Review: Star Wars Black Series Range Trooper Holiday Edition (2020)
- Mephitsu
- a few seconds ago
- 4 min read
“You better watch out, you better not cry…”
Hasbro’s Star Wars Black Series Holiday Edition figures made their debut in 2020, repurposing an existing Black Series figure with festive decor and accessories. The debut wave in 2020 was spread across different retailers as exclusives in the US, but sold by Fan Channel retailers here in the UK. It featured solely ‘Troopers’ from the Star Wars Universe, each with a festive finish. These figures have been released in subsequent years and also for other holidays, including Halloween and Valentine's. They are somewhat of an acquired taste for collectors. I have been buying one a year each Christmas and using them as most likely intended, to add a splash of Star Wars fandom into the Christmas decorations.
For our 2025 Christmas figure, I went all the way back to that first wave and the Holiday Range Trooper, who at the time was a Target Exclusive in the US, and available via the Fan Channel elsewhere. Like all the holiday figures with the Christmas theme, the Trooper arrives in the Black Series window box and as was in place at the time, with the slanted side. The box is a white colour, overlaid with grey snowflakes, and the decor then goes on to replicate a Christmas gift with added gift tag decor complete with Imperial logo in bright red.
There is no side artwork as such; the decor simply carries all the way around to the back with the briefest of background text that reads “Celebrate the season with specially designed Star Wars figures from the Black Series!” The figure itself is sat inside the box on the usual internal plastic tray, and against a further white & grey snowflake backdrop.
Each Holiday figure is a repaint of an existing figure, in this case, the Imperial Range Trooper as released in 2018 for the Solo movie. The holiday edition Range Trooper is painted to look like Santa Claus so the main armour and suit is painted in bright red, with white fur lined shoulders and trim. The belt is painted black, as are the gloves, and the large magnetic boots, which are also given a snowy effect drybrush around the soles and up the sides.
The helmet is red on the top to replicate Santa’s hat, while the face plate is white and the lower sections are white with gold eye lenses and black breathing aparatus.
The figure comes with an accessory that seems to be an ‘ice’ weapon of sorts. This is taken from the 2019 SDCC Rise of Skywalker Sith Trooper set, the melee bladed weapon that fits into the hand and tucks under the forearm and extends out as a complex blade design.
Articulation, as per the original figure, is across 16 points in total. These are all pinless and include a relatively wide-ranging set of movements despite the bulk of the armour and the fur-lined skirt and shoulder section. The bulk of the legs ensures the figure is rock solid once positioned, holding a number of stances.
The other inclusion, as is also standard with the Festive Figures, is a smaller companion. For our Range Trooper, he comes with a festive decor version of D-0 as also seen in the Rise of Skywalker line. To match the Santa theme, our D-0 droid is cast in brown with black connections and aerials, and a red painted nose cone. He articulates in so much the lower wheel can be rotated, but that in itself causes issues with stability. The original RoS D-0 droid came with a small plastic stand, while the Festive edition is missing this, making him almost impossible to stand on his own, as the wheel rotates when he is standing and his head keeps hitting the floor.
That being said, he looks great when held by the Santa Trooper, while you can also work up some level of support using a touch of Blutac or Museum Putty to hold him in place.
The Santa Claus (Range) Trooper is our third Festive figure, and the three of them look great together when we consider the theme of Wave 1 was very much around the red Santa Claus and the green & red ‘Elves’ theme. Very much a figure that works for Christmas rather than all year round, and as we mentioned earlier, it certainly ticks the box about bringing the Star Wars Universe into your Christmas Decor - lots of fun and great when displayed in groups or lined up with other Christmas decorations.
Pictured alongside the Holiday Mandalorian (2022) and Holiday Scout Trooper (2022)
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...