Trooping Up a Storm

I loaded up my freighter and headed out in search of some more Star Wars Hasbro action figure goodness! I checked the local Toys 'R Us, Target and two Walmarts. All but one Walmart had nothing new. At Toys 'R Us there was a new Battle Pack--the Darth Maul vs. Qui Gon Jinn battle in the Tatooine desert pack... not terribly interesting to me. I like Episode 1 least of all of all the Star Wars films. So I finally got to the last Walmart--the one I know has the new Vintage Collection figures. I was dismayed yet again to see nothing new on the shelves, and the shelves were pretty trashed. I stopped an associate and asked (becuase I know there sometimes is inventory sitting around in the back) if there was anything warming the pallets in the back room. She went to check. Found a coworker who went to check again and found nothing. They assured me more were coming in on the next truck which happened to be coming in right then. I told them that I'm looking for the ANH Luke Skywalker with grappling hook. They checked their inventory computers and saw that there were some coming in on the truck that was being unloaded at that very moment. They took my name and phone number and assured me they'd call me within the next day when the Luke arrived and hold 2 for me just in case. Huzzah! Walmart will really work hard to keep you happy as a customer. With all the things weird/wrong with their business they do treat you pretty well as a customer!

So in Lukes stead I picked up the ESB Stormtrooper part of the TVC assortments. You can never have too many stormtroopers right? Right! Or so I thought. I arrived home and removed the Stormtrooper from his packaging. Despite being great for photographs and a bit more flexibility than his previous counterparts he's pretty cheaply made. I was really disappointed to find that the helmet does not fit snugly onto his head. Instead it bobbles around and remains loose. It's also a different shade of white from his body. The head underneath is the usual "Boba/Jango" head with a black balaclava and a scar over one eye. The DLT-19 heavy blaster the trooper comes with is far chunkier than the recent released DLT-19s. I maintain that the best DLT-19 produced yet is the one included in the Legacy Collection Comic Pack with Dengar and Fenn Shysa. That DLT-19 is far better detailed. It's made to look like real brushed gunmetal and has a wood-colored stock. A close second to that DLT-19 is the one that comes with the TVC Dengar. While the hip joints are more articulated, they're white plastic painted with very flaky black paint that chips and flakes off very easily totally doing away with the illusion of there being a black body suit under the troopers armor. Or it looks like he's got cream cheese in strange places lol. The most disappointing of all though is the E-11 blaster the trooper comes with. It's white plastic painted with the same crummy black paint. It chips and flakes off making the weapon look spotty and fake. The plastic seems to have a different weight to it too. It's less sturdy and just looks and feels cheap. The belt twists around sideways when the troopers legs are moved. Even the trooper's boots look bad. They're supposed to be all white, but the square panels on the sides are painted a light blue. Seriously Hasbro? This is the first figure (and I hope the last and only figure) to be panned here on AFE. I can't stand behind a trooper that doesn't measure up. Invest in Legacy or earlier collections for your troopers. Or stick to the TVC Sandtroopers. This trooper is just fodder for the Rebels. AVOID!