Tag Archives: Rebel Soldier

#3713: Endor Rebel Soldier

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

ENDOR REBEL SOLDIER

STAR WARS SAGA (HASBRO)

“When Han Solo, Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker land on the forest moon of Endor to destroy the shield generator protecting the Death Star II, they are accompanied by a squadron of commandos. Loyal and courageous, these soldiers are inteprid fighters for the cause of the Rebellion.”

Wow, a Star Wars Saga review?  I really must be scraping the bottom the barrel for review subjects.  I mean, going to Saga.  Saga, people.  I mean, in the 3712 reviews here on the site, I’ve only reviewed a single Saga figure up to this point.  Which, honestly, pretty good metrics, right?  And even the one review can be chalked up to it being my first year reviewing and me just not knowing any better.  What am I getting at here?  Well, generally, that Star Wars Saga, the line designed to tie-in with Attack of the Clones’ product launch, is…well, it’s not a great line.  It wasn’t great when it was new, and it has’t gotten better with age.  The figures were all sorts of pre-posed, impossible to keep standing, and frequently just sort of weird looking.  But, I guess I’m reviewing one of them, and none of you can stop me because it’s my site and I do what I want.  It’s at least an Endor Rebel Soldier, so I think that makes it better?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Endor Rebel Soldier is figure No. 33 in Hasbro’s Star Wars Saga line-up.  He was part of Collection 2 and was released in 2002.  There were two variants: one bearded and one not.  This one is the not, in case you couldn’t tell.  He was the later of the two releases, and the rarer when the line was new, though it seems like after the fact, they’re pretty evenly balanced.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 10 points of articulation.  The articulation’s not a bad count, but it’s largely unusable thanks to how the sculpt is set-up.  Like the rest of the line, this guy is very pre-posed.  He’s got sort of a lunging-while-pointing-his-blaster look, which, I guess isn’t a terrible choice for the character.  Honestly, the arms aren’t bad (though they’re hit pretty badly by the sculpt interfering with articulation, since the jacket overlay piece covers the shoulders, making those joints essentially worthless), but the legs seem a little odd.  Also, with such a very specific pose, army building feels a little difficult, since you wouldn’t expect a bunch of guys to all be running around in exactly the same rather strange fashion.  Unlike prior Endor Rebels, this one got a removable helmet.  It’s a nice piece, and it sits very well on the head.  Said head is a nice sculpt of its own.  It doesn’t appear to be based on any specific Rebel from the movie, instead going for more of a general purpose thing.  The paint work on this figure is notable for being the first time we really got a proper deco based on what the Rebels are actually wearing in the movie, rather than the straight green up and down.  The camo pattern on the legs is a little odd, and the feet are the wrong color, but it generally isn’t bad, and the application works out pretty well.  He’s packed with his blaster rifle and a backpack.  The rifle’s a bit warped, since he was packed holding it, but it does at least get the cool blast effect piece, which is pretty nifty.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve always really dug the Endor Rebels, and the PotF one was one of my favorites from that line.  I wanted the Saga version, specifically the not bearded one, when they hit, but all I could ever find was the bearded one, who I begrudgingly bought, but decided to get rid of later.  I eventually got this one when I sizable run of Saga figures got traded into All Time way back in 2018.  Like last week’s Durge, I took the pictures of this guy pretty much right away, but just never got around to actually writing the review.  So, you know, here we are, I guess.  He’s not bad.  Not great, but given the rest of the line, he could certainly be worse.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3450: Rebel Commando

