The Facts: Scout Trooper
Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, boot swivels, double hinged knees,
swivel thighs, ball jointed hips, a ball jointed abdomen, swivel/hinge
shoulders,
swivel biceps, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, a hinged neck,
and a ball jointed head.
Accessories: EC-17 hold-out blaster and junk piece.
The Facts: Speeder Bike
Dimensions: 11 inches long
Includes: "Hover" base and foot pedals.
The Facts: The Child
Height: The satchel is 1 3/8ths inches tall with the flap closed.
Articulation: Ball jointed head.
Non-Scalper Price: $50 dollars
Comparison:
* The Scout Trooper from this set is in the center with the original Phase 2 Scout Trooper on the left (who I never reviewed) and the recent Gaming Greats Scout Trooper from Jedi: Fallen Order on the right. This guy is a simple repaint of the original Scout Trooper and the trooper from the 2014 Imperial Shadow Squadron set.
Comparison:
* The Speeder Bike from this set (left) is also just a repaint of the 2014 Speeder Bike (on the right) with the exception of a different stand. The new Speeder Bike's stand is actually reused from Enfys Nest's Speeder Bike.
The Positives:
* This is the standard Scout Trooper and he's still a pretty solid sculpt. While some of the human figures in the Black Series haven't aged as well, the armored figures still look quite nice. The coolest part about this guy is that he's covered with dust and grime of Nevarro. It definitely helps him stand out from the previous Biker Scouts though he still looks OK as part of a group, too.
* The helmet is excellent. It's a solid sculpt and it captures nicely all of the little details of the Scout Trooper's helmet.
* The back of the Scout Trooper has lots of little gadgets and such. He's not as armored as most other troopers but he's still got some equipment it would see.
* The Scout Trooper also comes with his little EC-17 hold-out blaster. It's quite small but the figure holds it well as his hand is sculpted with a slit between his middle and ring fingers for the trigger guard.
* When not using the EC-17 it stores easily in the holster in his boot. It stays in far better than you would think!
* The articulation model is a bit dated on the Scout Trooper but he's
still very well articulated. Most of the troopers earlier in the line
had a bit more articulation than the standard figures so that still
works in his favor. He's not rubbery, either, like some of the earlier
troopers, so he's still pretty adequate.
* One of the new pieces this set comes with is the piece of debris that the Scout Troopers shoot at but fail to hit in Chapter 8. It's just a simple piece but it's kind of a cool inclusion and it's pretty funny to have it placed near some Stormtroopers. They'll get the joke but they won't be happy about it.
* Another new piece is the satchel which the child is kept inside. This is plastic piece with a softer plastic strap that allows it to be carries around the Scout Trooper's body. It's really quite nice looking wit lots of wrinkles and folds and some good detail.
* The straps are also functional! Unhook them and you can see Grogu inside! He's so cute! He's really just an accessory, though his head is ball jointed, but since everyone loves Baby Yoda he still gets billing on the box.
* The Speeder Bike originally came out in Phase 2, packaged with a regular Scout Trooper, and this is the exact same model. The paint scheme is different, though, as this one is more of an off-white/ light gray than the brown ones that zip around on Endor.
* There are a lot of nice paint details that show the wear and tear this speeder has sustained over the years. Most of them are on the body and they show where the paint has been peeled off or damaged.
* The control panel is nicely detailed and looks fantastic. Lots of little, tiny paint hits here.
* The back of the Speeder Bike has the little flaps and one of the storage pouches strapped to the back. It's a solid piece but it looks pretty cool.
* Underneath the body is a blaster that can rotate. When I was younger I always thought the blaster was mounted on the steering vane at the front. I don't think I realized it wasn't until Kenner's POTF2 Speeder Bike.
* The stand is reused from Enfy Nest's Swoop Bike. The stand included with the original Speeder Bike is more versatile but this one does look nicer on display thanks to the "motion blur" look of the base.
* The Scout Trooper was designed to ride this bike with ease and he looks fantastic holding those handles and zooming across Navarro!
The Negatives:
* The sculpt on all of the engine and technical components is great but there's no paint detail on them. The Phase II Speeder Bike had some great dry-brush effects and such on the mechanical components so this is a bit of a letdown.
* The foot pedals tend to come off on this one when you're trying to put the Scout Trooper's feet on the pedals. It's not crazy but a little frustrating.
* Isn't it kind of weird that the handlebars and rear flaps on this Speeder Bike don't move? The vintage Kenner Speeder Bike had those features back in 1983 so it's odd Hasbro didn't add to the Black Series in 2014 when this was released.
Overall, I really like this set. Is it a repaint for the most part? Yeah, but that's accurate to the source material and the new paint job looks quite nice on this. It's also quite cool that Hasbro threw in some new stuff like Grogu in the satchel and the piece of junk that the Scout Troopers keep missing during target practice. This one seems to have an exclusive tax tacked on as well but considering that you're getting a good figure, a small vehicle, and some cool accessories, it's not too bad. I'm giving the set a Great rating! It seems like this stock may have been under produced, too, as I haven't seen these back in stock and the prices are getting kind of high which is unfortunate.
Are you a fan of the Biker Scouts/ Imperial Scout Troopers? If so then check out my reviews of the Hasbro Micro Machines Endor Forest Battle set, Funko's POP! Scout Trooper w/ Speeder Bike #234, the 1/18th scaled Black Series Biker Scout, and the Black Series Gaming Greats Scout Trooper.
If you dream of zipping around on a Speeder Bike of your own then check out the Hasbro Micro Machines Endor Forest Battle set and the Funko POP! Scout Trooper with Speeder Bike #234
For more of Grogu/ the Child/ Baby Yoda, check out the Black Series Phase III The Child and the Phase IV Din Djarin (The Mandalorian) & the Child.
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