Incinerator Trooper - TVC - Basic (VC177)

Hasbro is getting the most out of their 2019 The Vintage Collection Imperial Stormtrooper (VC140) figure. But we’re starting to see breakdowns in the tooling, or the plastics they’re using, because the figures aren’t looking that great. Why is the figure’s torso yellowing right out of the packaging? And why do the color flashes look like an adolescent applied them? We’re not sure, but The Vintage Collection doesn’t appear to be getting the treatment it deserves. The Mandalorian has exceeded everyone’s expectations, especially Hasbro’s. So they’re scrambling, trying to get out as many characters as quickly as possible with available parts. We have few worries about seeing more all-new tooling dedicated for The Mandalorian characters, but to expedite meeting fan demand with some products from The Mandalorian, Hasbro is working backward to get out new characters in the quickest and most profitable ways possible. The Incinerator Trooper isn’t a terrible action figure. We quite like it. But it feels incomplete without some of the other more important characters from The Mandalorian yet to be produced. A Walmart exclusive, only the Lord above knows when these will eventually hit stores or shop online, but they’re overdue. And we wonder if the problems in the Pacific Ocean have anything to do with the delay.

If you have this figure in the many varieties Hasbro has released thus far, you know it’s an excellent action figure. Hasbro worked in an impressive 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 fantastic range of movement in the head, creating an eerily human-like movement. We hope they don’t change this approach in the future. But the goodness doesn’t stop there. Hasbro loaded the figure with revised ball-jointed articulation points, 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 realistic and practical to the figure. The figure holds the included E-11 blaster with both hands and ready for battle at an upwards angle. Likewise, you can outstretch the 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 most extensive range of motion. But articulation is not this figure’s problem. Its deco isn’t perfect, and its availability is nonexistent.

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 Remnant Stormtrooper can accomplish a fantastic amount of positions and is a tremendous work of art once again. Unfortunately, the flamethrower is too heavy for the figure’s hands, and balancing it is quite the chore. Things get worse when you add the flame attachment to the gun. It’s nearly impossible to stand the figure up without leaning it back when fully set up. It’s a shame that Hasbro didn’t include a smaller E-11 blaster as a bonus accessory here. It’s more practical, and the figure looks great holding it. This character should also not be an exclusive figure for Walmart. The figure is not getting the wide-ranged distribution it requires for the collector to army-build it, and it doesn’t seem that collectors will have much luck finding it online either. The Incinerator Trooper already has a more-than-decade existence in the Star Wars timeline. We’ve come a long way from the versions of this character released in previous lines, like 2008’s TAC Darth Vader (With Incinerator Troopers) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Commemorative Collection three-pack. But this figure needs have availability; otherwise, no one will know how far Hasbro came with this release.