Hoth Rebel Trooper - TLC - Basic (BD 42)

To withstand Hoth's brutal climate, Rebel troopers wear polarized snow goggles, insulated jackets, heavy boots and white helmets. They also make adjustments to their weapons to ensure their blasters and cannons function in the subzero conditions.

The Hoth Rebel Trooper is finally released, and it is a blithe reception! Immediately becoming one of the best figures of all time and perhaps one of the top 10 best figures in The Legacy Collection, the Hoth Rebel Trooper should not disappoint in any capacity. We have wished for a while now that Hasbro would release a definitive version of the snowy Rebel trooper and it has finally come true for collectors. (Editor’s Note: A running change was due in the Attack Of The Clones wave, but it never came. As of Toy Fair 2010, Hasbro has yet to slot it into the line, although they claim it will be coming in an exclusive Battle Packs set “soon.” Only time will tell us if this ever comes to pass.) The Hoth Rebel Trooper has amazing quality as well as incredible super-articulation and is nothing less than delightful in every sense of the word. Over the years we received many inceptions of the Hoth Rebel Trooper/Soldier, but they all fell short in one way or another. The first one we got was of course in 1981 as the incorrectly labeled “Rebel Commander” from the vintage The Empire Strikes Back toy line. The next basic figure attempt was over a decade and a half later and released in 1997, but this time came with a beard. The figure was cool for the time, but a look at him by today's standards will prove that he suffered from an awkward stance, large frame and bulky proportions that just don’t work (and apparently never did). The next version was in the form of a deluxe figure (similar to the 1997 carded version) but this time with painted on goggles for eyes and no facial hair. January 2004 arrived and we got the “Buzz Lightyear” version (also without facial hair but goggles up) with 2004's SW [S - P3] Hoth Trooper (Hoth Evacuation) ('04 #01) figure. A vast improvement from earlier designs, things were finally starting to look up for this action figure with this release. But just as time ages everything, we all came to realize that he was too under-articulated as well as “a little short for a Hoth Trooper” (actually – a lot) and the interest for him waned and made us hanker for a future update. That future update is here, and Hasbro has delivered a gem of a figure that has exceeded the adjective 'excellent' to the point of being 'stupendous' and will no doubt provide parts or be the basis for many, many forthcoming Hoth officers and soldiers. At least we hope so because he is that good!

Hoth Rebel Trooper has a remarkable sculpt and Hasbro has ‘spoiled’ us to the point that we do expect this quality for every figure that they make for us. But this is a good standard to have, and we believe it keeps Hasbro on their toes to ensure that this caliber of quality can be maintained for future action figure releases. This Hoth Rebel Trooper dwarfs the 2004 version significantly, and he has perfectly executed and extremely well-hidden points of articulation. All of the joints function beautifully, and you will be thrilled to know that their utility is nearly flawless. He can maintain poses as you desire and nothing makes a “fanboy” happier than an awesomely posed action figure. You may come across a version of this figure without his “skirt” as this had been confirmed by Hasbro a while back. (Some had escaped out of the factory before they were updated.) We prefer to have the corrected version because, well, it is the correct version and rarely is less ever more in our Star Wars collecting universe. And it, of course, looks more accurate. But we suppose that the obsessive carded collector will want this version added to his catalog of variations. Hoth Rebel Trooper comes with a removable helmet (a first for this character), blaster, removable backpack, and canon. All accessories function perfectly and are in exact scale with the figure. There is no “big hat” issue here at all. If we were to complain about anything, we would comment that his rifle is missing, but we will deal with this omission quite well. Besides, a rifle should be coming for the running change version if it ever gets released. When a figure has this much detail and function, it makes up for whatever accessories have been missed. The figure's likeness is a nod to the first neo-classic release we got (1997's POTF2 [FF/TKC] Hoth Rebel Trooper figure) and it was thoughtful of Hasbro to go back and "update" this figure. Interestingly, and we won’t spend too much time on this, the second TLC running change looks as if it’s a revisit of the 2004 version. But we will have to wait until it’s officially out before jumping to these conclusions. And we hope the running changes don't stop there. We hope there is quite a few that will be considered over time. Even simple repaints would be welcomed additions to the basic figure line. There are a ton of these soldiers in the film, so there should be in the toy line also!

His cannon is another great accessory and, it fits his body size very well. And this large accessory is part of what is so rewarding about being a Star Wars collector. Sure, Hasbro updates the figures and, that's all wonderful and everything. But they also go above and beyond and introduce new first time offered accessories which complement these figures beautifully. You can pose him seated at it firing away at the Imperial army. And he can be posed in a way that is very authentic to what we saw in Episode V. Overall this action figure will impress you. You will have to buy multiples to get a nice large group of soldiers in your collections. And there are ways you can add diversity to your ranks to build a nice big Rebel army. The Hoth Rebel Trooper is a must-have for your collection – there is no other way to say it. And he has been a brisk seller since he seems to be the first to fly off of the pegs. We have personally witnessed this figure selling well at the retail level. But if you are lucky enough to catch him in the wild, don’t hesitate to grab a few more as he is an army builder. Since swapping ball-jointed heads is extremely easy in this collecting day and age, the most rabid collectors will want lots of him to make a grand army for their Hoth dioramas. We have tried a few alternate heads on this body, and many different types have worked out nicely for us. So you have options out there! There are a lot of ways you can make different soldiers while utilizing this sculpt. As one of the few completely new figures from The Empire Strikes Back-themed wave, which is wave 6 of The Legacy Collection, we are confident he will bring a refreshing new look to your action figure collection. Loaded with articulation, great paint applications and a rather static pose (this is a plus, trust us), the Hoth Rebel Troopers satiates our ravenous appetite for awesomely made military action figures. And we are even more confident that he is destined to be a classic figure for collectors as he is easily one of the best Star Wars action figures Hasbro has created. We don't overuse this exclamation. We mean what we say and the Hoth Rebel Trooper indeed meets all of the requirements to fit this definition. He is a truly wonderful action figure!