Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Road to the Last Jedi: First Order Stormtrooper (with Gear) from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III by Hasbro

  Today on Action Figure Barbecue I'm checking out the Amazon exclusive First Order Stormtrooper with a bunch of extra gear. Hasbro released plenty of variants of the First Order Stormtrooper in the Black Series when The Force Awakens was released but they did skip the Heavy Gunner Stormtrooper version. This set finally gives us the Heavy Gunner alongside of a bunch of other accessories. It's honestly the closest thing we've seen to an accessory pack in a Star Wars toyline since those sets that came out during the Attack of the Clones line. For $35 dollars you get a standard First Order Stormtrooper with the gear to outfit him as four different troop types. Pretty cool, really, and you can use the gear on your previous basic First Order Stormtroopers to outfit them, too. Let's see how this set turned out after the break...



 The Facts:

Height: 6 inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed hips, ball jointed mid torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, hinged neck, and a ball jointed head.

Accessories: Blaster pistol, blaster rifle, megablaster with 2 stand pieces, webgear, ammo pouch, backpack, binoculars, riot baton, and a shield.

Non-Scalper Price: $35
 Comparison:

* Rather than using the standard First Order Stormtrooper figure from 2015, this figure uses the First Order Stormtrooper Executioner minus the black shoulder pads and paint stripe on the helmet. While the body is nearly identical to the standard 2015 trooper release the executioner helmet is a bit different and the shoulders were improved to allow for better movement. The elbow movement is still quite weak, however.
 * Whether you want just a standard Stormtrooper or one of the specialized troops, these basic weapons are a necessity. The Sonn-Blas F-11D rifle and Sonn-Blas SE-44C pistol feature some nice paint applications and can still plug into the storage slot on the Stormtrooper's right leg. It would have been nice if Hasbro included the version of the F-11D rifle with the extended stock (as it's shown in the packaging art).
 * My absolute favorite accessory is the web gear. It easily (very easily, actually) fits on the trooper's torso and it looks fantastic. This is such a cool look for a Stormtrooper and it allows you to replicate the look of both the Heavy Gunner and some of the Stormtroopers running around on Jakku in the film.


* The personal environment unit/ backpack is similar to the packs that were included with the First Order Snowtroopers but this one attaches to to a plug on the web gear rather than plugging into the figure's back itself.

* The megablaster, also know as the Sonn-Blas FWMB-10, is a massive rifle. Seriously, this thing is a beast and looks really cool. There's a lever of some sort on the body that it articulated as well. Kind of cool. I will admit that it's quite difficult for the figure to hold though. The stand is a necessity. Speaking of which...

* Here's the megablaster with it's stand attached! The stand is not articulated like some other versions of the megablaster (pretty sure the S.H. Figuarts version is) but this figure also doesn't cost $95 bucks, does it? I'm personally pretty jazzed to finally have this trooper variant on my shelf.

* This small pouch is included as well. It simply clips on to one of the web gear straps and looks very similar to the pouches that the Imperial Sandtroopers sported. I cannot identify the source of this pouch from the film, so if you know please clue me in!
 * The quadnoculars are part of the "Jakku" Stormtrooper's gear (those guys really don't have an official designation that I'm aware of). The paint's a bit messy but the sculpt is superb. Also, the quadnoculars are actually hinged! They have two hinges so that they can fold up in the middle. Due to his limited elbow articulation the Stormtrooper has a tough time holding them properly but they're still a very cool extra.

*  To create a Riot Trooper, the set includes a Z6 riot control baton.  This version of the Z6 is much better than the one that came with the Riot Control Stormtrooper in 2015: Not only is the paint and sculpt better but the front two contact conductor vanes actually swivel out, meaning this accessory can be placed into "active" mode. I just wish it had some energy effects like the Executioner Stormtrooper's weapon.

