Blackhole Stormtrooper - Mini Busts

For much of the Galactic Civil War, a mysterious agent of Palpatine code-named Blackhole carefully sifted through countless streams of data, distilling it into useful information for Imperial Intelligence. Blackhole had an impressive amount of resources available to him, including an entire Star Destroyer and its complement of troops and fighters. Per his orders, the stormtroopers under his command had their armor cast in black to match his own particular eccentricities. The armor modification had practical benefits as well. The stygian-triprismatic polymer afforded the stormtroopers increased sensor-stealth.

Blackhole disappeared completely during the Galactic Civil War, and his forced were absorbed by other Imperial groups. When the Empire fragmented after the Battle of Endor, some of the Blackhole Stormtroopers found their way in Carnor Jax's private army.

There was a while when collectors believed that Shadow Stormtroopers and Blackhole Stormtroopers were two different characters. More recently the canon has changed and websites like Wookieepedia confirm that they are indeed the same character. There are times throughout our respective Star Wars experiences when a unique Star Wars character becomes all the rage. One that has lasted throughout the initial zeal is the Blackhole Stormtrooper. Gentle Giant Ltd. developed a stunning exclusive Mini Bust collectible for collectibles that actually eclipses the plain white Stormtrooper released two years before it. Between the stunning glossy black armor and duller body glove to the beautifully painted silver details to give it depth and dimension, Gentle Giant Ltd. has truly developed a remarkable Mini Bust for the line with this release. Sadly, the Blackhole Stormtrooper sees an edition size that is a tenth of the Stormtrooper Mini Bust. And half of those were saved for the Blister Tokyo event in Japan.

Just like its negative counterpart, the Blackhole Stormtrooper comes with the same interchangeable parts. For reasons unknown, the various configurations seem to work much better for the Blackhole Stormtrooper as compared to the regular Stormtrooper. What’s more, the interchangeable parts come with some extra reinforcements and tighter connections which will aid in preventing breakage when the pieces fall out while transporting them from one location to the next. Sharp, classy, elegant and sophisticated are all words to describe the look and appearance of the Blackhole Stormtrooper Mini Bust. It’s almost sad that the regular Stormtrooper Mini Bust didn’t capture are of the glam that the Blackhole Stormtrooper does. It just seems that Gentle Giant Ltd. took advantage of the learning curve and perfected some of the issues that missed quality control on the Stormtrooper Mini Bust collectible.

Limited to only 1000 pieces, the Blackhole Stormtrooper became one of the rarest Mini Busts released to date. But what made things worse was how the piece was split between Japan and the USA. Each received 500 units each, but the opportunity to purchase the 500 American pieces was done through a raffling system. Raffles in general frustrate collectors to uncontrollable levels. People don’t like being told that they can’t buy something he or she wants for his or her collection. Needless to say the raffles didn’t go well and there were many disheartened Mini Bust collectors who never received an opportunity to purchase this beautiful piece ever again. All is not lost however. Gentle Giant Ltd. continues to learn from its mistakes and puts new processes in place that benefit the collecting community as whole as best as possible. While there still remain a healthy dose of collectors who won’t be able to own this Mini Bust in their collections, it’s one to hunt, watch and bid as they pop up on eBay from time to time. If you can secure one it will be worth your while.