Re: Jakk's 31" Star Wars line
I'm a huge Stormie fan so I had to have this JAKKS Pacific's Giant Size Star Wars 31" Stormtrooper figure. The helmet is a bit too small, but so is in 90% of other collectibles, including high end Stormtrooper figures, mini-busts or statues. You barely notice that when you have it in hand(s) IMO. My issue when I got it was related to the helmet, which was made from a different material (PVC most likely) than the body (ABS), and thus not as shiny as the body armor. So I knew I had to do something about it: I decided to add a few layers of clear lacquer to it, and what an excellent idea that was!
It is easy to do it. Just need a cloth or an old t-shirt to cover the rest of the body and tighten it at the neck, clean up the helmet a bit (not to have dust on it), then simply spray some clear/transparent lacquer over the helmet 2-3 times - I used clear car lacquer in spray can. After each spraying you need to let the lacquer cure for about 30 minutes, then spray it again until the helmet shines. The helmet itself is somewhat porous, so the lacquer adheres to it without any problem, and becomes shiny.
I accurized the helmet a bit more by adding the black ear stripe/bar (wish I could redo the blue tubing stripes too - that could prove too complicated needing full helmet repaint), and repainted 3 of the ab buttons blue like in the movies, but for the regular fan these are not a must, the figure looks just fine.
This figure is big, about 80 cm in height, and it really looks awesome, especially if you modded the helmet as said above. There are a few more minor issues like the visible screws in the back, or the blaster which is not too accurate (it has some very accurate parts but others are not), but I realize why the collectors who got the clones and Vader so far are so enthusiastic about them.
This might be a toy, but it is VERY impressive in person, and for around $40 NOTHING beats it! If I knew how cool this was I would have paid double price easy. It has the presence of a statue and not of a simple figure.
In the end the Jakks Stormtrooper is FANTASTIC!
Pros:
- excellent price
- huge size
- reasonable accuracy for its price and size
- very impressive in person, looks more like a statue than a simple figure
- pretty sturdy and stable on its own
- helmet sculpt better than high end statues or figures
Cons:
- helmet is made of porous flat PVC, while the armor is shiny ABS - though this can be easily fixed as already said above, by spraying clear lacquer on the helmet - helmet being porous helps the lacquer adhere well, and this makes the helmet very shiny in the end
- visible screws in the back of the figure
- lack of complex articulation
- helmet a tad too small - but this unfortunate feature is present on high end figures or statues too
- helmet blue stripes placed too low
- blaster could have been a bit more accurate, but not a big deal IMO
