Imperial Forces Pack

Review by JoshB

Yeah, so I love the Black Series of action figures by Hasbro. I find myself drawn in again to that routine of hunting down all the releases, hitting various big box stores to find the elusive new figures. But there is one set that you will not find at your local superstore, and that is the Entertainment Earth exclusive Imperial Forces four-pack.

This set features four repaints of existing figures, in versions that you will not find anywhere else. In this set, you get:

Sandtrooper Sergeant - The Black Series debut! Sandtrooper Sergeant includes a white pauldron, backpack, rifle, grenade launcher, and Stormtrooper blaster, plus his survival backpack. Measures 6-inches tall and sports 26 points of articulation.

Crimson Stormtrooper - World action figure debut! This red Stormtrooper has never before been seen as an action figure in any size, so here's your chance to get the very first one. With 26 points of articulation, he measures 6-inches tall and serves the will of the Emperor with a rifle and blaster.

Lieutenant Oxixo - The Black Series debut! As a TIE Fighter pilot, this 6-inch tall figure serves the Imperial forces on the Death Star above Endor. He has a uniquely painted helmet with a distinctive silver crest, distinguishing him from his fellow squad members in the Imperial Navy. Lieutenant Oxixo boasts 24 points of articulation and a working holster.

R2-Q5 - The Black Series debut! With spinning wheels, a rotating dome, and a retractable third leg, this black robot conceals all sorts of secrets under his bronze panels! He measures 3 1/4-inches tall and sports 6 points of articulation.

The set comes in one long box, which could make it difficult to display along other Black Series boxes. On the back there is a short biography for each figure, and they all rest in one singular tray.

Sandtrooper Sergeant

This figure is a repaint of the earlier Sandtroopers but this time it has a white pauldron. That's about all that's different here. If you don't have the other troopers it's nice to have... oh who are we kidding, you can never have enough Stormtroopers.

I never realized before that the Sandtrooper's backpack was made up of Tupperware parts. I used to have the set that lid came from in the 70s.

Crimson Stormtrooper

This right here was my reason for getting the set. It's a red Stormtrooper. Let that sink in. A RED STORMTROOPER. There's some kind of story on the back, but wasn't this first design done as a weird cosplay? Apparently its a design for Volcanic environments (think Mustafar). Is this volcanic camouflage?

The mold is the same as the Black Series Stormtrooper, just red. The plastic feels a little firmer than the other figures for some reason. The red shown here is a little more vivid than it is in person, but trust me, it looks great.

His E-11 Blaster fits in the holster, and he has to carry the included rifle.

Lieutenant OXIXO

I have no idea how to pronounce that name, but Lt. OXIXO is one of the Tie Fighter pilots shot down by the Millennium Falcon at the battle of Yavin. He's the same as the previous original trilogy Tie Fighter Pilot, but with some different paint detail on the helmet.

He comes with a E-11 Blaster and holster. His lack of armor allows him to be put in a variety of poses.

R2-Q5

This was the other figure I was excited about. This R2 unit is a repaint of the original Black Series R2, and while the original version was a mess with poor paint, this one is sharp and beautiful. I can't believe this is only the second astromech droid in the black series.

Like before, turning the head lowers the central leg. Also, the removable head panels are present, but no variant attachments are included. Both doors on the front still open, and the attachments are present.

Once, again, thanks to Entertainment Earth for the opportunity to review and give away one of these sets.