Review: Star Wars Black Series Imperial Remnant Stormtrooper from The Mandalorian & Grogu
- Mephitsu
- 3 hours ago
- 6 min read
“Long Live The Empire”
Ahead of the release of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu on May 22nd, a wave of Star Wars Black Series figures was unveiled and subsequently released. The five-figure general release wave arrived in March and April across the US, where the wave also included a white box ‘first edition’ variation sold via Walmart and Target. In the UK, the wave appeared to be held until the week of May the 4th.
The general release figures use the same black box packaging as the wider Black Series, with an assigned accent colour that is a blue-purple tone and used on the name plate, the numbering, the band under the window that confirms the source as ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ and on the artwork. In this review, we are taking a look at the Imperial Remnant Stormtrooper, the number 05 release in the wave. The artwork shows the Stormtrooper, wearing a pauldron and marching into battle holding his E-11 blaster rifle. The figure connects directly in the wider montage of artwork, preceded by the number 04 figure of Colonel Ward and then connecting onward to the very similar Exclusive release of a second Imperial Remnant Stormtrooper at number 06. This 06 release was a Target exclusive in the US and via the Fan Channel in the UK, arriving in March 2026, much earlier than the main wave.
The same side artwork is repeated on the back of the box, along with a short synopsis of the movie rather than the character/trooper. This is to avoid spoilers ahead of the movie hitting cinemas. The box opens via the top or bottom flap, held closed by a piece of tape. Inside our Stormtrooper sits in an inner-shaped plastic tray with the pauldron and blaster rifle to the side. This tray is given a marching blue/purple-hued backdrop by way of an inserted cardback that itself incorporates an embedded image of a planetary sky scene.
Our Remnant Stormtrooper uses the existing Stormtrooper body as first released in 2020 as both a ‘shiny’ Imperial Trooper and, at the same time, an Imperial Remnant Trooper as seen in Season 1 of The Mandalorian. Like the Clone Trooper, the Stormtrooper body is assembled with the core armour panels cast in white and connected to the joints, which are black and ridged to mimic the Trooper’s undersuit.
This requires limited painting of black over white or vice-versa and provides clean and straight edges where the armour finishes. Rather than gloss white, this Mandalorian & Grogu version uses a dulled white finish with applied weathering by way of a brown wash in the recessed areas, particularly noticeable around the belt, arms, and legs. The central midsection has additional paint decor in black and grey to pick out the greebles on the central section. Some additional grey trim is used around the belt canister on the back of the figure.
The helmet is the newer format too, actually hollow and fitted over a sculpted head, although the two are glued together, and the head itself is left unpainted. The white is similarly dulled, with the detailing painted in black and grey around the eyes, vents, and side panels, with the two mouth vents and some parts of the nose area picked out with some silver.
This is essentially an army-builder release, and there are four distinctive looks that can be achieved using the included parts. Out of the box, we have a basic Trooper with an ammunition pouch on the left shoulder. This piece is a softer black plastic that loops around the neck and under the left arm to stay in place. It has no paint detailing, but does have detail within the sculpt, such as the ridged strap and fastenings on the ammunition pockets.
You then get a black Pauldron within the set, again softer black plastic with a loop for the right arm and a hole through which the neck sits. You have to remove the Trooper’s head to get this in place, but it has been engineered and produced so the head pops off easily enough.
The Pauldron allows you to have a full kitted out Trooper alongside the Ammunition Pouch, or it can be displayed instead of the ammo pouch. The final look is simply removing both from the figure to leave a basic Trooper. Both the pauldron piece and the Ammo strap do appear to be new; they are not the same as those used on the recent Sandtrooper upgrade, nor the ones used on either the Jedha Trooper or Sergeant Kreel.
As the 2026 general release Remnant Stormtrooper uses the same body and design as previous Stormtroopers, then in principle the Pauldron and Ammo strap can be used on other bodies. It is, however, noticeable how difficult the other Stormtroopers' heads are to pop off vs the way this one has been released. In terms of a finish, the duller armour is comparable with the number 06 exclusive release, but the weathering is different across the two, with a grey application on the Exclusive Trooper, rather than brown, and a focus on patches of dirt rather than a buildup in the recessed parts of the suit. Both are wildly different to the original 2020 Remnant Trooper who retails the glossy armour finish, with heavy-handed grey mud and sun bleaching effect added.
vs Exclusive Remnant Stormtrooper 2026 (centre) and original Remnant Stormtrooper 2020 (right)
You get a solitary E-11 blaster rifle as a weapon, the newer version with the side component as well as the upper sights and usual grip and trigger. It is cast in black with no paint apps. The intended fit is into the right hand, where a flexible trigger finger can slot into place. There is scope to have the Trooper wield it left-handed, as there is a separated trigger finger here also, but it is not as extended, and the fit is not perfect. The left hand is best suited to the barrel grip for two-handed positions, as we see on the box or as we will see shortly when posing the figure in action.
The Trooper has 19 points of pinless articulation, with each joint seamlessly built into the construction of the armour and within the black visible suited parts. While the Pauldron can restrict a bit of movement, the arms are very articulate thanks to butterfly shoulders and a hinged shoulder panel that moves with the arm. The elbows bend beyond 90 degrees, and there is a pivot movement in the wrist as well as a swivel. This allows weapons poses to be achieved up to and including having the blaster raised so the Trooper can mimic looking down the sights.
The legs are jointed at the hip, thigh, knee and ankle and are wide-ranging enough to have the Trooper kneel or sit. There are plenty of more dynamic walking or running poses available too, although the more extreme poses will require you to utilise the foot peg and an aftermarket stand. The ankles are solid in their build with a ratchet you can feel engage as the foot is pivoted. Once in a standing position, the Remnant Trooper is solid on display and difficult to dislodge.
The general release (05) Imperial Remnant Stormtrooper does very little wrong in terms of being an army-build solution for your Imperial Remnant. There are four defined looks, and perhaps the only build might have been through adding a second blaster to provide even more scope for assembling a ramshackle Imperial Remnant squad. I prefer the weathering on this Trooper vs the Exclusive version with Shore Trooper parts, and it is a pity that despite them releasing concurrently in the collection, and we assume from the same or similar scenes, the finish is different when displayed side to side.
Articulation is excellent, and the look overall is great, either singularly or if you intend to broaden these out to support your own (or the incoming) Imperial Remnant Warlord.
Keep Track of all the Star Wars Black Series figures from Hasbro at our comprehensive
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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