Review 1: Hot Toys MMS267 "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" 1/6 Stormtrooper 12-inch Figure

From "Men in Black" (see my previous toy blog post HERE) to troopers clad in all white armor!

This is the recently released Hot Toys MMS267 "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" 1/6th scale Stormtrooper 12-inch Collectible Figure (part of my April 2015 haul posted HERE)

Stormtroopers are the elite shock troops of the Galactic Empire. They wear imposing white armor, which offers a wide range of survival equipment and temperature controls to allow the soldiers to survive in almost any environment. Stormtroopers wield blaster rifles and pistols, and attack in hordes to overwhelm their enemies. Along with standard Stormtroopers, the Empire has organized several specialized units, including snow-troopers and scout troopers.

Needless to say, the Stormtroopers are one of the most iconic images of the Star Wars saga and I've liked them the moment I saw them appear on the big screen in May 1977. In 1977, it was just called "Star Wars" (no sequel or prequel was even planned then as nobody knew what the response to the film would be like) and when the movie opened with a space battle between two starships in orbit around the desert planet of Tatooine, mouths were left wide open gaping in awe and everyone was just wondering when the mammoth Imperial star destroyer, the Devastator, would stop filling up the screen. Then the small Rebel blockade runner, the Tantive IV, was boarded by stormtroopers from the Empire's 501st Legion.

The design of these Star Wars Imperial Stormtroopers have remained timeless. They never look outdated and anytime you take a look at them, they always remain relevant. The simple yet elegant white armor, the ominous and anonymous helmet / mask have captured all our imagination and they will always look cool as soldiers from a galaxy far far away, never mind that they seem to miss their targets every time they open fire.

There have been quite a number of 1:6 scale Imperial Stormtroopers released over the years – see the links below this post (and I don't count the Hasbro released FAT troopers as one of these) – and this latest 12-inch Stormtrooper figure by Hot Toys certainly deserves some attention.

Scroll down to see the rest of the pictures.
Click on them for bigger and better views.

Box packaging is the standard shoebox style as with all of Hot Toys MMS figures these days. Remove the lid / cover and there's a piece of card with picture of half of a Stormtrooper's helmet. Removing this card gets you to the tray holding the 12-inch Stormtrooper figure and his accessories (including weapons).

Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Series MMS267 "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" 1/6th scale Stormtrooper Collectible Figure specially features: Authentic and detailed likeness of the Imperial Stormtrooper as seen in "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" with approximately 30 cm tall Body that has over 30 points of articulations, Seven (7) pieces of interchangeable gloved palms including: One (1) pair of fists, One (1) pair of relaxed palms, One (1) pair of palms for holding weapons, One (1) gesturing left palm, One (1) blaster pistol, One (1) blaster rifle, One (1) thermal detonator, one figure stand.

There's also the instruction sheet which tells you what goes where and how to go about doing it. Most importantly, Hot Toys cautions against removing the armor parts as they are non-detachable, including the neck piece under the helmet.

Check out the Specially designed figure stand with Stormtrooper nameplate and movie logo. Also laid out in the picture below is the thermal detonator which is to be attached onto the back of the belt, the five extra gloved hands, the BlasTech E-11 blaster rifle which is the standard issue weapon of the Stormtrooper Corps and one of the most commonly issued rifles in the Imperial Military, and the SE-14r light repeating blaster, a backup weapon to the standard-issue E-11 blaster rifle.

Close-up pictures of the E-11 blaster rifle and SE-14r, sometimes referred to as the Imperial repeating pistol. The E-11 blaster rifle is shown with stock extended. The basic three piece folding stock could be collapsed and kept under the barrel - check out the schematic in the next picture to see how the stock is extended. The SE-14r is from publicity photos for "A New Hope" and not actually seen in any of the films.

Here's the Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Series MMS267 "Star Wars: Episode IV -  A New Hope" 1/6th scale Stormtrooper Collectible Figure out of the box and armed with the SE-14r blaster pistol. The 1:6 scale Stormtrooper costume consists of: One (1) Stormtrooper armor, One (1) black under-suit, One (1) Stormtrooper belt with leather holster, One (1) pair of white boots.

