Review of Stormtrooper 2 pack - sixth scale action figures
Sideshow Star Wars exclusive

Introduction

While collectors and fans of Star Wars are anticipating the big figure releases from Hot Toys - Vader, Han, Chewie - they've had to be content with the usual influx of troopers. Hot Toys has started with the Storm variety, and have released the basic white in three ways: a single figure for $200, a double pack for $400, and an exclusive double pack also for $400. I'm checking out the exclusive tonight, but will point out the differences as we go along.

The singles are pretty obvious, and the baseline.  The double pack includes a tall and short trooper - the tall being the standard single release, and the short being specific to the two pack.  This two pack also includes two additional accessories, making it a better value than buying multiple singles.

The Sideshow exclusive version has everything the regular two pack does, plus one more accessory, all at the same $400 price point. Obviously, it's the best deal of the three if you pre-ordered it when it was initially available.

All of these are shipping right now, both in the States and internationally. To make it easier to identify the short versus tall trooper in my photos, I paired them with a specific weapon. The short always carries the small blaster pistol, while the tall is carrying the two larger rifles in various photos.

Packaging - ***1/2
The two troopers come packed in a double wide shoe box, with an attracive inner cardboard cover. There's a couple nested trays holding the figures and accessories. It's all collector friendly, and there's even a reasonable set of instructions.

I found that the lower tray was very tough to get open the first time. With enough force, you'll eventually free the stands and rack, and after the first time it will open and close easily enough.

Sculpting - ****
Obviously, there's no human portrait here, so this score is entirely based on the look and feel of the armor. And I have to say...it's outstanding.

The helmet is particularly eye popping. Even in macro photos, it's hard to tell it apart from a 1:1 replica. The sharpness of the detailing is amazing, and I think the size and scale are excellent.

The rest of the armor is cut and fit properly to the body, and is very realistic. The hard plastic works well, and looks terrific.  The fit of the armor is a little better on the tall version, but they both look great.

The hands are sculpted to work with the accessories and a broad range of poses. He stands great on his own, as you'd expect.

As I mentioned in the Intro, the two troopers are different heights. The regular version is just a smidge over 12" tall, while the short version is about 11 1/2". This will give you an excuse to say "Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?" every time you see him display.

One of the big questions is whether you need another Stormtrooper - it's not like there haven't been plenty from companies like Medicom, Marmit and Sideshow. The short answer is "Yes". While the overall design is pretty much the same, it's surprising how realistic and lifelike the Hot Toys versions are.

Paint - ****
There's not a ton of work here, but the details that are included - particularly on the helmet - are sharp, crisp and perfectly clean. The other area where the paint application is critical is on the various blasters, and all of them have just the right amount of weathering and variation.

Just as important as the small detail work is the bright, shiny finish of the white armor. It's extremely consistent, and the super high gloss look is really impressive in person. It sets these apart from the majority of the other Troopers out there, and was a great choice.

Articulation - ***1/2
The underlying TrueType is a terrific body, lots of joints in all the right places and some of the best engineering out there. The figure can take natural, flowing stances, and can hold the weapons and accessories easily.

The armor is a little restrictive, but it only becomes a problem in deeper, more dynamic stances. It also tends to be a bigger problem for the shorter trooper, where the armor is forced closer on his body, particularly at the joints. He also has more trouble with the helmet and feet popping off as you adjust the overall body.

Accessories - ***1/2
I'll mention this more than once, but if I were buying the single figure, I'd be disappointed in this category.

The standard figure comes with 7 hands - a relaxed pair, a pair of fists, a pair of gun grips, and one splayed left. They swap easily enough if you keep the underlying body suit out of the way, and they did add in a couple extra wrists posts just in case. However, I'm going to repeat myself here - at this price point, Hot Toys should be provide a wrist peg for every hand, something that's getting to be standard in the market.

They also have a small blaster pistol, and a small blaster rifle. The sculpts and paint work on these are excellent, and they fit in the gun grip hands or the leather holster with little issue. The guns are designed to sit in the holster in opposite directions - the large fits the usual way, while the small version is flipped around. This is the way the instructions lay it out, but I swapped the small pistol around and it fit fine the other way as well. The magnetic closure on the strap works fantastic, and the overall fit is tight but not difficult to work with.

As I said, the sculpt work on these is pretty amazing. The fine detail is sharp and clean, with lots and lots of it. The smaller rifle has the fold up stock as well, and it feels sturdy and solid compared to some past versions.

