Sandtrooper [Squad Leader - Version 1] - TAC - Saga Legends

Jedi mind tricks often work on the weak-minded. Such is the case when a squad of sandtroopers asks Jedi Maser Obi-Wan Kenobi about the two droids that are with him in a landspeeder. Obi-Wan tricks them into concluding, "These aren't the droids we're looking for."

Hasbro has plans to reuse the heck out of the sculpt first seen with 2006’s TSC Sandtrooper (SAGA 037) figure for the 2007 TAC Saga Legends line. It’s a pretty decent mold and it makes sense to amortize their tooling costs a bit to reduce overhead. We aren’t that enamored with the sculpt ourselves, yet we find it hard to claim that we don’t like it because we do. We find that the word “unfortunate” best describes the figure because while it has a wonderful upper body, the lower body is a bit frustrating. Specifically, the legs are sculpted too closely together. When you attempt to articulate the legs to gain any other pose aside from standing at attention, you’re going to find that you don’t have many options at all. In fact, we’d go so far as to say that the articulation in the knees and ankles are almost useless. That’s a pretty bold claim isn’t it? But we have reasons to feel the way we do.

This figure’s parts dates back to 2004’s VOTC Stormtrooper figure. Yes, that is still a pretty fantastic rendition of a Stormtrooper, but for reasons unknown it seems that a Sandtrooper is in need of much more freedom or mobility than a Stormtrooper for this sculpt. That does come across as a little inconsistent, but it appears that with every “pressing” of this sculpt that the legs get closer and closer together making posing options less and less. Another thing that seemingly works against this figure is it’s ball-jointed torso. Don’t misinterpret our criticism. We are indeed fans of ball-jointed torsos, but the one used for this figure is so loose that it never really stays in the place you want it to, thus making posing this figure even more problematic. Also, the slit that has been created to give the torso its movement is too long and you can see it underneath the armor when you arch the figure’s back. (You barely need to articulate the figure to see this slit. It’s aesthetically displeasing.)

We’re also not exactly sure why Hasbro felt the need to release another Sandtrooper squad leader action figure. Two uniquely sculpted squad leaders have been added to the 2007 TAC Saga Legends line. They’ve brought the awesome Evolutions figure into the line as well as painting this figure in almost the same fashion as another variation. It’s a bit confusing and certainly collectors needed only one Sandtrooper squad leader figure in the lineup. Because this is based on the 2006 TSC Sandtrooper (SAGA 037) sculpt, the same accessories have been included. They comprise a squad leader’s pauldron, blaster, survival backpack, thermal detonator and vibro lance – even though we never see a squad leader steer a dewback in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. We are honestly a bit disappointed with this Saga Legends figure. We really need a corporal in some form because that version has only been released as a packaging sample and never at the retail level for the 30 (77-07) line.