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

REBEL COMMANDO

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Star Wars is big on is faceless armies getting lots and lots of troop builders, and that’s all well and good, but what about the not so faceless ones?  Don’t they deserve some love too?  Absolutely, they do.  Though not as prominent as the Imperial forces, the Rebel Troopers are the backbone of the good guys forces in the Original Trilogy.  They get one notable ground forces look for each of the three films, and thus far we’ve gotten the Fleet Trooper look from A New Hope and the cold weather gear from Empire.  We hadn’t gotten what is objectively the best Rebel Trooper design, however (totally un-biased and objective take there, by the way), the Endor Rebel from Return of the Jedi.  But, with Jedi‘s 40th anniversary upon us, it’s the perfect time to fix that!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Rebel Commando is a deluxe-sized (well, deluxe-priced, anyway) Star Wars: The Black Series release, falling under the Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary sub-line where everything is on retro cards.  He’s the second deluxe figure in this run, following the re-packed Boba Fett from earlier in the line.  The Commando, however, is an all-new offering, and as of right now, there aren’t any plans for a non-retro card release later.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  He’s using what’s become the standard set-up for articulation in the line, and it works very well for him.  Still thrilled the butterfly shoulders have become standard.  The Rebel Commando is sporting an all-new sculpt.  There are a couple of slight variations on the Endor Rebel set-up, but this figure’s largely centered on the more standard infantry get-up, with the helmet, vest, and basic fatigues.  The sculpt does a strong job of capturing the look; there’s plenty of layers, and the detailing is all nice and sharp.  I also especially dig how both hands get an extended trigger finger, allowing him to hold the rifle with either dominant hand, which aids in the customizability.  The head’s got the helmet permanently attached, and, in its default state, he’s got a head that’s clean shaven.  It appears to be based on Dutch stuntman Dickey Beer, who according to the old EU lore was “Sgt Junkin”, the strike team’s demolitions expert.  But, if you’re not a crazy person like me who looks all that information up, he works as a pretty nice generic Commando.  Like the Hoth Rebel, this guy gets an extra faceplate to make him into an additional Rebel.  This one’s even more distinctive than the first, sporting the signature white beard of the EU’s “Nik Sant,” the team’s pathfinder.  There’s been some debate since Rebels gave Captain Rex a similar white beard about whether Sant might in fact be Rex, and it seems that someone over at Hasbro’s team Rex, because the face is definitely patterned on Temuera Morrison.  Not that it makes him look *unlike* the guy that’s only in the background of a few shots of the movie, so, you know, it still works.  The paint work on this guy is generally pretty decent. It matches up with the depiction in the movie, and there’s some solid work on the camo, as well as some cool damage detailing on the helmet.  The only downside is that there’s hair visible on the back of the head, under the helmet, and its coloring doesn’t match with the second faceplate.  I guess they could have just had the helmet sit just a touch lower and leave the hair off entirely, but that wouldn’t be accurate, so it’s a catch-22.  The Commando is packed with both a Blastech A-295 rifle and a DH-17 blaster, a bandolier, and a survival pack.  While it’s a decent set-up of extras, it does feel rather light, given the price point.  The Hoth version was packed with more or less the same set-up of stuff, and he was standard retail.  Obviously, he was a good deal at the time, and Black Series figures trend towards limited accessories, but still.  He even loses the storage for the extra face plate in the back pack, which feels like a real missed opportunity.  Given the wider range of looks for the Endor Rebels, if they’d given this guy a third face plate, and perhaps the trench coat that Endor Han had, I feel like I’d be in a much better spot about the deluxe pricing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Endor Rebels are hands down my favorite design for the Rebel troops, and I’ve been looking forward to the inevitable addition of them to The Black Series.  I loved the Hoth Rebel, and that only made me more excited for this guy.  I won’t lie: I’ve got some issues with this release.  The hair thing, the lack of storage for the faceplate, and the less for more side of things all are a bit frustrating.  However, I’m an easy mark, so none of those issues were enough to stop me from getting two of these right out of the gate, especially once I knew there was a Nik Sant faceplate.  It’s a very fun figure, and I honestly wouldn’t hate it if we got a different version with some different faces and accessories, just for more mixing and matching.  Until then, these two are backing up my heroes in full force.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2491: Rebel Soldier – Hoth

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

REBEL SOLDIER — HOTH

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“After the battle of Yavin, the rebels fled from the Imperial Starfleet, seeking a new main base of operations. They settled on the frozen Outer Rim world of Hoth.”

