Packaging - ***1/2
Although the logo is the same, the package is a darker blue, with a great name
stripe on the left side. This stripe makes it easy to see which film each
figure is from, although it might have been more useful to put the character's
name there for easy searching on the pegs.
I really like the new look, and the darker blue
works great. It always helps to freshen up a line to give the packages a
new look once in awhile, although it annoys some MOCers who are more interested
in consistency.
Sculpting - ***
As I mentioned, this is an all new sculpt, at least for the figure.
Even the removable backpack is slightly different.
There's lots of detail, and the figure is
sculpted and articulated specifically to hold the cannon. That works
great, but without the cannon the stance is fairly goofy and the figure has a
very tough time standing. Similar to the deluxe Snowtrooper, the stance is
an action pose, but that doesn't do much good if you can't keep him standing.
Paint - ****
The paint ops on the figure are excellent, with no slop or poor work. The
dustier color of the under garment is offset nicely with the brighter white of
the armor, and I'm glad they didn't go with the 'dirty' look that they did with
the deluxe version.
Articulation - **
This figure is more articulated than you'd expect, but not as articulated as
other recent Star Wars figures, or articulated enough to allow for many
possibilities.
He has neck (which can lean back and forward
slightly), shoulders, waist, hips and his right ankle. The ball joint in
the right ankle doesn't help him stand as much as you'd hope, and the arm
articulation is really only useful to get him set up with the included cannon.
Accessories - ****
There are three accessories - his removable backpack, his blaster, and the large
firing cannon.
The backpack looks good and fits on his back
nicely. Likewise, the blaster fits in either hand fine, and there is a
holster sculpted on his body that works well with the blaster.
The important accessory here is the cannon,
which is extremely impressive at this price range. This is the same style
cannon that came with the deluxe version, although there are some minor sculpt
differences. This one fires a red blast instead of a gray projectile, but
the red projectile is lighter in weight, and goes much farther. You could
actually knock a figure down with this one! Another minor change is in the
firing mechanism - the older version had a button on top, but this cannon fires
when you move the handles that the trooper holds.
The cannon is great, and I'm very impressed by
what you're getting in this package for just five bucks.
Value - ****
And how could this not get a perfect value score? Okay, you don't get
everything you got with the deluxe figure, but it's almost as much, and the
cannon was clearly the most important part. Considering you're paying less
than half, and you can understand how he gets four stars in this category.
Overall - ***1/2
This really could have been a four star figure, but the dopey stance and the
difficulty in standing him up knocked him off a half star. Otherwise he's
perfect, with great paint apps, excellent accessories, and a great price.
This guy will make for a great army builder!
Where to Buy -
I picked mine up at Target, but you should start seeing these pop up at Wal-marts
and Toys R Us stores soon enough. Target's price of under $5 each is tough
to beat.
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