REBEL TROOPER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Drawn from many homeworlds and species, Rebel troopers were the Alliance’s front-line soldiers in the war against the Empire. They defended the Alliance’s leaders on countless worlds and during many operations, changing uniforms and tactics to meet each challenge.”

We’ve gotten all manner of Imperial Troops and variants thereof in Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Black Series, but surprisingly few of the Rebellion’s equivalents.  In fact, the figure I’m looking at today is the first and so far only Rebel Trooper to grace this particular line.  Fittingly, he’s one of the very first Rebel Troopers we ever see, as one of the poor souls who stand-off against Vader and his Imperial Stormtroopers in A New Hope‘s opening minutes.  Though overlooked by the vintage line, these Rebel Fleet Troopers have been a fixture of the line since the ’90s, and continue to be so here.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Rebel Trooper is figure 69 in The Black Series, and shipped to stores alongside Bespin Han and Tobias Beckett.  The thing about Rebel Troopers is that they aren’t quite as straight-forward army builders as Stormtroopers or Clone Troopers, since their faces are pretty much always visible.  The options laid before toy makers are either to create some sort of amalgamated set of features for a more generic figure, or settle on one particular face in the crowd.  This figure goes for the latter option, and is directly patterned on Lt. Pello Scrambas, as played by extra Eddie Eddon in the film.  Scrambas is the Fleet Trooper who we actually get a nice, static shot of head-on in the film, and is subsequently the one who’s usually picked to be the go-to Rebel Fleet Trooper when the merch comes around, and, of course, the Star Wars fanbase being what he is, he’s got a name and a whole backstory that most people will never know.  Whatever the case, basing the figure on him is definitely a good choice.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  It’s an all-new sculpt, as is the usual trend for Black Series releases.  Unlike the last Rebel Fleet Trooper I looked at, this one doesn’t look like he’s been hitting the steroids hardcore, and actually matches the rather average looking guys from the movie.  The detailing on his uniform is quite accurate, and his vest is a removable piece, as it tends to be.  What doesn’t tend to be a removable piece is the helmet, but it is here.  I takes a little work to get it seated just right on his head, but once in place it stays there, and it’s nicely scaled to the head.  The head is sporting a solid likeness of Eddon as we see him in the movie, with a fully formed, and very 70s-looking hair style.  This is definitely another very strong likeness, and probably one of their best in the line (though they’ve been getting pretty solid in general lately). The Trooper’s paintwork is fairly solid.  There’s not a whole lot going on, but it’s a clean translation of how he looks in the film.  The face, of course, uses the printed technique, which makes him suitably lifelike.  The Rebel Fleet Trooper is packed with his standard blaster (which can be stowed in his holster) as well as a non-A New Hope accessory, the data file containing the Death Star plans as seen in Rogue One.   Sure, this specific Rebel didn’t have it, but it’s a fun extra nonetheless.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The assortment this guy came from wasn’t super plentiful around me, and this guy, as an army builder, was even less plentiful.  I wasn’t thrilled about that, and never did end up finding him at regular retail.  Fortunately, one got traded into All Time Toys a few weeks ago, and I was able to add him to my collection.  I’m glad I did, because he’s a very nice addition to the line.  Here’s to hoping for the Hoth and Endor Troopers done with the same level of quality.