 * The paintwork on this riot shield is better than the one that came with the 2-pack version of the Riot Control Trooper but the wrist loops are still problematic. There is still no sane way to get this on the figure; you'll either have to use heat to remove the hand from the peg or use brute force to yank it over his hand and arm.
 * I don't usually point out packaging much but I will here as the box is somewhat reusable and collector friendly. The front shows three different Stormtroopers (the Riot Trooper, the "Jakku" Stormtrooper, and the Heavy Gunner Stormtrooper) on a removable slipcover. Remove the slipcover and you get a box with opening flaps, held in place by Velcro, that reveal a plastic tray that all of the accessories and the figure fit into for storage.
   This is really a pretty cool set. While you're only getting one figure, you're essentially getting a basic trooper, a "Jakku" Stormtrooper, a Heavy Gunner Stormtrooper, and a Riot Trooper. While you're paying $15 more than a regular figure, you're getting a ton of variant looks here. This is a Great Stormtrooper and could possibly remove the need to purchase a number of previously released figures for newer collectors. Plus, we finally get the Heavy Gunner Stormtrooper who has been on my most wanted list since 2015. Validation!


Looking for more Star Wars: The Black Series action figure reviews? Then check out the following:

442nd Siege Battalion Clone Trooper, 212th Attack Battalion Utapau Trooper, Coruscant Guard ---(Phase II), and 501st Legion Clone Trooper 4 pack
Admiral Ackbar and First Order Officer
Ahsoka Tano 
AT-AT Pilot 
Baze Malbus
Captain Cassian Andor (Eadu) 
Captain Poe Dameron
C-3PO
C-3PO (Resistance Base)
Captain Phasma
Chewbacca
Chirrut Imwe 
Clone Captain Rex (HasCon Exclusive)
Clone Commander Gree
Constable Zuvio
Darth Revan 
Darth Vader (Emperor's Wrath)
Director Krennic
Elite Praetorian Guard
Elite Praetorian Guard (with Heavy Blade)
Finn (First Order Disguise)
Finn (FN-2187)
Finn (Jakku)
First Order Flametrooper
First Order General Hux
First Order Snowtrooper
First Order Snowtrooper Officer
First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter
First Order Stormtrooper
First Order Stormtrooper Executioner 
First Order TIE Fighter Pilot
General Leia Organa
Grand Admiral Thrawn (SDCC Exclusive)
Guardians of Evil 4-Pack
Guavian Enforcer
Han Solo 
Hera Syndulla
Imperial AT-ACT Driver
Imperial Death Trooper
Imperial Death Trooper, Captain Cassian Andor, and Sergeant Jyn Erso (Jedha) 3 pack
Imperial Hovertank Pilot 
Imperial Shock Trooper 
Imperial Royal Guard 
Inferno Squad Agent
Jango Fett
K-2SO
Kanan Jarrus
Kylo Ren 
Kylo Ren (SDCC 2016)
Kylo Ren (The Last Jedi) 
Kylo Ren (Starkiller Base)
Lando Calrissian
Luke Skywalker 
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master) 
Maz Kanata 
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Force Spirit)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (SDCC 2016)
Phase 1 Clone Trooper Commander, Phase II Clone Trooper, Imperial Stormtrooper, and First Order ---Stormtrooper Officer four pack
Poe Dameron
Poe Dameron and First Order Riot Control Stormtrooper
Princess Leia Organa 
Qui-Gon Jinn
R2-A3, R5-K6, and R2-F2
Resistance Trooper
Rey (Jakku) & BB-8 
Rey (Jedi Training)
Rey (Starkiller Base) 
Rey's Speeder (Jakku)
Sabine Wren
Sandtrooper Sergeant, Crimson Stormtrooper, Lieutenant OXIXO, and R2-Q5
Scarif Stormtrooper
Scarif Stormtrooper Squad Leader 
Sergeant Jyn Erso (Eadu)
Sergeant Jyn Erso (Jedha)
Snowtrooper 
Supreme Leader Snoke (Throne Room)
Tusken Raider 
X-34 Landspeeder & Luke Skywalker (SDCC Exclusive) 
X-Wing Pilot Asty 

2 comments:

  1. I dont have the visual encyclopedia for episode 7 or 8, Do you know exactly what the parts are, on the ''Web-Gear'' as you called it ? I referred to it as torso-vest, or torso-gear, But what are those white rectangular items ? Possibly blaster energy packs, that plus into the larger Mega-Blaster ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kevin,

      The visual guide for TFA simply says calls the Stormtrooper's chest gear "web gear" and says that the white units are "extra ammunition". I'm thinking that it is exactly as you said: Extra blaster energy packs for the mega-blaster.

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