Snowtrooper - POTF2 [R/G] - New Millennium Minted Coin Collection

Added: March 23rd 2016
Category: Power Of The Force "2" [Red/Green], The
Reviewer: Paul Harrison
Score:

Name: Snowtrooper
Collection: The Power Of The Force "2" [Freeze Frame/The Kenner Collection]
Number: N/A
Source: The Empire Strikes Back
Availability: March 1998
License: Hasbro

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The Star Wars Mint is officially re-instituted with this limited edition series! New gold-colored coins feature character images from the classic silver-colored coin release – all with brand new reverse-side stampings specially designed for this exclusive commemorative offering.

Things starting changing dramatically for Star Wars collectors by the time 1998 rolled around. It was evident that Star Wars toy buying was all about the adult collector, and Kenner ensured that nearly every release that year somehow appealed to that market. They seemed to have realized that our peer group had funds to support the line financially and to make those sales they needed to produce merchandise that would tickle our fancy. One of the expected, albeit nonetheless surprising released of 1998 was the New Millennium Minted Coin Collection lineup. This seven-figure set was exclusive to Toys R Us. They borrowed the strikes of the original 1984/1985 The Power Of The Force coins with all new reverse sides and new gold color. Kenner did this to keep the vintage coins pure and separate from the modern line, and vintage collectors were thankful for this. A sort of hodgepodge of a collection, the group of figures chosen didn't make much sense as a whole, but aside from a few straight repacked and repainted figures, some of the figures included new tooling of characters we all wanted to see released singly one day. Here is our chance. The Snowtrooper is one the repainted older sculpts, but we'd be lying if we said that we weren't impressed with this particular set as well as the collection as a whole. Each figure comes with a display stand that allows both the figure and coin holder to stand upright in an unassisted manner. The display is beautiful and is sure to gain interest from collectors all over the world.

Snowtrooper comes with a mere five points of articulation. The figure seems a little too tall for the rest of the figures in the line, but casual collectors probably won’t even notice. There is no head articulation, something we were hoping to see addressed in the modern line (hey, they did it for the Stormtrooper), but for the first time we have a Snowtrooper with a removable backpack. We’re quite taken with this new accessory The sculpting of it is excellent. But it is the fine paint operations which give it its character. The plug is a little too short, but the plug goes into a hole on the figures back and pretty stays there indefinitely unless you want to take it off of the figure. But as we’ve mentioned, because the plug is a little too short, if you bump the backpack, it may come off when you don’t that to happen. Whether it’s because of the extra weight from the backpack or just because the figure wasn’t engineered perfectly, Snowtrooper doesn’t have a great center of gravity. He always wants to fall backward. If you’re patient (which you shouldn’t have to be in our opinion), you can position the legs in a way to balance him better, but regardless we find this a little bit frustrating. We did notice that the Snowtrooper’s ability to balance itself without wearing the backpack improves, so it appears that it is this removable accessory which is the major culprit to the Snowtrooper’s balancing issues. Still, we wouldn’t have it any other way. Kenner/Hasbro needs to add more articulation on future version so that we can force the center of gravity in a way that prevents the figure from falling.

The Snowtrooper has an excellent sculpt. But once again better than its sculpt is its paint job. Kenner/Hasbro went to town developing a deco that intensely captures the look and feel of the characters we saw in The Empire Strikes Back. Although the armor has a white base, it is filled with dirt and grime and everything else we saw on their armor when they infiltrated Echo Base. The only disappointing aspect is how we’re limited on how we pose them in our dioramas and displays. In addition to the removable backpack, Snowtrooper also comes with a huge E-11 blaster. It’s obnoxiously large to the point of being comical. This is only worsened by the circular shape of the figure’s hands to hold this huge weapon. And as you probably imagine, you can’t make the Snowtrooper believably hold the gun thanks to the figure’s limited articulation. But despite the figure’s shortcomings, we have to say that overall this figure ranks in the good category. Due to the figure’s relative newness at the time and its popularity to army build, Snowtrooper was carried forward into the Freeze Frame phase of The Power Of The Force “2” line. A scene from the Battle of Hoth is forever captured on film cell for collectors. You already know we adore these pack-in premiums because they’re awesome and they make the action figures feel even nicer than they are. Snowtrooper will remain a popular staple in the POTF2 line. Expect to see it in many forms in the future. Sometimes a character’s popularity supersedes an action figure’s quality. We think that applies here.

Collector Notes

Snowtrooper

Status: Snowtrooper is a repaint of 1997's POTF2 [FF/TKC] Snowtrooper figure.

Articulation Count: 5 points (5 areas of articulation)

Articulation Details: swivel left shoulder (1), swivel right shoulder (1), swivel waist (1), swivel left hip (1), swivel right hip (1)

Accessory Count: 2

Accessory Details: Imperial issue blaster rifle, backpack

Date Stamp: 1997

Assortment Number: 69675/84028

UPC: 076281840284

Retail: $9.99 USD

Market Value: Click here to check the latest prices based on Click here to check the market value on eBay! listings.

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