Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series Incinerator Trooper

Release Date: October 2020

RRP: $19.99/£19.99

The Mandalorian is currently making huge waves in the Star Wars universe with its various connections to the various feature films, but one of its most exciting aspects to long-time fans is how its re-canonising elements from the old expanded universe of novels, video games, comics and more. These works were the lifeblood of the franchise at one point, but pushed aside once Disney went forward with plans for their own sequel trilogy. Incinerator Troopers were first seen in the 2008 game The Force Unleashed, notable for their red markings and flamethrower weapon. Considered one of the most devastating classes of Stormtrooper, they have since reappeared in chapter eight of The Mandalorian under the command of Moff Gideon. And with Hasbro recently unveiling a new trooper mould in their new phase of the Black Series, now was the perfect time to release the Black Series Incinerator Trooper.

The Incinerator Trooper comes in the new style of Black Series packaging, with each chapter in the saga each having their own connected artwork mural and designated secondary colour. Previously on the blog we've seen yellow used on the Clone Wars figures, while The Mandalorian has settled for a dusty orange. Each release is also numbered so that you know straight away which order they connect together, with this trooper being the third release in the Mandalorian assortment. Simple in design, the front sports a large front window to get a good look at the figure along with the Star Wars Black Series logo at the top and then the character name down at the bottom. The angled spine sports that gorgeous character artwork, which is then duplicated onto the back along with a short bio about this special Stormtrooper variant. Open up the box and slide the plastic out, and underneath the window section is a tray holding both the figure and accessories

 

Compared to the older Stormtrooper mould there's some definite improvements when it comes to proportions and finish. The white armour has a really nice glossy finish that matches how it looks onscreen, whereas the previous figure only really had it in select places. Like the clone trooper this new figure has a brand new head sculpt which doesn't just have better proportions - it's a proper helmet with an (unpainted) clone trooper/Jango Fett/Temuera Morrison head underneath. While the decision to use properly moulded heads and glue helmets onto them is still a little strange to be, I can't really argue with the results - especially given how much better the neck articulation is. Manufacturing the heads this way could lead to some potential QC problems if not assembled properly, but (in my experience at least) Black Series QC has always tended to be a little better than some of Hasbro's other collector lines so we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

What makes the Incinerator Stormtrooper unique are the red markings all over the armour, most notable of course on the helmet but also running across the body and limbs as well. Like most trooper paint jobs it's got a jagged, chipped look to it which fits the design nicely. Arguably the armour could have done with being dirtied up a bit instead of being pristine white, but the clean colours do make the red stand out all the more. The trooper also has a right shoulder pauldron like several other Stormtrooper types, and then connected to its back is of course a hefty canister with flamethrower attachment. These are their own separate pieces but attached to the figure in way that makes it clear that they're not meant to be removed. The flamethrower is connected to the canister via series of flexible wires, which are thankfully much longer and bendier than the one on the Gaming Greats Scout Trooper so breakage seems very unlikely. However there isn't a place to hook it on when not in use so it's a choice between permanently keeping it in his hands or wrapping it around the canister and letting it dangle awkwardly. But given that's how it is in the show that's hardly Hasbro's fault - unlike the fact the canister has been sculpted upside down. Whereas the onscreen armour has the wires connecting the gun coming out from the top, the toy has them coming out from the bottom. It's not just a case of misassembly either - the canister is glued to the harness and shoulder pauldron so specifically that it was very clearly designed like this. Ultimately it doesn't make a whole lot of difference when viewing the figure from the front, but it's pretty strange for Hasbro to be getting such a big detail wrong so long after the trooper has appeared onscreen. If it had come out around the time of season one sure, but this was released around the time season two was launching.

The flamethrower is really nicely detailed, comfortably fitting into either of the trooper's hands. It's quite a big weapon so looks much better when held with two hands, but rather frustratingly there's nowhere else on there to have a second hand connect. Looking at images of the suit itself it looks as though the trooper would hold it at one of the bars toward the front, but on the toy these bars have just been moulded as a flat surface. You can just rest the flamethrower on top, but this can look a little silly given that its on a moulded trigger finger hand. This is one area where alternate hands for the Black Series would really come in handy, or at the very least moulding more than one type of hand for the troopers. But as annoying as these nitpicks and inaccuracies may seem, I can't bring myself to dislike the Incinerator Trooper. Onscreen it quickly became one of my favourite Stormtrooper variants, and (from the front at least) Hasbro have certainly done the design justice. Even amongst a sea of Stormtroopers it immediately stands out from the crowd.

Even though it's less than a year old Hasbro have already gotten a fair few uses out of this trooper mould between both the clone and Imperial versions. The moulding might be a little different but the articulation is pretty much the same, with the Incinerator Trooper featuring;

- Ball jointed head, neck, torso and hips

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

- Butterfly joint shoulders

The first thing I immediately noticed about the Stormtrooper as opposed to the Clone Trooper is that there's significantly more movement in those butterfly shoulders - so much so that I wasn't even sure the Clone Trooper had butterfly shoulders until I went back and checked. This is largely due to how the armour only covers the torso on Stormtroopers and the sides are all bodysuit, but it does make a hell of a difference compared to the old mould. On the other hand, the swap from double to swivel hinges on the elbows and knees is not an improvement. While it hasn't affected the arms too much, the knee bend has dropped quite significantly. You could argue that the additional swivel is a nice benefit, but the old mould had bicep and thigh swivels anyway - not that the thigh swivel was any good on the old mould because of the armour. The new mould definitely makes improvements in key areas, but it also takes things away so it's only a marginal improvement at best. Talking about the Incinerator Trooper specifically though, the backpack surprisingly doesn't impede on the torso articulation. You simply need to lift it up, move the torso to the desired position and then rest the backpack back down - it won't fit as snugly as it did before (there's a moulded cavity for the belt canister), but it looks perfectly fine. And despite the presence of shoulder pauldron, the shoulder articulation on the right arm is just as good as it is on the left. All the articulation the figure has is perfect for this trooper variant's main function - brandishing a very big gun and looking intimidating whilst doing so.

Since the gun should be considered part of the figure itself, the only accessory the Incinerator Trooper comes with is a fairly elaborate flame effect which plugs directly into the front of the flamethrower. The plug of the effect piece is designed specifically for the nozzle of the flamethrower so is unlikely to work with other weapons, which is a shame because Hasbro have been quite good at making their effect pieces cross-compatible lately. That said the specific shape obviously means a much tighter fit, which is probably for the best given how long it is. At an impressive 10.5cm, it looks absolutely fantastic when connected but of course juts out quite a long way. Balancing the figure with it attached isn't difficult by any means, but with an effect that long there's always a chance of it just topping over if not posed and balanced properly. I have to commend Hasbro on producing a really great effect piece though - the size and colours are considerably ahead of the effects they've put out elsewhere.  

While I'm still not convinced that the new trooper body is really that much of an improvement over the previous version, the Black Series Incinerator Trooper has definitely seen me warming up to it. The finish and overall presentation of the armour are much better, and along with all those distinct red markings the Incinerator Trooper is a striking and incredibly effective design. Even if you can't afford to army build these guys, just one would look fantastic alongside a couple of regular troopers. That said, the inaccuracies are a bit of letdown given just how long this is coming out after the trooper debuted on the show. There's no reason for Hasbro to be getting details wrong a year later, especially since we've all had a good look at the Incinerator Trooper since the very first trailer for the series. Nevertheless, it's definitely one of the best-looking trooper variants that's come out in recent years and definitely worth the purchase on that alone.