Stormtrooper (Mimban) - TVC - Basic (VC123) (Exclusive)

Celebrate the legacy of Star Wars, the action-and-adventure-packed space saga from a galaxy far, far away, with this collection of premium, highly-detailed 3.75-inch scale figures and vehicles. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability.)

Collecting is a completely different ball of wax in 2018 when you compare it at any point between 2005 and 2013. For 3.75” super-articulated collectors, figures in this range are few and far between. And when we do receive figures in this highly-coveted range, it’s hit or miss to how the final product turns out. Don’t get us wrong. Hasbro crafts beautiful action figures. It’s deco that's the problem (especially on human characters). But with the announcement that Hasbro will implement “photorealistic" technology in 2019 (and from their judgment they claim it already looks fantastic), we believe collectors have quite a bit to look forward to in the upcoming years. As long as Hasbro is amenable to tweak the areas that need improving (from card back design and layout to deco and wiser use of articulation), we see no end in sight for The Vintage Collection. It will continue to gain momentum and interest the collectors who walked away. As they add characters from Disney Star Wars into the line, they’re wisely choosing characters that make the most sense. However, the way they’re delivering them isn’t making much sense at all. A case to this point is the Stormtrooper (Mimban) figure. You’d scratch your head thinking of a reason why Hasbro would make a character this important to collectors a retailer exclusive. They should never relegate army-building figures to a "retailer exclusive" status. It’s not too smart. The Stormtrooper (Mimban) is a gorgeous action figure that isn’t exactly perfect. But Hasbro tooled him with an astounding amount of functional articulation. The figure would look “dirtier” than he does, but overall we’re quite pleased with how Hasbro incorporated a solidly sculpted figure with soft-goods and stunning accessories.

The Vintage Collection’s Stormtrooper (Mimban) (VC123) figure is beautiful. We need to get that out there right from the start. Hasbro worked in an astounding 30 points of premium articulation. We’re digging the ball-socket head with the reverse ball-socket neck joint. It gives the figure an eerily human-like movement in the head. We hope they don’t change this approach going forward. But the goodness doesn’t stop there. Hasbro loaded the figure with revised ball-jointed points of articulation, and the chunky armor barely inhibits the figure’s full range of movement in these areas. For example, the elbows bend at an angle that is not only realistic but practical to the figure. He can hold the included E-11 blaster with both hands and in an upwards angle ready for battle. And you can outstretch his arms and make most of the shoulder movement, too. The inclusion of ball-jointed wrists is like the icing on the cake. We have to credit Hasbro with carefully integrating such utilitarian movement in this action figure. Likewise, Hasbro tooled the armor in a way that optimizes the figure’s articulation and movement as well. They work in tandem to allow for the largest range of movement. Articulation enthusiasts will be thrilled once they realize the poses they’ll achieve, thanks to how Hasbro worked them into this figure’s articulation system. From ball-jointed hips to ball-jointed ankles, the Stormtrooper (Mimban) can achieve an amazing amount of poses. We do however hope Hasbro returns to including “rocker” ankles in the 3.75” super-articulated range again. They went crazy with this articulation point in The Black Series 3.75” range, and it must come back for The Vintage Collection. It’s the only thing halting this figure from exuding perfection.

The paint operations are excellent, but the character in Solo: A Star Wars Story is superlatively dirtier. Hasbro instituted the “dot matrix” approach to deco with the Stormtrooper (Mimban) figure, and this is either something that is appreciated or detested by 3.75” super-articulated enthusiasts. We particularly like this approach because from a distance it looks wholly realistic. It’s only in high-resolution photography that this deco technique tends to look a little pixilated and not completely realistic. But there must be a reason why Hasbro moved away from the dirty washes we’ve seen them apply to Sandtyrooper figures in the past. In all honesty, we think the latter approach would have worked a tad better for the Stormtrooper (Mimban). Again, we love how this figure looks, but we also understand why others would feel the paint operations should be handled differently. The figures accessories are also fantastic. The Stormtrooper (Mimban) figure comes with an E-11 blaster, a removable soft-goods cape (which is very difficult to tie back on to the figure once you remove it) and a heavy blaster rifle. The Stormtrooper (Mimban) possesses the spirit of the Original Trilogy Sandtrooper very much. It’s a bit difficult to get this out of your head. Once Hasbro announced this figure, collectors assumed that an all-new Stormtrooper figure utilizing most of this figure’s parts would be forthcoming. And Hasbro confirmed that at 2018’s San Diego Comic-Con. If Hasbro does use most of this figure, we have our definitive Imperial Stormtrooper, because this figure is stupendous. The packaging could use some work. The subtitle of “Mimban” in parentheses should be BENEATH the word “Stormtrooper” and not to the right of it. Come on, Hasbro. Your graphics department should have these details locked down by now.