First Order Flametrooper - TFA - 12-Inch Figures

Specialized Stormtroopers of the First Order, Flametroopers carry incendiary weapons that can transform any battlefield into an infernal blaze.

It seems that The Force Awakens will encapsulate every Original Trilogy battle and trooper in a few short moments of the film. Could we see something like a modern Clone Wars/Order 66 type of intergalactic battling going on in the opening of the film? It sure seems that way since Hasbro has made it a point to release almost every type of First Order trooper in The Force Awakens line via the different type of lines and sub-lines this new line look offers. One character that has stood out from the rest is the First Order Flametrooper and after attempts in the Build A Weapon and Armor Up lines, it’s now time for Hasbro to try him in 12-Inch Figure scale. The character itself is a very interesting one, borrowing aesthetics from both the Original Trilogy as well as The Clone Wars, it’s going to be interesting to see how these First Order troopers fare in Episode VII. In pretty much any new Hasbro scale, these figures really cannot do much to recreate realistic battles thanks to the dumbed down articulation, but at least they look cool and hopefully that will be enough to start a whole new generation of collectors latch on to this prized franchise.

In short, because Hasbro uses a digital files to make different types of action figures. You’re going to see many similarities between the 12-Inch Figure version to the ones from the Build A Weapon line as well as the Armor Up line (even though the latter are identical figures). You catch our drift. The biggest difference is the 12-Inch Figure version comes with swivel wrists to help with holding weapons a little easier, and the additional articulation is appreciated. Obviously, collectors of any age aren’t going to army build 12-Inch Figures, but these large-sized action figures are collectible in their way and may merit the space they take up on the shelves. Although we don’t see kids and collectors defaulting to the 12-Inch Figures line, people are buying them likely due to their simplicity and fair price. We don’t think it is that much a novelty to collect larger sized action figures in this day in age. But if you look across all brands, there is a “bigger is better” mentality that the public seems to be falling for because again, these are selling. We also don’t see kids getting too interested in Star Wars toys in this climate either because there are too many distractions now. For example, kids are into electronics, and when it comes to toys, they likely are into LEGO – something buildable and a little more interactive.

The First Order Flametrooper has seven points of articulation. This includes a ball-socket head, two swivel shoulders, two swivel wrists and two swivel hips. This is about as simple an action figure of this size and caliber can be as far as its articulation is concerned, but it seems to work alright in this case. The sculpt is beyond excellent. It’s most bright shiny white and has been accented with very fine black details. The figure is without any real uniqueness like no identifying insignias for example. And we might be poor at explaining this to you, but there is something very mannequin-like about so many of the white First Order troopers, especially the First Order Flametrooper. We must admit that seeing all of these great sculpts makes out hearts ache to see them in super-articulated fashion. We think highly articulated 12-Inch Figures would be sublime to see once again. But we hope that the Walmart exclusive The Black Series 3.75” line takes off and gives Hasbro reason to make more and more super-articulated figures from The Force Awakens in different scales. This figure comes with a removable canister fuel pack and flamethrower (with a cord that attached to the canister). They are stunningly detailed, and the figure couldn’t look better fully outfitted with them. We’re very happy with this figure aside from the obvious issues. And we look forward to his role in the film!