Every toy line goes through innovations, growth, improvements and just plain embetterfication. Sometimes the growth is stunning and sometimes that growth is gradual. S.H. Figuarts, as an umbrella for a lot of different licenses, started at a pretty high quality already when they began their take on the Star Wars license, but even at that extreme level of toynological playetics, their latest offerings show a definite improvement. With toys, the nuances go a long way. If the future of Figuarts Star Wars will be informed by the choices of today, we’re going to be rolling in awesome toys.
The First Order Stormtrooper completes the chronological core of the trooper aesthetic through the Star Wars timeline. Figuarts released the familiar Original Trilogy Stormtrooper first, following it up with the Prequel Trilogy Clone Trooper, and now follows those releases with the First Order Stormtrooper of the Sequel Trilogy. This is by far the best of the three, and — though the price difference means it’s not necessarily a “competition” — easily trounces Hasbro’s version.
When I say it’s not a competition, I mean that in all aspects. Hasbro’s First Order Trooper is intended for a mass market audience at a certain price, while the Figuarts is not intended for Walmart, and the price reflects that. It’s not really fair to put the two to war because they’re not fighting the same battle.
Which is good, because if it were, Hasbro would lose big time.
Every Figuarts Star Wars figure has been certifiably fun to play with and pose, but somehow the First Order Trooper takes it up a notch. At first it’s not evident why it’s so extremely fun to play with, but then the truth slowly hits you: poseable pouches.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, poseable pouches are the future. Where the previous OT Stormtrooper did not have the illustrious poseable pouches, thus rendering his ability to kneel null, this one does. The poseable pouches make me look at every single figure whose articulation has been impeded in some way by stiff, static pouches that droop over the thighs and I spit at them with genuine saliva. It’s such a small thing, a little trivial thing that requires just a little bit of extra time, tooling and attention to detail, but I would not have had nearly as much fun with this toy without those hinged hip hangers.
While I could probably go on and on for days talking about how much the addition of poseable pouches has aided my pure schoolgirl-squealing giddiness at being able to play with this figure without annoyance, the figure is more than just poseable pouches.
It is a nicely sculpted figure with a mammoth amount of articulation that still remains mostly hidden by the armor, which means that he looks natural in a vast majority of poses, which he can hit smoothly and efficiently. In addition to the poseable pouches, his shoulder pauldrons are also poseable, which means there’s pretty much no stopping the level of expressiveness in his arms. His neck has a full range of motion, meaning he can look up down and all around. He’s articulated at both mid torso and waist for deep bends, and the ball-jointed wrists and ankles allow him to get both hands and feet into any number of positions.
In terms of accessories, he does come in a bit light compared to other offerings. While the Hasbro Trooper comes with a pair of blasters and the model kit comes with a shield and more, the Figuarts only comes with a single blaster, which I assume is due to the higher tooling cost attributed to those sweet sweet poseable pouches. Trust me, the trade-off is worth it. Worth. It.
He does come with the Figuarts-standard several pairs of hands. He comes with trigger/pointer hands, resting/carrying hands, and a pair of fists, all of which can be popped in and out easily, yet stay on securely, and they can be paired in a variety of ways. Figuarts are expensive figures, so I haven’t yet jumped onto the crumbling ladder of army-building with any of the various Troopers, but if I were to army-build any, it would be this one. A platoon of these in all sorts of poses would be worth it.
Though he only comes with the one blaster rifle, it’s also articulated because this figure wasn’t just happy with poseable pouches; it wanted to ratchet up the crazy a bit more. It’s not something that you’ll need, but the option is there.
If I had to critique one element of this figure, it would be his itty-bitty feet. Taking his overall stature into consideration, they do seem a little short for a Stormtrooper. But honestly, when a figure is this much fun to pose, I don’t care if he shops in the boy’s section for his shoes.
Again, I could go on and on about this figures poseability, but I won’t. But I kind of will, because of how much he benefits from the specific micro-posing nuances of Figuarts and their smooth joints. I know I sound like a cigarette ad from the ’50s, but he probably has a great menthol taste as well. Don’t try at home.
To see the awesome articulation in action, check out Robo’s video review:
Even if you’re not buying figures from the new movie, you should still get this one. Just pretend he’s an elite trooper never seen on screen from the Original Trilogy. This has made me want a Figuarts Boba Fett even more than I did before.
Poseable pouches!
This figure looks like it’s sold out almost everywhere, but can still be picked up at Big Bad Toy Store.