Imperial Stormtrooper - TVC - Basic (VC140)

Celebrate the legacy of Star Wars, the action-and-adventure-packed space saga from a galaxy far, far away, with this collection of premium, highly-detailed 3.75-inch scale figures and vehicles. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability.)

Hasbro decided how to serve the collecting community best. Had they given us the "perfect" Imperial Stormtrooper years ago, it would have destroyed all for which they had fought and suffered to bring us the ideal Imperial Stormtrooper action figure finally. While it’s painful not to see this glorious action figure backed on a Star Wars card, there is no denying that there are a great many things to be happy about when it comes to The Vintage Collection’s Imperial Stormtrooper (VC140) figure. In fact, if you’re complaining about this figure, there is something wrong with you. If you look back in Hasbro’s action figure archives, you’ll find that they featured the Imperial Stormtrooper prominently in the active line look at any given time, no matter what the focus of the year was. The Imperial Stormtrooper is a staple character in the basic figure line, and they’re probably a little more important than Darth Vader when it comes to being a moneymaker. Collectors of all ages buy multiples to army-build, and this results in high and unattainable demand that often is never initially met without a reorder or a second shipment. It’s fantastic to see that Hasbro took the time and expended the energy to give us a Rogue One-specific version of the Imperial Stormtrooper. But fear not, because there are only a few insignificant differences between an Original Trilogy Imperial Stormtrooper and the ones seen in Rogue One. No matter your stance on how this figure comes packaged, you need to know that Hasbro nailed the Imperial Stormtrooper this time. This figure is quite an accomplishment.

Although the Rogue One Imperial Stormtrooper is one of the most exciting releases of the 2019 calendar year, we understand the reservations some collectors have about how the figure is packaged. One of the biggest issues that collectors of The Vintage Collection don’t stop complaining about is that Hasbro is too slow getting out the original 12-Backs out to us with modern definitive updates. So, imagine the excitement when they announced that the Imperial Stormtrooper was finally entering The Vintage Collection…. only to discover that is was coming on a Rogue One card back. While this action enraged some collectors, others were happy to get this long-awaited definitive update in The Vintage Collection. What’s more, the prototype showed dirt on the armor, and collectors quickly begged and petitioned Hasbro to give us a clean version of the figure upon release. They listened, and now we have a sterling white Imperial Stormtrooper, based on the Original Trilogy timeline in super-articulated status. It’s easily the definitive modern counterpart to 1978’s STAR WARS Stormtrooper figure, but yes, we do wholeheartedly wish that Hasbro placed the figure on a Star Wars card back instead of a Rogue One card back. Hopefully, a reissue on a Star Wars card back is imminent somewhere down the road. We took pictures of the figure in various scenes all over the Star Wars timelines. And the Imperial Stormtrooper looks fantastic is every scenario. We’re excited about this release, and we feel Hasbro deserves praise for it.

Hasbro created the Imperial Stormtrooper from the body of 2018’s TVC Stormtrooper (Mimban) (VC123) with the retooled head of the 2017 RO Imperial Stormtrooper figure. Hasbro worked in an astounding 30 points of premium articulation into this figure/sculpt. We love the ball-socket head with the reverse ball-socket neck joint. It gives the figure a wonderful range of movement in the head, creating an eerily human-like movement. We hope they don’t change this approach going forward. But the goodness doesn’t stop there. Hasbro loaded the figure with revised ball-jointed points of articulation, and the chunky armor barely inhibits the figure’s full range of movement in these areas. For example, the elbows bend at an angle that is not only realistic but practical to the figure. He can hold the included E-11 blaster with both hands and in an upwards angle ready for battle. And you can outstretch his arms and make most of the shoulder movement, too. The inclusion of ball-jointed wrists is like the icing on the cake. We have to credit Hasbro with carefully integrating such utilitarian movement in this action figure. Likewise, Hasbro tooled the armor in a way that optimizes the figure’s articulation and movement as well. They work in tandem to allow for the largest range of movement. Articulation enthusiasts will be thrilled once they realize the poses they’ll achieve, thanks to how Hasbro worked them into this figure’s articulation system. From ball-jointed hips to ball-jointed ankles, the Imperial Stormtrooper can achieve an amazing amount of positions.

We do, however, hope Hasbro returns to including “rocker” ankles in the 3.75” super-articulated range again. They went crazy with this articulation point in The Black Series 3.75” range, and it must come back for The Vintage Collection. It’s the only thing halting this figure from exuding perfection. Hasbro updated the paint operations on this figure. To recreate a sterile and clean surface on the armor, they chose a glossy white paint, and it worked beautifully on this figure. The Imperial Stormtrooper only comes with one accessory, a revised E-11 blaster specific to Rogue One, but we hope that future revisions of this figure are specific to the Original Trilogy in every way. We are EXTREMELY concerned about the availability of this figure at retail and online. It will be the first figure to go out the case assortment and we don’t feel that two per case are enough to meet collector demand. We hope that Hasbro carries this figure forward into the next four or five case assortments. It should be their only “filler” figure in new case assortments for the foreseeable future. We feel the Imperial Stormtrooper is relatively flawless, but if you asked us to pick an issue, we’d have to comment that the “ankles/shins” armor parts are a bit too flared and creates a slightly bizarre aesthetic on the figure. It looks off, but not enough to prevent us from deeming this figure as definitive. We want to see Hasbro continue to pump out the original 12-Back figures no matter the cost. They are essential to The Vintage Collection, and until they’re completed, collectors of the line won’t rest.