Ep2 Boba Fett figure - why isn't he darker-skinned?

[JediTricks]

What's the deal with this? This one has been on my mind for 3 weeks now, but I keep forgetting to bring it up. Daniel Logan is the young actor who played Boba - son of Jango Fett, played by actor Temuera Morrison - in Ep 2, and since Boba is a clone of Jango, both actors have the same darker skin tone.

-however-

On the Ep 2 Boba Fett action figure, the bubble insert picture is of Daniel Logan as Boba with his darker skin, and on the cardback, the pictures of the figure also have a darker skin color (similar to the Hasbro Jango Fett figure, only slightly more orange); yet the figure itself is painted/molded in the standard pale pink Hasbro caucasian skin color. What the heck? Why such a glaringly inaccurate and apparently intentional change - are they trying to "whiten" him up? That'd be ridiculous AND insulting. So what's the real deal?

[Beast]

Probably a mistake in the design stage, similar to the one on the Shmi figure. I am sure we will get another version of young Boba sometime in the future, and hopefully they use the correct color plastic. I think they need to correct both of them with a second figure, even if the Shmi has to be a Episode II figure.

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

[lobster-man]

I have two different Boba fett figures... one with light olive skin one with pale skin I will attempt to take photos...My camera is a cheap give-away though.

[Forhekset]

For some reason the topic of this thread reminds me of a news story I saw on TV last night. Some Hispanic professor of social history at this college was claiming that the latest SW flick reinforced racial stereotypes. His reasoning behind this was, "Darth Vader's clone army (argghh!! It wasn't Vader's clone army!!! Vader doesn't exist yet, dumb***!! Get your facts straight before you go on national TV!!!) is made up of Hispanics who all look alike, thereby reinforcing the stereotypical portrayal of Hispanics/people of color as the bad guys. So the film is racist." Then when Bill O'Reilly pointed out that Samuel L. Jackson is black and he's a major protagonist in the movie, the professor argued that Obi-Wan and Anakin are white so they'll always be remembered more anyway. This professor also said that a movie like "Scarface" where Hispanics were the bad guys was also racist. I think his main point was that any movie in which a "person of color" was portrayed as a "bad guy" is racist.

Some people will do anything to draw attention to themselves....not to get you guys offtopic or anything, it just came to mind.

[JediTricks]

lobster-man, I haven't heard anything about this. Pics would be very interesting.

JJB, if it were a mistake in the design stage, why would the prototype, shown on the back of the card, have the proper skin color? If it were a mistake in the manufacturing stage, why would the painted hands match the molded head?

That example of PC overkill you've got there Forhekset is pretty interesting, but let's try to avoid the racism topic, unless that's the reasoning Hasbro made (I'd be REALLY surprised) when they did this.

[Forhekset]

I seriously doubt that's the reasoning behind the figure's skin color, but why exactly is it you want me to avoid the topic of racism? Because it's off-topic? (I know it was a little, sorry, it just came to mind) Or because it's a touchy subject for some people? Are we not allowed to talk about stuff like that on this board? Just curious.

[Beast]

Probably a mess up in China then, since it's usually the factory responsible for most of the painting/plastic color errors. The probably got the paint master in from Hasbro, and lazily just used the typical "white" plastic for Boba. I wonder if lobster-man's photos will show a correction has been made. Hopefully he will post some soon. IMHO, they need to correct both Boba and Shmi, cause the current POTJ Shmi looks more like she lives on Hoth.

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

[Jedi Law Student]

I noticed that too, JediTricks. You know what else is inaccurate about Lil' Boba's head sculpt? The hair. Boba Fett had very curly hair, whereas the hair on the figure is straight and looks almost wet (sort of like he was standing outside in the Kamino rain for a long time or something). I don't know what's up with this head sculpt, but it appears like they totally forgot to use that realscan technology when it came to this guy. It's a shame, too, because it's an otherwise very cool figure.

[JediTricks]

Originally posted by Forhekset
I seriously doubt that's the reasoning behind the figure's skin color, but why exactly is it you want me to avoid the topic of racism? Because it's off-topic? (I know it was a little, sorry, it just came to mind) Or because it's a touchy subject for some people? Are we not allowed to talk about stuff like that on this board? Just curious.

It's a little of column A and a little of column B. There actually is a thread about that very racism claim in the Ep 2 movie section of the forums, but in here, it is off the topic unless you really believe that's what motivated Hasbro AND it's also a topic that can spark a debate that overshadows the actual issue and leave hurt feelings in its wake.

JJB, I'd buy that if both the head AND the hands were all paint, but they're not, the head is molded in pale pink plastic and the hands are painted in a similar color. Paint samples like this are supposed to be sent to Hasbro for confirmation before they make the figures. If it were an accident, I could see having a figure like Deluxe Tyranus, where his head is pale pink but his left hand is almost red; but this is 2 different elements that match each other and NOT the prototype.

Jedi Law Student, I did notice what you're talking about, and before the movie, I had the same concerns, but I *think* the sculpters were trying to make him look like he had wet hair, which is why he comes with the poncho as well. Realscan is supposedly used as a sculpting tool, but not used to directly transfer an actor's head to a toy.

[lobster-man]

Her is a picture of the two Boba Fetts that I have... the one on the bottom is the light olive skin tone... Keep in mind that I have a cheapo camera, I'd buy another, but that would cut into my star Wars fundage...The difference is slight but noticible... the hands are painted the same tone on both figures, only the heads are different . I will also point out that I bought these two figures together on an EBAY auction together for $21.00 Shipping included from a person in San Diego, CA. Both were on cards with background inserts and were sealed (sorry I don't have the date stamps as they were both opened before I knew what one was !). The heads are molded in 2-different colors of plastic The easiest way to distinguish them apart is that the white paint on the light olive skin Boba's eyes almost seems to glow in contrast to his "skin. " This is a legit variation so keep hunting and I hope that this helps...