Wednesday, August 15, 2012

A Cool Snowtrooper Figure That Pretends To Be Deluxe, But Unfortunately Ages Past Perfection.


The Good: Cool accessory, Decent (initial) figure coloring, Great idea, Relatively inexpensive, Good balance
The Bad: Problematic yellowing of plastic elements.
The Basics: The Battle Of Hoth Snowtrooper is an initially wonderful figure that has gotten unfortunately worse over time thanks to its substandard materials!


I love how times change, at least for the most part! A long time ago, when Kenner revitalized the Star Wars toy line, they made a big show out of figures that came with exceptional accessories. Calling them “Deluxe” figures, they used that as an excuse to charge almost twice as much. But, times change and when Hasbro released its Original Trilogy Collection of figures in 2003, one of the nice changes was that what was once considered a deluxe figure was now a standard figure, at least in the case of Snowtroopers! The Original Trilogy Collection Snowtrooper comes with the E-Web repeating blaster cannon that the Deluxe Snowtrooper in the Power Of The Force line came with. Actually, the Original Trilogy Collection version is a new sculpt of the accessory and it is very cool as a result.

Unfortunately, some things do not change and the Original Trilogy Collection Snowtrooper has aged poorly. The whites of this figure have begun to yellow than that robs what could have been a perfect figure of that perfection.

For those unfamiliar with the Snowtrooper, these were the armored soldiers of the Empire seen on the ice planet of Hoth at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back (reviewed here!). They look surprisingly like Klansmen with their domed helmets and skirt-like cape.

The 4" Battle Of Hoth Snowtrooper figure is a pretty impressive action figure, even by today's standards. Even with the yellowing, this makes for a good extra Snowtrooper figure for play or display!

Basics

The Snowtrooper is a good support figure for anyone's Star Wars action figure collection as it is a generic Imperial toy. While there have been a slew of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and even Chewbacca figures, it is hard to play with more than one at a time without some serious suspension of disbelief. The figure stands 3 3/4" tall to the top of his helmet. This is a decent replica of the Snowtrooper and it is detailed colored lights for the controls on the front of the armor. Rather coolly, this Stormtrooper has dirt detailed into the sleeves and legs, so this is not a clean Snowtrooper and play enthusiasts are likely to enjoy the realism of the figure.

This toy is an awesome sculpt, looking precisely like the Imperial Snowtrooper. The Snowtrooper is good in its coloring detail, but this is a pretty dual-tones (white and black) figure. Unfortunately, the “skirt” for the figure has turned from bright, clean white over the years to a sickly lime green that looks just atrocious. Even so, one of the neat molded details is a holster loop for the figure’s plaster pistol.

Accessories

The Battle Of Hoth Snowtrooper is mostly bought for its cool accessory, the E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster. The 5 5/8” tall and 4 3/4" long cannon has three removable legs which make for a weapon with a 4 3/4" in diameter footprint. The gun has two grips for the figure’s hand. The Snowtroopers hands are molded to grab both handles on the cannon and when it stands behind the cannon it looks great and seems like it is ready to take aim. While the cannon is amazingly detailed for the molded details, it is monotonally colored in all black plastic, so it is not as impressive as the actual figure is in that regard.

The Original Trilogy Collection Snowtrooper also includes a 1” long monochromatic black blaster pistol that fits in either of the figure’s hands. The figure also has a ¾” wide by 7/8” tall backpack that plugs neatly into the back of the figure.

Playability

The four inch toy line was designed for play and Snowtrooper is good in that regard. The figure is mildly articulated and has great balance, especially compared to the prior incarnations of the figure. When detached from the heavy blaster, it may still be stood up easily. With the holes in the figure’s feet, it may be posed in outlandish positions.

This Snowtrooper has only six points of articulation, with swivel joints at the groin socket, shoulders, head and waist. The head articulation is minimal because of the figure’s cowl, but it moves enough to be dynamic on or off the gun.

What increases the figure's playability, though, is the launching missile. The Battle Of Hoth Snowtrooper has a 2 7/8" missile which is pressed into the cannon and is launched by the touch of a button. The missile launches about 5' away and even after a decade of play this still works well!

Collectibility

The Snowtrooper is part of the Original Trilogy Collection four-inch series, a series of Star Wars action figures that was exceptionally common. This was a pegwarmer at the time, but only because it was massively overproduced. Now, they have appreciated some, but most will find this is not a great investment figure at all as it was severely overproduced. Even so, as people wear out the springs on theirs, odds are they will pick up replacements of this cool figure, especially if the replacements have not begun yellowing!

The Snowtrooper is Original Trilogy Collection figure number 19.

Overview

The Battle Of Hoth Snowtrooper may be yellowing as it ages, but it is still a very cool Imperial support figure worth picking up!

For other Snowtrooper figures, please check out my reviews of:
Power Of The Force Snowtrooper
Power Of The Force Deluxe Snowtrooper With E-Web Repeating Blaster
Legacy Collection BD55 Snowtrooper
Saga Legends SL23 Snowtrooper

9/10

For other toy reviews, please click here to visit my index page!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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