Rebel Commando [ROTJ] - TVC - Basic (VC26)

So we’re a little bit confused. Hasbro said that after the debacle (our word choice) that surrounded the running changes of figures in The Legacy Collection and Legacy Collection that they would no longer be part of the basic figure line. It became too confusing at the factory level and those running changes never ended up making it out and had to be released in other ways. While Hasbro has stepped up to the plate to finally get those said running chases out to collectors, many are still in limbo and have not yet been confirmed for release. (The running changes of the Utai and Imperial Scanning Crew have yet to see release.) It was something that worked flawlessly in the 2007 TAC Saga Legends line. We got multiple flavors of Battle Droids, Clone Trooper Officers and Sandtroopers with no issues at all, so we’re a little perplexed why this process became so problematic in the toy lines afterwards. Whatever. Hasbro brought back the running change variant in The Vintage Collection to make the Revenge Of The Jedi chase promotions a little more interesting. The Rebel Commando is now black and joins a Return Of The Jedi inspired Boba Fett in addition to the four previously unavailable figures that include Han Solo (In Trench Coat) (VC62), B-wing Pilot (Keyan Farlander) (VC63), Princess Leia (Slave Outfit) (VC64) and TIE Fighter Pilot (VC65) in addition to many other figure reissued in Return Of The Jedi/Revenge Of The Jedi packaging.

The new Rebel Commando sports a slightly retooled and repainted portrait from the 2006 TSC Rebel Trooper (SAGA 046) figure. It’s been retooled to fit on the neck post snuggly. If you take the head from the 2006 figure and try to place it on this figure it doesn’t fit very well at all. (It’s too loose.) Hasbro clearly carved out less of the plastic for a tighter fit, so this is truly a unique head sculpt here. The skin color is not as dark as The Saga Collection figure either and there are fine differences in the way his eyeballs were painted. (He still has angry eyebrows.) The neck post has also been painted to match the skin color of his face as well. And we have seen very slight paint job variances throughout the rest of the figure, especially including the camouflage pants. But perhaps the biggest difference is in the way the soft-goods trench coat has been dyed. The portions that have green paint are much brighter and the darker patterns stand out much better and it overall just looks like a more authentic camouflage pattern than what was seen on the first version of the 2010 TVC Rebel Commando (VC26) figure. Other than that, both Rebel Commando versions are nearly identical (sculpt wise), but the changes that have been made certainly make these two characters look unique.

This version of the Rebel Commando first saw release in July 2011 in the San Diego Comic Con Revenge Of The Jedi [Death Star II] exclusive. And collectors started freaking out if the black version of the Rebel Commando would be making its way to retail. We can confirm with you that this is the case and its seeing general release, but trying to find any figures from The Vintage Collection is more than a difficult task anymore. Expect this to be a highly sought after figure. It is only shipping in one revision case to date and from what we can gather, many stores are getting one revision case or the other and not necessarily both. Anything can change at any point and with the way things have been, it’s quite possible we’ll see this figure plentifully up to a year after the fact, but we suggest if you see it to pick it up. It’s a shame that the Revenge Of The Jedi didn’t make quite the splash it should have at retail. The SDCC exclusive was a nightmare to track down and Hasbro assured us that these figures would see widespread release, but that just hasn’t happened. The running change of the Rebel Commando is a simple but cool update to the figure you already have. But the Star Wars universe is all about diversity of alien species, of Force beliefs, and who makes up the Imperial and Rebel armies. You’ll want this Rebel Commando to help bring that diversity to your collection.