Bandai Model Kit 1/12 scale Star Wars Imperial Stormtrooper

From Wookiepedia :
Stormtroopers were the elite soldiers of the Galactic Empire. Like Imperial-class Star Destroyers and TIE fighters, stormtroopers served as ever present reminders of the absolute power of Emperor Palpatine. These faceless enforcers of the New Order were considered an extension of the Emperor's will, and thus they often used efficient yet usually unreasonable tactics as a way to keep thousands of star systems throughout the galaxy in line. At the height of the Empire, stormtroopers had effectively become symbols of major authority. With few exceptions, they were distinguished from all other military units by their signature white armor.

Star Wars fever are here again with the announcement of , the seventh installment of the Star Wars movie franchise and the first made by Disney. It will be released in Dec 2015. I reckon there is a restrain order from the primary merchandise holder, or Disney, to not release any figures (or merchandise) related to the new movie. Hence the hype started to build right from the start of this year with toys manufacturer obtaining licenses to make Star Wars toys.
Barely a year or so back, 1/12 scale (or 6inch) Star Wars figurines are hardly in existence. Hasbro does a cameo with their Power of the Force (POTJ) Mega Action (or Mega Force) line back in 2000 and only released 3 characters in Padawan Obi Wan Kenobi, Darth Maul and Destroyer Droid. Perhaps some independent garage vinyl kit or non-articulated statues are also available in this scale but aren't mainstream.
Fast forward 15 years, the might of modern toy manufacturing shows its prowess. Just a Stormtrooper alone, there are already 5 different manufacturers making it. We have Bandai Model Kit Stormtrooper, which is the main review here. Then we have Hasbro's Black Series 6" Stormtrooper, S.H.Fguarts Stormtrooper, Kaiyodo's Revoltech Stormtrooper and Medicom's MAFEX Stromtrooper - all in 1/12 scales. There could be more I may have missed out but these are mind boggling enough to say the least.
It would be fun to have each version on hand to perform a comparison but I'm satisfied with just this Bandai model kit version. More pictures as follows....

Bandai made an excellent kit and I'm glad, and lucky, to be able to purchase 2 kits when it was released since I did not pre-order any. Thanks to the video review by The Fwoosh @ youtube that convinces me I need this Stormtrooper in my barrack.
The design for pieces of the kit were well thought of in a sense that the white and black are build in without the need to take out your paint and brush. Take for example the black dots on the stomach armor are actually black pins protruded into the holes engineered on the white piece of the armor. Brilliant! Other areas in the helmet that needed more details are supplemented by decals. Bandai provided 2 types of decals - a straight peel and paste sheet and a water transfer type. I used the former since water transfer decals can get quite messy if you are not careful.
Another area of commendation are the crisp glossy white armor. I think none of the other brands managed to achieve this as I reckon vinyl is being used as the primary material. Bandai uses ABS plastic, the hard type and hence enable the glossiness. As I remember in the movie, Stormtroopers had crisp glossy armor and that is one of the main attraction for me. Bandai achieved this and it has my thumbs up.
Accessory wise, Bandai is not stingy about it. It gave the Stormtrooper 3 weapons of choice to chose from - BlasTech E-11 Blaster Rifle which it is shown in these pictures, DLT-19 Heavy Blaster Rifle (German WWII MG-34 MG if you are familiar with military weaponry) and a SE-14r Light Repeating Blaster. 4 spare hands - Right relax hand, Right fist hand, Left pointing hand, Left trigger hand. Also a square base for the trooper to be displayed.

The kit have above average articulations and can make dynamic poses with relatively ease. Running pose can be achieve using the provided base where the feet can fit snugly onto the groove molded on the base. Since the figure is relatively light weight, there is no need to have a waist or crotch piece holding it up with one feet on the peg for the running pose. That adds to the natural stance when in display.

Quick comparison shot of Hasbro's Black Series 6" Stormtrooper (left) to this Bandai kit (right) and it is easy to distinguish the two apart. As mentioned earlier, Hasbro's trooper was made with vinyl material therefore it cannot achieve a glossy smooth shiny armor. In comparison, Hasbro's version seem a tad dull. Joints are also exposed from the Hasbro's samples and the paint job on the helmet is kind of a sketchy.... but I'd let it slide given it is a mass produced toy. However, one thing I prefer Hasbro's over Bandai is for the slightly longer neck it has. Bandai's sample seem to have a really short neck and it looks like the face are already sitting on the shoulder. On a closer look at the film, the Stormtrooper does seems to have some form of higher clearance from the bottom of the helmet to the top of the shoulder. Not a deal breaker for me but it can be annoying at times :)
Be sure to check out my other entry on Bandai 1/12 Star Wars Kit in R2-D2 and R5-D4. In fact, that is the second kit I build. Stormtrooper is the first one. Have since also gotten C-3PO and Biker Scout. Hope to start building them soon.