The Good: Good coloring detail, Good accessories, Wonderful articulation, Excellent balance!
The Bad: Lacks great facial detailing
The Basics: The Vintage Collection Stormtrooper action figure is wonderful, despite how he looks underneath his helmet!
When it comes to Star Wars action figures, it is virtually impossible to go wrong with Stormtroopers. The Star Wars Vintage Collection Stormtroopers are easily one of the best. In fact, my only issue with this toy is that underneath the helmet is a slightly smaller than normal head that lacks the sculpting and coloring details that make the rest of the figure pretty awesome!
If you are unfamiliar with Stormtrooper, where the hell have you been?! The Stormtroopers are the standard soldiers of the Empire in A New Hope (reviewed here!). First seen blasting a hole in the Tantive IV, the Stormtroopers are the basic soldiers employed by the Empire.
The 4" Vintage Collection Stormtrooper is the latest rendition of the generic Imperial trooper.
Basics
The Vintage Collection Stormtrooper figure stands 3 3/4" tall to the top of his head and this is a standard sculpt of a Stormtrooper. However, Hasbro did an excellent job on the Stormtrooper in that the white plastic that defines the Stormtrooper’s armor has not yellowed at all, which was a severe problem that plagued Clone Troopers released at the same time as this figure.
On the sculpting front, the Stormtrooper made entirely of hard plastic and is the armored shock trooper of the Empire made inscrutable in its heavy white armor. The detailing on this iteration of the Stormtrooper is pretty incredible, though. The left knee has a molded on knee guard and the thin fingers are molded to perfectly hold the blaster this character comes with. The figure has a removable helmet that has a standard Clone Trooper head underneath.
As for the coloring detail, the Stormtrooper is so basic that it was impossible to screw up. The white of the armor is pristine and clean and the blacks at the joints contrast that in a lovely way. The only other coloring details are highlights; little vents on the helmet. This Stormtrooper is appropriately colored for a position on an Imperial ship.
Accessories
The Stormtrooper is a powerful military presence for the Empire and as such, he requires three accessories: his blaster rifle and his blaster. The blaster rifle the Stormtrooper comes with is arguably the most detailed one that Hasbro has yet produced. Molded with exceptional details for the scopes, battery and trigger area, this 2 1/2" long weapon is cast in solid black plastic and looks badass in the Stormtrooper’s left hand (the left trigger finger is molded to perfectly fit into the trigger guard. You can fake a two handed grip with the Stormtrooper, though the right hand is not molded to quite cradle the barrel.
The blaster is a very standard 1 1/8” black plastic Imperial blaster that fits in either of the figure’s hands or in the holster on the figure’s belt. This is incredibly detailed for the sculpt, but the coloring is monotonal.
Playability
The four inch toy line was designed for play and Stormtrooper is exceptional in that regard, regardless of how he may not be able to hold his guns in a real two-handed grip. The Stormtrooper figure has great balance, not tipping over even when posed in some fairly outlandish positions. The figure does have holes in the bottom of his feet to allow him to stand tall on any number of playsets in outlandish poses or attach to pegs on vehicles.
This Stormtrooper also has amazing articulation. He has hinged ball and socket joints at the ankles, knees, groin socket, elbows and shoulders, as well as a ball and socket joint which allows for some range of motion for the head and torso. The wrists are the only point on the figure that have simple swivel joints! This is easily one of the best Imperial Stormtrooper figures ever made!
Collectibility
The Stormtrooper figure is part of the Vintage Collection line that was released in 2011 and, against all odds, it has managed to appreciate a little in value already. The Stormtrooper is Vintage Collection figure VC41 and is a fairly good investment figure, largely because fans are likely to want to stock up on this figure.
Overview
The Stormtrooper is an impressive rendition of the Imperial Stormtroopers as they appeared throughout the original Star Wars Trilogy.
For other Vintage Collection figures from A New Hope, please check out my reviews of:
VC14 Sandtrooper
VC53 Bom Vimdin
VC57 Dr. Evazan (Cantina Patron)
VC65 TIE Fighter Pilot
VC112 Sandtrooper
9.5/10
For other Star Wars toy reviews, please check out my Tow Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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