The Good: Decent detailing, Good accessories, Great balance, Wonderful articulation!
The Bad: Low collectibility, Terrible head/face sculpt under the hood.
The Basics: After the latest incarnation of the Hoth Snowtrooper for the Saga Legends toy assortment gets more right than not! A decent overall figure!
One can never have too many Snowtroopers when building a Hoth army. At least that is my belief and the one that allowed me to buy the Saga Legends Hoth Snowtrooper when I already have the 2009 Legacy Collection Snowtrooper (reviewed here!) and the Power Of The Force Deluxe Snowtrooper (reviewed here). The newest incarnation succeeds despite having the cloth and plastic mix I am usually not fond of. In fact, this figure might be identical to the Legacy Collection one, but I cannot seem to find mine right now to compare!
For those unfamiliar with the Snowtroopers, they were seen in The Empire Strikes Back (reviewed here!) on Hoth. Storming into the frozen Rebel base flanking Darth Vader, the Snowtroopers were the specialized Stormtroopers outfitted to survive the Hoth wastelands . . . but not the Millennium Falcon's guns.
The 4" Snowtrooper figure from the Saga Legends Collection is a classic Snowtrooper, though it does have a removable helmet that allows collectors to reveal the Clone Trooper beneath.
Basics
The Snowtrooper figure stands 3 3/4" tall to the top of his hooded helmet head. He is dressed in the white armor typical of the Snowtroopers and the skirt is made of cloth.
This toy is an excellent sculpt, with details that make him look like a well-used shock troop of the Empire. The figure is molded with great details: the boots have straps and the armor on the shin is wrapped to look more insulated going toward the trooper's feet. The shoulderpads have texture that make it look like the armor has greater definition and possibly multiple functions. The bracers look thick and strong enough to take several blaster hits. And the helmet is perfectly proportioned to make the bulky trooper seem tough and a real presence, despite his height. The Snowtooper comes with a backpack as well and that is perfectly proportioned and is removable, like the helmet. Without the helmet on, the head is that of the typical Clone Trooper, which bears only a passing resemblance to Temuera Morrison, who played the clones. The sculpt looks younger than Morrison.
Also, the coloring of the human element lacks any realistic shading or depth, which is a bit of a disappointment. The eyes are barely colored and the hair has minimal molding detail and no coloring subtlety, making it look almost like a helmet. But with the actual helmet on, the Snowtrooper is a coloring masterpiece. While this is a generally clean look for Snowtrooper, the chest armor comes with four burn marks that make it look like this trooper has seen some action! As well, the boots are colored to have some rust or dirt on them and the helmet has two scorch marks as well! In addition to making the otherwise monotonal Snowtrooper seem worn, the breastplate, backpack and helmet include simple realistic coloring details for the eye holes and the controls on the armor and backpack. This is the best colored Snowtrooper armor set!
Accessories
The Snowtrooper, Imperial warrior for the cold climates, comes with only one accessory, in addition to his stand. He has a standard imperial blaster pistol to take on the enemies of the Empire with. The blaster is a simple 1 1/8" gun molded entirely in black plastic. The blaster features a scope on the top and an elongated barrel with a power cell on the side. It is perfectly in proportion to the figure, though it looks pretty mass-produced and is not unique to the Snowtrooper.
The Snowtrooper does come with a stand which was emblematic of the 2010 Saga Legends series. The stand is a 2 3/8" wide by 1 7/16" deep by 1/4" tall stand that is light gray colored. The holes in either of Snowtrooper's feet fit the pegs on the stand and allow him to stand completely stable. As well, there is a slot for the game card that comes with the Saga Legends figure. The figure also comes with a bag featuring a random assortment of weapons from Star Wars figures (in my case five) that allow one to customize the play experience. Some don't even fit in Snowtrooper's hands; others look ridiculous there.
Playability
The four inch toy line was designed for play and this Snowtrooper is exceptional in that regard. The Snowtrooper has decent balance on or off his stand, which makes him good for play or display, so long as one keeps him flatfooted. Out of a flatfooted position, the Snowtrooper tips over, but because of his ankle articulation, it is very easy to get this figure into a number of more complicated poses!
This Snowtrooper is articulated at the ankles, knees, groin socket, waist, shoulders, elbows, wrists and neck. The head is on a ball and socket joint, but because of the cravat, the articulation there is a bit limited. The shoulders, ankles, elbows and knees all have great articulation with the hinged ball and socket joints. This gives him great poseability and allows him to be posed in almost entirely lifelike ways. The head is on a ball and socket joint as well, which allows the unhelmeted head to be moved up and down as well as left and right, but I don't know why anyone would want to take the helmet off this figure! All of the rest of the joints are simple swivel joints, but they articulate the toy well.
Collectibility
The Snowtrooper is part of the Saga Legends line that was released in 2010. This Snowtrooper is 2010 Saga Collection figure SL23. The Snowtrooper was fairly common and demand for it was easily met. Because Snowtrooper figures have been produced in so many toy lines since the Power Of The Force line, this is one many fans feel they can pass by, but as I said in my opening, one can never have too many snowtroopers, so you might as well get this one! Even so, this is not a great investment toy, despite the popularity of Snowtrooper.
Overview
The Saga Legends Snowtrooper is a good casting, except for the head under the helmet, and my solution is to leave this immaculately colored, super articulated figure with his helmet on rather than take the helmet off and have the toy look ridiculous! Great for beefing up the Empire even more, I like the Saga Legends Snowtrooper!
For other Saga Legends Star Wars figures, please check out my reviews of:
SL02 IG-88
SL09 General Grievous
SL22 Hoth Han Solo
8.5/10
For other Star Wars toy reviews, please check out my index page by clicking here!
© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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