Sideshow and Hot Toys Star Wars Scout Troopers (updated) Comparative Review

Appendix on additional (modified) articulation in Post 20 below.

While I do not watch The Mandalorian, I am happy to see that at least part of Disney's Star Wars franchise is doing reasonably well, staying truer the original Star Wars, and being replicated in high-end sixth-scale. I have gotten a Hot Toys Mandalorian Death Trooper (simply to make a pair with the earlier Rogue One (RO)-based trooper I already had) and have partly reconstituted a Hot Toys Mandalorian from lose parts and other bits from other companies. While I was not going to pick up a Hot Toys Mandalorian Scout Trooper initially, eventually I decided to do so before it became unavailable or available only at even more astronomical prices. The design (both in terms of the original design for the film and Hot Toys' action figure rendition) looked sufficiently consistent with the original Scout Trooper design from Return of the Jedi (ROTJ), although I was certain that some details had been changed. These are easier to spot with a side-by-side comparison with Sideshow's ROTJ-based Scout Trooper figure.



Let's start with the packaging. Sideshow's classic design, in part conditioned by Lucasfilm requirements, produced fairly consistent-looking packaging for their Star Wars action figures, including the color scheme of a product image over a two-shades-of-black background. The box has a magnet-closed wrap-around openable lid that allows you to look at the product without removing it, and it opens through either the top or bottom cover. The figure and its accessories are located in one of two plastic treys, which is not a big inconvenience, but can be a tad annoying to work with. I much prefer the foam used by other companies.



Hot Toys' packaging for The Mandalorian follows the precedent set for Rogue One, in adding a "cigar band" with the character's name, product number, and some extra imagery, to the shoebox-style lid, which otherwise conforms to the Lucasfilm-dictated color scheme. Inside, the product is located in a single plastic trey, under a fine color card of the action figure atop its optional accessory, a speeder bike (based on its appearance in The Mandalorian). As with the Sideshow packaging, everything is reasonably collector friendly, and here there is only one plastic trey to mess around with.



Given the trend with prior products, I fully expected the Sideshow Scout Trooper to be taller than the Hot Toys one, and was surprised to discover the opposite. Sideshow's figures were generally scaled to be 12 inches tall (with obvious exceptions for shorter characters, like Leia), whereas Hot Toys employed a more varied, and often slightly shorter height. For whatever reason, their Scout Trooper is just over 31 cm (12.25 inches), slightly taller than the Sideshow version (about 30.5 cm = 12 inches), and also taller than the Hot Toys ROTJ and RO Stormtroopers -- see comparison photo at the end. Both figures capture the appearance of a Star Wars Scout Trooper very successfully, but there are variations, largely attributable to slight changes in the design between the original trilogy/ROTJ and the character's current reiteration for The Mandalorian. This is exactly what happened with the design of Stormtroopers between the original trilogy (OT)/A New Hope (ANH) and RO -- you can see a comparison discussing these differences, carried over to the action figures HERE. Some of the differences between the original and Mandalorian designs are readily apparent (perhaps most obviously the screen-accurate heavier weathering on the Mandalorian design), but I will point them out in turn below.



The OT/ROTJ helmet (on the Sideshow figure) is a little larger, with a more rectangular visor, and a longer face/muzzle portion (perhaps Sideshow made it a tad too long). The toothed "frown," the three lines at the eyebrow, and the blacked out insides of the "ears" were all painted or decals in the actual movie helmets, but Sideshow sculpted them in loving detail, indenting the lines and teeth, and giving the insides of the "ears" a series of minuscule horizontal line indents. Technically, this wasn't screen accurate, but in hand it makes for a more compelling piece. The Mandalorian helmet (on the Hot Toys figure) is a little smaller and rounder, with a shorter face/muzzle portion. This appears to reflect a slight change in design between the OT/ROTJ and The Mandalorian accurately. Here the various details that Sideshow sculpted but were originally painted or decals are in fact painted or decals, making them more screen accurate, if much less compelling when viewed closely in hand. The shape of the goggles and their sunken frame is also a little different, reflecting the slightly altered design.



