I will say they do look like they have decent detail and paint, and if you're just going to put them on a shelf and display them that's fine. But I actually do stuff with my figures. I put them in environments and poses and have even made toyfare style cartoons with them. For something like that, 5POA just doesn't cut it. I have an Imperial call center set up at my desk at work. The Stormtroopers are the reps sitting at the computers in the cubicles. You think any of these First Order guys are gonna pull that off? Not a chance. I also have a feeling that because Hasbro has done it and they can do it, that they should do it. There should be as much articulation and detail as possible.
Also, why should kids get the short end of the stick just because they're kids? When I was 5 and I was playing with the old Kenner figures I always wished they had more movement. I always wondered why they could put joints on the head and shoulders but not like, the waist. And is $8-$10 really that cost prohibitive? I mean, even I could have afforded that back in the 80s. I really hate that companies treat kids as if they're stupid or not worth effort. This is why MLP got so popular because no one could believe that a kids show didn't treat kids like they're idiots.
I'm not about to sit here and say that there should only be this line--I bought Black Kylo Ren and not the 5POA version, for example--but I can understand it in part for some characters and for a certain price point.
I'm not saying kids should get screwed out of good toys--far from it--but I think there definitely needs to be a cheaper alternative line with the right balance of play quality and affordability. We can argue all day that we would want the best Kylo Ren as a kid, with all the articulation and detail and everything, but you also have to think--if given a choice between just getting a Kylo Ren OR getting Kylo Ren AND a Stormtrooper (or Kylo and Finn, or whatever), I'll bet you 9 out of 10 kids will choose to get both.
Stormtroopers need at least 10 points of articulation (and that is minimum). Stormtroopers should have enough articulation to be posed as if they are shooting, running or standing at attention. That is not negotiable. (A similar principle applies to Cobra Troopers.)
Having something like a dozen Cobra Troopers (I ended up buying 2 or so of every variation in the 25th line, all in--would've had more if my package from Scourge hadn't gotten stolen), I can safely say that I wouldn't have minded paying half price for a significantly reduced amount of articulation on some of them that stand in the back. I agree that having
some Stormtroopers with maximum articulation is great, but after a certain threshold I think you can get to a level where the price is outweighing the reward, right? At $12, I can afford two or three Stormtroopers and that's about it; but much like the kid example up above, at a certain point I can afford to buy 2 fully articulated Stormtroopers and then 2 or 3 5POA ones to bolster the ranks up in the back. I've gotten a handful more of the line at this point now and I can safely say that I definitely wish they had a little more--elbows at least would definitely improve the hell out of most of these figures--but there are definitely characters that I don't feel like spending $12 to have a super great rendition of. It also really helps that the Star Wars figures are moulded and painted well enough that they can more or less seamlessly blend into a display, unlike a lot of the Marvel offerings I've seen (or TF for that matter--very few "Power Attacker" figures look good next to the mainline stuff) so that takes a lot of the "sting" out.
I am in the middle of three Christmases right now, but here's some of the stuff I got so far:
-PZ-whatever number, the blue robot from Force Awakens. I liked this design, it's pegwarming, it was cheap, and I found out later it's actually a female robot, so that's neat too. Definitely one where I'm not minding the 5POA and honestly wouldn't expect a whole lot out of a "fully" articulated figure either.
-5POA Finn (Jakku) who is cheap and is Finn. I like the design but not really enough to want to shell out $12 for him; but this one was actually a gift so it's all good.
-5POA Sith Inquisitor guy from Rebels. Gift from Randi who was like "Well I saw the guy and thought he looked cool and then we saw the movie and he wasn't fucking in it. What the hell, why would they release guys from other Star Wars shit in the movie line?" That's a fantastic question, Randi.
-A set of new fancy expensive microphones!
-A new guitar! Well, new to me.
-A cool Decepticon/Cobra cast shot shirt in neat orange and blue colours, and a rad neon Predator shirt with a doofy tagline from the posters or something.
-NECA Dark Horse Comics Predator; this is the one painted up like the old Dark Horse comics Predator. Wow, that sounded stupid as fuck. This is my first NECA toy and my first Predator, but it definitely won't be the last (I plan on at least 2 more) and it's in great quality. The box is wonderful and the paint is superb, and there's only like 1 loose joint in the whole figure (left wrist) and nothing was too tight or broke off; NECA's QC has been occasionally known to be spotty so I was always apprehensive about the line, but this one seems to be good. Oh, and his rocket shoulder pack thing won't stay on, which sucks, but maybe some nail polish will tighten it up.
Hoping for some really cool stuff but I'm also not holding my breath. I also have work at 10pm tonight; kill me.
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