For The Black Series, Hasbro’s managed to give us a quite a good number of troop building options for the Imperials, the Republic Army, the First Order, and even the Battle Droids as of late, but somewhat smaller in quantity at this point in time are the Rebel forces.  Admittedly, part of that’s to do with how it’s a fair bit harder to make an easy army builder of the not-so-faceless forces that back up our heroes.  We got a Fleet Trooper from A New Hope back in 2018, but he was based on a specific guy from the movie’s opening moments, so army building was a touch more difficult.  For our first proper follow-up to that figure, based on the main look of the rebels from Empire, Hasbro’s really throwing their all behind some true troop building.  Let’s dive right on into this review, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Rebel Soldier (Hoth) is one of the five figures in the second assortment of the Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary sub-line of Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Black Series.  Unlike the first assortment, most of this round is new figures, or at least notably changed figures.  The Rebel is one of two all-new offerings, though he will also be showing up in the standard line as well this fall.  That’s a very smart idea on Hasbro’s part, because this guy is definitely one that warrants multiple purchases.  This guy is meant to replicate the frontline soldiers we see in the trenches on Hoth during the Empire’s invasion.  He’s doesn’t look to specifically patterned on any one soldier in the film, and is like many Rebel Soldiers a sort of an averaged appearance.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  I’m happy to see that the butterfly joints introduced with the Sith Trooper are becoming a standard offering for the line, because they really add to the posing potential on these figures.  It means that he can certainly get more realistic poses with his rifle, at the very least.  The sculpt on this guy is all new, a slight surprise, given they never did anything more with the Hoth Luke from early in the line.  I can’t say I blame them for going all-new, because that old sculpt is more than a little dated.  This is definitely one of the best of The Black Series sculpts, and I really love all the layers to this sculpt.  I can also really appreciate that they gave us a clean-shaven Rebel Trooper, since most of the Hoth troopers were without facial hair, and for some reason we still always end up primarily getting them bearded. The paint work on this guy is pretty basic  for the line.  It does what it needs to, there’s no noticeable slop or major issues with bleed over, and the face gets the face printing to keep him more lifelike.  Now, onto perhaps the best part of the figure: accessories, and by extension, customizability!  This guy gets both a Blastech A-295 rifle and a DH-17 blaster, as well as a pair of goggles and a bandanna for more layout possibilities.  What’s that?  You want more customizability?  Well, pull off his enviromental pack from his back, pop of the panel at the bottom and, boom, extra faceplate, sporting that beard that these toys all seem to love.  With all of the extra parts, you’ve got a lot of distinct combinations, making army building with this release very easy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been waiting for some good Rebel Soldier army builders since The Black Series started, and while the Fleet Trooper was cool, it’s never been my favorite Rebel look.  As soon as this guy was shown off, I knew I was down for him, and I’ve been anxiously awaiting his release since we saw him at Toy Fair.  Honestly, in hand, he’s even better than I’d expected.  The options for customization on this guy are really fantastic, and I hope that Hasbro can keep this same energy going for when the Endor version gets its time up to bat.  I definitely look forward to some army building.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this guy for review.  If you’re looking for Black Series, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2121: Rebel Alliance Pilot

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

REBEL ALLIANCE PILOT

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

In my review of the Power of the Force II A-Wing Pilot back in June, I discussed how the Rebel Pilots gained unique uniforms in Return of the Jedi after they’d all shared the same basic look for A New Hope‘s trench run.  But, they *did* all share a uniform originally, which means that toy makers will find themselves with a need to fill a few spots with generic guys in that same uniform.  That’s where today’s figure comes into play!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Rebel Alliance Pilot was available exclusively with the Target-exclusive Y-Wing Bomber, released in 2000 as an exclusive part of the Power of the Force II line.  Exclusively.  Lot of excluding going on there.  He was officially billed as “Unique Rebel Alliance Pilot,” which is rather amusing, because…well, he’s not.  He’s just definitively a generic place holder figure for all of the various unnamed pilots seen in the movie, meaning he’s exactly the sort of figure you would have every right to own multiples of, and who would therefore not be unique in the collection.  What’s more, even his molds aren’t really unique.  From the neck down, he’s identical to the 1998 Biggs Darklighter figure, which is fair, since he was our first proper New Hope-styled pilot.  The head is a new piece, at least in theory, though I myself remain unconvinced that it’s not just Biggs’ head without the mustache painted.  I’d have to actually see the Biggs head sans paint to confirm this, of course, which is a bit much for me.  Whatever the case, the two heads are certainly very similar, and this figure possess the same undersized helmet issue that Biggs had, which is consistent at the very least.  May the Rebel Pilots are just pin-headed?  For the most part, his paintwork matches Biggs, at least as far as the body is concerned, barring one color change-up on his chest monitor.  The head is different, with the skintone being molded rather than painted, and his helmet having a more generic selection of details.  Everything about the paint says “designed to fade into the crowd.”  The Pilot included no accessories, really being an accessory himself and all.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

