Shock Trooper - TLC - Saga Legends (SL 17)

Shock troopers are elite members of the clone army and led by Clone Commander Thire. When the Separatists attack Coruscant, shock troopers fight the invading droid forces and prevent the destruction of some of Coruscant's most ancient and revered edifices. Under Palpatine's new regime, they are assigned as escorts and bodyguards to the Emperor.

Hasbro didn’t get out all of the clone troopers actually seen in Revenge Of The Sith into the basic figure line as super-articulated figures right away. There just wasn't enough soace and time in the line to allow for it. In fact, aside from a very, very brief appearance of the plain white phase II Clone Trooper, the next one arrived a year later in the form of the [Utapau] Clone Trooper (SAGA 026) from The Saga Collection basic figure line. Once that happened, the floodgates just opened up and collectors could barely keep up with the incoming clone army Hasbro was making for us It was inevitable that Hasbro was going to make the most of the 2005 ROTS Clone Trooper (III 41) sculpt, but we don’t think any of us knew to what extent. A TARGET exclusive The Saga Collection Battle Packs set entitled Skirmish In The Senate was also released and gave us two nicely decorated Shock Trooper action figures. They looked pretty sharp, but they had some deco inaccuracies in the helmet. But once this character was selected for the first wave of the 2007 30 (77-07) Saga Legends line, Hasbro was able to clean up the deco on the Shock Trooper to make them look better than ever before in the line. And ever since it has become a staple in this "greatest hits" format.

The Legacy Collection Saga Legends version of the Shock Trooper follows in the sam footsteps of the 30 (77-07) Saga Legends figure. This means it has the revised paint operation on the helmet and the red paint is a tad darker. If you recall, the 2006 TSC Skirmish In The Senate Battle Packs version had the hash marks on the helmet too close together. The hash marks on the "cheeks" were placed askew as well. This version, originally corrected in 2007, has the appropriate spacing (red – white – red – white – red, etc.) which is how these Imperial Shock Trooperss appear in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. And the alternating stripes on the "cheeks" have also been placed in their appropriate locations. Now Hasbro remains consistent in the 2008 The Legacy Collection Saga Legends line. The figure is super-articulated and has a generous 23 points of articulation. Because of this the Shock Trooper is able to achieve an amazing amount of cool action poses. He truly looks incredible and time is being very generous to this sculpt. It doesn't appear to be aging much at all. Between the update paint operations and the other updates, we now have a Shock Trooper that captures nearly every detail of the onscreen character. Saga Legends was created to keep core characters and army builders in the “basic” figure line at all times, so here we are.

We have come so far in the basic figure line. It's easy to take for granted that we're getting premium action figures over and over again in a line designed for kids and the retail market. Collectors are buying these figures up however for army building purposes. Wanting an action figure with this much articulation is a great standard to uphold. So it looks like we’re in luck, at the very least, when it comes to clone troopers, for the time being. The Shock Trooper will likely continue to remain a staple in the Saga Legends line as long as the line continues. Between the incredible articulation and beautiful paint job, the Shock Trooper is indeed the definitive version of this character. Very little needs to be done to make this figure better. Many fans prefer the non-removable helmet option for clone troopers. (And we’re fans of this too.) Removable helmets are nice for Star Wars clone troopers (or other characters) that actually show their face in the films. The Shock Trooper comes with a locker of Secret Weapons. These are all welcomed extras because it is very easy to misplace or lose your action figures' weapons! Be sure to get a few Shock Trooper action figures for your collection. You must absolutely own at least one of these! They're awesome and fun!