Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,004: Dark Trooper (The Rescue, The Vintage Collection)

DARK TROOPER (The Rescue Set)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure PulseCon Set
Item No.: No. F5551
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #245
Includes: Blaster, alternate fists, flame wrap, plus Grogu, Mando, and Moff Gideon
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $74.99
Availability: December 2022
Appearances: The Mandalorian
Bio: The Mandalorian leads a crew on a rescue mission to Moff Gideon’s ship where a garrison of dark troopers – the advanced droids that captured Grogu – are waiting. (Stolen from Hasbro Pulse. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I have to start by saying this set, with a gorgeous (wasteful) box and lavish accessories, feels pretty overpriced. You get about $50 worth of figures for $75, and the mass retail version of this Dark Trooper can be bought individually too. It lacks the flames and is still almost shockingly expensive for what you get, but it has a nifty alcove that you can connect and army-build - which is a clever idea. This lacks the alcove, which is unfortunate as it would actually be a pretty good reason to buy even more of these dudes.

Much like the 6-inch figure, this one is super glossy. He has a firey boa that wraps around him, and I like that. It's a great idea! You can have Mando fight him, and that's great too! What will probably sell you on this set is a unique battle-damaged droid head. You can see exposed wires and a hole in his bashed-in head, and that's not unwelcome. I like the glossy finish, the silver joints look good, and the swappable hands are an added bonus. The designers put in some good details here, and that's important - because you're certainly being charged a premium price here. Anything less than "amazing" would be a rip-off, and as it is, I'm hesitant to say this is an item that will make you think you got your money's worth.

Articulation is good, but not exceptional, and certainly not praiseworthy. The joints on this figure are a mix of pretty good and pretty unpleasant. The hips, thighs, and most of the swivels move freely and are as smooth as butter. The bending joints like the knees, shoulders, elbows, and ankles ratchet in a way that's a little too stiff to get a good pose out of the figure, and just feel unpleasant. I thought we were beyond this - in the past year we've gotten superlative articulation from Fennec Shand and Bo-Katan Kryze, so naturally, I expected the premium-price army builder would be as good if not better.

The hands are tough to pill out to swap between the fists, and the trigger hand doesn't hold the blaster tightly. I expect things to be better after these figures have been made for over 45 years but I guess that's on me. Thankfully the flames wrap around nicely and are well-engineered. It's a good, snug fit and worthy of mention. I just expect a bit more for a higher price, and to make all four figures in this set "just different enough to make you mad" without any being clearly superior to separate releases - minus Mando, he's got a lot of unique bits - is vexing. If you were packaging-agnostic, Hasbro makes most of their SDCC items as good as or better than the mass-retail release, usually granting you a bonus accessory or some other nice little extra. By leaving out the Dark Trooper's alcove and non-damaged head, you're probably going to want to consider buying both - good for them, good for fans of troop building, less good for people who just want one of everything and to call it a day.

I'll probably repeat this on the single figure - but if Hasbro included the alternate damaged head and flames with the regular figure as optional bonus parts, I'd still say they're ridiculous people for charging $11 more than a regular figure - and this is more than that. Completists will hold their nose and buy it, as will fans of the format or this particular droid. (I mean, I got it.) At or below SRP you might be happy with this set - but if it ever climbs to high secondary market prices, I would advise you to seek out cheaper alternatives. The individually packaged versions of these figures are also very nice.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,004: February 16, 2023