There’s not a lot noteworthy about this figure, and that kind of extends to how I got him.  I picked him up alongside the carrying-case version of Wedge, back in December when I was on a PotF2 binge.  He’s fine.  That’s the best I can say about him.  I’m sure if I had the vehicle he was originally packed with, he’d look nice piloting it.  As it stands, he’s just one of those figures I have because I’m looking to get a full run.

#2069: Rebel Trooper

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

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.

#1871: Rebel Fleet Trooper

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

REBEL FLEET TROOPER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Aboard the Rebel Blockade Runner, Rebel freedom fighters begin their defense against an Imperial invasion.”

The Rebel Fleet Troopers are our first glimpse at the heroes of Star Wars.  They are also our first glimpse at what happens to anyone who’s not a main character, as they are quickly dispatched in an uncharacteristic bit of spot-on marksmanship from the Stormtroopers.  The greatest indignity of all, however, would come from Kenner, who didn’t grace those poor Fleet Troopers with a single figure during the run of the original Star Wars line.  Fortunately, Power of the Force II would sort of make up for that, though with perhaps one of the line’s most infamous figures.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Rebel Fleet Trooper was released as part of Power of The Force II‘s 1997 line-up, alongside the Hoth-themed variant of the Rebel Trooper, amongst others.  He is, of course, based on the dome-helmeted Troopers from A New Hope‘s opening sequence, though perhaps a bit more loosely based than some of this line’s offerings.  The Trooper was one of the line’s biggest offerings (in more than one way), clocking in at over 4 inches tall.  And he’s not just tall, he’s built.  And when I say “built” I mean like a truck.  If the actual Fleet Troopers in the movie had been anywhere near as big as this guy, maybe they wouldn’t have gone down so quickly.  This guy’s sculpt definitely represents Power of the Force at the peak of its ’90s macho man insanity.  It’s actually a little surprising to see when compared to the rest of the figures from this same year, who had started dialing these things down.  At this point, it’s almost caricature.  Like someone, somewhere along the line was trying to win a bet or something, and seeing how far they could get with this.  Whatever the case may be, he’s perhaps the goofiest sculpt in the line, and that’s saying something.  As far as paint goes, the Fleet Trooper is fairly standard for the line.  Somewhat surprisingly, it’s actually a somewhat subdued color scheme compared to the movie, but the application’s clean and he’s close enough to work.  The Fleet Trooper is packed with two blasters: the standard-issue Rebel blaster, as well as a re-pack of Han’s, because this guy wanted to feel more like a main character.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Fleet Trooper was amongst the figures my cousin Patrick and I had shared custody of at my grandparents’ house back in the day.  That one got lost along the way, so this one’s a replacement I picked up during one of Lost in Time’s sidewalk sales at the beginning of the summer.  He is super, super goofy, and a prime example of PotF2‘s “worst”, but man oh man do I love this guy.

#1807: Rebel Solider – Hoth

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

REBEL SOLDIER — HOTH

STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION (HASBRO)

