Imperial Stormtrooper - TBS [P4] - Six Inch Figures (TM02)

Stormtroopers are elite shock troops fanatically loyal to the Empire and impossible to sway from the Imperial cause. They wear imposing white armor, which offers a wide range of survival equipment.

For the first time, or the very least, the first time in a long while, Hasbro has taken cues from a 3.75” super-articulated figure to create a 6” version of it. There is no way anyone can deny that Hasbro’s inspiration for the TBS [P4] Imperial Stormtrooper (TM02) came from 2019’s TVC Imperial Stormtrooper (VC140). A side by side comparison will prove to you how similar they are. But instead of sourcing the 6” figure to Rogue One, Hasbro decided to go with the latest hot commodity in Star Wars: The Mandalorian on Disney+. Let’s search our souls for a moment and be honest. Hasbro has overstayed the welcome of 2013’s TBS [P1] Stormtrooper (#09) tooling for much too long. In all fairness, they created some gorgeous new figures utilizing this figure’s tooling. The GameStop exclusive “Gaming Greats” Stormtroopers come to mind as some of these beautiful action figures. But collectors wanted a definitive version of the Imperial Stormtrooper in the 6” line that incorporated the new “butterfly” shoulder enhancements and ball-jointed articulation that allowed for a broader range of movement. And we now have that thanks to the all-new Imperial Stormtrooper (TM02) figure. It becomes cliché to use the word “beautiful” to describe one last 6” figure after another, but it’s the best word here. You can throw out all your older Stormtrooper figures (if you don’t mind losing the holster) because this new figure accomplished what all previous versions could not.

Hasbro worked in an incredible 30 points of articulation in the new Imperial Stormtrooper 6” figure. The portrait has a buttery-smooth movement thanks to its double joint. Not only does it come with a ball-socket head, but it also has a reversed ball-socket neck. The fluidity of the movement is fantastic, and you can tilt the head at every angle possible thanks to this ingenious design. The design of the helmet is equally impressive. Hasbro has come far with their tooling technology. And the Imperial Stormtrooper shows collectors how exact they can be to capture every nuance and detail on the on-screen costume and apply to a 6” action figure, along with unprecedented articulation. All of these things are not small, and Hasbro should be commended for doing it effortlessly. Although not new for the Imperial Stormtroopers, the wonderfully installed “butterfly” joints are new for this character. They give a full lateral movement of the shoulders. Hasbro combined this enhancement with updated ball-jointed shoulder joints, and the range of motion the figure achieves from these points is astounding. The enhanced ball-jointed articulation in the shoulders is also incredible updates here. The angles you can achieve in the elbows is unreal. Hasbro hasn’t ever had the success they do here with elbows. And we hope they implement this in all new army building figures, or at least the armored characters. The knees also have enhanced movement and move like they never could previously. You're going to love what this figure offers.

Where the Imperial Stormtrooper falls short is with the accessories. Heck, the figure' bio brags about how many accessories they use! And we should say “accessory” because it only comes with the revised E-11 blaster. We’ll sound like a broken record here, but Hasbro must include more accessories than one with all The Black Series 6” figures. Getting one accessory is not a value. And characters like Imperial Stormtroopers utilize multiple weapons, and all of them should be included in one fell swoop here. It’s a small complaint compared to what Hasbro included with the figure, so maybe it’s not that big of a deal. We’re interested to know if Hasbro will tweak this figure for a revised version of the Original Trilogy Imperial Stormtrooper. They’d have to change a couple of things, and of course, add the holster, so it may be some time before we see a retooled version of this figure in the future. We do have one complaint about the Imperial Stormtrooper. We don’t know why this happens across scales with Imperial Stormtroopers, but Hasbro must figure out why there are multiple shades of white across the many armored parts. The discoloration is subtle, but it’s present. And it affects the aesthetics of the figure. We’re not going to call the parts mismatched because from afar, the Imperial Stormtrooper looks whole. But up close and visible in high-resolution photography, you can see how elements of pink, yellow, and gray pollute what should be pure white armor. That said, we still think the 2020 TBS [P4] Imperial Stormtrooper figure will go down in history as one of Hasbro’s most elegant figures. It will easily win the awards for the year of its release too.