Stormtrooper - Premium Format Figures

Soldiers unswervingly loyal to the Emperor, stormtroopers represented the most visible extension of Imperial might. They were shock troopers meant to strike with speed and accuracy, putting down insurrections and maintaining order on the farflung worlds of the Empire. Stormtroopers served both the ground-based armies of Palpatine's forces, and the space-based Imperial starfleet.

Stormtrooper training stressed complete indoctrination in the tenets of the New Order, and individuals would obey their officers without question, without regard to the rights of others or even to their own safety. Stormtroopers abandoned individuality in exchange for their loyalty. They are completely encased in a white armored spacesuit shell, and are armed with blaster pistols or blaster rifles. Their helmets contain comlinks for long-range communications. Officers were denoted with colored shoulder pauldrons. Specific environments called for specially trained and equipped stormtroopers, such as the snowtroopers that besieged the ice world of Hoth and the lightly-armored scout trooper that patrolled the forests of Endor.

There’s an old adage that states time heals all wounds. That popular phrase may just apply to Sideshow Collectibles’ Premium Format Figures line. After a rough start, Sideshow Collectibles has progressively gotten better and better with this format. There are of course some figures in between that have been better or worse, but there is a clear stepwise progression that they are approaching this platform with extreme caution to provide collectors with definitive representations of their most favorite Star Wars characters. Severely long overdue for the Premium Format Figures line was the Stormtrooper. Collectors of this line begged Sideshow for years to attack this character in this scale. Sideshow didn’t necessarily listen to us right away. Maybe that was a good thing because we have to unequivocally that the Stormtrooper Premium Format Figure is a gorgeous piece that needs little to no fixing at all. This is definitive. The figure isn’t at an awkward stance and it has some basic articulation in the head which makes it much more interesting. It seems ever so slightly out of scale with the other Premium Format Figures we own (a little too large), but we don’t think it is noticeable enough at all to be any sort of deal breaker. The design of this figure is actually a dream come true, so if you’re a fan of any member from the Galactic Empire, then this piece is definitely for you.

The standout feature of the Stormtrooper Premium Format Figure is the exquisite armor. The pieces that make it up are perfectly shaped and hang on the figure flawlessly. The pieces that make up the armored suit is shimmering. It’s shiny and glossy and the black and blue subtle details painted onto it also perfectly captured the look of this basic Star Wars character. The Stormtrooper’s posture is very athletic. He has his legs slightly spread apart while still looking like he’s almost at attention. He’s also holding the BlasTech E-11 blaster pistol with both hands. The blaster is positioned in a way that hides the chest details of his armor, but it really isn’t that big of a deal. if you must look at this you can easily remove the hands and appreciate it that way. 99% of the armor is obviously pristinely white, but the creases/crevices in his boots have minor amounts of dirt collecting in them adding that real world authenticity to the piece. It’s brilliant. The knee armor pieces are unique to each other and the infamous “011” pattern on his back couldn’t look better. Underneath the armor is a real soft-goods body glove. It is tight and doesn’t bunch up anywhere. There is also a soft-goods collar underneath the helmet which we think is a very generous and welcomed addition since you can’t really see it once the head is placed on the neck post.

The helmet has been designed so that is can rotate 360 degrees. Premium Format Figures aren’t intended to be articulated, so if a pieces comes with some movement, it’s pretty cool. Oh, and the helmet itself looks phenomenal. Sideshow Collectibles nailed it and we don’t think there is a thing we can find to complain about it. The Stormtrooper also comes with a removable belt with a leather-like holster attached to it. The holster is functional but since his weapon is permanently attached to his right hand, you’re not going to be using it. It’s for obvious aesthetics. The rest of the belt has been sized to exactly fit the “circumference” of his wait. And then of course Sideshow Collectibles remembered to include a removable thermal detonator which has two clips that attaches to the belt (which the ends connect via Velcro). The base that comes with the Stormtrooper is nothing spectacular, but it is a circular section of the Death Star floor. On the bottom of the base is a sketch of a generic stormtrooper with status details like copyright dates and other similar things. We usually say all Premium Format Figures are must-haves, but this one definitely is. There is no exclusive edition of this piece, interestingly, we would have liked to see something special added, but then again, the Stormtrooper is special as is.