Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,780: Incinerator Trooper (The Vintage Collection)

INCINERATOR TROOPER (The Mandalorian)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. F0879
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #177
Includes: Fire blast, flamethrower attached to backpack
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $12.99
Availability: January 2021
Appearances: The Mandalorian
Bio: Incinerator Trooper armor was exceptionally heat-resistant and bore red markings in order to indicate their specialty. (Stolen from Walmart.com. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: The new Stormtrooper body has proven to be a good investment for Hasbro. The latest edition is this Incinerator Trooper, which drops the blaster pistol but adds a pauldrone, harness, backpack, flamethrower, and a flame piece. You're trading up here - it's a lot more toy for the money than previous releases.

Based on the trooper's appearance late in the first season of The Mandalorian, the nicely-articulated trooper added red stripes on nearly every armor element - just not the shoes, lower waist, or belt. There's no Imperial cog on the backpack, but it's not like it was easy to see on the larger figure - the color blends right in if the room is a little dark. Hasbro opted to make the red armor stripes clean, so there's no scuffing or weathering like on the packaging photo. It's still pretty solid - at this size, it's easy to be forgiving of deco that's good. It doesn't have to be perfect, especially if your vision is fuzzy. You can always add your own scuffs should it come to that.

The accessories are remarkably similar to the 6-inch one - there's even two protrusions on the thrower to grip the flame to ensure it doesn't flop out. The backpack, cables, and torch are connected and are going to take some effort to come off. I'm fine leaving it - it's a decent looking figure and a good accessory. It also amazes me that a plain Stormtrooper with less gear costs exactly the same as this deluxe model, but presumably, this is the world from here on out.

The packaging is sharp because it's one of very few figures to lack a "Small Parts Warning" box on the front. This makes it look more legit vintage, because none of the original toys sported choke hazard logos just yet. The 4+ circle is not quite how the old ones looked... but it still looks better than most recent releases. That mustardy yellow background and pillbox behind the name is magnificent, and the trooper portrait looks sharp. I really like this one. (It almost pained me to tear it open.)

As of my writing this, The Mandalorian has a rather small 3 3/4-inch action figure line. It's pretty easy to be a completist, especially given that most of the figures range from "good" to "excellent." The Carbonized guys are arguably skippable, but everything else is worthwhile. This one in particular is a great addition to the relatively tiny sub-collection, and I have to hand it to Hasbro that I'm glad to see them crank out some repaints and smart retools. I'd also be willing to buy every last alien and trooper they were inclined to sell me. And some vehicles. But until then, this is one of the better entries and one you should buy if you see it. Buy two, keep one in the package - it's pretty.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Walmart.com. Unlike most figures they have sent me, it shipped in a weird white box inside another box.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,780: February 23, 2021