The Good: Good sculpt, Decent detailing, Fine balance.
The Bad: Articulation has since been improved upon.
The Basics: You can never have too many Snowtroopers and the 2006 Saga Collection Snowtrooper is a good one for the "weathered" look for the Hoth assailants.
Not too long ago, I asserted here that one cannot have too many Snowtrooper action figures. It's true, I believe. One can never have too many Snowtroopers. So far, I have at least five different ones in my collection. The subject of tonight's review is the last Snowtrooper I purchased while I worked at a comic book store. That Snowtrooper is the Saga Collection Snowtrooper from 2006 and it's a few steps back from the ones I have been reviewing before now.
For those unfamiliar with the Snowtroopers, they appeared in The Empire Strikes Back (reviewed here!) on Hoth. These modified Stormtroopers were the shock troops on the frozen world and they were outfitted with backpacks and hooded helmets that the regular Stormtroopers did not have.
The 4" Snowtrooper figure from the Saga Collection is Snowtrooper, weathered and little dirty from tromping through Echo Base!
Basics
The Snowtrooper figure stands 4 1/8" tall and is a good sculpting of the Snowtrooper, reminiscent of the Kenner one. He is clad in the white armor of the Snowtrooper and this one features less pronounced shoulder pads and a stiff plastic skirt. The descending skirt (cape?) is slightly rubbery and has a place on the right thigh that acts as a holster for the Snowtrooper's blaster pistol.
As for the coloring, this Snowtrooper is cast in a monotonal white plastic which is then accented on the helmet, breastplate and boots for both the control panels and wear marks. The backpack features appropriate gray and black highlights for the specific areas that look like they ought to be detachable as well as the blue and red controls for the backpack unit. The breastplate also has blue and red for the Snowtrooper's rank insignia. The helmet has a wear mark on the forehead that makes it look like this Snowtrooper has been shot at and survived! The shoulder pads, mask, cape and boots all are dusted with brown to make it look like this trooper has been through some combat or at least dragged through the field! The clever detailing on the Snowtrooper as far as the coloring goes is on the outside of the skirt; the brown gets appropriately darker the closer to the bottom of the skirt one looks!
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. In addition to fitting in the Snowtrooper's hand, this fits well in the holster on the right side of the skirt.
The Snowtrooper comes, as well, with a stand which was emblematic of the 2006 Saga Collection series. The stand is a 2 1/2" wide by 1 1/2" deep by 1/8" tall stand that is gunmetal colored with the name Imperial Snowtrooper on the front. The holes in either of the Snowtrooper's feet fit the peg on the stand and allow him to stand completely stable.
Like all of the 2006 Saga Collection figures, the Snowtrooper features a hologram figure. The Snowtrooper comes with a 2 3/8" tall blue Darth Sideous hologram inaction figure. The game piece-like figure is solid blue and features Darth Sideous with his lightsaber drawn and ready to strike down Rebel scum.
Playability
The four inch toy line was designed for play and the Snowtrooper is fairly good in that regard, though he is less cool than many of figures contemporary to this one. The Snowtrooper has decent balance on or off his stand, which makes him good for play or display. This Snowtrooper is articulated at the groin socket, waist, shoulders, and neck. The head is mostly inhibited by the hood, so it doesn't move more then five degrees. Similarly, the skirt inhibits leg movement, so this Snowtrooper may only kick forward, not lean back in any way. This gives him limited poseability and his leg articulation is comparatively poor given that he has no ankle or knee articulation.
Collectibility
The Snowtrooper is part of the Saga line that was released in 2006. Snowtrooper is 2006 Saga Collection figure #011. The Snowtrooper was fairly common and demand for it was easily met. Because Snowtroopers are bulk troopers, they remain popular for large battle scenes, but because other Snowtroopers have been made with more articulation, these have been devalued some. As such, this is not a great investment toy.
Overview
This Snowtrooper is all right and offers a little more variety for those building a huge Empire. But this one is only worth stocking up on when it may be found on the cheap or to accent larger scenes where the more articulated Snowtroopers are highlighted.
For other Snowtrooper figures, please check out my reviews of:
Saga Legends Snowtrooper
Legacy Collection Snowtrooper
Power Of The Force Deluxe Snowtrooper with Repeating E-Web Cannon
6/10
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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