Talking Stormtrooper - Talking Star Wars Figures

It’s so nice to know that in an era of Hasbro producing so much utter rubbish for store shelves, Disney Stores have expected a higher caliber of Star Wars toys right from the start to be created and produced for their own customer base. As a result, their initial offerings have brought some stellar items and the party is just getting started. We are head over heels crazy about the Talking Star Wars Figures line. With only one release made publicly available in American mall Disney Stores on May the Fourth 2014 (the Talking Stormtrooper), they have completely sold the line to us hook, line and sinker and we’re very impressed. It may not be fair to kick Hasbro while they’re down or while the line is suffering a terrible fate, but we would collapse if Hasbro released a remotely equal quality Star Wars figure with so much articulation, electronics and a stunning likeness that the Talking Stormtrooper has brought. Heck, even the quality of the plastic Disney has used to created this line of figures is shockingly good. Apparently kids DO like multiple points of articulation (not five points of articulation) and larger scaled beautifully painted figures that don’t look like shampoo bottles. And apparently impressive action figures with a ton of electronics and articulation can be sold at an MSRP that doesn’t break the bank, albeit not at a lower price point. Of course, Disney Stores probably have a competitive advantage with the MSRP since they don't have to pay licensing fees. Still, Disney has risen the bar high and we wonder if Hasbro will just concede that someone else (Disney) should just focus on the kids’ portion of the Star Wars brand. We know that we’re leaning that way. And once you see what Disney Stores are producing, you may quickly join the throng.

You shouldn’t overlook the Talking Stormtrooper figure and you shouldn’t say that you’re not interested in another scale. This larger than 12” figure with 13 points of articulation is worthy of your time and money and we are going to do our best at selling you the reasons why this is the case. Do you believe this figure has an astounding 13 points of articulation? We will be completely honest and upfront with you and say that many of the points are inhibited and cannot articulate fully. But the Talking Stormtrooper comes with a ball-socket head, a ball-jointed left shoulder, a swivel right shoulder, a hinge-jointed right elbow, a swivel right elbow, a swivel left wrist, a swivel waist, two swivel hips, two hinge-jointed knees and two hinge-jointed ankles. You can pose the Talking Stormtrooper in a variety of meaningful ways and the character looks completely realistic. In fact, you can attain more screen accurate posture with this figure that you can with a lot of more higher-end oriented Star Wars collectibles. The engineering that went into this KIDS’ figure is astounding. You are left to believe that they also had a desire to cater to adult collectors as well. From the gorgeous helmet, to the functional armor, from the incredible 15+ phrases to the light up blaster, the Talking Stormtrooper is unsurpassed as just one of the definitive kids’ toys with a Star Wars theme you will find the rest of the year. And for the adult collectors, it appears as if the ab plate is a totally separate piece. Could the possibility exist that Disney designers were forward-thinking and tooled this so it could be used down the road as an accurate Talking Sandtrooper (which does not have the ab plate)? Oh the possibilities! Hasbro’s “quick change” Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader figure was an abomination by comparison, and it nearly cost the same price. This is ultimate quality for your dollar.

Clearly the Talking Stormtrooper is unparalleled against most of what’s available on the market today. And although this review is already guilty of measuring it up against what Hasbro offers the buying public, it really isn’t fair to assess what Disney makes against what Hasbro makes. But the bottom line is that Disney is annihilating Hasbro as far as what the market is offering for kids and other young Star Wars collectors. This may be good. And it may make Hasbro think about the direction they’re heading their own line and perhaps re-calibrate the branding to produce the best items possible. We can tell you that the Talking Star Wars Figures line from Disney Stores is already shaping up to be a very exciting line. Just take a few moments to check out our gallery and see why this figure will meet the expectations of adult collectors as well as their offspring. For less than $30 you get a dynamically tooled figure with gorgeous shiny armor, a ton of bells and whistles and articulation that would even satisfy articulation junkies. Is the figure perfect? Not at all. We are never crazy about permanently affixed weapons in the hands. And the articulation could be less inhibited. But the Talking Stormtrooper is just too much fun to overlook. Did we mention the size? It’s huge! Well over 12 inches, the Talking Stormtrooper is a lot of “matter” for its price. Hopefully we have expressed to you clearly why you need to add these figures to your Star Wars collection. This is the quality Hasbro should be giving us, but Disney is giving it instead. Again, the perspective here is from a kids’ point of view.