VC 231 Stormtrooper Review & 400th Blog Post

 When I posted my thoughts on the ANH Retro figures, my counter indicated that as my 399th blog post. So naturally that meant my next post was the 400th, and that's a big deal. One of my all time favorite comic books is Batman 400, as it had an intro written by Stephen King, and it celebrated Batman through the ages, as the main plot of the comic involved the escape of Batman's foes at Arkham Asylum at the hands of Ra's Al-Ghul. Batman had help from Robin (Jason Todd, who had just taken the costume), Talia Al-Ghul, Catwoman, Commissioner Gordon, and Detective Harvey Bulloch. There were numerous guest artists, plus it had Batman team up with Catwoman while Robin and Talia joined forces. The latter team would be interesting as Talia helped resurrect Jason from his death at the hands of the Joker. If the plot sounds familiar, it was replicated 90 issues later when the Knightfall Saga began. The bottom line is, it's a favorite comic book. 

So what to do about my 400th post? It had to be special. And it had to be about the Vintage Collection. The big collecting news of the week is the VC Heir To The Empire 3 pack, and the Black Series Shadows Of The Empire 2 pack. I could talk about those, but not really. Now I did order 2 HTTE packs, one to open and one to keep carded, and I'll have some more pack ideas and wish lists I'll blog about next year. But this post has to be special. I have the live action Grand Admiral Thrawn and Peridea Ahsoka, the latter I have to do some slight work as the leg joints are extremely tight. So, my alternative was VC 231, the Stormtrooper as seen in the OT. So, I chose that figure since I haven't reviewed it yet, and with the world building elements that only the Vintage Collection can provide, I decided this would be the figure to review. 

I had to screenshot the card image from Amazon, where you can still find this figure BTW. Also Wal-Mart has dropped the price online only, so if you want to pick this figure up, or build your squad, now is the time! 

VC 231 is a slight retool of  the VC 140 Rogue One Stormtrooper with a couple differences: rocker ankles and a holster. As you can see in the photo above, Hasbro has gotten quite a bit of use out of the VC 140 sculpt. From left to right it's the VC 231 Stormtrooper, Incinerator Trooper, Remnant Stormtrooper, Artillery Trooper, Mimban Stormtrooper and VC 140 Stormtrooper. There are some other figures that have used the buck, like the Shadowtroopers from Battlefront and The Force Unleashed, but you get the idea. In the 5 years since VC 140, we have gotten a lot of Stormtrooper variants. 

ARTICULATION 

Upper body articulation is quite easy and effortless. The lower body articulation, however is tricky. It is a chore moving his legs as he has the old style ball socket hips. It took me a bit to get the figure on the left to "kneel". The rocker ankles do help in these poses, and as you'll see below in some more photos, this figure is very well balanced. Check out the squad below:

They have the standard 17 POA that most of the VC 2.0 figures have. Normally I don't like the rotating upper chest, but since it's an armored figure I won't complain too much, although he should have waist articulation instead. This doesn't detract from my enjoyment of this figure. He has also the barbell neck, so his head articulation is flawless. It's easy to remove and add an officer pauldron to these figures. I took the one from the Stormtrooper 4 Pack and swapped it on one of mine. Easy to do! But, this figure would benefit from having barbell hips, once done this figure will be perfect, and definitive. 

SCULPT

The sculpt is quite good. As you can see in the above photo, the holster is something that is very different from VC 140. More on that when I cover the accessories. The plastic on VC 140 has a tendency to yellow a bit, which was one of the reasons why I ended up purchasing new Stormtroopers. Well that and a Wal-Mart gift card (found 5 in a store and called it a day). Whether or not VC 231 will have the same problem remains to be seen, as I keep my loose figures in a storage bin out of sunlight. 

ACCESSORIES 

He only comes with the standard Stormtrooper blaster. However, it fits in the holster and it won't come out. So storing this figure loose you have nothing to worry about. He won't lose his blaster. For VC 140 I had to store the blasters in a small plastic bag. Not anymore! He can hold his weapon quite well in his right hand. I honestly haven't tried placing the weapon in his left hand, but it appears to be able to hold it just as well. In the photo above you can see the benefit of rocker ankles on the far right. He can hold the long rifle that comes with the Shadowtroopers, but I opted not to take a picture. His hand having a trigger finger makes for a secure fit. That blaster won't easily fall out. Huge plus, given the recent issues with some figures, like Master Sol. He can however hold the E-Web heavy laser cannon, as you'll see below. 

WORLD BUILDING

Escorting live action Thrawn. When I do my review on LA Thrawn, you'll find out why that figure disappoints me. But, he looks good for this photo. That's what matters. 

A different Luke photo, but I'm most proud of the one with Peridea Ahsoka "Force pushing" one of the Stormtroopers (yes he's leaning against the wall). My review on that Ahsoka figure will come early next year. 

My custom Mara Jade takes center stage with The Hand of Judgement, taken from the Timothy Zahn Legends Novel Choices Of One. If I had Luke in the photos I needed Mara in at least one as well. As you can see, it's easy to show off your squad, no matter how you want to display them.

CONCLUSION 

I originally didn't want to get this figure. I have over a dozen of the RO Stormtroopers and was fine with them, until some started to yellow. I was able to find mine at Wal-Mart, and you can get it for about the 2019 price at Wal-Mart's online store, and on Amazon as well as Entertainment Earth. So you shouldn't be paying higher than retail price for this figure, yet. Which is good news if you're looking to get some. I would get a minimum of 5: 4 squad members and another to be the officer in charge. Will this be in my best of 2024? Tune in 2 weeks from today when I make the reveal of what I liked, and didn't, from the Vintage Collection in 2024. But Hasbro should always make this figure available, you need troops, and it's cheaper to build a squad in the Vintage Collection than it is in the Black Series. This is the definitive OT era Stormtrooper, and for now, I don't see the need to get more. Until they update the hips to barbell, then I am going to need a new squad. 

LAGNIAPPE 

I had to comment on this, but this Heir To The Empire 3 Pack is a dream come true! Hopefully this sells enough to convince Hasbro to make more Legends figures. This hopefully means Mara Jade, Talon Karrde, Rukh and Clone Luke (Luuke) are in the Pipeline. And its supposed to arrive just before May 4th...I can't wait for this to arrive! 

Thanks for reading! All pictures except the carded Stormtrooper (Amazon) and the HTTE 3 Pack (Hasbro Pulse) are mine. A special thanks to Chris and Nomad at BanthaSkull for allowing me to post this link in the comments section! Please share this link on your social media accounts so I can get more readers.