Review – Toygraph Space Trooper AZ with Mace

It has been several months since we last looked at a toy in the Toygraph Space Trooper series (the Clear Blue Ghost Trooper was reviewed in November), but today it’s time that this pink AZ comes off of the shelf and makes an appearance on the site. And since it has been so long since we looked at one of the toys in this series I’ll pretend that I haven’t already posted other Space Trooper reviews and try to give you guys a fresh look at a fantastic vinyl toy.

Pure Campy Goodness

At just over 4.5-inches tall, the Space Troopers are a series of vinyl toys from Toygraph, a company that — from what I can make out by searching online — pumped out these Space Troopers just too fast for the market to handle. For a time the Space Troopers were hot and collectible, but as more and more of them hit the streets people grew discouraged and the aftermarket prices on individual Space Troopers dropped. Fortunately for me, I didn’t quite notice or get into these designs until the prices started falling . . . and now I have over a dozen figures in the series.

Sculpt and Articulation

The Space Troopers, as you can tell in the above photo, share several parts across different designs in the series. The different characters in the series are a mix of parts, with the different heads being the primary point of identification on each figure. This is an AZ, a nameless clone soldier, and like the other Space Troopers he is articulated at the waist, neck, and shoulders. The helmet is removable, and Toygraph has a few figures (the Ghost Troopers immediately come to mind) that do not use the helmet, but many figures in the series use the helmet which helps give them all a 50s retro sci-fi feel.

The overall approach to the toy’s sculpt appears to be an embrace of minimalism, but it works for me because with just a few lines and curves these toys have a ton of character in their vinyl bodies. Way back in June of 2009 I asked Santa for Space Troopers and it seems that patience (not something I’m known for) worked in my favor because I keep adding Space Troopers to my collection . . . because they look so damned cool alone and spectacular as a group.

Not Much Paint

One thing most of the Space Troopers have in common (besides their body parts) is that each has very little in the way of painted details. Most of the figures use the raw plastic for their coloring — and sometimes the clears have stuff crammed inside them — with just a few parts painted. This no doubt saves Toygraph a lot of money, but I’ve got no complaints with the practice since the toys look great. Every now and then the paint isn’t as sharp as I would like, but in general the few painted details look good.

Closing Thoughts

I love this series. I know a lot of collectors have grown tired of the Space Troopers line and are dumping their pieces, but that’s a great thing for me since it means I keep getting chances to grab more and more of the vinyl toys for my collection. If you like what you see in these pics then I suggest watching the threads at Skullbrain for a good deal on a Space Trooper or two, but once you’ve got one you may want more so be careful.

Looking at these Space Troopers on display near my World War Robot* toys I think I’ve gotta say that I love the Space Troopers more than I do the robots. The robots look incredible, no argument there, but the Space Troopers have a great look of their own and when they fall down they’re still playable and undamaged . . . something those robots just can’t claim.

Actually, the more I play with both lines the more I’m tempted to trade off some robots for some Space Troopers because these really are a lot more fun to actually handle. Not being afraid of breaking a toy always elevates its fun level for me.

Philip Reed wishes he could convince Toygraph to let him get a battlegrip.com exclusive Space Trooper toy . . . but that’s only because he really wants one in Devastator colors.