Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,009: Stormtrooper Commander (Gaming Greats, The Vintage Collection)

STORMTROOPER COMMANDER Re-redux
The Vintage Collection Gaming Greats 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. F5559
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #254
Includes: Pistol, rifle
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $16.99
Availability: August 2022
Appearances: The Force Unleashed
Bio: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed follows Darth Vader's secret apprentice, trained to hunt down Jedi, while Stormtrooper Commanders lead Imperial troops into battle. (Stolen from Amazon. 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: Remember 20 years ago when we kept complaining Hasbro wasn't making Clone Trooper and Stormtrooper repaints, droid repaints, and other low-hanging fruit? From the ironic punishment division comes this fan channels shared exclusive Stormtrooper Commander, one of my favorite repaints of that armor as seen in The Force Unleashed game. Getting previous 3 3/4-inch versions of it were a hassle - one was a hoarded/stolen pre-order bonus at GameStop (that resulted in some fans never buying games there again), and the other was a Comic-Con exclusive. This one has more articulation and better paint, and all you have to do to get it is order it online. In the past few years Hasbro got repaint religion for Star Wars, which has resulted in a line that probably would've been more exciting in an era where the repaints didn't make up such a big part of the entire collection. A repaint of a figure you've got repainted a few times - and already potentially own - is a little less exciting.

Hasbro deployed the no-longer-new but newest Imperial Stormtrooper mold here, which didn't have the Walmart exclusive holster but has exceptionally good arm joints. The hip joints were state-of-the-art for the time, but we got much improved ball-and-socket hips last year that move much more smoothly. The wrists bend and swivel nicely, but the ankles are a little stiff so getting him in a good, stable pose may take a little work. The proportions are great, and the blue stripes have some nice scuffing to them. It shows battle damage, but that this particular trooper didn't bother to repaint his armor between missions. Hasbro's artists did a good job with the canvas they were given and the task they were assigned.

It includes two blasters - a Rogue One/Disney-era Stormtrooper blaster with the extra greeble on the side, and a smaller rifle. I like the silver brushing on the rifle, and the blaster pistol has a nice little silver mark on the sides. They're perfectly good accessories for this figure, but when compared to what other figures got for the same price you might feel a little ripped off. I personally don't know if there's anything else that would've been acceptable to make it more exciting, but a $16.99 price point is a little high for a repaint of a mold that has made its tooling investment back more than a few times.

If money is no object, this is a very nice figure with exciting paint on the front and the back. You'll love the scuffing, and the articulation is better than the post-30th Anniversary Collection-era releases. You may even want extras! As I write this they can be had for about retail price, and I wouldn't recommend going much higher because I'm cheap and after 3,000 figures I think building any more armies just isn't going to work for me. But if you focus on troopers, this is a great one for your squadron. (And if they made Kenner versions of this guy, OK, I'd buy two.) Here's hoping they put this armor into service on The Mandalorian or one of those new shows!

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,009: March 7, 2023