Original review by Chris, 10/9/14

The Concept Stormtrooper was the Fans’ Choice figure.  In 2003.  Even though there are more McQuarrie concepts than slots in the McQuarrie Signature Series, Hasbro decided to launch the subset with a re-release.  At the time I felt that launching the Signature Series with a re-release was a bit of a let down, but I do have to say that the 2003 version was near impossible to find.  It’s one of only two figure that I was never able to find at retail (when I was actually trying that is).  For the re-release, Hasbro greatly added to the paint operations over the previous version, but the four year old mold was showing its age.

The most glaringly out-of-date aspect of the figure is the holster.  There was a time when working holsters looked like a mail box tacked to the figure’s hip and this Concept Stormtrooper is exhibit A. The holster is at least as wide as the figure’s leg. It looks more suited for carrying golf clubs than it does a blaster. The lightsaber is also a bit off.  McQuarrie painted his saber’s very narrowly with a diffused lighting affect.  In an attempt to capture this Hasbro sculpted a narrow white core to the saber which is wrapped in a translucent blue plastic.  It’s a noble effort, but it doesn’t work.  It looks like the Concept Stormtrooper is holding a giant blue Popsicle.

Obviously releasing an older sculpt also means older articulation.  In 2007 we were not yet to the super articulated era across the board, but we were getting close.  The figure does have ball jointed shoulders, but only a single swivel joint on each arm.  This simply doesn’t provide enough posing power to achieve anything but basic saber poses.  Compared to the legs, the arms are a marvel of action figure articulation.  The lower body has no articulation aside from the swivel hips.  By this point, we really expected more from the white armor army builders.  Where Hasbro does up the game is with the paint details.  Ever line of the armor is traced with a subtle dark gray line even on the palms.  The somewhat bland white shield from the original release has been upgraded to a battle tested metallic version.  A basic, but nicely equipped figure, the Concept Stormtrooper comes in at a 6 out of 10.

Updated Review by Bret, 9/4/19

In addition to the negatives Chris mentioned, the “mailbox” holster isn’t even on the correct hip.  It seems the drawings have a slimmed down holster on the right hip, although it’s hard to clearly see the holster or the blaster.  Some artwork shows the stormtrooper with a larger rifle that slings over the troopers’ shoulder. That would have been a neat inclusion.  But that pales in comparison to the 2003 articulation, which was carried forward in this repaint.  Ball jointed shoulders, along with a swivel neck, waist, elbows, hips, and one wrist make for a fairly poor action figure at 9POA.  The sculpt is definitely compelling, as is the paint job.  The shield is particularly well done, with nice paint and battle damage.  We’ll keep the original score of a 6, but it’s really a 5.  The extra point is based on emotion, simply because this figure exists, commemorating the famous pre-production artwork of Ralph McQuarrie.  I’m glad to have it, even if it is an underwhelming achievement by Hasbro.