Geek Arcadia: Figure Review: Play Arts Kai Stormtrooper

The galaxy's infamous poor shot in his finest form...

This is what happens when you've got an armor with QC issues on top of your bad aim...

Play Arts Kai has recently been populating their action figure line with various Star Wars characters, and I can say that their version of the Stormtrooper is one of their finest offerings to date. So, if you don't happen to know who this guy is, here's a bit of character bio. Collectively known as "Imperial Stormtroopers", they are fictional soldiers from George Lucas' Star Wars universe, and they serve as the primary ground force of the Emperor Palpatine as well as his apprentice/appointed commander, Darth Vader. In popular culture, they are shown in various organizational sizes, which range from squads to brigades. Through the years, artists have had their own take on the design of the Stormtrooper's suit/armor, and I'm sure as hell glad that the guys over at Square Enix decided to come up with their own version of the evil Empire's foot soldier.

The Galactic Empire's Japanese infantry division

One thing I'm raving about the PAK Stormtrooper is his design. It is well-executed, and judging by the artwork itself, the designer (whoever you are, great job man!) displayed an obsessive attention to details down to the smallest bits.

United Nations

This Japanese version sports a more angular look as compared to the smooth appearance of the classic/American one, giving a more bad-ass look to it. It's a perfect mix without making the overall design exaggerated.

Trooper infestation

The figure comes in a standard PAK Star Wars packaging, which for me has a niftier design as compared to the other Play Arts boxes. The flap/front cover depicts the Stormtrooper showing off his blaster rifle, standing in front of his compadres. The back of the box shows the figure being placed in several cool poses, with a close up of the upper half of his helmet in the background. Aside from albino-trooper, the print style is also present in the packaging of the other PAK Star Wars figures, namely Bat-Vader, Fett-Neto, and Maul-nourished.

Find the hidden Mickey

With PAK's Star Wars line, the "Disney" logo can be seen at the back of the packaging. The reason for this is that Disney had already acquired Lucasfilm back in 2012, therefore giving them the right to put their company's name in every Star Wars merchandise.

Star-struck!

There's also an image of the galactic superweapon popularly known as the Death Star on the lower left side of the window. This is actually the second Death Star under construction in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. For those who have been living under a rock and haven't seen the film yet, the mobile megastructure was completely blown to bits at the end of the movie.

The Three Stooges

Figure/package description:

Star Wars has been beloved by generations since its release, a testament to the unending inspiration sparked by the iconic series. By accentuating the defining profiles of legendary characters, these action figures offer our unique Square Enix take on the Star Wars series. These designs from a galaxy far, far, away lean towards the classing styles, while adding a touch of our own vision to these unforgettable characters!

With their origins in the Clone Wars, the Stormtroopers became the most feared and venerable rank in the Imperial Army, acting as the will of Emperor Palpatine to further the Empire’s reach throughout the galaxy. In our re-design, we focused on the retro-futuristic style pioneered with the Darth Vader and Boba Fett Variant Play Arts KAI figures. With his high-grade plastoid armor, signature helmet and BlasTech E-11 blaster rifle, our Stormtrooper can re-create poses both in action and off duty.

The ever-sticky clamshell

Taking everything out of the box, the core figure along with the accessories are well stored within a clamshell-type packaging. As always it's tough to crack it open, which only means that you've got something fresh and untampered.

Yep, here's this thing again.

Then there's the obligatory stand, which is again bulky and useless considering the figure can be posed well on its own without any support. This marks my 10th (I think) PAK figure stand already - might as well sell these stuff someday.

The accessories for the Stormtrooper include the following:

1) Two extra (and interchangeable) pair of mitts:

For squishing and pressing

2) BlasTech E-11 blaster rifle: [This is actually one of my favorite sci-fi weapons of all time. The rifle features a stock which can either be folded under the barrel or fully extended beneath the gas refill valve (see schematics). Looking at Hasbro's version of the weapon, I've always wondered what that 'curve' was all about, and I guess the PAK version explained everything. The rifle's counterpart in a galaxy far, far away is the British Sterling submachine gun.]