Viewed from the side, one can notice the change in the depth of the helmet's visor, which appears to reflect another slight change in the design between the OT/ROTJ and The Mandalorian renditions of the trooper type. The size of the bolts on the visor appear to be a little too small on the Sideshow helmet, even for the OT/ROTJ design, but about right on the Hot Toys helmet.



The length of the chest plate changed from the OT/ROTJ design (shorter) to The Mandalorian one (longer), and this is accurately reflected in the respective Sideshow and Hot Toys figures. The same is true for the shape and height of attachment of the pouches attached to the fabric overgarment worn over the midsection. In the OT/ROTJ design they sit higher and have a more boxy shape, whereas in The Mandalorian they sit lower and have a more saddlebag shape. Personally, I prefer the latter look when it comes to these, but both products are screen accurate.



A very notable difference involves the size and shape of the shoulder armor pieces, which are wider in the OT/ROTJ design and narrower in the Mandalorian design; they are respectively reproduced correctly by Sideshow and Hot Toys. Slightly less noticeable is the change in the length of the upper lower arm armor, which was shorter in the OT/ROTJ design. Note also the screen-accurate differences between the kneecap armor design of the two figures. The details are only slightly different, but the kneecap armor has been inverted, with the rim and band attachment placed at the bottom in the OT/ROTJ design and at the top in the Mandalorian design. This detail is also reproduced correctly in the two figures.



The "backpack" assembly on the back plate is screen accurate on the Hot Toys figure. The Sideshow figure's corresponding area is screen-accurate in having the four parallel lines, but has made the central hump perhaps a little too narrow, and it seems to sit a little too far up -- its shape and position should be closer to what we see in the Mandalorian design reflected by the Hot Toys figure. The size of the otherwise identical thermal detonators increased slightly from the OT/ROTJ to the Mandalorian design, and this is reflected accurately in the two figures.



In terms of articulation, the actual action figure bodies appear to be about equally capable of reaching and attaining poses. This has nothing to do with the costume design for the films -- although, in theory, the OT/ROTJ design's shorter breast plate and the Mandalorian design's deeper cutout in the upper back plate might be expected to provide advantages to the respective sets of armor. Independent of screen accuracy, the Hot Toys figure has an advantage in having two-piece gloves which allow for some wrist articulation (Sideshow's have practically none), and the soft (some sort of vinyl?) upper parts of the boots allow for plenty of ankle articulation (Sideshow's have practically none, although that set provides a second set of boots for placing on the speeder bike's pedals when riding it). While Hot Toys' decision with the boots is probably better in principle, in practice this could lead to excessive and unsightly creasing of the material. I came across a note in the 501st Legion's costuming guidelines that this is grounds for disqualification, so watch out.



Although it is possible for the Hot Toys body to achieve a number of poses, this is more difficult and less extensive than the effective range of the Sideshow body. The reasons for this is, as so often, Hot Toys' insistence using restrictive and largely unnecessary padding undergarments. As a result, Hot Toys' scout trooper cannot reach the weapon in his boot holster...



...in any position.



I did manage to make both figures sit on stool and have a beer break, but once again, it was a lot harder and more tentative with the Hot Toys figure, thanks to its restrictive padding. Looking at both figures, it is not apparent to me that Sideshow sacrificed appearance for functionality by foregoing this nuisance.



