Republic Trooper (The Old Republic) - TBS [P1] - Basic (#31) (Exclusive)

During the Great Galactic War that takes place in the Old Republic, Republic troopers are deployed to fight the Sith Empire that threatens the galaxy.

Exactly three years ago from today’s RDR, Jedi Temple Archives broke news that The Vintage Collection would be returning to shelves (from a certain point of view). Our Research Droids uncovered that four (4) figures from the fan favorite The Vintage Collection would be coming to The Black Series [Phase I] line later in the calendar year as repacks. Sadly, only two of the four figures saw eventual release. And even more sadly, one figure, the Republic Trooper (The Old Republic) figure was one that wasn’t going to make it out (or so it seemed). It was one of the most requested figures to reissue at the time. Hasbro was actually listening. Case assortments were planned to include him, but ultimately the orange/Phase I facet of The Black Series line look was abruptly canceled as Hasbro changed the line look to blue (along with other changes too). In fact, about a dozen planned figures were all canceled and have yet to be released. Literally years went by and everyone thought that the impending Republic Trooper (The Old Republic) re-release was a pipe dream or just pie in the sky. But that wasn’t the case at all. Fast forward to November 2016. Out of the blue, an Italian Star Wars figure subscription by Gazzetta Store released this thought-to-be canceled figure in its original (and planned) packaging. An international exclusive of sorts, JTA was once again correct with the rumor mongering as the Republic Trooper (The Old Republic) re-release makes its way to select collectors’ homes. A hit in The Vintage Collection, Republic Trooper (The Old Republic) may become a bigger hit due to its relative scarcity and limited availability; ironic since nothing seems to trump The Vintage Collection’s classic packaging.

The Republic Trooper (The Old Republic) is a tremendous effort by the sculptors at Hasbro and frankly its re-release is long overdue. The character has been faithfully recreated from the video game, but it’s important to note that the figure isn't without its faults. The deco isn’t perfect, but surprisingly it’s not too important when gauged against the other ‘more important’ aspects of the figure. A little too clean, his armor is nicely painted in alternating orange and dark gray color flashes. The Republic Trooper (The Old Republic) figure comes with 23 points of articulation. For the most part he comes with standard super-articulation, but Hasbro has included a ball-jointed torso which gives the figure a bit more versatility. It’s essential for this character to come with this point of articulation, so we’re especially thankful for that. Hasbro has generously added an incredible amount play value with this figure by adding seven individually sculpted parts (and accessories). The figure comes with a removable helmet, a removable bandolier/shoulder armor combination piece, a removable ammo cartridge, removable sheath and knife, a blaster pistol and a heavy cannon. The sheath and the ammo cartridge attach to the figure with very thin plastic pins. However, they must be placed in their respective exact spots because their pin sizes are different lengths. You can really place the figure into a wide array of configurations. The heavy cannon is almost as tall as the figure. It is awkward in size, but he can hold it very well. The figure’s center of gravity couldn’t be better. Pretty much everything is in place here.

Republic Trooper (The Old Republic) also has a stunning head sculpt. The size of the head looks a bit too small (it's about the size of a pea it seems), but perhaps more importantly than this detail is that his helmet isn’t oversized at all which has been problematic in The Vintage Collection on many figures. This is especially true for the phase II clone troopers. There is no issue of “bucket head” here at all. Details like this make us very happy collectors. We guess we have to trade one less than ideal situation for another. The Republic Trooper (The Old Republic) was part of a classic cast of characters that sent off a sad but lovely goodbye to The Vintage Collection. We hope one day Hasbro steps up to the plate and reinstates this beautiful and collector-friendly collection of figures. But many longtime collectors feel that Hasbro is way beyond the point of any positive return at this point. The current team at Hasbro are hellbent on making toys for children (perish the thought – we know) and have all but forsaken the adult collector base. NERF has become a staple. How did we ever get through the Kenner era without it? And now that the 6” frenzy is front and center, Hasbro might, if anything, return to making an obligatory set of action figures with collectors in mind just to appease them. We’ll have to see what happens. In all honesty, it’s pretty sad that an unannounced re-release of a figure we all have is more exciting than any 5POA figure Hasbro has made to date. But Hasbro will never fully process this. And this is why they’ll constantly fail and continue to destroy the line.