Snowtrooper - SW [DV/ROTS] - Saga Legends (SL16)

Snowtroopers wear specialized white armor that protects them from freezing climates and provides camouflage on snow-covered worlds. Geared for battle, Snowtroopers attack and destroy the Rebels' hidden base on the ice-covered planet Hoth.

There’s no doubt that the most controversial move on Hasbro’s part was the reinvention of the Saga Legends line. Originally created so that Hasbro could get out some of their greatest action figure hits back into the market as well as satiate the need for army building, the modern take on the line presented the figures in this line in a different light, much to the chagrin of Star Wars collectors everywhere. With a not so great first opening wave of figures based on Revenge Of The Sith and a reduction of articulation to make most grown men cry, collectors felt justified in their disappointment in the line. After a while, a smaller, albeit more interesting, second wave started piquing the interest of those not so eager to show contempt for the brand. But as with anything Hasbro Star Wars related lately, the opening waves in general just didn’t meet expectations and were overproduced which created more bottle-necking. This in turn prevented some of the better figures from ever making it out in some places. The case in point here would be wave 3. In the USA, the over-saturation of wave 1 brought the line to a screeching halt, so bad in fact that this third wave never made its way out there. Collectors from the USA have been experiencing “unavailability frustration” to unacceptable degrees. Not one basic figure in the 2013 Star Wars [Yoda/Attack Of The Clones] line made it out. And now the most interesting wave of the Saga Legends line is nowhere to be found either. Sure, they’ll all likely be repackaged down the line, but this isn’t the way things should be, especially a hot brand like Star Wars.

Wave 3 of Saga Legends introduces Star Wars collectors to four all-new sculpts, but sadly not first time offerings as characters. Or maybe that’s a good thing? There is an inexplicable directive to get the Prequel Trilogy (or Prequel Trilogy styled) version of Obi-Wan Kenobi out to market on an almost obsessive-compulsive type of way. And he once again is part of wave 3. But the other figures, including another rehash of Darth Maul, certainly aren’t the worst things we have come across in the basic figure line. The Snowtrooper in particular is a pleasant surprise, but please don’t take that to mean that we’re happy he only has four points of articulation and a lacking paint job. But if we had to judge the Snowtrooper figure on its sculpt alone, we would have to say that Hasbro did right by it. It has an extremely screen accurate sculpt, so much in fact that it’s more accurate than 2007’s VTSC Imperial Stormtrooper (Hoth Battle Gear) (which has been released countless times since). Sure, it has a fraction of its articulation, but if you compare movie stills to the 2014 SW [DV/ROTS] Snowtrooper (SL16) figure and the 2007 VTSC Imperial Stormtrooper (Hoth Battle Gear) figure, you will be shocked to discover that the details are indeed more accurate on the Saga Legends version (especially the chest armor). We won’t for a minute discount the 2007 VTSC figure, but it just goes to show that technology, no matter how used to simplify things, will always work towards the benefit of accuracy as time move forward. There is a severe lack of color details missing from the Snowtrooper, but again, we’re pretty impressed with the sculpt.

Hasbro also decided to give the Snowtrooper a removable backpack. This is a surprise feature especially since we all know that the point of Saga Legends is to produce an affordable budget line of figures and in order to do that sacrifices have to be made (often to the detriment of the figure). The backpack, just like the figure itself, has incredible detail and has been decorated in a more screen accurate way than some of Hasbro’s more highly articulated Snowtrooper action figures. The figure also has been given an E-11 blaster. The Snowtrooper of course severely lacks articulation, so posing him will become quite insipid or vapid quickly. Thankfully it has a nice sculpt so hopefully that will be the driving factor to keep you interested a little while longer. The Snowtrooper only comes with four points of articulation and this heavily plays on the spirit of the 1980 TESB Imperial Stormtrooper (Hoth Battle Gear) action figure from long ago. Snowtrooper (SL16) comes with two swivel shoulders and two swivel hips and no articulation in the head. The only thing missing is the long blaster rifle and removable skirt. Then that would be homage paying in an extremely intense way. Confirmed to be part of the Star Wars: Rebels lineup already, expect the Snowtrooper to be much easier to locate in the future. If you asked us for our direct opinion on this figure, we wouldn’t be able to tell you that it’s an easy skip. If you’re not into simple articulation and paint jobs, this figure of course isn’t for you, but we don’t think you would be able to say it’s junk either.