The Star Wars Black Collection is out in Canada in both the regular 4 inch scale and the new 6 inch scale. I had the oppurtunity to get a couple of these figures this past weekend and though I'd post up my thoughts.
I'm very much someone who is on the fence when it comes to the new 6 inch scale of figures, and likely still am even though I now have a couple in my collection. I find the price point too high and the concept of a new scale unattractive after having collected the 4 inch scale since the late 70's.
It isn't the first time Star Wars has tried a different scale of course but I never really got into the 12 inch scale at any point.
So I'm willing to give it a try, here are my thoughts on the new 6 inch Sandtrooper - and they are largely positive.
So here he is, TK -2013 himself. THe first thing I noticed taking him out of the box was the attention to detail on this guy. Little things like creases in his shoulder pad really stood out in a positive way.
http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/a...psf43dce7a.jpg
http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps7745cf44.jpg
For those of us interested in army building this guy can also scratch that itch a little. All of his armor is removable, which breaks him down to the look of a regular Stormtrooper with slightly dirty armor of course.
http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps83c60b75.jpg
This guy has a lot of articulation, as was promised by Hasbro. The head(also detachable) is very easy to pose and give all of those quirky looks that Stormtroopers, or others in Stormtrooper armor give.
The concept of the removable head going forward is also something that Hasbro could do a lot with. I personally would like to see add on kits of some sort. I don't want to spend(and won't spend) $25 on a "Luke Skywalker in Stormtrooper armor"
I would however consider buying a special add on kit at some point that features the heads of Luke, Han, Wedge, Biggs and more. They likely won't go this route, and seperate packaging of those characters as Stormtroopers would hold appeal for army builders of course.
http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps84ce2beb.jpg
http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps099752c0.jpg
Back to the articulation. This guy is possable enough to one day ride a Dewback, though sitting in a Landspeeder might be a challenge. His ankles are articulate enough to have him dance ballet and his shoulder, arm, elbow and wrist joints give a lot of flexibility.
I couldn't recreate the scene of the lead Sandtrooper marching through the back alleys of Mos Eisley with his concussion rifle resting across the front of his body(held in place by one hand) though - so it isn't yet perfect.
The joints are also very well hidden, almost invisible due to the armored nature of Stormtroopers. One of my mian complaints is that there is nowhere for him to harness his standard issue Stormtrooper blaster, so I kinda jam it into his backpack.
http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/a...psf22bc6e1.jpg
All and all he is an extremely solid figure. I will likely collect these in a very selective way, getting my favorite version of each character I really enjoy. That said they are already starting with the multiple Luke Skywalkers - so I think I will wait for the ROTJ version of him as opposed to getting everyone like Luke is a Pokemon :p
