Review – Toygraph Ghost Trooper

Based on this post at toybot studios the Ghost Trooper shown here was released late last year. Part of Toygraph’s gorgeous Space Troopers toy series, I’m forced to say that this is the coolest release I’ve seen so far in an already impressive line of toys. And when I happened to run across one of these online I nabbed it instantly. And wowee, now I want the clear blue version that’s on sale now at the Super7 store. Damn. And this clear red version looks great. Must focus. Let’s take a look at the orange that I’ve got in my hands.

A Basic Body

Quite similar to the Space Trooper that Matt Doughty (Onell Design) gave to me earlier this year, this Ghost Trooper is articulated at the shoulders, waist, and neck and shares a basic body sculpt with several releases in the series. The toy’s sculpt is smooth and clean, focusing on an almost-simplistic design that emphasizes the toy-like nature of the piece over realism. I can’t explain what it is about the Space Troopers series that grabs my imagination, but even the fact that so many toys in the line share a basic body doesn’t keep me from wanting more of them. That’s the sign of a great toy.

A Spooky Head

While most of the toys in the series include helmets, the Ghost Trooper is helmetless and we can see the design’s head erupting a blast of ectoplasmic-like ghosts. And each ghosty head has sculpted ghost faces that come together to make this a fun design. Take a look at the review header, above, for a close look at the ghosts. Man, playing with this thing has me tempted to dive onto another Ghost Trooper before they sell out.

Very Little Paint

Cast in clear orange, the toy’s black and silver details are painted on. The paint’s mostly clean, but a few edges — especially around the silver — are a bit rough. It’s not terribly sloppy, but I expected tighter work on a toy with a price tag in this range (the pieces at the Super7 site are $65 each; I paid $30 for this guy). And the black details on the face are a little light; I don’t know if the paint is faded or it came this way, but the face could have used a better paint job.

Closing Thoughts

Despite the less-than-perfect paint, I have to say that the Ghost Trooper is everything I was hoping for. It feels great in-hand, has just enough articulation to be poseable, and looks better than almost any other Japanese vinyl toy I’ve ever played with. I’ve talked with a few people who don’t think the Space Trooper line is all that great, but I could see myself grabbing dozens of these if I’m not careful.

A fun toy, and a spooky ghosty head-creation that looks great in my collection.

Philip Reed has one other Space Trooper to review, but that’s gonna have to come after some other toys make it onto the site. He can’t explain why he hasn’t reviewed a mass-market action figure in so long, but he hopes you’re enjoying the vinyl and resin toy reviews.