In terms of accessories, the two sets are very comparable. Both come with fairly elaborate bases/stands. Sideshow's (perhaps only in the second release of the trooper -- I may have lost track) comes with attachable rock, ground, and moss pieces, as well as a couple of logs. They provided similar pieces to go with the base/stand for their speeder bike. The Hot Toys base has a lunar-like planetary surface sculpt on the top, similar to what we have seen in some of their RO releases. Both sets come with the small EC-17 blaster and thermal detonators that attach on the figure -- one in the boot holster, the other on the belt -- and in both instances the Hot Toys versions are just slightly larger. At least in the case of the thermal detonator, that difference is screen-accurate. The Sideshow set includes six interchangeable gloved hands (right EC-17 blaster grip, right generic blaster grip, left relaxed, left pointing, and a pair of bike handle grip hands); each comes with its own wrist peg. The Hot Toys set includes seven interchangeable hands, with the sleeve part of the gloves as a single set of two separate pieces (right EC-17 blaster grip, a pair of bike handle grip hands, a pair of  relaxed hands, and a pair of fists); two spare wrist pegs are included. The Sideshow set features two interchangable sets of boots, one in a neutral position suitable for standing, the other bent forward for riding the speeder bike. Since they allow ankle articulation, the Hot Toys boots don't require an alternate pair, but, as noted above, they are subject to unsightly creasing of the soft material; moreover, the "dog bone" strap across the bridge of the foot seems overly pronounced.



I should point out that the design of the small EC-17 blaster is such that regular gun or pistol grip hands would not be able to hold it well, which makes the special grips provided by both Sideshow and Hot Toys particularly helpful. The blaster design is practically identical, although the Hot Toys version is slightly larger. As is often the case, Sideshow gave the weapon a more weathered, matte look, which makes it look a lot more realistic to me.



As already noted, Hot Toys' Mandalorian-based Scout Trooper is surprisingly tall, at just over 31 cm (12.25 in). By comparison, Sideshow's OT/ROTJ-based Scout Trooper is slightly shorter, at about 30.5 cm (12 in). Admittedly, some of the difference in measurements this close may have to do with the degree to which one can achieve an identical stance when measuring. But the Hot Toys Scout Trooper also appears tall next to Hot Toys Stromtroopers. Hot Toys' ROTJ-based Stromtrooper is just under 30 cm, which looks rather short in comparison. Hot Toys' RO-based Stromtrooper is about 30.5 cm, so again a little shorter than the Scout Trooper. The Stormtroopers we see in The Mandalorian have the same design as those from RO, so this last comparison is particularly pertinent. I have not picked up Hot Toys' Mandalorian-based Stromtrooper (they did the extra-weathered version), but I suspect it is identical in physical form and size to the RO version.



You can find detailed reviews on the HT stormtroopers below:
ANH Stormtrooper (HERE, by Michael Crawford)
RO Stormtrooper (HERE)
ROTJ Stormtrooper (HERE)

I hope this has been useful. What do you think?

Appendix on additional (modified) articulation in Post 20 below.

Link to another review of the Sideshow Scout Trooper here:
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t4402-sideshow-and-hot-toys-star-wars-scout-troopers-updated-comparative-review#62130

#starwars #sideshow #hottoys #imperial #biker #scout #trooper #galactic #empire #review #comparison #fiction #scifi

Wow, this brought back a flood of memories that I had previously forgotten.  I haven’t ventured into 1/6 Star Wars since the first few original Sideshow releases (which I either rightfully or wrongfully remember as being massive disappointments).  At that time, Hot Toys was just a little rogue (no pun intended) third party company out of Hong Kong.  Obviously a lot has changed since then.

Or maybe not, because I prefer the Hot Toys version much better here.  The angles, depth, and proportions of the armor on the Hot Toys version are much more pleasing to my eye, and that’s in spite of my bias against weathering.

I’m not crazy about some of the cloth pouches on the Hot Toys version, though.  They make him look like he was baking cookies with the Pilsbury Doughboy before the photo shoot.  Then again, the Sideshow belt and pouches are pretty uninspiring, so I almost have to give Hot Toys some credit for at least trying something a little different, and it doesn’t really detract much from the look of the ensemble as a whole.

The differences in posability are pretty staggering, but as a collector that doesn’t do much outside of basic vanilla posing with his figures, that’s not as big a factor for me as it would be for others.

If I was going to buy one, it would definitely be the Hot Toys version .  Interestingly enough, the S.H. Figuarts 1/12 version with the speeder is high on my “Ones That Got Away” list.

Xavion2004 wrote:I prefer the Hot Toys version much better here.  The angles, depth, and proportions of the armor on the Hot Toys version are much more pleasing to my eye, and that’s in spite of my bias against weathering.

