It’s entirely likely that you’ve already seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens. (I'm actually assuming you have) It was a fairly popular movie, raking in over $2 billion in worldwide box office. If not, it was just released on Blu-ray and DVD this past week. Plus, it’s a Star Wars film…how could you not have seen it?
And since The Force Awakens was a Star Wars movie, that means we’ve been inundated with movie tie-ins – but the most important of those are the toys. The Star Wars universe’s latest Stormtrooper iteration – the First Order Stormtrooper – was one of the new characters we were introduced to in the film. Of course, any character in the film (and some of those that didn’t even make the cut) has found his or her way to being released as The Force Awakens toys.
Thanks to Sideshow Collectibles, we’ve gotten our hands on one of those higher end collectibles – The 1/6th scale First Order Stormtrooper (Jakku Exclusive) from Hot Toys.
Hot Toys has released several versions of their First Order Stormtroopers. What makes the Jakku Exclusive version unique are the heavy artillery vest, binoculars, and a sandy Jakku display base. In case you haven’t seen the movie…Jakku is the desert planet from the start of the film, where a youthful Kylo Ren decides all he wants to do is dance...but the planet of Jakku has banned dancing and rock 'n' roll music. No…that was Footloose.
The first thing you’ll notice about Hot Toys’ First Order Stormtrooper is just how glossy and sleek it looks. I think what makes the Star Wars Stormtrooper such a successful character is the simple black and white coloration. And everything for this figure is black and white. The armor, the guns, the binoculars – all black and white.
And those are pretty much your accessories. The Jakku Exclusive includes a pair of guns (a blaster rifle and a blaster pistol) and articulated binoculars. The blaster pistol attaches to the Stormtrooper’s side via hidden magnets (the survival backpack also attaches magnetically). The blaster rifle has an extendable stock. And the binoculars are articulated at the center. Of course, the figure includes eight interchangeable hands to hold all of the various accessories. But hands are never seen as an exciting accessory.
As far as quality, it’ll be difficult for other toy companies to top what Hot Toys is doing here. Their First Order Stormtrooper is sleek. It features a body that allows some pretty good posing options. And there’s not a lot of paint (which means not a lot of room for paint miscues) and not an authorized likeness (which lessens the possibility they mess up the facial sculpting).
The only issue you might run into is that the artillery vest needs to be adjusted so that it lies straight across the figure's body. That's a very small concern and entirely fixable. I did have an issue, that's almost entirely isolated, where the black grip on the binoculars wasn't properly glued on. That was an easy fix (a little Gorilla Glue), and most likely only due to my bad luck.
Hot Toys has announced ten different First Order Stormtroopers in various forms – Stormtroopers, a Flametrooper, Snowtroopers, and a TIE Pilot. Sideshow Collectibles has seven of those that are currently shipping. They all vary slightly and range in price from $204.99 to $219.99.
The Facts
First Order Stormtrooper (Jakku Exclusive)
Series: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Manufacturer: Hot Toys
Dimensions: 1/6th Scale – 12 inches tall
Points of Articulation: Body features over 30 points of articulation
Outfit: First Order Stormtrooper armor; Black under-suit; Heavy artillery vest; Belt with pouches; Survival backpack
Accessories: Pair of fists; Pair of relaxed hands; Pair of hands for holding weapons; Pair of hands for holding binoculars; Blaster rifle with extended stock; Blaster pistol; Pair of articulated binoculars; Jakku desert-themed figure stand with First Order Stormtrooper nameplate and Star Wars logo
Pricing: $219.99
You can pick one up from the following:
Sideshow Collectibles: $219.99
