This figure was first shown, to great excitement, at Toy Fair in February of 2018.  We didn’t know what we were looking at.  Solo was still months away from theaters.  But but it was an Imperial Stormtrooper variant using a NEW mold.  What wasn’t to like?  This Mimban Stormtrooper, along with with Island Journey Rey, was promised to be in stores in “spring” of that year.  It was naturally assumed it would coincide with the theatrical release of Solo in May.  There was only one problem with that plan:  Walmart.  This is a Walmart exclusive as was the aforementioned Island Journey Rey before being dropped and migrated over to an online exclusive.  It seemed that the brick and mortar behemoth stumbled over the transition from its exclusive Black Series 3.75” line to the general release 3.75” Vintage Collection.  Those Black Series pegs persisted well into the “fall” season and were either unstocked or stocked with the wrong product.  Walmart’s cranial-rectal-insertion-syndrome would finally pop in October of 2018, but this Mimban Stormtrooper was still lost in the wash.  At the time of this review, the figure is only available via an odd link on Walmart’s website, which went up on December 24th.  It features a product picture of a skein of yarn along with the wrong price of $19.99. Yet via some sort of Christmas miracle, that link worked.  We finally have this figure in hand just as Solo is fading from the public pop culture consciousness. 

At the time of this review, that odd (and working) Walmart link is live HERE where you can order this figure.

After all this, is the figure worth the wait?  HECK YES!  We get a figure that is virtually as pose-able as it’s oversized 6” counterpart, but in a scale where we can actually display an army of them in meaningful action poses.  The first thing to note here is that the head joint is the new barbell-style double ball and socket joint.  This style of joint greatly increase the tilt angles that can be achieved over the old single ball and socket joints.  It’s not something you appreciate until you have it in hand, but this greatly adds to the expressions you can achieve form the figure.  The next thing to note goes beyond the fact that the figure features Jedi Level Articulation (JLA) which is defined as ball jointed everything to include hips and wrists plus an upper thigh swivel. It’s the insane range of motion of these joints.  Both the knees and elbows can achieve more than a ninety degree bend.  That’s fairly remarkable.  The belt pouches are highly flexible and effortlessly move out of the way to accommodate the hip articulation.  The only worry here is durability.  Flexible and malleable plastics tend to have a history of degrading over time.  Ask any seventies kid with a Stretch Armstrong.  One assumes modern chemistry has solved those issues that left kids exposed to the black toxic waste tar that made up the innards of the 70’s Stretch family.  Or so the urban legend of the time would have us believe.

Additionally, these joints provide that range of motion without being overly conspicuous.  To that point, the upper thigh swivel is so stealthily hidden under the peak of the thigh armor that it could easily be missed upon first inspection.  The only points of articulation that has less-than-ideal range of motion comes at the ankles.  They flex upward fairly well, but don’t have quite the same range of motion backwards.  This is a complication for kneeling poses where it’s ideal to have the foot flex backwards to continue a straight line with the shin.  Despite this lack of mobility, it’s very easy to achieve a balanced kneeling pose.  Still, this is a reminder that the heretofore unexplained death of rocker ankles in the 3.75” line is a painful one.

While we’re on the subject of those ankle joints, a familiar TVC foe returns.  The ankle joint is a mismatched black which contrasts with the white plastic foot.  The included sniper rifle is frankly ridiculous, and I don’t mean on Hasbro’s part.  It’s a cartoonish weapon and the type of rifle that the Star Wars version of Danny Vermin would use.  Like Vermin’s .88 Magnum, this rifle probably shoots through schools.  No human could meaningfully shoot this weapon that is as long as a pool skimmer without some sort of support (i.e. a bi-pod).  The figure looks ridiculous wielding it and doesn’t interact with it well.  It is very difficult getting the figure to naturally hold the grip of the rifle.  In fact I was planning to attempt a prone shooting position, but upon realizing I was wearing the black paint off the hands, I abandoned those plans.  I’m tired of wrecking my stuff for you people!  The figure interacts much more naturally with the plausible E-11 blaster rifle which features a gunmetal finish.  We’ve been seeing this finish recently, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.  E-11’s should be black.  That coloring issue aside, the figure can achieve all manner of realistic shooting poses with the accessory.  The figure easily transitions from CQB “muzzle discipline” poses to staring down the sights.  Mesa like dis. 

In what is perhaps a strong signal that this figure is a “pre-paint” for a definitive standard Imperial Stormtrooper, the distinguishing cape appears like an afterthought.  It is attached via two thin threads that loop over the figure’s shoulders and tie in the back.  Since that standard Stotmtrooper is an exponentially more important release, I’m fine with this.  The only issues are that the cape tends to droop down the figure’s back and needs frequent adjusting, and those threads appear very flimsy.  They might snap if exerted too much.  I’m struggling greatly with the score of this figures.  It has a few minor flaws, but it’s also a watershed moment in the history of the line.  I can’t bring myself to give it a 9.  10 out of 10.