Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,936: ARC Trooper (Umbra Operative, The Vintage Collection)

ARC TROOPER (Umbra Operative)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure - Entertainment Earth Exclusive
Item No.: No. F6253
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #237
Includes: 4 blasters, helmet
Action Feature: Removable helmet, pistols fit in holsters, blaster fits in backpack
Retail: $15.99
Availability: May 2022
Appearances: Battlefront

Bio: Entertainment Earth exclusive orange and black ARC Trooper from the game Star Wars Battlefront II. (There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This ARC Trooper (Umbra Operative) is an exclusive repaint - if you bought Jesse, Fives, or Echo, you'll probably recognize all the mold parts from those or other figures. They have the old bend-and-swivel hips, so the range of motion isn't as good as the newer figures, but it's pretty decent. You probably don't need more troopers, but black and orange, not-quite-Halloweeny looking figures work for me. (I admit, I haven't played the game, and since it seems to be DLC or a random drop it's not like I'd be able to get it anyway.)

Molded in black, except for the head, this is a pretty sharp figure. Under the removable helmet (with articulated rangefinder) is a Temura Morrison-esque head, this time with an improved paint job. Some earlier ARC figures had exaggeratedly darkened lips, this one doesn't. The eyes are bright, the subtle forehead wrinkles look excellent, and he just looks - for lack of a better word - very normal. This is the deco they should use from now on, unless they want to give him a wacky hair color or a scarred eye. It's great! The only downside is that the helmet is on the tight side - removing it will cause the head to pop out, so you may need to carefully pry it back out again. The helmet deco has a great orange pattern that looks a bit like a skull or a jack-o-lantern, so I really dig it.

The body is good for a few years ago, as it incorporates elements of many ARC Troopers from The Clone Wars. This model has two pauldrons, chest armor, a Sandtrooper-like backpack (with plug for blaster), twin holsters, fancy boots, and generally excellent articulation. The kama/skirt blocks some of the hip movement, but plastic elements do that - and cloth ones sometimes look weird. Since I assume this guy will never pilot a toy starfighter, the plastic piece is perfectly fine. I had no problems getting him to hold or stow his weapons, but take note - the backpack slot for the smaller rifle is a little loose. It'll hold, but bump it and it might fall out. You won't want to lose it, so take care when playing with it, or setting up the display.

The paint is pretty good, the orange isn't super-thick, and brightly colored paints - orange and yellow in particular - sometimes looks a little worn over black plastic. It looks pretty good here, mostly because I'm a sucker for black-with-neon.

You might be a fan of the game and be familiar with the costume, but I assume most people will buy this figure because it looks neat. It's more of a designer art figure than it is reasonable camo for most combat situation, because I assume the only place where black armor with bright neon highlights would help you blend in would be an arcade or skate rink from 1992. Hasbro could make weird color Clones all day and I'm here for it - this isn't a boring figure, even if it is an obscure set of armor, and I'm happy to have it. It's also worth noting GameStop got a 6-inch version of this figure as an exclusive.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,936: June 23, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,888: Hevy Battle Droid (The Vintage Collection)

HEAVY BATTLE DROID Star Wars Battlefront II
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. F2711
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #193
Includes: Rifle, smaller rifle, backpack, antenna
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $14.99
Availability: June 2021
Appearances: Star Wars Battlefront II
Bio: The Heavy Battle Droid was a modified version of the B1-series battle droid,[3] being equipped with firing programs to help in combat. (Stolen from Wookieepedia. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: One of the good thing about droids, they're easy to do as retailer exclusives with variant deco. GameStop had this guy as a 6-inch figure, but the 3 3/4-inch Heavy Battle Droid was a shared "fan" exclusive at most online retailers (and not big box stores.) It takes a good Battle Droid mold from 2012 and adds a lot of metallic red paint plus a bonus blaster for a small upcharge. Is it worth it? For one, sure. For army building... that depends on how much you love games.

The package isn't as robust as what you get in the 6-inch line, and it seems like the 3 3/4-inch scale is increasingly meant to be for a niche audience. The paint job on this one looks better than his bigger companion, as he's molded in a black plastic and slathered in a metallic red that really pops. There are some silver scuffed bits in there too, and it's subtle. It's hard to explain just how much better it looks - a droid molded in red plastic looks nice, but one painted red on top of that looks like it's the real thing. A movie prop (or CG model) usually has paint over whatever raw materials are used, and this isn't a benefit just for action figures - if you collected Transformers or die-cast cars, fans typically put a premium on die-cast construction. A lost art it may be, but it's really all about paint and weight, and the weight is not all that important. If you take a plastic toy car and completely coat it with paint, the eye can't tell the difference. (A scale, of course, can.) A few extra pennies turns a cheap toy into a premium collectible, plus it has other fringe benefits. For example, white paint doesn't yellow like white plastic does. If Hasbro spent a few extra cents in manufacturing, yellowed Stormtroopers wouldn't be an issue. That's why the extra paint on this Battle Droid looks superb - it's more than color. It's texture. It's an amazing form of visual trickery, and I am all for it.