In the hiatus between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Hasbro launched a brand-new style of Star Wars figure.  They were higher quality sculpts, much more articulated than the standard faire, and, coolest of all, they had packaging based on that of the old vintage figures.  The Vintage Collection ran for three series of four figures each, one assortment from each movie in the original trilogy.  In 2010, the line was re-launched, with a more expansive selection of figures.  It went on hiatus in 2012, and was in the mean time replaced by the smaller-scale Black Series offerings.  Following the franchise’s 40th anniversary, however, the line has been brought back from hiatus!  I’ll be looking at the first assortment’s one true “vintage” character, the Hoth Rebel Soldier!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Rebel Soldier is one of the six figures in the first series of the re-launched Vintage Collection.  He, like all but one of his case-mates, is essentially a straight re-release of a prior figure, specifically the clean-shaven Rebel Soldier from 2010’s Target-exclusive “Defense of Hoth” boxed set.  The figure was meant to see a single-packed release as a running change to The Legacy Collection’s bearded Rebel, but that never materialized, leaving this guy exclusive to a boxed item, and thereby difficult to acquire for the purposes of army building.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 22 points of articulation.  While he’s not quite as mobile as some of the more recent offerings from Hasbro, he’s pretty good for a figure who was sculpted almost a decade ago.  He’s well-proportioned, and his uniform is sharply detailed, matching up well with the film.  The helmet is removable, albeit slightly tricky to get off the first time.  I like it well enough, though I’m not super crazy about the scarf, as it seems to make him a little too specific for army building.  The underlying head is distinct enough to look like a real person, while still being generic enough to allow for some army building.  He’s not bearded, which is good, since most of the Hoth Rebels were not.  The skirt piece is cloth, which looks slightly off when compared to the rest of the figure, but allows for much better posability, so I don’t mind it so much.  The paintwork on this figure is clean, and well-applied.  I generally like to see weathering on these sorts of figures, but for the Hoth guys, it’s not as big a deal, since snow’s trickier.  The Rebel Soldier is packed with a blaster rifle, a pistol, and a survival pack, which is a pretty decent assortment of extras, especially given the smaller available area in the vintage packaging.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Rebel Soldier’s been by far the scarcest of the new Vintage Collection, no doubt due to his army building potential.  As such, finding one wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.  I managed to track one down by scouting out an out of the way Walmart that had just put out its case.  I’m glad I got him, because he’s a really strong figure, and the best Hoth Rebel out there.

#1775: Hoth Rebel Soldier

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

HOTH REBEL SOLDIER (w/ ANTI-VEHICLE LASER CANNON)

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“The Empire has located the Alliance’s secret headquarters on the Ice Planet Hoth. During the consequent invasion, Rebel Soldiers hold out bravely against an unbeatable ground assault until a retreat salvages their heroic effort.”

When it comes to Star Wars-related army building, the Stormtroopers and their ilk get the lionshare of the attention—wait, wait, hold up.  I already ran this review a month ago.  Ah, but you see, that was the Kenner Power of the Force II Hoth Rebel Soldier from 1997.  Today, I’m looking at the Kenner Power of the Force II Hoth Rebel Soldier from 1997…with Anti-Vehicle Laser cannon.  That’s very different, and it should most certainly be treated as such.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

So, as the intro touched on, the Deluxe Hoth Rebel Soldier was released in 1997 as part of Kenner’s Power of the Force II line, specifically of the Deluxe variety.  The initial Deluxe offerings were goofy non-canon variants on main characters, but by the time this guy came along, things had become more normalized.  He stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Not entirely surprisingly, this figure has a few parts in common with the standard Hoth Rebel Soldier I looked at last month.  Specifically, these two share the same legs and pelvis.  His upper torso and arms are also quite similar to the basic release, but the pose on the arms is a little less wide spread, and the torso lacks the goggles.  Given the uniformed nature of the characters, it’s a fairly sensible re-use/similarity.  The main change between the two figures is the head.  Where the last figure had his goggles pulled off his face and a beard, this one has his goggles on and a clean shaven face.  This aids him in being a little more generic than the other figure, and a bit more accurate to the Hoth Soldiers as a whole.  Given how much more suited to army building this particular figure is, it’s actually a bit of a surprise he was the one in the deluxe set, rather than the other guy.  The paintwork on this figure is another point of difference, which is actually a little bit surprising.  This one is a fair bit more subdued than the basic release.  It’s not quite as eye-catching, but the application is decent enough.  This Hoth Soldier included the same survival pack from the basic release (with a slightly tweaked paint to match the base figure), as well as the previously mentioned Anti-Vehicle Laser cannon.  The cannon is decent enough, and good for scenery, I suppose, though it’s got the “exploding” effect that Kenner was so keen on for this line.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In doing my usual background research for the basic Hoth Soldier, I was reminded of the existence of this figure, who I recalled always wanting to track down.  He doesn’t really crop up as frequently as some of the other figures in this line, so I wasn’t sure how quickly I’d be able to find him.  Fortunately, while I was visiting 2nd Chance Toys for my birthday, I found this guy in a stack of figures from a collection they’d just gotten in.  Of the two Soldiers, this one’s my favorite, and I’m quite happy to have found him.

