Dark Trooper - TVC - Deluxe

Like The Black Series 6-inch line, The Vintage Collection Deluxe format is a scam. There was a respectable amount of excitement brewing when the Dark Trooper character from The Mandalorian got announced for the super-articulated 3.75-inch line, but once collectors realized what we were getting inside the packaging and how much it would set us back, interest in it started to diminish immediately. Unfortunately, there are enough barking and clapping seals making enough noise and happy for such nonsense that it will overshadow the grumbling disdain from the longtime collecting community. Hasbro Star Wars collecting has become depressingly unaffordable anymore. With lavish releases like a single figure that come to $30 or more with taxes and shipping, many must forgo these novelty items to put dinner on the table. The Dark Trooper should have been released as a basic figure for $12.99 or $13.99. And then the docking station should have been solely relegated to the boxed set (which is laughable in and of itself). Hasbro’s knee-jerk reaction should be the Deluxe format whenever they have to tool an all-new Star Wars action figure. But that’s what’s happening, and collectors are sick of it.

The Dark Trooper is no different than the all-new Darth Maul or Ahsoka Tano. It comes with the same articulation system as both figures, which requires the same number of individual parts that need to be created to complete the figure. Yes, the Dark Trooper comes with a docking station. That doesn’t bring the MSRP to double the price. As we said, this is all a scam. Despite Hasbro’s best efforts to pull the wool over the eyes of the Star Wars collecting community, the Darth Trooper action figure is excellent overall. However, it has one obsolete action feature which bugs us inordinately. They inserted a light port into the head sculpt to allow the eyes to glow red when held in bright light. Admittedly, the functionality works well, but we’re talking about a POTF2-era feature getting added to a premium modern collector-focused action figure. This feature may not irritate everyone, but we find it a lazy add-on to the Dark Trooper action figure. The Dark Trooper comes highly articulated, and the joints work well. Joints made to look hinge-jointed are deceptively ball-jointed, so we commend Hasbro for the excellent engineering here. Also, the black plastic is beautifully shiny and matches the on-screen character perfectly.

As mentioned earlier, the Dark Trooper has a docking station assembled from five parts. These parts include two side walls, a back wall, and two restraints. The restraints are a pain in the butt to install into the docking station but will stay firmly in place once fully assembled. We found securing the droid to the docking station almost impossible with the arm restraints. You may experience an easier time with this than we did. Also included here is a blaster. Hasbro installed a hole in the figure’s right thigh, reminiscent of how the First Order wore their weaponry. The blaster fits well in both of the positioned hands. But Hasbro included two interchangeable fisted hands for alternate display. The hands are simple to install, so that’s a nice feature here too. Lastly, Hasbro added two flame attachments that install into the droid’s feet as an option. Hasbro drilled a second hole in the bottom of each foot for these flame attachments. A Fan Channel exclusive, prices varied for the Dark Trooper Deluxe figure. Amazon reduced the price to $19.86 right before the figure shipped, resulting in a savings of $8.13. No matter how you slice it, the line is doomed if this is how Hasbro plans to cost out all-new TVC figures.