Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Rey and BB-8 Finally Make Their Hot Toys Debut

Finally. It seems like we've been waiting an eternity to get our first official look at Hot Toys' non-First Order/Stormtrooper figures from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and now just a short 10 days before the movie premieres, the Hong Kong manufacturer has graced us with a proper glimpse at its upcoming Rey and BB-8 figures.

Not that it wasn't cool seeing characters like Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma get the signature hyper-detailed treatment from Hot Toys, but the endless reveals of new, slightly-tweaked Stormtroopers has gone on long enough. We get it. They're an army. They're cool, but it's about damn time some of the actual faces of the upcoming sequel get their moment in the spotlight.

Portrayed by Daisy Ridley, the mysterious female protagonist of The Force Awakens looks damn spectacular in Hot Toys form. For whatever reason, Rey's opted for the layered look on the desert planet of Jakku, but Hot Toys has meticulously recreated the outfit from top to bottom with stunning accuracy. The leather bracers and satchel help to add more authenticity, and the headwrap she dons in the big trailer while investigating the ruins of the Star Destroyer Inflictor is a nice inclusion. That said, I can't imagine anyone wanting to put a mask on over her head. Then again, it depends how you feel about that portrait.

Hot Toys' head sculpts have gotten much better as of late, but this Daisy Ridley is just off enough at most angles that it's distracting. There are a few images in the promo pictures that are really on point, but the more they capture every angle of that head sculpt, the more the imperfections stand out. I think it might be that her eyes are too big and her neck is too short. I won't argue about the detailing and hair; those are on point. One day Hot Toys will find a way to get across that uncanny valley so many of its figures fall in.

In addition to the standalone Rey figure, there will be a second set available that includes a sixth-scale BB-8 to accompany her. Hot Toys' claims the little droid will have a self-balancing sculpt, and will include light-up eyes for those times you want to impress your in-laws when they come over for a visit. I love that so many of Hot Toys' figures come with LED lights, but I certainly don't leave them on all day. I don't want to call it a wasted feature, since it does look nice when active, but it's a bit superfluous. Especially since adding that kind of feature typically raises the cost of production a bit. The BB-8 set will also come with a special Jakku sand base to attach to Rey's standard base for display. That's a nice, small touch.

Update: Both the standalone Rey and two-pack of Rey and BB-8 are available through Sideshow Collectibles for pre-order. On her own, Rey will set you back $224.99. The two figure set will be $289.99. Either version is expected to arrive between May and July 2016.