Well, it sounds like this is more about responding better to the updated design in The Mandalorian (as opposed to Return of the Jedi), rather than a question of Hot Toys (as opposed to Sideshow), in this instance. Because both versions are quite accurate for their respective source material, Hot Toys admittedly a little more so. I also find the weathering a little bit on the heavy side, but I guess it was similar in the show. Once can easily improve the articulation by leaps and bounds if one simply removes the underlying padding. I have done so often enough, though here I'm reviewing the product as it comes out of the box. As an Original Trilogy canonist, I'm probably more attached to the ROTJ (i.e., Sideshow) version, but I recognize the real or potential improvements in this slightly different rendition.

Yeah, I can tell the difference between a stormtrooper and a Biker Scout or an Imperial Stormtrooper and a First Order Stormtrooper., but I’m not enough of a student of the game to notice the differences in an Imperial Stromtrooper’s armor between the three films in the OT, Rogue One, and the Mandalorian, Here, I just see two Imperial Biker Scouts, and the designs are so similar that I just chalk it up to one company’s interpretation vs another’s as opposed to one film’s/series’ interpretation vs another’s.

So I suppose to be fair, I’d need to see a Sideshow Mandalorian Imperial Biker Scout next to the Hot Toys Mandalorian Biker Scout. Or ROTJ Imperial Biker Scouts from both companies.

Hmmm, I’m in the opposite camp. I actually prefer most of the Sideshow to the Hot Toys — though that isn’t necessarily their fault, as they are going off the designs they were given. The Ht armor makes him look like he has saggy man-boobs, the pouches don’t look as good, but I do prefer the HT boots. I also prefer the SS helmet.

Thanks for showing. Great Review again. Man, now i need this trooper too  Much easyer to make pictures of him in the woods. For the normal Stormtrooper i have to build indoor dios of imperial base... walls, corridors  ect.

give my vote to HT, because SS is to bulky to me. But after reading the man boob comment, i can´t get i out of my mind

Stryker2011 wrote:Hmmm, I’m in the opposite camp. I actually prefer most of the Sideshow to the Hot Toys — though that isn’t necessarily their fault, as they are going off the designs they were given. The Ht armor makes him look like he has saggy man-boobs, the pouches don’t look as good, but I do prefer the HT boots. I also prefer the SS helmet.

Again, probably because of my attachment to the Original Trilogy (not to mention reasonably clean troopers), I kinda prefer the Sideshow. I wish they had done with the gloves what Hot Toys did, and likewise with the boots. Perhaps the helmet is just a little bit on the big side, but otherwise it is screen-accurate.

Ephiane wrote:Thanks for showing. Great Review again. Man, now i need this trooper too  Much easyer to make pictures of him in the woods. For the normal Stormtrooper i have to build indoor dios of imperial base... walls, corridors  ect. give my vote to HT, because SS is to bulky to me. But after reading the man boob comment, i can´t get i out of my mind

Thank you very much, Ephiane, glad you liked it. Well, if you can find him at a good price, go for it. Technically he belongs on a desert planet (the ROTJ one belongs in the woods), but they are close enough, especially when you are not looking at them side by side. Of course, Stormtroopers are perfectly fine in the woods, except if there are Ewoks around. I agree that there is something cool about the apparent slenderness of the Mandalorian version, but if you look at the original ROTJ costumes, they can sit quite bulky.

Both are extremely nice, and although I do like the Mandalorian, I do prefer the ROTJ version. Great review Ian.

BAMComix wrote:Both are extremely nice, and although I do like the Mandalorian, I do prefer the ROTJ version. Great review Ian.

Thank you very much, Dal, I'm glad you liked it. It was interesting to figure out the differences for myself.

That is a truly impressive comparative review. Actually, the questions it brings up, for me, are not directly related to the figures, but about your keen eye for details (as I have noted in other posts as well) in the Star Wars films.

First, which surprised me, as the series has become almost insanely popular: why do you not follow The Mandalorian?

Are you a member of the 501st? Do you do 1:1 scale costuming? If so, of which characters?

