Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,327: Rebel Soldier (Echo Base Hoth Gear, Shaven, The Vintage Collection)

REBEL SOLDIER (Echo Base Hoth Gear, No Facial Hair)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure Set
Item No.: No. F5555
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: 4 hats, 2 rifles, 4 pistols, 4 goggles, 3 additional figures
Action Feature: Removable hat, holster for weapon
Retail: $44.99
Availability: December 2022 (I got mine March 2023)
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

Bio: Drawn from many homeworlds and species, Rebel troopers were the Alliance's front-line soldiers in the war against the Empire. (Taken from the press release.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: A lot of Army Builder packs remain unopened around my office. Not because they're not a good idea, but in all honesty I have no reason to open them - there's no big playset or ship to fill out, so what even is the point of an army builder? In 2022, Hasbro did four flavors of Rebel Soldider (Echo Base Hoth Gear) with four new heads and some minor deco tweaks. It was a 2011 figure that was, at the time, perfectly nice. It looks good, it stands well, but Hasbro's playset output for Hoth since 1995 has been a couple of turrets and one little trench. You really don't need these guys. But if you needed to fill out a diorama? These are pretty good guys.

We'll get to them all in due time, but Hasbro took the original 2011 mold and made some changes to it. From the neck down, it's pretty much the same. But from the neck up, they're interesting with varying colors of scarf, removable goggles, and new faces. I have no concept of these guys being a specific person from the movie, or a random Hasbro, Disney, or Lucasfilm employee. This one is just some white guy with no facial hair. He fits in with the other out-of-focus people in the background, with a costume that looks really nice. I don't mind getting more of this suit, because a) we've had few of this uniform and b) this was more or less based on the original Rebel Soldier figure from Kenner. (But you know, corrected a bit.) I assume he's just made up, and for some human guy? He looks great. The hair is molded to the head, and the hairline seems painted nicely. For all I know I bumped into his inspiration at a meeting, but I don't know for sure. He fits in. You can make use of him.

The hat is new for this set, and is fully removable. The scarf hangs down like the original Hoth Luke figure, and this one comes in dark brown. (Other figures are a little different.) It fits well, and it looks great. What I don't like about it is the goggles, which are a literal stretch to get over the hat and just don't work as something you can put on his eyes - they're too big. My guess is Hasbro wanted you to put them over the hat but I don't want to rip anything, so he'll probably just hold them in his hands. He has no problem holding either the blaster rifle or pistol, the latter of which fits into a holster with no fuss.

But how is that outdated body? On one hand, it's a 2011 bit of business that could be done better today - but to date Hasbro has yet to make a better Hoth Rebel mold. We've been getting the same ones over and over. Could Hasbro do better? Yes, and I assume they will. But for scene filler, this is still a pretty good mold despite the old design. The sculpt is crisp, and the colors are good. The detail and paint look fine. The wrists and hips are swivel-only... but unless you're trying to seat them at a console that doesn't exist, it doesn't matter - and they look good. The ankle joints aren't obnoxious, and the knee joints integrate nicely into the costume design. While I would've liked something fancier, we got 4 figures for $45 back when they were about $13.99 each. And old mold at a discount? I can live with that.

In 2026, this is not an impressive figure. It wasn't impressive in 2022 either... but it was good enough. If Hasbro can make "good enough" at prices that aren't $15-$20 per figure, I think I can be happy with that. I wish the goggles and hat were better integrated, though. Honestly just having goggles that could clip to the hat or molded to the top would've been fine by me, but at least Hasbro was trying to do something here. I'd recommend this set for those looking to fill out a scene, particularly the interior of Echo Base's hangar, but I can't imagine that's a common diorama these days. Given the price went from $45 to about $29, presumably Hasbro made far more than demand required. (Heck, I almost skipped this set.) For today's price of roughly $7.50 a pop, it's a slam-dunk. If Hasbro ever does a Hoth Rebel-specific The Empire Strikes Back diorama or Rebel Transport ship, you might want more of these. (I would not bet on this.) They're nice enough figures, with decent uniforms, and even though some of them don't match what you saw on the screen they're still decent enough at filling out trenches or adapting your speeders to the cold.

Confidential to Hasbro: if you could just make 3 3/4-inch scale enlarged versions of the Hoth MicroCollection playsets (stickers and all, nothing fancy), I'd buy another 3-5 packs of these guys. My interest in army building is directly proportional to having places to station those armies. With no big playsets for several years, I have no reason to buy more than one or maybe two of any given trooper. They serve no function other than to clutter my toy rooms.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse, and I waited until later so I could get free shipping. But they're sold out, so use the Amazon sonsored affiliate link where it's $15 less than what I paid for it.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,327: March 12, 2026