a figure. Remember Mara Jade?

Intrigued? Click on through for what may be old news to some but was new to me.

While surfing the interwebs today (when I should have been working) I happened across an announcement on Facebook from Boss Fight Studio regarding the launch of their new website. Of course, being as easily tempted by the dark side (i.e. slacking off at work) as I am, I proceeded.  Imagine my surprise when exploring one of the designer’s portfolios I stumbled upon the  proposed design for the Mara Jade figure that was originally planned for release in the Vintage Collection, then pushed to the 2013 Droid Factory Wave 2 and finally found home in The Black Series wave 2.

As you can see below, the initial design was for a Sith Assassin/Emperor’s Hand version that was all new representation based on numerous artistic interpretations and not the third reiteration of the Expanded Universe/POTF/30th Anniversary “Classic Costume”.

The proposed sculpt had more armor and details than the final figure and was even to include a soft good cloak. Personally, I find the unused/unapproved design far more appealing, but with Disney’s/Lucasfilm’s new edict on characters from the Expanded Universe being addressed in plastic form, I suspect we will never get this figure and we can only dream of what might have been and I applaud the designer, Erik Arana, for his vision.