The mold itself is The Vintage Collection mold we've seen in other colors before, and it's fine. It's not a huge improvement over the 1999 mold except for two things - one, there's a bit of a ball joint in the shoulders and hips so they can pivot in addition to swivel. Two, it can curl up into the ball pose so you can deploy it in that MTT you regret skipping 10 years ago. There are no wrist or forearm swivels, no waist joints, and it's not quite as fancy as the 6-inch armature. You can probably still squeeze some good poses out of him with the small and larger blasters, but it's worth noting that the spindly limbs won't hold up to gravity forever and you will want a display stand with upper body support. A disc with a peg will only be good for a short period of time before he sags and warps. That's not a knock on Hasbro's design - if they used stiffer plastic, there's a good chance the limbs would snap. If they had no articulation below the hip, it might stand up, but fans wouldn't like that. The 1999 models seemed to be the most durable, but at a cost of mobility and accuracy in the sculpt. It's a design that wasn't made with the very best 3 3/4-inch toys in mind, but it's still a good translation of the concept. Sadly I don't think swivel wrists and forearms will work at this size... but maybe someday they'll skip the joints entirely and just give us swappable arms for a future Battle Droid toy. (Despite collectors' requests, articulation is overrated in some figures - 2004 Dagobah Luke's swappable arms were definitely the right move, for example.)

I like the gear - the extra Stormtrooper-style rifle is nice, the default Battle Droid blaster is obligatory, plus you get the backpacks and the antenna to plug in the back. The extra gear has nowhere to stow, so keep track of it carefully.

Having not played the game, I can only say I like the figure. (If I knew a small one was coming, I'd probably have skipped the 6-inch one.) I doubt this is going to be an essential addition to any collection, but it's one I like a lot because it builds out the galaxy with something I don't already own. We get so many reruns, updates, and remakes of existing toys that sometimes a repaint of a new battalion or model of droid can be exciting, and the vintage packaging doesn't hurt either. If the mood strikes you, get it. (If it's on sale, get that army started.) Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,888: January 6, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,746: Heavy Battle Droid (Gaming Greats, The Black Series 6-Inch)

HEAVY BATTLE DROID Red
The Black Series Gamestop Exclusive Gaming Greats 6-Inch Figure
Item No.: No. E9621
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #n/a
Includes: Blaster pistol, blaster rifle, heavy cannon, antenna backpack, antenna
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: February 2020
Appearances: Battlefront II

Bio: Star Wars: Battlefront II features Heavy Battle Droids, modified B1 Battle Droids armed with heavy blaster rifles and shield emitters to deflect most incoming enemy fire. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: While I haven't played the recent generation Battlefront games - or really, anything since the EA handover - I do like this Heavy Battle Droid a lot. I don't know if it's worth the $5 premium over the regular droids, but you do get two additional blasters - a Sandtrooper rifle, and a First Order Stormtrooper cannon. There are no new molds in this pack, but the deco and configurations are mostly unique in this set.

The droid deco is mostly red like on Geonosis, but with additional dark grey markings and totally different battle damage. It's different, but good - I almost wish they kept adding stuff, like maybe a white panel on the backpack to bring it even more wacky detailing. The damage scuffs all look great, and he's just as good as the other droids in terms of enhanced articulation with moving wrists, ankles, and tons of arm articulation. This is a figure that gets more and more impressive the more I look at it, especially since it can crouch down and somehow remain standing hours after holding up a heavy rifle. I don't know how it does it, but these are some good joints here - and they're all integrated into the figure in a way that isn't remotely obtrusive. I don't assume it can stay for months or longer on a shelf without support, but anything this spindly that can stand on my desk for a day with a giant weapon is worth citing as impressive.

The Battle Droid blaster is unpainted this time, with no scuffing or battle damage. It's a lighter dark grey color, so it looks like an action figure weapon. Other releases with Padme or Battle Droids tend to be black and weathered. Similarly, the Sandtrooper rifle is all grey too - but in all fairness, some of them are. The antenna on the backpack telescope down and up, and the cannon has an articulated grip. It's also missing a piece from its Amazon (and later shared) exclusive Stormtrooper release, which I still need to open and review. It's missing part of the rifle near the grip from the other release that serves as a support stand - they're all like this, so it's not incomplete - but it does set it apart from the other release.