Each figure also has the cylindrical thermal detonator. It attaches to the back of the belt with two metal hangers, which work quite well. It's a simple design, but it's the least problematic.

Finally, the regular single figures have a display stand, designed to look like a ship floor grate, complete with their nameplate and a crotch post.  A nice touch with the two pack is that the name plate can be removed from one, and they can be attached to each other as a single base.

While these are the most critical extras, I'd still drop the single figure another half star in this category. Thankfully, the two pack adds in two more extras...and then the exclusive has one more on top of that.

The two packs, either regular or exclusive, have the large blaster rifle, complete with attached folding bi-pod rest. It's another great sculpt, and adding in another weapon really helps separate out the troopers on the shelf.

There's also a small mouse droid, with moving wheels. Since a lot of folks will be using these troopers with their Sideshow Vader (or the upcoming Hot Toys version), the droid is a nice add to the display as well.

The third extra isn't quite as exciting, but it's only included with the Sideshow exclusive version. It's a 'blaster rack', designed to hold 4 blasters. They rest in the rack barrel down, which seems counter intuitive to me, but it does hold the rifle tight, and it doesn't tip over.The one large blaster included fits great, but you'll need to come up with three more to fill it.

Outfit - ****
I've already hammered home the beauty of the sculpt and paint on the armor pieces, so repeating it here is unnecessary.

There are a couple other aspects to the outfit worth discussing, however. The underlying black body suit fits tightly, and looks good in the few areas it is visible. The material is high quality, and the overall tailoring is excellent.

He also has his belt and holster, all one piece. The belt has a Velcro closure in back, and is very easy to work with.  The leather holster works great with the smaller blasters, and the metal rivets holding it on the belt should hold up to normal handling and posing without any fear of damage.

Fun Factor - ****
When you combine such a cool, classic outfit with great posability and useful accesories, you're always going to have fun posing, re-posing, and posing some more. The costume, body and accessories are all sturdy as well, so you won't feel stressed or restricted when working with him.

Value - **1/2
This is the first time in awhile that I'm not going to give Hot Toys a bunch of crap over the price. At $400 for the pair, you're getting an average value on the current market.

This is due in very large part to the fact that I'm looking at the exclusive set. If I had bought the single figure at $200, with the limited number of accessories (the same few hands, two blasters and a stand), I would have ripped on him at the same level as Gamora. In fact, the situation would have been worse, because of the level of re-use that Hot Toys is getting out of this armor.

But with the two pack exclusive, you get three more accessories, all of them pretty sweet. While it doesn't make them a fantastic bargain, it does bring them up to an average value, which means the score here will not impact my Overall either positively or negatively.

Things to Watch Out For -
I found the long blaster to be a bit more fragile than the smaller versions, and I actually have a little round doohickey that dropped off and I haven't yet figured out where it belongs.

Overall - ****
Do you need more troopers? That's a tough question. We certainly have a ton of them, and most of them are very, very good. But Hot Toys has found a way to raise the bar even here, and produce some of the very best looking Stormtroopers we've ever gotten.

There's a couple things in their favor. The TrueType is a great body of course, and the armor is designed to restrict it as little as possible.  The high gloss white really makes these guys pop, and the inclusion of a variety of blasters allows you to differentiate them on the shelf.

Let's face it - you really need at least two. Place one on either side of Vader, and you'll have a fantastic looking set up.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow was the place to get this exclusive with the extra blaster rack, however it's on a waitlist at this point at $400. The do have the single for $200, and the regular set for $400. They also have the exclusive version of the Spacetrooper up for pre-order.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Hot Toys has begun their Star Wars march with the release of the Blackhole Trooper earlier in the year. Have no fear, they have plenty more varieties in the works.

Other companies have produced their fair share of troopers in this scale.  I recently reviewed the Captain Rex from Sideshow, and they've also done the 501st, Veteran, and 'shiny, the Sandtrooper with the Dewback, the Sargent Clonetrooper, the Shocktrooper, the Utapau Trooper, the Imperial Stormtrooper, and even Obi-Wan in his trooper armor. And one of my favorites - the Snowtrooper. And if you'd like some other troops, remember there's also the Droids, the STAP, and the Rebels!

Medicom has done plenty as well, including this Clone Trooper Captain, 501st, Sandtrooper, their own Blackhole Trooper,  Shocktrooper and regular Stormtrooper.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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