Obviously you have a significant collection of 1:6 Star Wars figures. Do you have them on display together, or do some of them spend time packed away?

Do you collect other Star Wars figures or toys in other scales?

With Star Wars having been released forty-four... fourty-four years ago this summer, has Star Wars been an interest for you since you were a kid? Or is it an interest you developed later?

And... do you have a single favorite Star Wars fig? Is there one that is just so right that it stands out to you - no matter the reason, whether it is quality or screen accuracy or it looks cool or you just like it?

Yup - I'm derailing this topic in to Gubernatorfan: This Is Your (Collecting) Life!

But it's not a total derailing; these are questions that came to me as I was reading through your detailed review, obviously based on many hours of deeply immersed enjoyment in the Star Wars universe.

(Also - your intro to the review - five years ago now, was it? - of the Rogue One Stormtrooper on Crawford's site is hilarious, and echoes many of the thoughts I have entertained over the years about these characters.)

davidd wrote:That is a truly impressive comparative review. Actually, the questions it brings up, for me, are not directly related to the figures, but about your keen eye for details (as I have noted in other posts as well) in the Star Wars films.

Thank you very much, David, I'm glad you liked it. I am not always the one to spot the differences first (or exhaustively), although I did this time, and for all that I haven't watched The Mandalorian, I tracked down stills and video clips, as well as the official costuming guidelines of the 501st (linked below). Now on to the interview part, which is bound to be mostly disappointing...

https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TB_Scout_trooper

https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:Scout-Trooper-The-Mandalorian

davidd wrote:First, which surprised me, as the series has become almost insanely popular: why do you not follow The Mandalorian?

I have a wary and cautious approach to everything that has come since the Original Trilogy (which is not to say I'm not critical of that either). I do have more of a predilection for things that "look" more like Original Trilogy SW than the prequel or sequel trilogies, most notably Rogue One, and to a lesser degree Solo. If The Mandalorian were included with Amazon Prime, I would probably have watched it, but as it is, I'm not likely to subscribe to a channel just for one show. It looks like it might be fun, although it seems to have the same over-the-top naive differentiation between designated "good" and "bad" guys that works well for children but not so well for adults.

davidd wrote:Are you a member of the 501st? Do you do 1:1 scale costuming? If so, of which characters?

No, not at all. I don't know nearly as much as these guys -- we have one, who is a rare visitor these days, on the forum. I do own an EFX 1:1 Stormtrooper helmet and in a moment of silliness bought the Hasbro 1:1 Darth Vader helmet, but that would be about it.

davidd wrote:Obviously you have a significant collection of 1:6 Star Wars figures. Do you have them on display together, or do some of them spend time packed away?

Almost none of my Star Wars figures are on display, certainly not permanently. Actually I don't really have a designated display area. Most complete sets are in their boxes, and kitbashes are stored away in reclosable plastic bags in larger boxes. Every once in a while, a selection comes out to play when there is a photo story or comparative review (this one was not very ambitious).

davidd wrote:Do you collect other Star Wars figures or toys in other scales?

Yes. I got started back in the 80s with the "classic scale" (3.75-inch) figures. They were on their way out already, so I did not have anything near a complete collection at the time. I came close to that when I bought a large number of figures loose while in college in the 90s (those were the days to pick these up, and they were ridiculously inexpensive). I dabbed a little in the hideous second Power of the Force collection (the one with the cartoonish proportions and overly-posed limbs), then gave up. Until Hasbro started making super-articulated figures. I started, predictably enough, with Stormtroopers, then collected most of the Original Trilogy figures they made (and some Prequel Trilogy clone troopers). I gave up on those when they went back to 5 points of articulation (although the sculpting itself was often very impressive), until they started to make super-articulated ones again more recently (albeit in much smaller numbers).

By this point, after resisting it for a long time, I got my 1:6 Sideshow Stormtroopers (which have not aged well compared to newer renditions), and then a Vader, and then more and more, from both Sideshow and Hot Toys. I'm not a completist, and my focus is narrow (mostly Original Trilogy) which helps; unfortunately, I'm an army builder, and one can never have enough Stormtroopers (especially given how inept they seem to be).