While in no way essential to any movie collection, the Gaming Greats line has been a great collection of repaints (and retools) for fans - I wish they numbered them, too. I love the whole idea of "familiar troops with new weapons fight new battles further along in the timeline," because that's how I played with my toys as a kid - seeing Battle Droids running around with First Order gear is perfect. I'd love to see more of this kind of thing (not necessarily from the games) in the toy line and storytelling, because it's fun and it encourages you to try your toys in new combinations. I'd strongly recommend this figure, but I like weird things.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from GameStop.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,746: October 29, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,644: Shadow Trooper (The Vintage Collection)

SHADOW TROOPER Or, the Blackhole Stormtrooper?
The Vintage Collection
Item No.: Asst. E5912 No. E5194
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #163
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Pistol, rifle,
Retail: $12.96
Availability: October 2019
Appearances: Star Wars (Russ Manning strips), Battlefront

Bio: Shadow troopers were elite and highly trained stormtroopers that served the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War against the Rebel Alliance. They wore distinguishing black suits of experimental armor coupled with portable cloaking devices, rendering them almost completely invisible and highly suited for stealth missions.  (Stolen from Wookieepedia. Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: For you old people, you'll recognize the Shadow Trooper as a Blackhole Stormtrooper - a silver-lensed black-armored trooper from Russ Manning's old comic strips.  I am a cranky fan, and this scratches my Old Guy Fan itches like nobody's business.  Hasbro had done a few black Stormtroopers before, but they were close-but-not-perfect when it came to replicating the unique shiny black armor with silver eyes look.   I guess these appeared in games - which is why we get it with the pauldron and the extra-ornate blaster pistol - but this is unmistakably that Russ Manning art as a figure.  If you're an old Expanded Universe fan, you already know you want and indeed need this.

If you got the Rogue One Imperial Stormtrooper [FOTD #2,598] a few months ago, the core body is exactly the same.  You get the same amazing articulation, and the same construction, and many similar paint applications - just with more gear.  If you want a black pauldron, and a rifle, you get them here.  It's gorgeous, and something I've wanted them to do (correctly) for years.  The black Crimson Empire trooper figures didn't have the silver lenses, and neither did the Russ Manning-specific comic pack Blackhole Stormtrooper [FOTD #1,491] from 2011.  It took decades, but Hasbro nailed it this time.  Next time, I hope they can do it in red.

When you get one, take note - the black plastic absorbs a lot of visible flaws.  On my sample there were some strange molding defects, including dimples in the thighs and a strange mark on the back of the leg. There was no way I could have seen this before opening the package.  Also one of the knees on mine is stuck, and hopefully I can do something with boiling water to fix that - even if I can't, I'm pretty darned happy this figure exists in this deco.  Nice job pleasing the olds and the new fans, Hasbro/Disney/Lucas.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.  

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,644: December 5, 2019

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,580: Imperial Jumptrooper (The Black Series 6-Inch)

IMPERIAL JUMPTROOPER GameStop Exclusive
The Force Awakens The Black Series 6-Inch Figure
Item No.: No. E5154
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #n/a
Includes: Rifle, backpack connects to helmet, display stand
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $22.99
Availability: March 2019
Appearances: Battlefront II (2017 Game)

Bio: An elite squadron within the Imperial ranks, jumptroopers (also known as rocket troopers) were outfitted  with jetpacks and utilized in tight spaces.  They were trained to act in unison, often swarming and overwhelming their targets.  (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability:  Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  While I did pre-order this figure, I don't own a console on which to play Battlefront II and couldn't even remember that was where this Jumptrooper came from.   As with many Stormtroopers, it uses the base 2013 trooper figure with some new parts.  The helmet, backpack, and shoulder pads are new - everything else seems recycled, even if we saw minor tweaks like the torso with a hole in the back used for Sandtroopers.   You get the double-jointed elbows, bend-and-swivel wrists, rocker ankles, and the usual gaggle of what makes Hasbro trooper figures pretty great.  It's clean - no battle damage here! - and looks like a fusion of the classic design with something modern.  It very much looks like what it is - a video game reinterpretation of a classic design.

With just shy of 30 points of articulation, this glossy white figure stands quite nicely.  Thankfully, Hasbro decided that wasn't enough to make the figure interesting and threw in an all-new display stand.  It's a triangle with the series logo on it, and the foot more or less fits in there.  it's a little tight.  I don't believe it will help the figure stand on one foot over time - mine lasted minutes - but it'll help keep him from toppling on the shelf for a little bit longer.

I generally like that Hasbro is doing some neat trooper exclusives, and the design here does look cool. I also wouldn't have minded if they kept the old Jumptrooper design from The Force Unleashed games, as that was also a good one.  Hasbro did an admirable job translating the game art to a figure, but I assume for many collectors this is a figure for its own sake.  Maybe gamers are excited about it, but demand for the Inferno Squad Agent doesn't seem to be particularly high, but the Battlefront Shock Trooper seems to be very much desired.  (I  blame it going to Walmart.)

For the asking price, it's not bad - it looks cool and fits in to your shelf of Empire dudes.  I'd rather have more movie figures, but I assume this was done because of GameStop staying on message as the game itself no longer seems to be in any real demand.   New troopers make the line interesting, and I'd be keen to see what Hasbro designers might do if given free reign to do one or two of their own these days.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.  

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,580: April 25, 2019