Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,234: Dark Trooper (Epic World of Action)

DARK TROOPER 2025 Kids Line
Epic World of Action "Power the Force" Basic Figure
Item No.: Asst. F9405 No. G1151
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $7.99
Availability: February 2025
Appearances: The Mandalorian
Bio: Hulking Imperial combat droids with gleaming black armor and powerful jet boots, the Dark Troopers are a powerful design.. (Taken from the packaging)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

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

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary:Hey, a Dark Trooper! Previous recent versions of this Dark Forces-inspired The Mandalorian-specific robot are all pretty cheap now thanks to, I assume, expectations for a much larger customer base than actually currently exists. They're good figures - but so is this one. He's a slightly larger build, and the blaster is the wrong color, but dagnabbit he's nice. For a kid's toy, this figure - and indeed this entire line - show a side of Hasbro we rarely see in Star Wars. 15 joints and a little paint make for a really nice toy. For some reason collectors demand all the paint, all the articulation, and then don't show up to buy the now-expensive figures. But what will happen when you make a good - not perfect - figure for $8? Hopefully an audience finds it, even if the figure is arguably an awkward five years late.

When taken out of time, it's hard to dislike this figure. He stands well, he's shiny, and he has just enough paint to look interesting. Many of the droid character joints are painted - not all are functional on the toy, but at least you get the silver wrist and ankle highlights. There are some red lights on his chest, and of course red eyes. It's missing a tiny bit of paint from other figures of the day, but honestly I wouldn't have noticed had I not compared them. Hasbro did a good paint job that is - and I know some people hate this - good enough for its audience.

Articulation is nice and tight. There are ratcheting joints, and he has no problems standing. The joints don't seem to sag, and the range of motion is pretty good overall. The knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, and neck are all jointed. I don't find myself missing ankles or wrists - if I was army-building this guy, I'd prefer the slightly stockier build and joints that are less likely to slowly droop. I would not be upset if Vintage switched to this level of articulation if it meant lower pricing.

The Terminator-esque droid includes one blaster, and I admit I don't love the choice to include a permanent blast effect while casting the whole thing in clear red. The energy-crackling lightsabers made some degree of sense, but a red-hot blaster isn't something that was a big part of the show. If it sells well to kids, awesome, but to my eye it's just odd. I'd have preferred a plain black blaster with no effect, and also a way to connect it to his hip like on the show. Despite the figure line having various connection points built in - the wrist holes are still present - there really isn't any sort of interactivity with his gear. Mercifully, the hands are perfectly sculpted to hold the blaster so I doubt anyone playing with it will be the slightest bit upset with any of this toy's functionality.

Seeing how Hasbro developed this figure that's bigger and cheaper than Vintage with no pieces falling off, I think I might actually prefer it. Most of us came to this hobby from toys, and toys are a good place for it to go - kids should be able to afford this stuff. Figures shouldn't flop over or not be able to hold their gear. I get no actual benefit from alternate hands and junk much of the time, other than the perk of paying a higher price for parts I may never use. This figure streamlines the figure experience down to something that looks good and gets the job done, showing that you can indeed make a great product for fans of all ages on a limited budget. Hopefully we see more figures like this down the road.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,234: April 22, 2025