The Resistance Trooper is the 10th single release in the new phase 3 Black Series packaging, and as with all the Phase 3 releases to date is taken from The Force Awakens. He forms part of Wave 3 alongside the First Order Tie Fighter Pilot, and then re-packs of Rey/BB8, Finn, Stormtrooper and Kylo Ren.
The box is the standard fare or Black with grey lined artwork, and some short wording on the rear explaining the Troopers role within the Resistance and their struggle against the First Order. The irony here is the wording that states that the Resistance Trooper is "well equipped" yet out of the box he comes with a rifle only - no other accessories or equipment.
The design of the trooper is pretty basic and therefore he isn't the most dynamic of figures. Starting at the boots, these are nicely detailed with four individual straps. The trousers are plain and without any detail save a sculpted seam down the outer side of the leg. The overcoat is a similar design to those we have seen on Finn and the exclusive Poe Dameron, although this version is a little longer and is fastened on the figure. The coat is nicely sculpted with some decent folds of the cloth and various seams and pockets. The coat is then overlaid with a kind of double side ammo strap, and you kind of expect to turn the figure round to find a backpack - but there isn't one.
The crowning glory is the helmet, which at first I didn't like as it was all a bit "Halo". However the helmet is made so that the bottom half of the face plate lifts up to show the face of the trooper within. The look of the figure switches so much when the face-plate is raised and all of a sudden you can see loads of elements of the old Rebel Endor troopers in the helmet design. Beneath the face-plate is a human face, complete with mustache and his eyes are protected by a pair of opaque eye shields.
I have said for some time now that the paint applications do seem to be improving slowly the more we get into Phase 3. On the Trooper the boots and trousers are quite plain, but when we get to the jacket there is obviously some level of wash applied to bring out the detail and to weather it and "dirty it up". The helmet has a couple of decals like the white strips on the forehead area, and the circular decals in both grey, and one in a olive green, to the sides. The helmet is a green base colour, but with a browner dry-brush on top that stops it looking too new. The skin tones are a little shiny for my liking, not sure if this intentional to make the trooper look sweaty? My big concern on painting is that on my figure one leg is a glossy brown and the other dull? Am not sure which of these is meant to be the actual factory finish - either would have done as long as they matched.
Articulation is a tail of two halves. The head is really well done and can range up down and left and right. The arms move directly out to a 90 degree angle and can rotate up above the figures head - I even got him in a "captured" pose by using the elbow bend and rotation to get the hands behind his head. The elbow joints also allow the figure to hold his rifle easily in a two handed pose.
The legs on the other hand are a frustration. The first issue is that the skirt is not flexible enough to get the figure into a seated or one knee kneeling position. Even with the double jointed knee, the skirt leaves you able to do a weird kind of sliding kneel or a double kneed kneel.
The other issue is stability - with the figure really difficult to stand due to rather odd feet position. I have noticed on the last few figure's I have received that the ankle and feet position haven't been great and are quite loose. Unlike the first two waves, that makes these new figures relatively hard to stand unless you move to a wider stance or drop them onto a supporting stand of some kind.
The final gripe on the Resistance Trooper is the accessory. As I mentioned at the top I kind of think one gun is a bit of a cheat for a "well equipped" Resistance Fighter - but when that gun is so cheap looking it could have come out of a £1 shop soldier figure you kind of feel cheated. The gun sculpt is too soft, lacks any detail and definition and isn't even painted in any way - even a black wash would have made it look much better.
The Resistance Trooper is a safe release. It isn't spectacular, but is interesting enough and with an Army Build option to stop it warming pegs too much - although if they repack it any time soon that may change. It will be interesting to see if the demand for him increases or reduces when collectors have seen the film? The figure has issues. The gun looks rubbish, the figure can't stand too well and can't kneel in an all action pose due to the skirt. My figure also has issues with factory paint applications and that is worrying when I though Hasbro had tightened up on this.
All of that considered and the Resistance Trooper is a 2 out of 5 for me.