Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,324: Night Trooper (All-White Helmet, The Vintage Collection)

NIGHT TROOPER All-white helmet
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure Set
Item No.: No. F9259
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: Blaster
Retail: $54.99
Availability: July 2024
Appearances: Ahsoka

Bio: The Night Troopers were stormtroopers who served Grand Admiral Thrawn during his exile on the extragalactic planet Peridea, comprising the majority of his forces. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: I looked at one of the Night Trooper in 2024 and have been meaning to get back to it. This seems like a good time! Ahsoka season two is allegedly coming this year, but I'd honestly expect them to kick it back a bit with Maul: Shadow Lord and a new movie on deck. I also haven't heard any whispers of merch yet, but things have been light on new series and/or secretive in general. But I digress, we're here to talk about this figure from a set that came out about 19 months ago. It's worth less than SRP now, which is a trend on a lot of items. It's not a bad item - Hasbro (and/or partners) just overestimated the market demand for what is actually a pretty decent set of troopers.

Thanks to Hasbro's rapid improvements of its 3 3/4-inch collector line, this guy hasn't aged well. The ball-and-socket jointed hips we've been getting on new figures are so good that it makes these awkward rotating hip joints that are built like a shoulder swivel seem old-hat. They're pretty sturdy, but they're not fun. You have to actively manipulate them to achieve a pose, and it requires a lot of fidgeting. I know a lot of you hate "old" Kenner figures, but their swivel legs went from "stand" to "sit" with no ambiguity without any actual thought. Hasbro continues to use the thighs on this Night Trooper with its 2025 Sandtrooper, and I'd very much like to see them go away.

Aside from that, the figure gets the job done. The joints are all basically as good as they get, with tilty ankles and bend-and-swivel wrists, plus that double barbell beck. Everything works fairly well - minus the hips - with tight joints that retail the pose pretty well. I haven't had a lot of problems with this guy's ankles, either. Things just more or less clicked in place, which I suppose is an overall win for a figure I will likely not play with very much. His destiny is to stand, or to be stored. Maybe that will change with the second season of Ahsoka, but I'm not so sure. I feel the rapid release of Star Wars programming has taken away any desire to play with (or even think about) most new stories after airing given product drops off fast and there might be multiple shows starting and ending before we get back to these guys again. To put things in perspective, Ahsoka wrapped in October of 2023 - how much time have you spent thinking about the show? That's not a knock against the show. We've also watched Andor season 2, The Acolyte, and Skeleton Crew since the Night Troopers returned to "our" galaxy with Grand Admiral Thrawn. And then we're told two new movies are coming, and cartoons too - so playing around with the toys from that show hasn't been on my mind much, even though they are pretty slick.

The sculpt shares parts with other troopers. Hasbro cleverly configured these troopers with different "wrapped" limbs, so the three in the set all look different. If you buy multiple sets, you can swap limbs (well, maybe with boiling water) and make up some new and unique designs. This one has no gray paint on their helmet, but he does have some gold filling in his cracks and some red ribbons. It's a nice figure, as a more or less immortal zombie of some sort. Hasbro really got a lot of mileage out of its new body parts, and could probably easily make another different crew with slightly different paint that we'd all happily buy. I do not expect this to happen, unless everybody is keeping super duper secret about new season toys. After the light showing for Andor season two, I'm not placing bets.

The trooper's paint and general vibes are good. It was nicely executed, and now you can get it on Amazon or eBay for less than it cost when I got mine. It's funny to see that often - not always, but often - collector product based on the new shows seems to struggle a bit. The recent Mos Eisley Set allegedly sold out, which either means Hasbro right-sized the run, or we're going to see some fun drama unfold later. Regardless, the Night Trooper is a good figure and the goodly gnomes at Hasbro ensured enough were made for you to build armies at a discount. If you liked the show - or at least its production design - I'd recommend the set. I just haven't opened them despite them sitting at my desk for nearly two years. I'll probably liberate the next trooper after we hear a release date for the next season for the show. Until then, take advantage of the market and get one.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth. But they're sold out, so use the ">Amazon sponsored link.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,324: March 3, 2026