First Order Flametrooper - Elite Series

Specialized stormtroopers of the First Order, flametroopers carry incendiary weapons that can transform any battlefield into an infernal blaze.

Without a doubt, some of the Disney Elite Series figures are better than others. We shouldn’t be surprised about that. This is true in every line of Star Wars figures. When it comes to the Elite Series figures however, Disney seems to nail the troopers and masked characters so much better than the human “faced” characters. Then again, we shouldn’t be too surprised about that either because this is extremely true in Hasbro’s line as well. When you’re making a line of die cast metal action figures, it’s hard to determine what a proper scale should be, and it’s probably even more difficult to choose characters that have relevance without giving away secrets to an upcoming Star Wars film. Apparently the First Order Flametrooper, which should only appear in the first third of The Force Awakens, is one of these characters. We must see a barrage of various First Order troopers attacking the galaxy left and right because why else would we see so many different types in such a short span of the film? That is fine with us, and because of this potential plot, we are getting awesome new First Order troopers in various formats for our collections.

The Elite Series First Order Flametrooper is a nice addition to the line. To date, we haven’t received a figure in this approximate scale from Hasbro yet (although rumors abound that it’s due very soon), so it erroneously and falsely fills a void at the moment. The figure itself is beautifully sculpted and faithful to the character based on the stills and costumes we have seen of the characters. The First Order Flametrooper comes with the standard articulation as the rest of the figures in this die cast metal line, but also like the previously released ones, the First Order Flametrooper doesn’t have too much movement that utilitarian. You may become frustrated by the lack of movement the figure has. Once again, hinge-jointed articulation is useless. It doesn’t offer anything positive to the figure. It’s more of an annoyance than anything else. But the proportions of the figure are very nice. The figure appears streamlined and everything seems to be in place. We’re especially impressed with the gas tank on his back. It’s highly detailed and very realistic, and the wires connect to the gun. Oh, the gun. Yeah, you’re probably not going to like this at all.

Sadly, the First Order Flametrooper’s gun is permanently affixed to his right hand. It’s obnoxious. But Disney probably did this to prevent breakage to the wiring since all of the parts are interconnected to one another. But as you can imagine, it severely limits the figure’s range of motion even more. If there is any saving grace here, the hinge-jointed elbows allow his left arm to be bent upwards so that he can hold the gun in a believable “right angled” motion, up and at the ready. The First Order Flametrooper looks great like this and as a display piece you really couldn’t ask for better. But to label this series as “Elite” is not something we would have done. It was inferred that these figures were going to give The Black Series line a run for its money. Well, those were just plain and dumb assertions. First, the two lines are in completely different scales. These figures can’t even interact together. And second, the articulation systems in place with The Black Series line can’t hold a candle to the figures in the Elite Series line. As with all Elite Series figures, there are holes on the back which allow the screws to be tightened to hold the figures together. Because of the gas tank, some of the holes are covered up, but many others remain visible to the eye. This isn’t ideal for hardcore collectors.