Review : Stormtrooper Executioner, Black Series, Target US Exclusive (Hasbro)

Review : Stormtrooper Executioner (The Last Jedi) Star Wars Black Series (Hasbro) Wave/Series : Target (US) Exclusive Released : Sept 2017

£24.99

Pros : Articulation is excellent. The Executioner Weapon is much more than meets the eye Cons : Helmet looks too large for body. Some slight variation in the white plastic

Hasbro's offerings in their 6" Black Series for the 2017 The Last Jedi (Episode IIX) were exceptional in terms of the volume of releases and the number of individual retailer exclusives. Amongst the various exclusive releases sat this interesting figure of the Stormtrooper Executioner - a figure that on paper looked like a simple repaint with a new weapon. The Executioner appears to be the poster boy for the First Order in the new movie and he has already been revealed for release in most other brands including Disney's Elite, Hot Toys, the 3.75" range, SH Figuarts and Bandai's Figure Kits.

This review is pretty much spoiler free, but there is some images of the box back and the character bio that could give away some very minor plot points (if the figures name hasn't done so already).

I won't dwell too much on the packaging as it is the standard Phase 3 box we've seen for 2-years now. The only change recently has been the wider bottom rail where we see the character name and that grey lined artwork of the character - this change came in earlier in 2017 with Wave 10 (Chirrut and Baze from Rogue One. There is also a change as of Sept 2017 were the actual Star Wars Black Series logo atop the box is now presented in a much brighter grey, almost white.

Being an exclusive the Executioner carries no numbering. The side spine just carries a darker box where the number should be and the character name underneath. There is nothing on the box to signify exclusivity to a retailer. Our copy (with us being in the UK) was purchased via our site partner Kapow Toys through their supplier and not from Target.

The rear of the box carries a larger image of the Executioner Trooper with a bio on top that talks about the troop type's role within the First Order. This is repeated in the usual additional languages and is followed by various safety warnings and legal notices. The small white sticker you see is for the Far East market.

While some people are perhaps itching for a change from the Phase 3 Black and Red packaging - I for one do love to see the white Stormtroopers against that gloss red background. It really makes the figure pop.

You slide the figure out by the top or bottom flap. He slides out in his inner plastic tray, which itself sits inside a cardboard backing. There are no twisty ties or bands and the figure simply pops out along with his new weapon.

On first look the figure looks like a direct reuse of the Episode 7 sculpt with added black detailing. The armoured sections are all cast in a hard glossy white plastic. With the black sections painted over the top.

As well as the large black stripe, the helmet also has some additional detailing from the Force Awakens version with the grills either side of the mouth now painted in silver.

Proportionally it is evident straight away that the helmet actually looks a touch too big for the body. It is actually nearly the same width as the chest section at its widest point. Looking at the figure as a whole the helmet also is a very slight shade of white different to the rest of the body?

I do like the black shoulder pads and the addition here of a First Order decal on each shoulder is well applied.

Let's take a proper comparison now. Here is our new Executioner lined up with a 2015 First Order Stormtrooper from the same line. You now realise that the helmet looks bigger because it actually is. The Last Jedi helmets have been retooled so as well as being larger they are more angular at the front - moving closer to Captain Phasma's helmet design.

Everything else remains the same. The Executioner even has the leg holster clip on his right thigh - even though now weapon is included. Considering the size of the side blaster it is a bit of a miss from Hasbro not to include this and instead leave the Executioner with a weird leg hole that we can't do anything with (at least until we get all that spare armoury from the Amazon Trooper Pack).

Moving on to articulation, and because the figure uses the same base as the Force Awakens version the articulation is pretty good with its movement. The head is ball jointed and can spin round and look up and down as far as the enlarged helmet will allow it too. There is also the torso ball joint, tucked neatly away between the break of the chest armour and the stomach section. This allows a good range of movement and allows the figure to lean back or forward or to rotate the torso in relation to the position of the legs.

Arms start with ball jointed shoulders that move directly out to 90 degrees - when doing this the shoulder armour slides into the chest section. With the shoulder panels being painted and with a decal I would watch out here for paint rub. The elbows are a single joint but do rotate - this will be key later when we give him his weapon. The wrists are also pegged so they rotate and also have some forward and backward movement on the pivot.

The legs start with the ball jointed hips. These are a little restricted by the thigh armour, but move enough for kneeling poses. This is further supported by those double jointed knees. My only issue here was the paint rub as the knees bent and you can see on the image a fleck of black paint came off immediately showing the white underneath.

The ankles remain pivots and feel nice and tight to allow him to stand easily on his own - this is an improvement on the Force Awakens versions which all seemed to have a weak point in the ankles that kept toppling them over.

The Executioner weapon in the box, and in all the images I've seen to date looks a fairly standard piece with that love it or hate it lightning effect that Hasbro do love to use on their Marvel Legends figures.

This is where the release surprised me as firstly the electrical effect can be removed from one or both sides of the device. This is done by sliding it back off the prongs and over the ridge that keeps it in place. With the electrical pieces removed you then discover that the four prongs of the device are jointed and can be posed to a closed position or out to an open position - or anywhere in between.

For those who hate the FX pieces, this gives you the option of not using them at all.

The weapon's shaft is a little flexible to aid in getting it into the Troopers hand. This does mean it can look a little misshapen out of the box, but once in the figures hand it isn't really an issue.

You can now play and pose your Executioner to your heart's content. The arm articulation supports a wide range of poses and you can vary this up more by the positioning of the prongs on the weapon and whether you use the electrical effects.

While I have posed my trooper with his left hand at the base of the shaft and the weapon head to his left, it works just as well either way.

My favourite pose is the image to the right above where the Trooper is about to strike from an overhead pose. Very impressive.

In the space of unpacking and reviewing the Executioner I have gone from "meh, what a lazy repaint" to a point of being really pleased with the addition of this Trooper to my First Order display. While the helmet still looks oversized from certain angles you have to acknowledge that Hasbro could have simply used the Force Awakens version and saved some money. There is also some issues with the paint rub at the joints and a very minor variation in shades of white between helmet and body. On the positive side the articulation is great and that awesome weapon more than make up for these minor gripes.

I will score the Executioner Stormtrooper a surprising 4 out of 5 and thank him for exceeding my relatively low expectations.

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