#1760: Endor Rebel Commando Infantryman

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

ENDOR REBEL COMMANDO INFANTRYMAN

MILITARIES OF STAR WARS (SIDESHOW)

“The men and women of the Rebel Alliance were fiercely dedicated to the principle of freedom, and would lay down their lives to win their objectives. Some were Imperials disillusioned with their government’s tyranny. Some were from worlds subjugated by the Empire. In stark contrast to the faceless anonymity of the stormtrooper ranks or the precision drilling of Imperial Academy training, Alliance troops were aggressively individualistic and much more rag-tag.”

Back in the day, Sideshow Toys was a much smaller company, whose primary focus was largely horror.  Their first big break came along in the form of Star Wars, a property that had previously been confined pretty much exclusively to mass retail.  They were granted a special license (no small feat when you take all of Hasbro’s exclusivity deals), and got right to work producing characters from all throughout the saga.  The line’s still running (though they’ve started partnering with Hot Toys for a lot of releases), but today I’ll be jumping back to the line’s earliest days, and having a look at one of my favorite “characters” from Star Wars, the Endor Rebel Commando!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Endor Rebel Commando was released by Sideshow in 2007, as the debut offering in their Militaries of Star Wars line.  The Rebel was no doubt chosen for the relative ease of creation, especially when compared to the likes of the Stormtroopers.  There were three versions of the Commando available: the Infantryman, the Pathfinder, and the Sergeant.  The figure seen here is the Infantryman, the most widely available of the three, and the one meant to represent the most basic “army builder.”  It’s the same basic design as the Endor Rebel Soldier I looked at from the PotF2 line, though he’s obviously aiming for a more screen accurate appearance.  The figure stands 12 inches tall and has over 30 points of articulation.

The headsculpt was a slight change of pace for Sideshow’s Star Wars stuff, since he’s not meant to be based on one particular actor or character.  However, he’d look kind of odd if he were too generic. So, what Sideshow did was create a sculpt that was realistic, and clearly one individual, but still generic enough that if you have a few of them standing around, it’s not going to look too odd.  While I don’t know that the sculpt they gave us is my ideal head for a Rebel Soldier, there’s no denying it’s a very well crafted sculpt, which looks quite lifelike given the period of time in which it was released.  He’s perhaps a little cartoonish by modern 1/6 standards, but he’s right on par with the rest of Sideshow’s stuff at the time, and a marked improvement over the types of sculpts we were getting from Hasbro just a few years prior.  The paint work is somewhat thickly applied and a little basic by modern sculpts, but once again was very good for the time, and, admittedly, not bad even by modern standards.   The eyes in particular showcase some incredibly lifelike work.

The figure’s outfit showcases another area where the industry really changed following this figure’s release.  It’s a mixed media affair, as you’d expect.  He’s got a vest, jacket, undershirt, and pants that are all tailored pieces.  Though by today’s standards, they may be somewhat bulky, loose-fitting, and sport some rather sizable seems, they were decent work for the time, and again an improvement over similar figures from other companies.  With a little bit of careful posing, you can get them to look pretty great.  He also gets a belt with number of sculpted pouches (and one cloth one) and a bandolier, which both match the other offerings in style, and replicate the gear the Rebels were carrying in the movie.  His boots and gloves are sculpted.  The gloves are actually just hands, and they’re very nicely detailed, and quite well scaled to the body.  Sideshow at this time was always very good with the gloves.  The boots are, unlike with later figures, actually boots that slip over the figure’s feet.  Due to being made from a softer material, their detailing isn’t quite as sharp, but they’re still very good.  Lastly, and most importantly, the Infantryman has his helmet.  The Endor helmets are my favorite aspect of this design, and while this one isn’t a 100% match for the ones from the movie (it’s a little flat at the top, and sits a little high on his head), it’s still a very nice piece, and really pulls the whole figure together.

