Star Wars 1/12

Stormtrooper

Kit Review

Straight build

1/12 Stormtrooper - Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

1/12 Stormtrooper (1/6) 1/12 Stormtrooper (2/6) 1/12 Stormtrooper (3/6) 1/12 Stormtrooper (4/6) 1/12 Stormtrooper (5/6) 1/12 Stormtrooper (6/6)

1/12 Stormtrooper - Detail shots (1/4) 1/12 Stormtrooper - Detail shots (2/4) 1/12 Stormtrooper - Detail shots (3/4) 1/12 Stormtrooper - Detail shots (4/4)

Detail shots

1/12 Stormtrooper - The head requires quite a lot of seals.

The head requires quite a lot of seals.

1/12 Stormtrooper - Three weapons are included: the DTL-19 Heavy Blaster Rifle, the E-11 Blaster, and a close-combat pis

Three weapons are included:
the DTL-19 Heavy Blaster Rifle, the E-11 Blaster, and a close-combat pistol.

1/12 Stormtrooper - You can attach a weapon storage pouch to the side. (1/2) 1/12 Stormtrooper - You can attach a weapon storage pouch to the side. (2/2)

You can attach a weapon storage pouch to the side.

1/12 Stormtrooper - The pouches can be attached to either side optionally, or left off entirely as shown above.

The pouches can be attached to either side optionally, or left off entirely as shown above.

1/12 Stormtrooper - Six hands are included in total... but I lost the right fist hand while reviewing.. T_T

Six hands are included in total... but I lost the right fist hand while reviewing.. T_T

1/12 Stormtrooper - Articulation. The arms fold completely, but the knees don't quite manage that.

Articulation.
The arms fold completely, but the knees don't quite manage that.

1/12 Stormtrooper - Quite a flexible waist. (1/2) 1/12 Stormtrooper - Quite a flexible waist. (2/2)

Quite a flexible waist.

1/12 Stormtrooper - Starting off with a warm-up pose~ Full of energy! (1/2) 1/12 Stormtrooper - Starting off with a warm-up pose~ Full of energy! (2/2)

Starting off with a warm-up pose~ Full of energy!

1/12 Stormtrooper - Striking a pose.. (1/2) 1/12 Stormtrooper - Striking a pose.. (2/2)

Striking a pose..

1/12 Stormtrooper - Gunslinger po~se. (1/2) 1/12 Stormtrooper - Gunslinger po~se. (2/2)

Gunslinger po~se.

1/12 Stormtrooper - Hey! Stay right there! (1/3) 1/12 Stormtrooper - Hey! Stay right there! (2/3) 1/12 Stormtrooper - Hey! Stay right there! (3/3)

Hey! Stay right there!

1/12 Stormtrooper - Shooting pose. The leg stance comes out looking pretty natural. (1/3) 1/12 Stormtrooper - Shooting pose. The leg stance comes out looking pretty natural. (2/3) 1/12 Stormtrooper - Shooting pose. The leg stance comes out looking pretty natural. (3/3)

Firing pose.
The leg stance comes out looking pretty natural.

1/12 Stormtrooper - Two-handed firing pose (1/2) 1/12 Stormtrooper - Two-handed firing pose (2/2)

Two-handed firing pose

1/12 Stormtrooper - This rifle has a Sniper bipod, but since it's just a non-functional decoration, you have to hold it 1/12 Stormtrooper - This rifle has a Sniper bipod, but since it's just a non-functional decoration, you have to hold it

This rifle has a Sniper bipod, but
since it's just a non-functional decoration, you have to hold it and shoot like this.

1/12 Stormtrooper - Jump shooting pose using Action Base 2 (1/3) 1/12 Stormtrooper - Jump shooting pose using Action Base 2 (2/3) 1/12 Stormtrooper - Jump shooting pose using Action Base 2 (3/3)

Jump shooting pose using Action Base 2

1/12 Stormtrooper - Together with the previous 1/12 Darth Vader.

Together with the previous 1/12 Darth Vader.

The fourth entry in Bandai's ambitious Star Wars series is the 1/12 Stormtrooper. The basic construction is the same as Darth Vader and the existing Figure-rise 6 kits, but without the cape the range of movement is much freer.^^ In particular, most of the outer armor is done in gloss injection, so even a straight build comes out with a shiny, glossy finish that honestly makes you wonder if a painted version could even look better. On top of that, the key parts use undergates, so gate marks are barely visible at all.

Instead, small seals are applied to the face and abdomen to complete the color scheme, but the chest switch stickers — just like with Darth Vader — are fiddly to apply and don't look all that great once they're on. I'd say it's much better to do a little spot painting on just the switch buttons. And since the switch section has the buttons molded as separate parts, painting them is actually very easy to do.

The assembly process goes smoothly and quickly. That said, because gloss injection material is very rigid by nature, it doesn't have that soft, supple feel you get from a typical Bandai kit. Also, when assembling the torso, if you don't push the polycap that connects to the shoulder all the way in, the body won't close up properly. This never happened with the Figure-rise 6 kits that use the same polycap, or even with Darth Vader, so with the Stormtrooper I'd strongly recommend pushing the shoulder polycaps in all the way before joining the body halves. (Otherwise you'll have to take it apart and redo it. Ask me how I know. -_-)

The overall articulation is solid, and the ankle movement is good too, so action poses come out looking quite natural. Compared to Darth Vader, where the cape makes posing a real struggle, this is incomparably easier to work with. You also get three weapons of different sizes, plus a storage pouch for the belt, so there's a decent variety of scenes you can recreate.

All in all, the build quality feels better than Darth Vader, and it's a great item for displaying in groups — I'd say it's probably the best-selling candidate in the Star Wars lineup. Personally, it feels like it came out with almost nothing to complain about. :-)

1/12 Stormtrooper | 2014. 12 | ¥2,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.