Figure of the Day: Day 179: Spacetrooper

SPACETROOPER Expanded Universe
Power of the Force Expanded Universe, Collection 2
Item No.: Asst. 69605 No. 69892
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Hidden arm gun, adjustable space pack
Retail: $5.99
Availability: Fall 1998
Appearances: Heir to the Empire

Bio: Five years after the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance has driven the evil Empire into a distant corner of the galaxy. But a new danger has arisen: the last of the Emperor's warlords has devised a battle plan that could destroy the New Republic. The ability of spacetroopers to operate exclusively in space made them a valuable asset to the warlord, Grand Admiral Thrawn. These heavily armed stormtroopers wear full-body armor and have equipment that enables them to function as personal space-capable assault vehicles. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelf.

Commentary: When first announced, fans weren't entirely sure where this Spacetrooper came from-- eventually, it was revealed to be the comics for Heir to the Empire, where it was really not what would you call obvious. This figure was one of the very first with ball-jointed shoulders, which was a great addition as before this, it was unheard of. The figure has a pearly white finish, and has a few "action features" in the form of a hidden wrist blaster and a jet pack you can adjust. The sculpting is pretty basic and nothing too amazing, but for the time it was an exciting release and a fairly good figure. Along with the Darktrooper, these were the two last figures to be made before the Power of the Force collection was consolidated down to one assortment, and were the final "official" comic/game/novel Expanded Universe figures for a few years.

Collector's Notes: Upon release, "Collection 2" assortments were hard to come by due to unsold figures from 1997 and 1998 lingering on shelves-- like Malakili, the Rancor Keeper, and Nien Nunb. I myself only saw this figure in a store once, and that's because I found it, on clearance, in a Toys "R" Us shopping cart (abandoned for more than 10 minutes, I should add) on New Year's Day after I was out on a party all night. And never saw one again. The Darktrooper, which shipped alongside this figure, holds the distinction of being the first (and only) basic assortment action figure I never once saw on store shelves. But I digress. This is a great figure and even though it's not quite what most fans were expecting when Hasbro (then Kenner) told us Thrawn, Mara Jade, and Dark Empire Luke were on the way, it's still a heck of a nice figure and you should totally go get one.

Day 179: November 1, 2006