Cool Stuff: 'The Mandalorian' Dark Troopers Are Activated As A New Hot Toys Figure
The Mandalorian transformed the Child, better known to everyone around the world as Baby Yoda, into merchandise giant. The little guy was turned into everything from plushes to action figures to hoodies, and even a Chia Pet. But now that he's been officially named Grogu, the shine has worn off, and fans need the next cool thing to adorn their shelves. That's where Moff Gideon's Dark Troopers come into play, and Hot Toys is releasing an intimidating 1/6 scale action figure of the formidable droid troopers. See the Hot Toys Dark Trooper figure below.
Hot Toys Dark Troopers Figure
The Dark Troopers have been in Star Wars mythology for a long time, but their emergence in The Mandalorian is the first time they've been brought back into canon since Disney and Lucasfilm overhauled the Expanded Universe and turned a bunch of Star Wars stories into Legends.
In The Mandalorian, Moff Gideon uses them as his own private army to do the kind of jobs that the less skilled human Stormtroopers can't handle. They've big, tough, and they can fly. Towards the end of the second season, they kidnapped Grogu and were quite the force to be reckoned with for the bounty hunter Din Djarin.
However, the Dark Troopers might as well have been scrap metal when Luke Skywalker showed up on Moff Gideon's ship, looking for the Child after he sent out a Force beacon from the planet Tython. The Dark Troopers may be tough, but they're no match for a lightsaber.
The Hot Toys Dark Trooper figure comes with high detailed mechanical armor parts, including a sleek black paint job, light-up LED eyes in the helmet, a blaster. There are also several interchangeable hands, including two fists for repeatedly punching Beskar helmets and blast doors.
Now for the bad news. The Hot Toys Dark Trooper figure will cost $260, though you can sign up for a four-month payment plan. Pre-orders are open now, but the figure won't be available until sometime in the second quarter of 2022. Perhaps that will give you enough time to save money to build your own army of Dark Troopers.