The 'curvy' gun: mystery solved!

3) BlasTech DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle: [This weapon is not as popular as the E-11 blaster rifle, but it is much more powerful and has much greater range capability. It has a functioning bipod, which is also a neat feature. The heavy blaster rifle's counterpart in a galaxy far, far away is the German MG34 machine gun.]

Troopers must 'love' her, coz her Legs Open Very Easily

4) A 'blast effect' which pegs on the emitter nozzle of both rifles:

Pew-Pew!

Now, on to the core figure:

Intergalactic Zebra

Looking at the figure, I could say that this is one of the best designed figures of the Play Arts line. This version indeed does have a more angular design as compared to the traditional Hasbro Stormtrooper, yet it's not overdone. It's just the perfect mix - the ivory armor blends well with the obsidian body suit underneath, coupled with panel linings everywhere owing to its Japanese roots (*cough* Gundam *cough*). There's also a large holster on the left side for holding the BlasTech E-11 blaster rifle, which I will discuss later in detail.

No heavy breathing required

The helmet (otherwise known as the 'Imperial Issue Helmet') is well done with some nice detailing on it - in fact, I think it's much more detailed than any other Stormtrooper figure out there! All of the elements of a regular Stormtrooper helmet are present: dome/cap, traps, ears, ear screws, osmotic filters, tube stripes, neck trims, cheek tubes, rubber guard strip, lens, black vocoder, auto-seal conduit, aerator/mic tips, and many more. There's also the signature "frown" which consists of 5 grey teeth per side.

A high-grade armor (really?)

The Stormtrooper sports an extremely detailed body armor. The chest and front abdominal plate are finely sculpted, as well as the rear upper and lower back sections. The packaging refers to it as the 'high-grade plastoid armor', which I certainly doubt because these guys can be killed apparently with a single shot from a rebel's DH-17 blaster pistol. I remember somewhere in Episode VI wherein Han Solo fired a single shot at a trooper and that's just about it! Heck, even a bunch of Ewoks could make short work of it (or a little longer).

That's one heavy belt!

Always prepared and ready for combat, the Stormtrooper comes with tons of ammo pack attached to his belt. The large holster attaches on the rear portion of the belt via a bulky tubular component. I'm starting to think if a real-life Stormtrooper could walk still considering these stuff are attached to his body at all times.

Oreo cyber-boots

Going down to the lower limbs section, the Stormtrooper sports a knee pad on his left leg and another ammo pack on the right, just like his Hasbro counterpart. The leg armor is as detailed as the upper body armor and helmet, and blends smoothly with the black body suit underneath.

Oh Sheath!

Aside from the Stromtrooper's E-11 blaster rifle, another favorite accessory of mine is the large brownish, leather-like sheath/holster that holds it. It sports a unique design, having an open cavity in the middle where the folded rifle can be inserted directly. Surprisingly, the gun attaches well to the holster without slipping. Nice!

Now for some cool intergalactic poses:

This is my rifle.
There are many like it, but this one is mine.

My rifle is my best friend.
It is my life.
I must master it as I master my life.

Without my rifle, I am useless.
I must fire my rifle true.
I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me.
I must shoot him before he shoots me.
Trouble is... I can't hit sh*t!
With my rifle, I am also useless.

And here he is with PAK Tifa and Arkham Knight:

Stormtrooper: "This chick's not even intimidated. Hmmm, I wonder why..."

Black & White - Wanna play chess?

Final thoughts: Out of all the Play Arts Star Wars figures so far, the Stormtrooper stands out among the rest (that, of course, is just my two cents). He's got some exceptional details on him, and the Gundam-like panel linings along with his angular design truly makes everything look better than Hasbro's classic version. Furthermore, his semi-functional weapons are neatly done and would fit pretty well in his hands, allowing for some awesome shooting stances. To sum it all up, the Stormtrooper is one remarkable figure, and he is definitely worth the price tag!