Thursday, November 27, 2008

Figure of the Day: Day 902: Rebel Vanguard Trooper

REBEL VANGUARD TROOPER Rebel Soldier
30th Anniversary Collection Basic Figures
Item No.:
Asst. 87500 No. 87652
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #3053
Includes: Blaster, helmet, bazooka, coin (stand in 2008)
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: November 2007
Appearances: Star Wars: Battlefront II

Bio: These Rebel soldiers are demolitions experts who specialize in destroying Imperial ground and air vehicles. Always given the tough assignments, they employ heavy weapons capable of causing significant damage and destruction that will weaken the advance of Imperial vehicles in battle. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' desk.

Commentary: Every now and again Hasbro goes above and beyond when creating a figure for its token repaint waves, like this Rebel Vanguard Trooper. It mixes parts from multiple existing figures and adds an all-new gun to create a figure that, at first glance, doesn't seem like a repaint at all. The body is the 2006 Endor Rebel Trooper, which itself was a retooled 2002 Endor Rebel Trooper. The helmet is based on the Captain Antilles figure, and the vest comes from a 2001 Rebel Trooper from the original film. The end result is a heavily armored version of the cannon fodder troopers that opened the original Star Wars, which makes it another in a growing line of game-based figures. The articulation is decent, as is the range of movement-- with the vest instead of a jacket, you can actually move his arms at the shoulders. Overall, it's a neat figure. If Hasbro cranked out more Rebel-themed ground vehicles I could totally see a bunch of these guys firing on enemies from the back, or being in some sort of battle-based diorama. Sadly, this is one of two Battlefront-specific figures from the trilogy era. This makes the prospect of special battles a little less exciting.

Collector's Notes: Easy to get and fairly neat, this is an Expanded Universe figure fans should enjoy even though it's not a major character. Nicely done, Hasbro.


Day 902: November 27, 2008

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