After being given a preview of this figure in Wave 1’s Sandtrooper, Wave 3 of the Star Wars Black Series debuts the official 6-inch scale Stormtrooper — something that army builders have been mortgaging both their houses and their kids for in preparation for mass purchases.
This figure does not show up without controversy. In a decision that still boggles the minds of even the most unboggleable, the Stormtrooper is packed only one to a case despite this wave bringing us only three new figures. Instead, the final slot was given to Han Solo, who already had his turn at bat in the second wave. Two Stomtroopers — arguably one of the more popular army-builders out there — would have made a ton of sense from many perspectives, but there it is. Maybe they were very fearful of the dreaded peg-warming syndrome that causes collectors to quake with fear in their Spider-Man Underoos.
But this is not a column about business decisions; it’s about the Stormtrooper, one of the most captivating designs to ever come across cinematic screens. I bet there’s not a fan out there that can’t remember the first time they watched these terrifyingly inhuman enforcers burst their way into the Tantive IV to mow down the waiting rebels.
If you own the Sandtrooper, then you know what to expect from this figure in terms of articulation. It’s an armored figure, so there is a bit of hindrance in both his shoulder and hip movement, but the range of motion on his elbows and knees is more than sufficient for blasting poses. There’s a surprisingly wide range of motion in his torso, allowing him to get into some great crunched positions. I like this combo-styled ball-and-socket for the Black Series figures much more than the standard Marvel Legends-styled ab-crunch and waist swivel. Since these aren’t primarily men and women in spandex, there’s something more fluid about it, in both posing and aesthetics.
His helmet sculpt has been put up to intense scrutiny, and I’m sure a side-by-side analysis would probably pick out any number of flaws, the simple fact is this looks like a Stormtrooper to me, and that’s all that matters. I like the range of motion in his helmet. The ball socket coupled with a large undercarriage means he can tilt his head to the side and get some pretty good expression out of his head range.
With figures that are mostly black and white, paint can be a possible issue. I did have some instances of black spots on some of the white armor, specifically on the chest and the inside of the right arm. I don’t know if I got a bad one or if there’s going to be widespread issues regarding black paint, but it should be easily removable with either acetone or alcohol depending on severity. I haven’t given it a shot yet since it doesn’t bother me too much, but I may. There’s not much else to the paint other than that. No eyes to paint means no chance of that going wrong, as can happen with Hasbro paint jobs.
In these times of cost-effective reuse, Hasbro could probably have easily pumped out one mold for both Sandtroopers and Stormtroopers, but they went the extra mile to provide all the relevant differences in details for both figures. Side by side, you can see various minor (yet large to people who memorize this stuff) differences like the left knee pad, abdominal sculpting, and even helmet details that are unique to each figure. While “doing it right” doesn’t seem like something that should need special praise, since it should just be standard practice, it’s still nice to see a company not take shortcuts when they very easily could.
Finally, he comes with two weapons: the standard issue E-11 blaster rifle and a DLT-20A blaster rifle. The former is the standard weapon that we’re used to seeing the Stomtroopers carry, and it made its debut with the Sandtrooper in the first series. But the second is brand new to the line and is very interesting in that it is also one of the main weapons of IG-88. This makes me extremely hopeful that he’s coming sooner rather than later. That may be a lot to read into a rifle, but I’m going to keep my hopes up.
The Black Series has been one of my favorite lines since it debuted. It’s already delivered a number of iconic figures in near-perfect 6-inch representations, and the Stormtrooper easily keeps up that high standard.
Order on BBTS (singles sold out, but you can order a case with or without Han)
can these heads be put on a motuc figure?
LOL, yes Mr.Wolf an army squad (5)is a fine number. Especially @ these prices! My physical & fiscal limitations had me to adopt a collector’s cannon, if u will, KH-rule of 2.)”There are to be TWO troops per division in 6 inch scale minimum!”eg;aim,hydra, shield,biker scouts, sandtroopers,snowtroopers, Stormtroopers,Clonetroopers, etc. Like the sith,it’s more suggestion than “rule” lol- however,I’ve taken to building troops,patrols, companies[30-40maximum.]in the 2-4″ scales. Minimates,hmu, sw3.75.
But If I can find Ten 6″ Stormtroopers… “Mesa building a GRAND army!” Lmao!!
I may have to max at 5. I’m more excited about the upcoming Clone Troopers.
“No,Mr.Wolf(waving my hand using the force) …10 troops is the amount your looking for.” 😉
Ok, that’s about right. The right number, I mean. An army squad(5) is usually my limit with six-inch army builders.I googled the military designations for troop numbers since so many opportunities are upon us to build toy regiments.
Hagop, I’m going to review the tapes(yes, vhs tapes) of ep IV. Five troopers sounds about right, just Feels wrong. lol
I went through A New Hope (original release) once to count the most stormtroopers that ever actually appear on screen at one time. I seem to recall it was only 5, which surprised me. (of course in the re-vamp there’s a lot more added). So anyway, yeah…5– that’s how many I need.
I don’t need a shelf full of 40, 20 or even 5 stormtroopers in this scale. I want ONE, but I feel I’m gonna have a hard time even with that. And secondary market prices will likely be through the roof. Here’s to hoping he gets reissued with every wave ever from here on out.
Crap, now I want one. Or 4…