Imperial Death Trooper - RO - Basic

Encased in specialized stormtrooper armor with a dark, ominous gleam, Death Troopers are the elite soldiers of Imperial Intelligence and serve as bodyguards and enforcers for Director Krennic.

It has been clear from the start that Hasbro has been walking the Rogue One line in the same familiar footprints as The Force Awakens line. But the amount of figures in the line has been significantly reduced. 5POA is seemingly here to stay and there is one missed opportunity after another when it comes to releasing great figures from the film. The Imperial Death Trooper isn’t really one of these tragedies though. Hasbro made a fantastic super-articulated version for the Walmart exclusive 3.75” The Black Series [Phase III] line. So why did they bother making the same character with only five points of articulation for the basic Rogue One line? Not everything Hasbro does today makes sense to longtime collectors anymore. But at least Hasbro is still adding figures to the toy line in a consistent fashion. After a first release in the Two-Packs line, the Imperial Death Trooper now gets its basic figure release (along with a new officer’s pauldron) so that collectors of all ages can army build this cool-looking character from the film. It’s a nice looking figure, but it has severely limited articulation which is a shame. Thank goodness we have the Walmart exclusive version which not only comes with the same (and more) accessories, it also comes with super-articulation.

So how does this version fare? The shiny Imperial Death Trooper is really just more of the same. Sure, he looks great as one of Director Krennic’s bodyguards. But this is the second time we’re seeing this figure in the Rogue One line. Troopers need a lot more movement that what 5POA brings to the table. So ultimately this figure is a disappointment. Hasbro cleaned up the paint operations a bit more on this release however. So if you’re looking for the best version to grab, then this is the version to get. Most notably, the green visor and other colored details stand out significantly better on this release. When you compare this version versus the Two-Packs version, you’ll definitely notice that this is the better of the two. The frame of the character is still very thin and we still question whether this character is actually male or female. The body frame is definitely athletically feminine. The figure is beautiful in some ways, and then not really noteworthy in others. Obviously this figure needs a ton of articulation (which it doesn’t have), and it’s frustrating to realize what it is unable to do thanks to its severely limited articulation.

If you recall, the Imperial Death Trooper in the Two-Packs set came with a huge play accessory that wasn’t screen accurate to the film. We believe that this is Hasbro’s way of making up for lost articulation. So why not just give us articulation instead? But gone for the basic figure is the huge harnessed cannon that broke down into seven (7) separate pieces. You do get a play accessory here, but it’s much smaller than what came with the Two-Packs release. For the basic figure, we get a blaster rifle, a removable pauldron/ammo belt combination piece and then a zip line blaster cannon. The pieces interact beautifully with the action figure. But again, we would be willing to sacrifice the “extra” plastic here for articulation. For goodness sake, if there is a Star Wars character that needs more than five points of articulation, it would unequivocally be the Imperial Death Trooper. If you have the Two-Packs release, you could probably forgo this release. But we say the best value for your buck is with the Walmart exclusive The Black Series [Phase III] Imperial Death Trooper 3.75” figure. For us, that is the ultimate Imperial Death Trooper.