Snowtrooper - OTC - Basic (OTC #25)

The evil Empire's snowtroopers are trained to fight in cold climates. Like all stormtroopers, snowtroopers are completely loyal to the Emperor. Snowtroopers arrive on the ice planet Hoth to attack the Rebel's base. Heroic Rebel soldiers, including Luke Skywalker, fight the snowtroopers outside the base to delay them, giving the rest of the Rebel forces time to escape.

Whenever Hasbro creates a new collection of Star Wars action figures, it’s a good bet that there will be a Snowtrooper somewhere within the mix. As fate would have it, a Snowtrooper was selected for the eagerly anticipated The Original Trilogy Collection, a collection of figures to commemorate the Original Trilogy of Star Wars films getting released in the DVD format (complete with original unaltered versions no less). Hasbro literally picked the most popular characters from the first three Star Wars films and culled together a collection of figures that never looked better thanks to the updated paint operations (on some but not all figures), selections of the best sculpts available at the time and stellar packaging to tie it all together. The Snowtrooper is another action figure that is saved by its packaging, but it also comes with a hefty (albeit incomplete) accessory to add more value to the overall package. The Snowtrooper isn’t perfect. Let’s get that straight right away. It’s the rarer Snowtrooper commander and not the generic infantry, so it makes the release a tad inaccurate for sticklers.

Hasbro took out their best Snowtrooper sculpt they had available at the time and gave it an enhanced paint job exclusive for the OTC release. They lightened up some of the finer details like the officer ranking squares (the blue and red ones) as well as the whiteness of the armory, but they also darkened areas on the Snowtrooper like the legs and arms to create panels of stark contrast to give the figure some depth and texture. The enhancements aren’t necessarily subtle. When you compare this Snowtrooper against the 2003 SW Snowtrooper (The Battle Of Hoth) (‘03 #19) figure, you’ll be able to tell them apart rather easily. But we’re not claiming that you won’t find them relatively similar to each other. That wouldn’t be the case at all. All of the same details can be found on this release. The Snowtrooper comes with a limited seven points of articulation. It comes with an annoying hinge-jointed head which barely assists it when at the included E-Web cannon and it thankfully has a ball-jointed left ankle which may be the most useful point of articulation on the whole figure.

The best thing about this action figure is its accessories. In addition to a standard blaster rifle, Hasbro managed to squeeze in once again a “complete” E-Web cannon for good measure. Many collectors are going to be disappointed however so we should address what makes the inclusion of the E-Web negative. It doesn’t come with it’s power chord or power box. This is definitely a setback for many collectors and we understand your reservations. For those that do not care, what an amazing gift for Hasbro to include such a large accessory plus an action figure for the ridiculously low price of $4.99. This at best is equal to the value of a Deluxe figure which goes for double the price. It’s a bargain no matter if it’s “complete” or not. Still a long way from being definitive, the Snowtrooper isn’t the final word for the cold weather members of the Galactic Empire. If you’re looking for a cool commemorative type of figure with great card back art and packaging that pulls your mind back the original Kenner line, then this is another awesome figure to add to your collection. The Original Trilogy Collection isn’t the last word in collecting, but it sure is paying homage to a great past.