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Review & Photos: Chris Spice (Darth
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INTRODUCTION It has been many, many years since Star Wars collectors have seen the Dewback & Imperial Stormtrooper. In fact you'd have to go all the way back to the Power of the Force 2 green packaged line, back in a time when Hasbro put a lot of focus on the smaller ships / vehicle assortment. This version is very different in many ways, the most noticeable would have to be the tail, which runs about half the size of the smaller, older version. The paintjob is also very different as they really went for the green vs. the dirty brown look of the old. I guess you could even say it reminds you more of the CGI inspired Dewbacks from the newer footage from Star Wars: A New Hope or Episode I. What is also very impressive is the way the paint blends lighter on the underbelly and bottom of the feet. Another positive change would have to be the skin. Gone are the very circular scales of the past, as the new skin is a lot more realistic looking with different wrinkles and patterns throughout. The evolution of the beast continues with the removable reigns, even though this is one of the common items missing from any previous version. The pins pop out of the bridle and snap nicely into place. The saddle is also removable as there are two releases on the right side of the saddle. I really hate to continue to compare it to a version from over a decade ago, but most people own it, which hopefully makes this easier to understand and relate. What is gone is the jaw opening / tail whipping feature of the past, which really does take away from the action feature. However they replaced this with an articulated head and feet for additional pose ability and function. It's also pretty interesting how much smaller the feet are, again comparing it to the previous PotF2 version. Overall after seeing the new sculpt in hand, I have to say they knocked it out of the park this time around. The Imperial Stormtrooper / Sandtrooper is what really makes this exclusive fantastic. They loaded him up with super-articulation and we even got the MG-15 light blaster rifle after all these years. To think why they couldn't have generated one of these in any of the previous Sandtrooper releases is beyond me! The vibro-lance is also a great touch to maximize different poses and display styles. The ball and socket hips also make for great riding poses, once again proving Hasbro can make a great toy when they put their best foot forward. The only thing I do not like are the drop-boxes on the belt, to my knowledge Sandtroopers did not have them. Which is probably being the result of them featured in the background so far it didn't really matter they put them on! Overall I'd have to say this exclusive is well worth picking up and adding to your collection. There isn't much to not like, but then again we might be just a tad biased here, for all the right reasons! MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
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