The primary failing of this, and really all of the early Sideshow Star Wars offerings, is the base body he’s built on.  He uses Sideshow’s Buck body, which was decent when they first started using it, but was almost a decade old by the time of this figure’s release.  It’s a rather stiff body, and clothes have trouble hanging the right way on it.  It’s also very skinny and suffers from some very odd internal proportions.  It’s this body that makes the uniform look a bit more off than it should, despite how it looks when not on this body.

The Infantryman’s uniform was more involved than some of the line’s other figures, so by comparison, he’s a little lighter on accessories.  He includes a Blastech A-295 blaster rifle, his hard-pack survival pack, and a display stand with the Star Wars logo on it.  He doesn’t get some of the more interesting smaller extras, but what he gets all of the basics.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It took me quite a while to actually break into the Sideshow Star Wars line, and it was a ways after this figure’s release.  I remember being very interested in possibly getting this figure, but I just never did.  He’s not a bad figure at all, especially when you look at when he was released.  What’s more, this is still the only time that the Endor Rebels have been released in this scale.

The item reviewed here is not from my personal collection, but was instead loaned to me for review by my friends over at All Time Toys.  If you are interested in owning the figure from this review, he’s available through All Time’s eBay page.  And, if you’re looking for other toys, both old and new, please also check out All Time’s full eBay store front, and take a look at their webstore at alltimetoys.com.

#1741: Hoth Rebel Soldier

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

HOTH REBEL SOLDIER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“The Empire has located the Alliance’s secret headquarters on the Ice Planet Hoth. During the consequent invasion, Rebel Soldiers hold out bravely against an unbeatable ground assault until a retreat salvages their heroic effort.”

When it comes to Star Wars-related army building, the Stormtroopers and their ilk get the lionshare of the attention.  I guess a lot of people like to stack the odds against the heroes a bit, but it’s also a little easier to buy lots of faceless minions.  The Rebels, by comparison, all have a face, making buying a bunch of the same figure for the purposes of an army a little more difficult.  Not impossible, but difficult.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Hoth Rebel Soldier was released in 1997, as part of the third year of Power of the Force II‘s run.  He was one of two Rebel Troopers released that year.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has the usual 6 points of articulation.  The Hoth Rebel Soldier is a little different than the previously reviewed Endor Rebel Soldier, who was an amalgam of a few soldiers from the movie.  This guy’s actually directly based on one of the soldiers seen in the trenches on Hoth during the Empire’s attack.  The trooper he was based on was even shown on the packaging for this guy, allowing you to pick him out in the movie proper.  While this makes him more screen accurate, it does have the flipside of making him less an army builder and more a very specific background character from the movie.  Honestly, I’m a little surprised he doesn’t have a proper name, like Leber Reidlos or something.  That feels right up the Star Wars EU’s alley.  Wasted opportunity if you ask me.  Anyway, Leber’s sculpt is mostly unique. The legs were shared with the Deluxe Hoth Rebel Soldier from the same year, and the head would later be stuck on the Hoth Luke body for the Saga line in 2003.  That said, the parts were all pretty well sculpted.  The uniform is very sharply defined, especially compared to some of the earlier figures in the line.  There’s a lot of detail going on there.  His head matches up pretty decently with the guy we see on the back of the card (though his goggles are off of his face; a minor change), and likewise features some solid detailing.  Leber’s proportions are not terrible for this line.  I mean, they’re still way jacked up from real life, but at least he looks mostly human (which is better than can be said for another Rebel Trooper released that same year).  His paintwork is kind of monochromatic, as you would expect for a guy that’s trying not to stand out.  It matches pretty well with the movie, and it’s surprisingly well-detailed for a background character.  Leber is packed with a blaster rifle and a survival pack.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Growing up, this was another of the figures that was jointly owned by me and my cousin and kept at our grandmother’s house.  When we finally divied them up, my cousin got this guy, since he was more of a Hoth fan than I.  The figure reviewed here was just recently added to my collection, courtesy of Lost in Time and one of their sidewalk sales.  He’s not a bad figure at all, and I’m actually pleasantly surprised by him.  That said, he’s less an army builder, and more a unique extra to fill up the background of your collection.