Snowtrooper - TBS [P3] - Six Inch Figures (35)

Snowtroopers are stromtroopers trained for operations in arctic conditions and equipped with specialized gear to protect them against the cold.

Here is another figure where Jedi Temple Archives broke news of its imminent release. The Snowtrooper. It’s oh so right and oh so wrong at the same exact time. We don’t think we’ve seen a better sculpt of the character from Hasbro ever. There is no guarantee about that. And while we want to trust that they have unbridled access to the Lucasfilm archives, we have great trouble accepting that they’ve nailed the coloring here all that well. Please don’t misunderstand us. We’re actually expressing that we could be wrong here, but based on most of the stills out there of Snowtroopers from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, it’s clear that many different variations of the costume exist. Some are whiter over all, some have a gray tinge, and even a couple others appear to definitely have that tan color. It just seems that when you think of a Snowtrooper, you just associate the more white costume as the accurate coloring. So, maybe it’s not that this figure’s coloring scheme has been reflected inaccurately here, it’s just how we associate what the correct look of a Snowtrooper actually is. The canvas outfit under the armor is unequivocally a different color than the white armor that goes on top of it, but it appears gray, not tan like what was used on this figure. As a result, the tan color looks immediately off as soon as you look at the Snowtrooper. Perhaps it’s not the end of the world. After all, Hasbro at least made an effort to show the disparity between the two different materials, but ultimately it looks more bizarre than catching a film accurate nuance in the costume.

Despite the potential coloring issues, the Snowtrooper 6” figure looks fantastic. We would have preferred a few different approaches with the figure (which we’ll get to in a moment), but we’re really hard pressed to complain about what Hasbro did right here. As we’ve mentioned in the AT-AT Driver (31) review, we went into some detail about the way in which Hasbro produces their action figures now. Starting off with digital blueprints, Hasbro then deviates from them depending upon the type of figure they’re making from those blueprints. For the Snowtrooper, you’re not going to believe the similarities between in and 2014’s SW [DV/ROTS] Snowtrooper (SL16) figure. The 5POA 3.75” figure looks like an exact Mini Me of the 6” figure (within reason). The similarities are more surprising than you may think. But for us it impresses us that the sculpts are very faithful to each other, which we consider a good thing. We love consistency and this is the way to do it. Also like the AT-AT Driver (31) figure, we’re thrilled that the Snowtrooper also comes without a removable helmet. Now that Disney seems to be distancing itself from the Prequel Trilogy, we’re getting the vibe that focusing on clones is just not part of their game plan anymore. (We gladly accept that for the Original Trilogy characters.) With all of these pieces perfectly in place, may we ask you Hasbro to translate these beautiful sculpts into the 3.75” super-articulated figures for the Walmart exclusive line? We’d be eternally grateful. These sculpts are beautiful and they’re significantly ahead of past sculpts made of this character, like 2007’s VTSC Imperial Stormtrooper (Hoth Battle Gear) for example. This 6” version is significantly better.

If we could change one other thing than our perceived coloring issues, we would have given the Snowtrooper a soft-goods kama. There are times when Hasbro does utilize quality materials, but if there was some way they could have utilized some faux cotton canvas material to recreate the kama, this figure would have been absolutely flawless. The molded kama doesn’t look terrible. We’re not trying to say it doesn’t look good because it does. It unfortunately inhibits a significant part of the figures movement in the lower body and we find that to be burdensome and ultimately frustrating. We agree that Hasbro doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to soft-good on action figures which is why most of us prefer molded clothing parts as opposed to soft-goods, but the Snowtrooper is probably one of the few exceptions in our opinion that needs this treatment. As far as accessories, the Snowtrooper comes with the perfect augmentations. He comes with a removable backpack which is beautifully detailed. He also comes with the standard E-11 blaster that most Imperial characters have been given. But the gravy here is that Hasbro also included the DLT-20A blaster rifle (the one that came with IG-88) which for us is a nod to the vintage Kenner figure and not necessarily screen accurate. If Hasbro can just find a way to create a COMPLETE version of the E-Web heavy repeating blaster cannon and pack it in a future re-release of this figure, say the Deluxe line (or our suggested Mini Rig line), then pretty much we’d be ecstatic collectors. The Snowtrooper is nice, not perfect, but it’s better than just good. Your opinions may or may not vary.