Thomas Storai 
The Hot Toys Echo from Star Wars: The Bad Batch is amazing! I love how Hot Toys translated his armor into a live-action look. Plus, you have a lot of fun possibilities for the robotic arm.
The first Hot Toys figure from Star Wars: The Bad Batch has finally been released! Echo is now available on the Asian market and at Sideshow Collectibles. But is the figure worth the hard-earned Imperial credits? Let’s find out.
THE BOX
The box is your usual Star Wars box design. Unlike Marvel figures, Star Wars collectibles all have the same box design. It’s a black box with a promotional picture of the character and the Star Wars logo. The colored strip for The Bad Batch figure is red which matches their armor.
ACCESSORIES
Echo is a bit weak in terms of accessories but he comes with some cool ones. The problem for me is the lack of hands. Usually, with clones, there are lots of options. Though here, the options are the different robotic arms. In season one, we only see him with one robotic arm while here you have four additional options. I guess that Lucasfilm sent early concept art with these arms and they ended up not using them in the series. Nevertheless, I do hope to see them in season two because I think these are such cool features! The display base is your usual Star Wars interior base. You can put a printed piece of plastic on it with the helmet of Echo and the name The Bad Batch. I’m not so fond of these pieces of plastic so I’ll display him with the usual stand.
You have five hands. One to hold the blaster, one with a pointing finger, and one open hand. Then you have two robotic hands. One to hold the blaster and one open hand. These robotic hands are nicely detailed. It is the same type of hands as C-3PO except it’s a different color here.
CLONE ARSENAL
In terms of weapons, he only has one DC-17 hand blaster. It’s the same one that came with other clone troopers. Then, he has his backpack. They used weathering on it, the red and yellow paint have some scratches. It gives it a realistic style. As usual with backpacks, it works with a magnet. So, it is extremely easy to put it on the back of the figure and remove it.
Finally, the arms. You have the one that you see in the series, it’s the computer arm. It uses the same shade of color as the backpack with a weathering too. Then, you have one jackhammer arm with a retractable function. It’s the heavy one. There is also the grasper arm with fully articulated pincers. How fun is that? You can equip it with a wire. Another possibility is the Astromech arm with different utensils. Finally, you have the utility arm on which the robotic hands can fit. It’s a protocol droid arm painted with a copper color. That arm can be extended too.
THE FIGURE
I am a big fan of The Bad Batch so I was so excited to receive this figure. And I am not disappointed. Hot Toys has done a fantastic job translating this armor into a realistic style. It is not your usual clone armor, there are a lot of differences. All over the armor, they have used weathering with a lot of paint scratches giving him a veteran look.
The legs are different. What you immediately notice is the big armor knee piece. It’s articulated so depending on the pose, you can adjust it. The feet have just a simple piece of armor and not the usual feet sculpt. The shin armor is more round than your usual clone armor. The kama uses plastic with a bit of pleather. There are two armor pockets glued on it. That way it doesn’t limit the articulation range. The belt is your usual clone belt except for a pleather pocket on the side. The blaster pistol holster is also not positioned in the same place, as usual, it’s a little further.
The chest piece is similar to the usual clone chest piece but it’s not the same one. This one doesn’t have straight lines, here they’re arched. And the lower part of the torso feels more robotic.
ARMS & SHOULDERS
For the arms, the shoulder pads and the right hand are precisely the same pieces as for other clones. What changes is the rest? The robotic arm is totally different and features a brand-new piece of clone armor. The other arm has the usual arm piece with a different forearm piece featuring a more simple comlink. If you look on the side, the undersuit has a bit of pleather compared to other clones. This is a different undersuit. So be careful when you pose the arm.
Finally, the helmet is a brand-new design. It’s a unique design. It looks great! The figure has over 32 points of articulation. Thus, you have a lot of possibilities for action poses.
THE HEADSCULPT
As for the headsculpt, it’s a modified Temuera Morrison headsculpt. They bleached it like in the series. So at first, it looks different, but it’s how it looks in The Bad Batch. Hot Toys has done a fantastic job there! The robotic part on his ears is not removable. It’s a part of his helmet. So if you want to display him holding his helmet, you can remove that part on the helmet to have it look accurate. With Hot Toys, it’s all about the details.
In terms of articulation, since the neck and head are two different pieces, you can have him look down, look up and look on each side.
GALLERY
VERDICT
The Hot Toys Echo is our first Bad Batch figure and it’s absolutely amazing! I love how Hot Toys translated his armor into a live-action look. There was a lot of work done on this one. It’s not a clone repaint. Plus, you have a lot of fun possibilities for the robotic arm. Let’s bring on the other members of The Bad Batch now!
The Hot Toys Echo is distributed by Sideshow Collectibles in Europe and the United States and is available to PRE-ORDER NOW!
Collectables Editor at Future Of The Force.
Star Wars and Marvel specialist, anime expert
