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INTRODUCTION
2008 will forever be known in the Star Wars Universe as
the year of "The Force Unleashed." The smash hit from Lucas Arts
took all the next gen gaming consoles by storm and featured the
unveiling of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, Starkiller, and
followed his path of treachery, and ultimately, redemption through
the course of the galaxy. Starkiller would unwittingly be the spark
of revolution in the Galactic Empire, with his family crest serving
as the symbol of the Alliance. Starkiller encountered many friends
and foes along the way, with few being more formidable than the
Stormtrooper Commander, who Starkiller first encounters wreaking
havoc on the wookie population of Kashyyyk. Having the ability to
surround themselves with an impenetrable force field, the
Stormtrooper Commander stands out as one of the toughest and most
signature troopers in the game. With the importance of the storyline
surrounding "The Force Unleashed," it was only appropriate that
Sideshow Collectibles chose this particular Stormtrooper variation
as their latest addition to the ever expanding Sideshow Collectibles
"Militaries Of Star Wars" collection.
PACKAGING - 9.5
This is my first ever purchase from Sideshow Collectibles. From what
I have seen on other Sideshow releases, the packaging seems to be
standard fair for Sideshow. I was fortunate enough to score one of
the “Sideshow Exclusive” troopers, and that is denoted on the cover
with a nice gold and black foil sticker. The front packaging folds
open to reveal a clear plastic covering to the interior packaging,
which allows you to see the trooper in all his glory even if you
decide not to open the package. What I found to be pretty nifty was
the magnetic grips that help seal the fold out cover back in place.
I would have expected two pieces to have to slide back inside the
packaging to reseal, but that is not the case. There is a nice eight
paragraph write-up about the armies of the New Republic and Empire,
as well as a description of the Stormtrooper Commander himself.
There are photographs featuring this piece in different poses on all
four sides of the box, along with five pieces of artwork from The
Force Unleashed on the back.
SCULPT - 9.5
I would imagine that the sculpt would match that of the standard
release of the Stormtrooper, so if that is a piece that is already
in your collection, you pretty much know what you are in for. If
you’re a rookie like me, then you are in for quite a treat. Before
purchasing this piece, I had never even so much as handled a
Sideshow piece. The closest I had ever gotten was seeing one inside
the box at a local comic store. So needless to say, I was very happy
with the sculpting of all the pieces featured on the Stormtrooper
Commander. All the pieces fit nice and snug and make for a very
sharp looking trooper. You can tell that they definitely pay very
close attention to detail.
PAINT - 10
I have to imagine the paint application was a little challenging
given the deco on this in particular outfit. Just about every other
variation of trooper featured in either the Republic or the Empire
has featured solid colors throughout. With the Stormtrooper
Commander, that is not the case, as it almost looks like the
markings on the uniform were spray painted on. I think the design is
supposed to show that these Commanders have earned their rank over
the course of many hard-fought battles. I can’t help but think of
the recent Clone Wars episode "Rookies," which introduces everyone
to the mentality between veteran troopers and the newer recruits
that the vets like to call "shinies." This trooper has obviously
been through more than his fair share of battle, and that shows in
the wear and tear in the blue accents on his armor and black smudge
marks throughout. So needless to say, I can imagine there were some
challenges involved in making this look just right.
ARTICULATION - 8.5
This is a hard category for me to judge on this piece. While
overall, I think it is fantastic and I am really happy with it,
something just seems a little off whenever I look at it. Somewhere
along the way, the proportions just don’t look right. I’ve wrestled
with this one and it just seems that that legs may be a little long,
or the torso is a little short. Because of the torso, the helmet can
sometimes look a little big. Maybe it is supposed to look that way,
but considering I have no basis for comparison, I think it is worth
mentioning that it sticks out. I’m probably nitpicking, though, and
like I said, I love the piece, so I don’t think it is that big of a
deal either way.
ACCESSORIES - 8
There aren’t exactly many accessories with this piece. As I stated
earlier, I was fortunate enough to snag one of the limited "Sideshow
Exclusive" pieces, with the main feature to the limited release
being a special stand which really is anything but. I look at this
stand and wonder what people who got the regular release got,
because the stand featured here seems to be what I would expect for
a normal stand. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice little display, but
I can’t imagine it cost much of anything to include with the piece.
Considering there is no difference in price between the limited and
regular release, I don’t see why they didn’t just include this stand
for everyone. Otherwise, this release features an E-11 blaster and
two sets of hands, one meant for holding the blaster and the other
pair with open hands. There is also a rear holster for the blaster
hanging off the troopers backside.
OUTFIT - 9.5
One of the reasons I chose the Stormtrooper Commander as my entry
into the world of Sideshow Collectibles is actually because of the
outfit itself. I am a big fan of the deco on this variation of the
Stormtrooper uniform. This prominent color in this variation of the
uniform is blue. This trooper has blue shoulder pads that bleed into
the chest piece and form a Y down the middle of the trooper’s chest
plate. There is also a Y shape blue streak between the shoulder pads
on the soldiers back, as well as a solid blue stripe all the way
down the side of his left leg. The soldiers helmet also features an
off-centered, vertical streak from back to front that sort of runs
through the left eye piece on the helmet. It is a very unique design
to say the least.
VALUE - 8
I know that previous pieces have been cheaper, and considering this
piece is essentially a repaint from an existing template, the $89.99
price point may seem a little steep. I think the overall value is
going to be left in the eye of the beholder. It scores a little
higher for me because I am a really big fan of this Stormtrooper
variation. I can see people that did not get the exclusive stand
being a little peeved that they paid the exact same price, and I can
also see some Sideshow veterans being disappointed that their
"exclusive" stand is not more articulated like some of the previous
Sideshow stands have been. Considering it is a 12 inch figure with a
ton of articulation and seems to be the going rate for a piece like
this, I think there is some solid value there.
OVERALL - 9
I think there are a few ways one could look at this release. If
you’re a Sideshow veteran, it’s very easy to sit back and say
“great, another trooper,” and let’s be honest, that is completely
justified. Considering that the template is in place, I can’t
imagine it was a very difficult piece to put together. However,
there are a lot of people that are going to look at this release and
say “great! Another trooper!” because, let’s face it, you can never
have too many. You can file me under the latter. On top of being a
huge fan of The Force Unleashed and this storm trooper variation to
begin with, I think one of the best parts about everything George
Lucas has done with Star Wars after the original trilogy is the
introduction of the different trooper outfits. The original white
trooper was cool back during it’s time, but it can get kind of
vanilla when you see the same thing over and over again.
I look forward to more
releases from Sideshow’s “Militaries of Star Wars” line. I’ve
already lined up the Shocktrooper release and may have to go back
and add the Utapau trooper as well. I think both sides of the
“another trooper” argument will agree with me when I say that I hope
Sideshow can lock down a more unique trooper like a Captain Rex or
Commander Cody. Either way, I am very happy with my first Sideshow
purchase, and look forward to adding more to my collection.
RATINGS RECAP
Packaging - 9.5
Sculpt - 9.5
Paint - 10
Articulation - 8.5
Accessories - 8
Outfit - 9.5
Value - 8
Overall - 9
PHOTOS
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