Somewhere about the same time, also after resisting it for a while, I started to pick up 1:12 Hasbro Black Series figures, but like the 1:6 scale ones, I have kept the focus narrow. In some instances, I picked up Bandai and Revoltech versions too. You can see some examples of my non-sixth-scale figures in the Non-Sixth-Scale section of the forum.

davidd wrote:With Star Wars having been released forty-four... fourty-four years ago this summer, has Star Wars been an interest for you since you were a kid? Or is it an interest you developed later?

Yes, I grew up with Star Wars (which is as old as me), although it came to my neck of the woods with a delay of several years (of course I would not have made any sense of it as an infant). So it has been with me for quite a while.

davidd wrote:And... do you have a single favorite Star Wars fig? Is there one that is just so right that it stands out to you - no matter the reason, whether it is quality or screen accuracy or it looks cool or you just like it?

That is an interesting question, and not one I can answer easily, without thinking about it for a long time. There are just so many to choose from (and in three scales, too), and also one of the attractions of these renditions of Star Wars characters is that they do not exist on their own, but are intended to be enjoyed in a group of some size. I guess I have a "thing" for Stormtroopers, which at this point is mostly about how accurate the rendition is to the source, and how functional (i.e., whether there is anything impeding articulation and what can be done to fix it -- like detaching the belt of RO Stormtroopers from the armor or removing the padding under the suit of the Mandalorian, etc.). I have certainly spent more time reviewing, comparing, customizing, and utilizing those than most others in sixth scale. On the other hand, lately I have done more with kitbashes, like the Imperial Mechanical Crewman. Perhaps the one I've had most fun with that came as an actual set was, surprisingly enough, Director Krennic. But that is just one I can think of off the top of my head.

davidd wrote:(Also - your intro to the review - five years ago now, was it? - of the Rogue One Stormtrooper on Crawford's site is hilarious, and echoes many of the thoughts I have entertained over the years about these characters.)

For those that are curious, David means this: http://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW-022017b.htm

Thank you very much, I'm very glad you enjoyed that one. Yes, it was tongue in cheek, but it also makes sense, doesn't it? Actually the two-dimensional, perhaps juvenile simplicity of the intended bend and plot of Star Wars is something that partly addresses your question as to why I don't watch The Mandalorian. These sequels and spinoffs show no sign of growing up, of complexity, of deeper thought, and I am neither young enough to readily accept that, nor patient enough with the venom of overly simplified modern political rhetoric (which does not belong here) to bear with its partial manifestation in SW fiction.

great comparison!

I think that my ideal version would be a combination: Body (minus padding), black base suit, gloves and boots from HT combined with the armour, helmet and stand from Sideshow.

Would look great IMHO

Thanks for the glimpse behind-the-scenes of the philosophy and interests underlying your collection. I find the "why" behind collections and hobbies to be a fascinating aspect.

GubernatorFan wrote:

Actually the two-dimensional, perhaps juvenile simplicity of the intended bent and plot of Star Wars is something that partly addresses your question as to why I don't watch The Mandalorian. These sequels and spinoffs show no sign of growing up, of complexity, of deeper thought, and I am neither young enough to readily accept that, nor patient enough with the venom of overly simplified modern political rhetoric (which does not belong here) to bear with its partial manifestation in SW fiction.

Amen!

I thought Rogue One was good, Solo was acceptable and Mandalorian was a mix of cringe, awesome and meh all in one confusing blend. The Mandalorians weakest point is the simplistic writing. It has an identity crisis: Too mature for kids to really enjoy, too childish and simplistic for adults to truly find any depth in it. It adds up to be less than the sum of its parts. I can imagine the seasons being edited down into single 2 hour movies and that would actually fix them (cut out the cringe and filler, leave only the good bits).

The sequel trilogy? I am not a fan at all. I like the trooper and ship designs but that's about it. TFA was a remake in disguise but I could forgive that if what followed built on it well. It didn't. It just got worse and worse.

