Incinerator Trooper - TVC - Basic (VC177)

Hasbro is getting the most out of their 2019 The Vintage Collection Imperial Stormtrooper (VC140) figure tooling. But we’re starting to see minor breakdowns in the molds or the plastics they’re using because the figures aren’t up to par. 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. It’s a collector-focused line, but the quality isn’t there 100%. 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 like it. But it feels incomplete without some of the other more important characters from The Mandalorian yet to be produced, and a few more accessories would have helped here. 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 a neat action figure. Generally speaking, it feels like all the action figures Hasbro produced of the Incinerator Trooper are excellent. Hasbro worked in an impressive 30 points of premium articulation into this figure/sculpt. We adore 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 can hold the included (and attached) flamethrower with its right hand at an upward or downward angle and is ready for any immediate battle. 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 was nonexistent for months after its due date.

Thanks to how Hasbro worked them into this figure’s articulation system, articulation enthusiasts will be thrilled once they realize the poses they’ll achieve. From ball-jointed hips to ball-jointed ankles, the Incinerator Trooper can accomplish a fantastic amount of positions and is a tremendous work of art from this perspective. Unfortunately, the flamethrower with the flame attachment is too heavy for the figure’s hands, and balancing it is quite a chore. Thankfully, the flame attachment fastens tightly to the front of the flamethrower. It isn’t easy to stand the figure up without leaning it back when fully set up, but you can make this happen with patience. 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 availability; otherwise, no one will know how far Hasbro came with this release.