Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Figure of the Day: Day 941: Galactic Marine

GALACTIC MARINE Wal-Mart Exclusive Clone Trooper
30th Anniversary Collection Comic Packs
Item No.:
Asst. 87557 No. 87559
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, Backpack, Helmet, Commander Keller figure, comic book
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $11.87
Availability: January 2008
Appearances: Dark Horse comics

Bio: The Clone Wars are over. The Galactic Republic army is defeated, and Order 66 has eliminated most of the Jedi or forced them into hiding. Wild rumors are spreading that the Jedi tried to overthrow the government and cannot be trusted. On the planet Toola in the Outer Rim, Commander Keller is hunting down two fugitive Jedi who survived Order 66. With the help of a Galactic Marine, Keller tracks them through the deep snow as they head toward Ithaqua Station. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' desk.

Commentary: When fans saw the purple version of this figure, they demanded a snow-friendly Galactic Marine for their very own. And rightly so-- it's a shame it had to end up as a comic pack retail exclusive, but hey, you got one. Consider yourself lucky. The figure is basically the same as the standard Galactic Marine except now it's largely an off-white color with some grey. He's super-articulated, but his skirt prevents much leg movement. Also, his feet are fairly rounded at the bottom of the boots, meaning he's likely to fall over without careful support or the right pose. It's tricky, but it's a great figure from a brief scene in a fairly nice comic book. If you bought the previous versions you know exactly what to expect here-- the head is more or less based on Bodhi Taylor's, the gun is the newer, thinner one, and he could almost stand in for a Snowtrooper in the right diorama. The deco is sharp, and it didn't turn out sloppy-- It's a keeper. Hopefully Hasbro will make single ones for the army builders some day.

Collector's Notes: The roll-out for this figure, and his wave of exclusives, was more than a little strange. Depending on where you lived and shopped, it could pop up at any time over several months. For all I know, your local stores may still have these.


Day 941: January 21, 2009

2 comments:

Ben Carthage said...

You know, I'm almost surprised we haven't seen this guy in '501st blue' or 'Shocktrooper Red' or what have you.

Anonymous said...

I would have liked this more if it was bright white to match Keller. So instead of displaying, I kitbashed it with the Concept Snowtrooper and the results turned out pretty good.