First Order Stormtrooper - S.H. Figuarts

S.H. Figuarts is a new standard figure series that incorporates the Bandai action figure "Art" under the theme "Pursuing Character Expression through Humanoid Action."

Thank God for the Japanese. What a legacy they’ve left the toy industry. When it comes to precision, accuracy, and likeness, they make some of the greatest collectibles possible. And when the Star Wars began getting spread further out across the globe, the various Japanese licenses stepped up to the plate big time and produced wonderful Star Wars collectibles that consistently had the edge over those made in the American marketplace. But things only got better with time with Japanese collectibles. For Star Wars collecting, everything changed around 2013. A new and controversial scale was created: The Black Series 6” lineup. Some fell head over heels for it, while many others instead dug their heels into the ground and decided that resisting the change was more calming than accepting that things were taking a different direction. It wasn’t long until Bandai, part of Tamashii Nations, developed their own quasi 6” scale of Star Wars figures under the S.H. Figuarts banner. Let us say that the pieces are remarkable. The criticisms you may have already heard are for us unfounded, and they may just be the finest Star Wars collectibles you will ever find in this scale. We confidently can say that the S.H. Figuarts line of Star Wars action figures are light years better than anything Hasbro has produced in The Black Series 6” line and we hope that they continue to bang out the characters as briskly as possible.

The first thing that you’ll notice right out of the package with the First Order Stormtrooper is that he is lightweight. At first were slightly disappointed with this aspect of the figure. Then we quickly learned how it benefits the figure by allowing it to be posed in very dynamic and action-oriented ways. By not being “top heavy” or “weighty,” the First Order Stormtrooper can attain a variety of incredible poses with very little effort. And once you inspect the figure, how it articulates and what can be done with him, it becomes immediately clear just how sturdy these figures’ designs are. So, lightweight, yes. Cheap? No. We’ve heard comments that the figure’s range of movement just isn’t up to par. But we have to wonder if they have the same figure we do. The First Order Stormtrooper can be posed in any position you desire and will look naturally doing so. Sure, you may have to twist a thigh or bicep here and there, but this figure looks astounding in any position you choose. We may be off a point here or there, but at last count, we were able, to sum up minimally 47 total points of articulation on the First Order Stormtrooper. How can ANYONE say they find that 2015’s TBS [P3] First Order Stormtrooper (04) figure is better? Not only does the S.H. Figuarts First Order Stormtrooper have more streamlined and crisper finishing details, but it can also move freely and look amazing no matter how you decide to utilize its articulation. If you're not into 6" scale now, you WILL BE once you get your hands on a figure from the S.H. Figuarts line.

Not everything is completely flawless with the First Order Stormtrooper S.H. Figuarts figure. We’re going to talk about them briefly, but it certainly isn’t enough to detract from the figure’s overall quality and artfulness. Firstly, the First Order blaster is much too big. It sadly dwarfs the figure by a little bit. And it looks a little too off in our estimation. They should have sized it down a couple of notches before approve it for mass production. The stock is articulated, so we have to credit them for adding this detail. Also, and we’re very disappointed about this, there is nowhere to clip the blaster to the figure’s right thigh armor. But aside from these two missteps, we can’t find fault in this figure at all. The articulation system is impressive beyond words. And there are points of articulation here that we’ll never see added to the figures in Hasbro line, despite their importance. For example, the two shoulder armor pieces each contain two points of articulation. There are four belt pouches that each have hinge-jointed articulation. And the “toe sections” of both of his boots also come with hinge-jointed articulation allowing you to angle his feet as needed for balance and believable running poses. There is so much to appreciate here that it's actually amazing. You will probably notice too that the First Order Stormtrooper is in a slightly smaller scale than The Black Series [Phase III] version is. This is a typical “issue” for Japanese collectors. We have heard experts explain that this is directly related to the average male height in Japan (which is shorter than that in America) and the sole reason why their “male buck” is slightly smaller than other licenses. We hope that more people will be able to appreciate this collection of figures. Nothing compares to it.