'06 | #21  Scorch - Republic Commando (Reviewed 03-01-2006)

Includes:
• DC-17m Blaster
• Removable Armor & Backpack
• Display Stand

Click thumbnail for large image Spice: Once an a while you get something delicious like this, however a great figure at times can come with a hefty price. It is going neck and neck with the Utapau Clone Trooper as the most sought after figures on the street at this date and time. The treat comes in the form of Scorch, straight out of the Republic Commando video game. I guess I am a collector that likes exploring outside of the Original Trilogy realm. It is not that I have lost respect for the classics; I am just a little bored with the redundancy of Hasbro. Scorch is a revitalizing jolt of energy that delivers the punch on initial inspection that the other figures in the wave have failed miserably to do. Yes, it looks that good before you crack the bubble.

Click thumbnail for large image Pat: For my first shot at at Sandwatch Action Figure Review, I am glad it was a character I have been looking forward to for a long time. At last, Hasbro graces our collections with an Expanded Universe figure. Scorch, to me, was a bold step for Hasbro. Not often does a character from a video game get made, and Republic Commando was one hell of a game! Seeing it on the pegs, looking at the pack-in art, you get the feeling this is the first of many. Scorch stands out against the darker packaging, his white and yellow markings a stark contrast against the backgrounds players remember all too well from the game. The Backpack and DC-17m rifle are game accurate, and the battle damage is amazing!

Click thumbnail for large image Spice: It is great to read some of the background on some of these characters, after learning Scorch got his nickname from accidentally burning his eyebrows off his head, you can learn that and a little more at Lucasarts.com but this might leave you frothing at the mouth for the rest of the team to follow, which at this time is undetermined. You really have to admire the design of the helmet, which really echoes the look of the Episode II Clone Trooper. While I do like the removable armor features, I think they should have somehow incorporated the vibro-knife into the suit. This at times can be one of your most trusty weapons, and seeing how they find it necessary to rehash Bib Fortuna with only a shank, why not put one into Scorch? What I dislike the most about the overall design is the fact he is quite top heavy and difficult to pose without the stand. This was compensated for with a brilliant paint job that showed off the colors very well. I just wish the figure had been a little less stocky and not so stout.

Click thumbnail for large image Pat: I, too, would like to have seen a couple more accessories like the vibro-blade and even better yet, the DC-15s Side Arm Blaster. I felt that the articulation was well done for the most part, giving the Trooper a wide array of choices for displaying such a fine figure. I would have liked, however, to see more range of motion in the neck, and the ball socket joints in the legs makes some stances harder than they need to be. The accessories that Scorch did com with were perfectly done, and the paint was top notch as well, though the battle damage was just uniform, needing maybe a splash or two of blood (red and green…you know those Geonosians). The damage looks just like any other damage given to different figures over the years, and a character this big needs a whole new brand of damage! He will look great next to his teammates on Delta Squad, if they get released.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Spice - We can only hope to get an entire Squad out of Hasbro, as the selection process as to what is being made seems to stump everyone. Scorch is a nice alternative to another worthless release like the Jango Fett and other undesirable rehashes that are the litter of the Geonosis wave andmay be the best thing to come out of the expanded Universe since Durge. You could only wish for a wave or an exclusive box set for something like this, maybe even a great way to sell Republic Commando II, which I am sure we will see down the road. I can only hope I am not wrong, but for now this figure gets a big thumbs up!

Pat -  This is quite possibly the best Expanded Universe figure to date. Though the POTF2 figures such as Dark Luke and Mara Jade were a fresh approach to the Star Wars universe, they lacked the stances and articulation that makes a figure great. On this end, Scorch answers all of the demands pf the collector. In addition, it gives collectors and gamers even more hope that Hasbro will finish the Squad with Boss, Fixer, and Sev in the very near future.

(Figure '06 | #21, Asst. No. 85770, Item No. 85987, Backing Card P/N 6538620100, Window Insert P/N 6538740100 ) 

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