In Star Wars terms, all stormtroopers don distinctive high grade white plastoid armor over a sealed black body glove. The armor is impervious to most pistols and solid projectile weapons and would protect the trooper from some military grade rifles and carbines. Stormtroopers carry cylindrical thermal detonators that can be set for 6-18 seconds. They also carry a grappling hook, several extra magazines, and various special rounds compatible with an E-11 blaster carbine (tranquilizer, incendiary etc.)

Check out the turnaround views of this Hot Toys MMS267 "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" 1/6th scale Stormtrooper 12-inch Collectible Figure. The armor is nice and tight, as are the joints of the figure. No issue of the "weak ankles syndrome" that plague the Sideshow Collectibles Star Wars armored troopers whereby they fall down way too easily due to the lousy and loose ankle joints which are practically non-existent and causes all their troopers to drop to the ground like jello.

The belt is made of a different material as seen from the back and is held together by velcro. The thermal detonator sits nicely over the velcro so that it cannot be seen. The leather holster is well produced and is attached to the belt very securely.

Close-up views of the Hot Toys MMS267 "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" 1/6th scale Stormtrooper helmet. There's no head under the helmet and the helmet is actually hollow but held firmly by a unique neck post designed specifically for this figure.

There were two different Stormtrooper helmets seen in Episode IV. The difference lie mostly in the mouth grill size on stormtrooper helmets which were inconsistent. This was due to the fact that two different designs were used for the helmets in the film. The first and most numerous being the stunt helmet (about 50 were made for "A New Hope") which has a larger frown (which is also the one being replicated here in 1/6th scale) and the Hero helmet (only 6 were made and were used in scenes when Luke and Han masquerade as Stormtroopers) which has a smaller frown among other differences. The Hero helmets have less "teeth", smaller "frowns" and also have curved eye lenses. In addition the ears are slightly different with a different bump pattern on the grey ear centers.

The buttons located on the abdominal area are the manual suit seal and environmental controls. The utility belt has standard issue items such as power packs, energy rations, and a compact tool kit. The two rectangular things dangling at the sides are blast energy sinks which absorb blaster energy.

A power pack and pressurized gas system in the Stormtrooper armor backplate allows the trooper to survive even in the vacuum of space for limited periods. The molded plastic back plate with the circular impression and two bars was comically called the "donut and twinkies" on the movie set LOL. The cylindrical thermal detonator can be set for 6-18 seconds detonation. It was originally supposed to be a lightsaber / laser sword due to early drafts of the artwork and film script having swordplay be fairly common, and laser swords carried by nearly every character. Thank God that didn't happen!

Here are shots taken of the Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Series MMS267 "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" 1/6th scale Stormtrooper Collectible Figure taking aim with the SE-14r blaster pistol. As mentioned earlier, the SE-14r is from publicity photos for "A New Hope" and not actually seen in any of the films. Check out the nice and tight Stormtrooper armor :) no loose parts here. This has to be the BEST 1/6th scale Stormtrooper ever produced!

Here's another close-up shot of the SE-14r blaster pistol.

NEXT: More pictures of this Hot Toys MMS267 "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" 1/6th scale Stormtrooper 12-inch Collectible Figure with his BlasTech E-11 blaster rifle

Related posts:
March 23, 2008 – Marmit 1/6 scale Star Wars Stormtrooper figure pictures HERE
March 23, 2008 – Medicom Toys 1/6 scale Star Wars Stormtrooper figure posted HERE
April 25, 2009 – Sideshow Star Wars Imperial Stormtrooper Review HERE and HERE
April 27, 2009 – 1/6 scale Imperial Stormtroopers with Darth Vader (pictures HERE)
April 28, 2009 – Comparison pictures of 1/6 scale Stormtrooper figures released by Sideshow vs Marmit vs Medicom posted on my toy blog HERE
July 31, 2009 – Sideshow Collectibles Darth Vader with Sideshow Stormtroopers posted HERE
January 1, 2010 – 2009 Top Ten Fave Toys Countdown 3: Lots and lots of 1/6 scale Stormtroopers pictures HERE
August 30, 2012 – Sideshow Collectibles 1/6th scale Boba Fett, Han in Carbonite and 12-inch Stormtrooper escorts posted HERE