IMPERIAL GROUND CREW
STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE
It’s long been excepted that Star Wars toys will cover virtually every character to grace the screen (even ice cream maker guy), no matter how minor their role or how mundane their position. With that in mind, you know those guys who stand out on airport runways with the illuminated cones and guide the planes in when it’s dark? Well, today, I’m looking at the Star Wars equivalent. Yes, it’s the Imperial Ground Crew, who I’m sure we all sort of knew existed, but never really thought they’d give any serious coverage to on screen. But hey, here’s an action figure of them.
THE FIGURE ITSELF
The Imperial Ground Crew figure is part of the first series of Star Wars: Rogue One small-scale figures, and is in fact the last of the figures in the series to be based on Rogue One (with the last three figures being based on Rebels and The Force Awakens.) The figure stands about 3 1/2 (the same height as a certain main character released in this series. I’ll touch on that in just a bit) and has the same 5 points of articulation as most of the line. In terms of construction and build, the Ground Crew member is noticeably shorter and slighter in build than the other Imperial figures in the line, which seemed a bit odd to me at first. However, a closer examination and comparison to the Series 1 Jyn figure revealed that she and this figure share a very similar body type. So, I pulled up the teaser trailer and, sure enough, this figure is sporting the uniform we see Jyn wearing at the end, and the neck peg on this figure is even compatible with the Jyn figure I have (though, to be truly accurate, she shouldn’t have the hat/goggles). Hasbro just recently showed off the prototype to a disguised Jyn figure that makes use of the same body as this figure. That poses an interesting question: is this figure meant to be Jyn, or perhaps the specific Crew member Jyn steals her uniform from. And, with that in mind, would the build of this figure indicate that we actually have a decidedly female trooper for the ranks? That would certainly be cool if true, and would make Jyn’s infiltration in the film all the more believable. Anyway, all that aside, the sculpt on this figure is pretty decently handled. The armor’s detailing looks similar to what we’ve seen of the uniform so far, and is also in keeping with pre-existing Imperial designs, which is certainly a good thing. It’s also been pointed out that, for once, the 
straight-armed nature of the less articulated figures actually works pretty well with a figure’s intended purpose, namely directing aircraft. As far as paint goes, the Ground Crew figure is pretty good overall, but has one notable issue: the color of the jumpsuit. Images we’ve seen from the movie show the whole thing to be a pretty consistent black, but here the jumpsuit is a dark grey instead. It’s possible this is a case of what you see on screen vs. how it actually looks in person (Han’s Hoth coat in ESB and the jumpsuits in Ghostbusters are good examples of this), in which case it’s not really Hasbro’s fault, since they would be working from the actual designs, not the final film. On the plus side, there’s some pretty solid small detail work here, especially on the two Imperial logos. The Ground Crew figure includes a pair of batons, which can be held or stowed on the figure’s back. The figure also has a big goofy jetpack thing, but it’s worth noting that it’s actually a lot more fun than other gimmick accessories from the line.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
Like yesterday’s Stormtrooper, this figure comes from my second round of Rogue Friday purchases, and was mostly picked up so I’d be eligible for the promotion Target was running. I actually didn’t think much of this figure at first, but after opening it up and messing with it a bit, I really like it. Sure, it’s not as exciting a figure as, say, K-2, but it’s a solid addition to the line nonetheless.
The Figure In Question 