Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
Clever Anzellan droidsmiths refurbished IG-11's salvaged parts into a pilotable frame for Grogu, who operates the droid body like a vehicle. Stripped to base motor functions, the droid was renamed IG-12.
Okay, but why? Was 12 not already taken? If there's an 11 and there's an 88, 12 was probably already in there somewhere, wasn't it? After blowing himself up to protect Grogu and Pals, IG-11's remains were fished out of the lava river (and how exactly does that work?) and built into a statue in the droid's honor. Needing backup he could trust, Mando asked if IG-11 could be rebuilt; that didn't work. He wasn't thrilled with the idea of letting a baby operate heavy machinery, but Grogu was having way too much fun piloting his new battle mech to be denied!
This is, surprisingly, not the same mold as the previous Black Series IGs. None of it. IG-11 is apparently way taller than IG-88 was, so the old figure(s) being a repaint was wrong: 88 stands 1.9 meters, or about 6'3"; 11 is listed at 2.19 meters, almost a full foot taller. The toy is a very nice 7" at the top of his pointy coffee-maker head. Unfortunately, part of the new sculpt is that the "mouth" holes don't go all the way through the head anymore, and are instead just circles sculpted into the surface.
The new body is wonderfully detailed, with layered plating on the limbs, visible (sculpted) actuators that would make the robot move, accordionized rubber seals over the joints, and real wires and tubing running down the legs. It's impressive construction, and if they use this as the basis for a new IG-11, it'll be a real upgrade over the existing one!
The big change, of course, is that his torso is hollow, so a pilot can sit inside. You don't have to worry about working a figure in through the opening like they had to on the show: the front chest panel on the toy folds down, giving you easy access to the interior. There are a pair of joystick controllers in there, mounted on balljoints so they can actually move around and point different directions! Neat! Sadly, no buttons to make the suit say "yes" or "no."
Articulation's been improved, as well. There are swivel/hinge joints in the feet, ankles, knees, and elbows; swivel joints in the thighs, waist, wrists, biceps, shoulders, neck, and both above and below the "eye" ring on his head; hinged finger-clamps; and balljointed hips and shoulders. Plus the hinge for the chest panel and the balljoints for the controls we mentioned before. A lot of the joints are very stiff, and since the bends in the limbs can turn, you might have trouble telling which direction they're supposed to face, but if you're careful and persistent, you'll get everything moving and he'll be wildly poseable.
It's honestly a bit surprising the Baby Yoda in this set is a full figure and not just permanently molded inside the robot's chest - if you want to think that's not something Hasbro would do, may we remind you of the one with the Scout Trooper?
There have been several Black Series Grogus at this point, so you probably know what to expect by now: solid little potato-sacl body, balljoints for the head, shoulders, wrists, and feet. No surprises this time. It's a new sculpt, but that doesn't mean any new articulation.
He does fit into his robot, which is what matters. Since the toy's ears aren't as flexible as the puppet's, you just need to tip one of them into the gap in the bot's cockpit (or maybe armpit), then the other, and then you can rotate the body in. His smock is shaped to accommodate his arms pointing forward, meaning you can get his tiny little hands onto the control sticks appropriately. So fun!
If that's all this set included, it still would have sold: Baby Yoda and his Murder-Mech are a cool pair and fun to play with. But they also comes with a pair of Anzellans - you know, Babu Friks. They're the droidsmiths Mando went to to rebuild IG-11, and they're the ones who made the conversion to IG-12.
Like Babu, these are minimally articulated
little guys, with joints for the head, shoulders, and waist. They both use the same body, though with different paint and accessories to make them unique: one has a little tool belt and blue wraps around his arms, the other has some sort of straps or suspenders hanging from his shoulders and his arm wraps are unpainted. They're also got unique heads, each with their own style of goggles and facial hair. Either of the figures can fit inside the IG-12 cockpit, though Mustache is the one who was shown piloting it on the show.
This set first showed up at Walmart in September, and reached other stores later. I admit, I didn't expect it to warm pegs as much as it has: it seems every store still has plenty of it to go around. Walmart's still crammed with the "Mandalorian (Mines of Mandalore)" toy, but at least that one has the excuse of being mostly a rerelease of an existing figure, but with worse accessories; there's nothing reused about IG-12, Grogu, or the Anzellans, so they should be more popular. That does mean you can get the set for a good price right now, and that's something worth jumping on.
-- 01/25/25
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