Blackhole Stormtrooper - 1:6 Scale Figures

For much of the Galactic Civil War, a mysterious agent of Palpatine code-named Blackhole carefully sifted through countless streams of data, distilling it into useful information for Imperial Intelligence. Blackhole had an impressive amount of resources available to him, including an entire Star Destroyer and its complement of troops and fighters. Per his orders, the stormtroopers under his command had their armor cast in black to match his own particular eccentricities. The armor modification had practical benefits as well. The stygium-triprismatic polymer afforded the stormtroopers increased sensor-stealth.

Blackhole disappeared completely during the Galactic Civil War, and his forces were absorbed by other Imperial groups. When the Empire fragmented after the Battle of Endor, some of the Blackhole stormtroopers found their way into Carnor Jax's private army.

Gentle Giant Ltd. may be solely responsible for bringing the Blackhole Stormtrooper to the forefront of collector consciousness. If it weren’t for those three chase pieces in the 2005 StarWarsShop.com exclusive Stormtrooper Bust-Ups packs, the fire may have taken years longer to start burning for this ultimately cool reverse stormtrooper. But 2005 seems to be the year that the infatuation for the Blackhole Stormtrooper can be traced back to yet the passion for this character hasn’t seemed to dissipate at all. And we think the Blackhole Stormtrooper deserves every ounce of interest it receives. There has been much debate over the years about whether the Shadow Stormtrooper is the same character as a Blackhole Stormtrooper. And for all intents and purposes, they are exactly the same. But Shadow Stormtrooper is really the correct designation for the character. They are often referred to as Blackhole Stormtroopers because they were utilized by Agent Blackhole as seen in the comic strip Gambler’s World distributed by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate (and subsequently collected in Classic Star Wars: The Early Adventures 1-3). The years have brought many variations of the Blackhole Stormtrooper. Some have silver lenses and others have blue. But they are all essentially the same character in the Expanded Universe, even including the ones under Carnor Jax’s command. Just like how Darth Vader has seen some outfit tweaking through the films, so have the Blackhole Stormtroopers through the many EU sources.

Demand for the Blackhole Stormtrooper really took off once those Bust-Ups were released. Licensees really buckled down to figure out how they could make the Blackhole Stormtrooper part of their line as well and it’s a trend that still continues today. And the Blackhole Stormtrooper has become a focal point for many in their collections. There are just some collectors that cannot get enough Blackhoel Stormtrooper products into their collections. Interestingly, in many cases, the Blackhole Stormtroopers keeps their elusiveness for the most part and are seemingly always produced in lower numbers than the average collectible. From the Gentle Giant Ltd. Blackhole Stormtrooper Mini Bust to the Medicom Toy Real Action Heroes figure, from the Hasbro StarWarsShop.com exclusive figure to Sideshow Collectibles’ incredible interpretation of them, the Blackhole Stormtrooper will always be a viable candidate for Star Wars collectibles and we’re glad that they haven’t lost any steam and have continued to captivate the collective interest. In fact, they have a large role in recent EU sources like The Force Unleashed video game. Sideshow Collectibles did a spectacular job on their second Store Exclusive. While the Blackhole Stormtrooper may not have the same novelty as years past, it is still an exciting piece for us to add to our collections. And getting an incredible 1:6 Scale Figure version of him really takes the cake for us. Never to be available at SideshowCollectibles.com, the Blackhole Stormtrooper has found its home in specialty shops across America. Their website even directs readers to local dealers in their areas to pick up this awesome collectible.

Sideshow Collectibles has really created a stellar product here. They have mastered the ideal tightness of the joints so that the figure can stand unassisted and maintain its pose without the use of a stand. (But their new and improved stands actually work beautifully with their collectibles now. The figure now sits on two curved wires that go through the figures legs. It’s an amazing design that doesn’t damage the armor of the figure like the ones that wrap around the waist.) So all the joints are tight and can maintain their pose. This is a big deal because the earliest Militaries Of Star Wars figures had some major issues when it came to them having loose joints and the inability to stand up without the use of a stand. The paint job on the Blackhole Stormtrooper is spectacular. It isn’t very shiny, but it has frequent silver and brown battle-damage markings to show the encounters he has had in battle. Sideshow decided to give the figure silver lenses as well as other silver details on the armor. We think it looks incredible. He comes with a standard stormtrooper blaster and it can be placed in his real-leather functioning holster. There is a lot to appreciate here for sure. The Blackhole Stormtrooper Sideshow Store Exclusive is something that every 1:6 Scale Figure collector must own. This is the way you want your 1:6 Scale Figure to absolutely be. It overshadows the quality of the Medicom Toy Real Action Heroes version and it’s about the most accurate Blackhole Stormtrooper you’ll likely every have the chance to purchase.