Review of First Order Snowtrooper
Star Wars Black 6 inch action figure

Introduction

Just ask any Star Wars fan in your life "how many days?" and they'll not only know exactly what you're talking about, but they'll have an answer, perhaps to the minute. The anticipation is building for the December release of The Force Awakens, and tickets will be going on sale in just a few days. The toys have been on the pegs for a few weeks, but some of the more anticipated items haven't made it out yet, including a number of the store exclusives.

One of those to finally hit is the Toys R Us exclusive First Order Snowtrooper, part of the Star Wars Black 6 inch series of action figures. My pre-order shipped this week, and the word on the street is that these have started to show up at some stores. He'll run you around $20, same as the rest of the series.

Packaging - ****
I dig these boxes, although I know some people find them too plain. The basic black and red works for me, and they've done a reasonable job showing off the figure and accessories on the peg. The boxes are also really easy to store for the MIBers, and they are completely collector friendly, with no need to damage anything when you remove him.  No twisty ties or rubber bands to get in the way either, always a big win as far as I'm concerned.

I was a little surprised that I didn't see any sort of exclusivity mentioned on the box, not even with a sticker.  I would have expected Toys R Us to want that, the better to exploit it as a selling point, but it's a minor nit at best to the collector.

Sculpting - ****
I like the new trooper designs for the film, and the Snowtrooper was already one of my favorite designs from the original trilogy. There's something about the skirt that reminds me of a duster on a western gunslinger, and I've always thought the basic helmet design was more appealing.

That's true again with this new, sleeker style.  The 'visor' has a Cylon thing going on, so you might find that more distracting than appealing, but I like the clean lines. There's some nice details sculpted into the armor, particularly with the controls on the chest piece. I'm not sure what they are supposed to do, but I'm assuming it's environmental.

The skirt is a little thick, which does restrict the leg posing quite a bit. I think going with plastic rather than cloth was a smart move for consistency, but I do wish they'd made it a little thinner and softer. With this new design it even looks more like a long coat than a skirt, which makes it even better, although I'm not quite sure if that's the actual case in reality.  Looking at the torso, it's tough to make out the various layers and what would line up with the lower piece, and if it was a one piece coat, the belt would probably be under it, rather than over it, but either way it looks great.

This guy is 6" tall, just a smidge shorter than the FO Stormtrooper. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm betting you could swap the pauldron over to a regular trooper and it would fit pretty well, giving you another display option.

Paint - ***1/2
I don't know if this clean, consistent work will continue through the rest of the larger Black series, but it's certainly nice to see with the Troopers so far.

The black details are very well done, with almost no slop or poor edges. These details on the helmet, pack and armor break up the white nicely, and even the silver areas are clean and neat. Silver is a tough color to do, and they don't have quite the same success on the blaster, but even there the slop is minor.

The pauldron did have one nick in the dark red, and there was a little more variation in the brightness of the white on this figure than there was with the regular trooper. Still, it's clean work, particularly for twenty bucks.

Articulation - ***
He has similar articulation to the rest of the series, so there's no real surprises. The ball jointed neck is quite a bit more restricted here, largely thanks to the pauldron, but the rotating hinge shoulders, elbows and wrists work fine.  I did have a rather loose right elbow though, making some poses more difficult.

The torso has that same sort of rolling joint we saw on the regular trooper, but the design of the armor here makes it less mobile. The hips work great, and he has cut thighs as well, and the double hinge knees can manage more poses than the skirt will allow. The ankles are also a bit restricted by the design, making him much less poseable overall than a trooper hanging out in warmer climes.

Accessories - ***
Technically he has three, although most people will really only consider one of them a true accessory.

The pauldron is removable if you pop off the head, so that's one of those 'technically an accessory' items. I doubt you'll go without it, but perhaps if you're looking to build an army, it would be useful to have more without than with.

The pack is also removable, but I'm betting even fewer people will go without it.  The pack completes the overall outfit and hides the peg hole in his back, making it a pretty critical item for him to wear.

The one true accessory is the blaster, which looks good and fits pretty well in the right hand. It's a slightly weird size - too small for a really good two handed pose, too large for a decent one handed pose - but the sculpt and paint work is solid.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
The slightly floppy right elbow and the overall restrictive costume makes this guy less fun to work with than his unencumbered cousin, but he's still a great toy. The sturdy build quality means he can handle normal play with ease, and he's attractive enough for any collectors display.

Value - **1/2
Twenty bucks for a Star Wars Black 6 inch figure is no surprise.  He's an exclusive, so getting him at the regular price is always a positive.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - ***1/2
While it's popular for collectors to bash the 6 inch black series, they do have some great figures, particularly when they avoid the human likenesses.  This trooper is an excellent example, and it's important not to forget that there are kids out there that play with these, despite what Hasbro might be trying to call them. With the move away from decent articulation in the majority of the smaller scale figures, this line is a haven for kids that still appreciate what a great action figure is, or for the parents that want their kids to know there's more than 5 POA.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ***
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
This guy is a Toys R Us exclusive, so picking him up at the Toys R Us online store or your local location is the best route right now. You can search ebay for a deal as well.

Related Links -
From the new film/series, I've covered the First Order Stormtrooper (in a comparison with the Disney Elite version), Poe Dameron and Constable Zuvio. I've also covered dozens of other Star Wars figures in all sorts of scales - you should hit the Search Reviews page to find them and any other applicable reviews done after this one was published.

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!