Folk kept telling me how amazing the Clone Wars was so over the past month or two I sat through the entire series (plus every episode so far of Bad Batch) and I have to strongly disagree with the fans. The cartoons are shallow trash filled with stupidity, cringe, poor voice acting and retcons all over. Filoni is very very overrated. I have no hope for anything he has control over.

One day we will receive GOOD, nuanced and mature Star Wars.... One day... Just not today.

Hot Toys teased a ROTJ Scout and Speeder at the Sideshow Con. Just FYI.

Stryker2011 wrote:Hot Toys teased a ROTJ Scout and Speeder at the Sideshow Con. Just FYI.

noice!

jaztermareal wrote:great comparison! I think that my ideal version would be a combination: Body (minus padding), black base suit, gloves and boots from HT combined with the armour, helmet and stand from Sideshow.
Would look great IMHO

Thank you very much, glad you liked it. Interesting idea. I might experiment if I get any more parted out parts.

davidd wrote:Thanks for the glimpse behind-the-scenes  of the philosophy and interests underlying your collection. I find the "why" behind collections and hobbies to be a fascinating aspect.

You are welcome. We often do not dwell on the motivation (perhaps assuming it is similar all round), but it is interesting. How about you? When did you get into these, what scales do you collect, and do you have a favorite figure?

jaztermareal wrote:Amen! I thought Rogue One was good, Solo was acceptable and Mandalorian was a mix of cringe, awesome and meh all in one confusing blend. The Mandalorians weakest point is the simplistic writing. It has an identity crisis: Too mature for kids to really enjoy, too childish and simplistic for adults to truly find any depth in it. It adds up to be less than the sum of its parts. I can imagine the seasons being edited down into single 2 hour movies and that would actually fix them (cut out the cringe and filler, leave only the good bits).

The sequel trilogy? I am not a fan at all. I like the trooper and ship designs but that's about it. TFA was a remake in disguise but I could forgive that if what followed built on it well. It didn't. It just got worse and worse.

Folk kept telling me how amazing the Clone Wars was so over the past month or two I sat through the entire series (plus every episode so far of Bad Batch) and I have to strongly disagree with the fans. The cartoons are shallow trash filled with stupidity, cringe, poor voice acting and retcons all over. Filoni is very very overrated. I have no hope for anything he has control over.

One day we will receive GOOD, nuanced and mature Star Wars.... One day... Just not today.

Except that I haven't seen The Mandalorian, so I cannot really judge it apart from hearsay, I'd say our feelings on these are identical. And I think you hit the nail on the head by concluding that at this point these suffer from the (im)balance between aiming at child and adult audiences at the same time. And the less said about the Sequel Trilogy, the better, although I agree some of the designs had potential. But with everything else being so bad, perhaps I feel only a more strict adherence to Original Trilogy visual canon might have redeemed it. And that was not present enough. I haven't watched much of the cartoon series, so again I can't really judge it -- besides, being cartoons, I probably subconsciously do not expect much in the way of intricacy, maturity, etc, from it. That said, I kinda liked Titan A.E. Good, nuanced, and mature Star Wars? I doubt it. Not with that management in place. Perhaps as a fan film, made in reaction to both the silliness of the new stuff and the naivete of the old. Fingers crossed. I wish I could remember what it was, but I once came across a three-part series on YouTube where someone (a film student?) went through each of the Prequel Trilogy movies and made suggestions for the construction of a more coherent, compelling, and mature plot (centered more on Obi Wan) -- he sounded totally convincing. And of course, there are all those fan cut edits and renditions of the various films and cartoons, although I'm not sure it was enough to redeem them in my book.

Stryker2011 wrote:Hot Toys teased a ROTJ Scout and Speeder at the Sideshow Con. Just FYI.

Oh no! If I had known that I might have waited for one of those instead. I do wonder if they will get lazy and just recycle most of the armor and outfit from the Mandalorian set, maybe just giving it a slight repaint. Or will they notice the actual differences and portray them accurately?

