In 2019 a number of multi-pack Star Wars Black Series sets were released and sold solely at the brand new Galaxy's Edge sectors of the US Disney Parks. These sets contained a lot of repacks, but also new figures of DJ R-3X, Hondo Ohnaka, Commander Pyre and a First Order Mountain Trooper.
In 2020 it was announced that Target in the US had struck a deal with Disney to sell Galaxy's Edge merchandise exclusively in their stores, and this would include single pack Black Series figures from the Galaxy's Edge park. The first batch of four saw one new figure in the shape of Captain Cardinal and the other three taken from the multi-packs that came before them with the release of DJ-R3X, Hondo Ohnaka and The Mountain Trooper. These were available outside of the US via the Fan Channel and into Specialist Retailers.
Packaging 4.0
The Galaxy's Edge figures were obviously designed before the release of the new Phase 4 angled side packaging, so remain in what is essentially a Phase 3 box. This remains gloss black in base colour with the silvery Star Wars Black Series logo atop the window. Like other exclusives, such as the Carbonized line or Gaming Greats, an insert is now cut into the window that carries the Galaxy's Edge logo.
The accent colours on the packaging is an earthy brown and this is used on the character name. The left hand side spine is redesigned fully with the brown Galaxy's edge box at the top with white text and a hatched line underneath. There is then an actual dirt design down the rest of the spine which carries the character name and a faction logo at the base. For the Mountain Trooper this is for The First Order.
The box uses Gregory Titus artwork of the Mountain Trooper front and back and also has the usual background text on the reverse.
"Like all First Order Stormtroopers, specialized units of Batuu Mountain Troopers are trained from birth, growing up with unit designations instead of names and fed a steady diet of First Order propaganda to ensure absolute loyalty "
Whie the accent colour is brown, this has not been used on the backing card behind the figure. This is a very dark gloss black with thin lines running through the design. Against the Mountain Trooper this is not an issue as it creates a good contrast of white onto the black.
Paint & Sculpt 4.0
Out of the box and the design, which is unique to the parks, is pretty awesome and a neat step forward from the Imperial Shoretroopers from which it evolved. The helmet is neat and angular with nods to the original Biker Scouts as well as the Shore Troopers with the large visor on the forehead and the shape of the lenses for the eyes. It flares out towards the bottom which is a trait of the First Order helmets. It is cast in a glossy white plastic with the black added on top and then some further paint splashes of brown to weather him a little. The gloss of the helmet is a different shade to the body on closer inspection.
The body uses a black undersuit over which are placed armoured panels. These are again cast in white with the detailing added. This detail is essentially only a red shoulder pauldron on the right and more dirt splashes. While other detail exists, particularly the strapping over the shoulders, it has not been painted.
The Mountain Trooper does share some parts with the Rogue One Shoretrooper mold. If you look carefully the midsection and trousers are the same, as is the upper and lower arm pieces and hands. The feet look the same too.
The chest piece, shoulder pauldrons, lower legs and helmet are all new to this figure.
Accessories 3.5
Our Mountain Trooper arrives with one accessory, a blaster rifle that I believe is new to the line (or I can't quite place it for now). It has elements of the Shore Trooper weapons, but only a single barrel and a shorter sight. It is cast in a black plastic with no other paint apps. Like many blasters in the Black Series, a drybrush of silver would have brought out more detail and added a little bit more realism.
It is designed to fit into the right hand. This fit is OK, but the trigger finger of the hand is a little tricky to position. The left hand, which can cup the barrel, is also quite stiff and not easy to get into position.
Without much more background on the Trooper, this is as good as we can expect with no other context existing to warrant other weapons or equipment.
Articulation 4.5
Our Mountain Trooper has a total of 16 points of articulation.
Head : ball joint neck with pivot
Body : torso ball joint
Arms : ball joint shoulder, single rotating elbow, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double joint knee, ankle rocker
All the joints are tight and secure and hold their position when posed. The hands allow for two handed blaster posing, including holding the weapon up to the visor for a sighted shot.
While the legs are fully articulated and can move to a kneeled position, the thigh does not quite come up enough for the kneeling pose to hold and he does topple to the side in all orientations other than a two knee pose.
There are no issues with him standing up, and he is a joy to pose with a variety of neutral or action stances available - depending on your display preference.
Summary
While he has never appeared on screen, the Mountain Trooper does look the business and is a neat evolution from the Shore Troopers, and Biker Scouts to an extent, with First Order design features included. The execution of this as a figure is solid enough, and while it reuses some existing parts from the line, the temptation to reuse more has been avoided. Articulation is good, and there are plenty of posing options for your display.
I am not fully sold on the packaging design, and it will be interesting to see if this Phase 3 style box continues into 2021 if this line expands further via Target stores in the US.
I score the Exclusive Mountain Trooper from Galaxy's Edge an impressive 4.0
About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, star wars, black series, hasbro, galaxy's edge, hondo ohnaka, mountain trooper, captain cardinal, batuu, black spire, target, exclusive
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