Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series Dark Trooper

Release Date: July 2022

RRP: £33.99/£36.99

While the old Legends canon may have been thrown out with Disney's acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, slowly but surely some of its more popular elements are slowly creeping back into continuity. As well as bringing several animated characters to live action, season two of The Mandalorian also saw the return of the Dark Troopers – third generation battle droids utilised by Moff Gideon in his capture of Grogu. Able to withstand blaster fire, flamethrowers and other projectiles, these Imperial Troopers proved a difficult opponent to the Mandalorian Din Djarin. The Black Series Dark Trooper is one of the latest deluxe releases from Hasbro's six-inch figure line – initially slated for a 2023 release but arriving considerably earlier whilst Hasbro's shipping projections continue to be in disarray.

Numbered 28 in The Mandalorian range, the Black Series Dark Trooper comes in a slightly larger box that matches other deluxe releases such as Cobb Vanth or Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios. Other than the size the design and layout of the box remains exactly the same, using the orange accent seen on the Mandalorian releases and featuring connectable artwork on the right side. This Dark Trooper artwork is repeated on the back of the box alongside bio written just above. Inside the figure and accessories are laid out on a moulded plastic tray, though it feels like with a bit more space management this could have easily fitted into a standard sized box. But then I suppose it wouldn't have had anything to clearly note it as a "deluxe" release since they got rid of the individual deluxe numbering.

Immediately from first glance you can tell there's a more "deluxe" presentation when it comes to the Dark Trooper. On top of its gorgeous sculpt which really highlights all of the mechanical detailing, the use of different plastic finishes really helps emphasise the materials the actual droids would have. The main body is a hard plastic which almost looks like diecast metal, while the upper torso and various bits of plating are a soft plastic with a glossy finish akin to Imperial trooper armour. The glossiness is quite frustrating in that it's an immediate dust/fingerprint magnet, but the look itself is exquisite. The trouble about the predominantly black body is that a lot of the detailing can get lost quite easily (particularly against a dark backdrop), but there are splashes of silver around that draw your eyes to key focal points. The various limb joints are one such example, but there's also the abdomen area – an inhuman mesh of springs and pistons that show off the Troopers' robotic qualities. The deluxe price point also means the figure can afford to be a little larger than your average Black Series figure – not so much that it's woefully out of scale but enough to make them look extra imposing. Finally you've got that great head sculpt, which takes inspiration from the traditional Stormtrooper design but again turns it into something wholly robotic – complete with demonic red eyes peering out. While the design isn't complete the same as the ones seen in Legends canon, they definitely made sure to take all the best elements of it.

Articulation on this release is very good too – while it doesn't have a great deal more than your average Black Series figure, its ability to use every joint to its full potential is excellent. Altogether the figure features; 

- Ball jointed head, neck, torso and hips 

- Swivel hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees and ankles 

- Thigh swivels 

Onscreen the Dark Troopers tend to keep to pretty robotic movements but that doesn’t mean that's all the figure is capable of, as its able to pull off plenty of wide-legged and dynamic action poses as well. The array of swivel joints work really well on this release as anything that doesn't look humanly feasible can be passed off since it’s a droid, while the elbows and knees look particularly good with the way their structure is properly incorporated into the design of the armour.

The accessories might not look like a whole lot in the box but these are another sign of the Dark Trooper's deluxe status, particularly due to the inclusion of pieces very rarely seen in the Black Series. Altogether the release includes a pair of alternate closed fists, blaster rifle and translucent plastic thrust effect parts. The shocker here is of course the alternate hands, which give the figure some punching pose options in addition to clasping its blaster rifle with the default pair. They might not be much, but having the option there really highlights how so many other figures in the line could benefit from them. Meanwhile the blaster rifle is of similar design to the standard Stormtrooper E-11 rifle, but a little more heavy-duty so to fit with the Dark Trooper's larger frame. Finally there are the thruster effect parts, which are another thing not seen in the line very often. These basic ignition parts plug in to the bottom of the feet via ball joints, giving you a little bit of option on the direction they're posed. Curiously they don't appear to have the same design as the thruster parts that have been included with other Hasbro collector lines, highlighting another case of the Black Series going off and doing things its own way. All in all a nice little array of accessories, even if in terms of mass they don't look like much. Seriously, those alternate fists are so small you can barely tell what they are until you open the figure up.

Deluxe figures have become a bit of a sore spot in the line lately given how they rarely seem to justify their price point, but to its credit the Black Series Dark Trooper does a better job than most. The Trooper itself has an impressive sculpt and finish whilst being loaded with articulation, and the accessory count is interesting even if it doesn't seem like that much in-hand. It's still not really competing with the likes of Emperor Palpatine, the Imperial Probe Droid or Heavy Infantry Mandalorian in terms of bang for your buck, but it certainly comes close. Of course the real kicker is this is exactly the kind of thing collectors will want to army build, and the higher price point might not make the idea a little less appealing.