Some great comparative shots, I feel like there are items from the SS and the HT that are better than the others, I think you could make one great figure by mixing parts.

Theboo-bomb wrote:Some great comparative shots, I feel like there are items from the SS and the HT that are better than the others, I think you could make one great figure by mixing parts.

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked them. And you're not alone in feeling that mixing and matching might make a better figure.

Update/Appendix: More on (modified) articulation

With the help of a new friend, the Mandalorian-based Scout Trooper was able to achieve a much improved range of articulation.

























As indicated in the comparison review (Post 1 above), Hot Toys often sabotages the excellent articulation of its figures with largely unnecessary and overly restrictive padding under the visible outfits and armor. Its Mandalorian-based Scout Trooper is very much not an exception to this trend. All that it took to improve the articulation was removing the padding.

Speaking of articulation, if Hasbro can make a fully articulated (ok no knees) 1:12 Yoda (standing 8 cm/3.14 in tall), how long is it going to be until Hot Toys can produce a fully-articulated Grogu?

What do you think?

See, I wasn’t the only one that believed in the Hot Toys Mandalorian Biker Scout!

Has Hoy Toys made a fully articulated Baby Yoda?  If so, they could probably make a Grogu as well.

Just kidding.  If they can make a fully articulated Rocket (I’m assuming he’s fully articulated, I don’t actually have one), then I don’t see why they couldn’t do the same for Grogu.

I've seen some of those padding suits on ebay and other stores, always wondered if the padding would intervene with movement, guess you answered that.

I think they could produce an articulated grogu, maybe even a standalone grogu with different faces, hands and floaty pram.

Xavion2004 wrote:See, I wasn’t the only one that believed in the Hot Toys Mandalorian Biker Scout! Has Hoy Toys made a fully articulated Baby Yoda?  If so, they could probably make a Grogu as well. Just kidding.  If they can make a fully articulated Rocket (I’m assuming he’s fully articulated, I don’t actually have one), then I don’t see why they couldn’t do the same for Grogu.

Yes, he works very well once you remove the padding. Like I've mentioned, I do that often enough -- or also don't put it on if I am "reconstituting" (kitbashing from lose parts) the figure. Rocket is fully articulated. I saw a Grogu from this set (or its deluxe version, rather) parted out, and it is a little shorter than the 1:12 Hasbro Yoda -- standing about 6.5 cm, as opposed to 8 cm. But that is not a substantial enough difference to preclude proper articulation -- and I wouldn't be surprised (have to dig it out and check) if Hasbro's 1:18 Yoda (for the "classic" 3.75-inch figure line) is not better articulated than Hot Toys' 1:6 one. Sideshow made a very good 1:6 Yoda.

Theboo-bomb wrote:I've seen some of those padding suits on ebay and other stores, always wondered if the padding would intervene with movement, guess you answered that. I think they could produce an articulated grogu, maybe even a standalone grogu with different faces, hands and floaty pram.

Yes indeed. It is a remarkable improvement without the padding. Nor does the look seem to suffer in any easily detectable way. They have been treating Grogu as an accessory, pushing up the prices of other sets (maybe deluxe versions), while not investing enough in Grogu's development. Given how much is hidden under his robe, it should be easy to give him good articulation (they did this with the Jawa and even, to a lesser degree because of the body type, the Ewok). A standalone Grogu better be a work of art. Although I'm sure at least some collectors will resent having spent good money on Grogu accessories if they have to end up getting a new functional one. Then again, they will be probably crazy enough for Grogu in the first place. I don't care personally, but it's the principle of the thing.

What is the purpose of the padding if it’s such a hindrance to articulation?   I wonder if my HT Winter Soldier Black Widow has it?

Oops, that nice Sideshow Yoda turned out to be a nice Hot Toys Yoda instead. I had forgotten him when I did the action figure height thread, and I had forgotten him yet again -- but now I had to double check.



He is fully articulated (well, the head and neck are one piece; there is a second, closed-eye head sculpt), and stands 13.5 cm (5.3 in). And I'm sure there were probably nice (or at least nice for their time) Sideshow Yodas, too.