501st Stormtrooper - TSC - Exclusives

Vader's Fist. The very name of the Fighting 501st inspires fear across the galaxy. These elite troopers – the very best and brightest culled from the Imperial legions – serve Lord Vader in all things. They are the first on the ground in any important Imperial offensive, and the thunder of their boots is a harbinger of the doom that awaits those who would stand against the Empire.

Some San Diego Comic Con exclusives will only appeal to a niche audience. That sentiment probably could apply to the 501st Stormtrooper. The figure was released as the 2006 San Diego Comic Con exclusive for The Saga Collection. We have to accept a few things when it comes to certain exclusives. First, many of them are going to use old parts to save on tooling costs. And second, it’s going to be an obscure character or an obscure take on a popular character. In other words, they’re typically designed to not appeal to everyone. The 501st Stormtrooper figure certainly will only appeal to a select group of Star Wars collectors. Obviously, members of the 501st Legion will have their interest piqued and fans of all types of Stormtroopers will eat this up. But are there really that many others who will want a regular white Stormtrooper with writing on his chest armor? We’re not so sure about that. It may have been a wiser choice to do something unique with a 501st Clone Trooper instead.

The packaging is what really sells this product home to collectors. A no-brainer for the one-of-everything collector, each person has an opportunity to make the package unique. You can slide out the “bio card” at put your own in to make it specific to you. That’s pretty clever, isn’t it? The deluxe packaging is protected in a clamshell for extra protection as well. The 501st Stormtrooper comes with a unique accessory: a stand with a 501st Legion flag on a flagpole. It’s borderline cheesy, but it should hold some specialness for those who know someone involved with this awesome charity. The 501st Stormtrooper also comes with a BlasTech E-11 blaster as well. What Stormtrooper isn’t complete without his blaster? Lastly, a tiny 501st Legion decal has been applied to his left breast. You may be surprised to know that it’s very readable. We’re impressed by that. Sometimes it is the small thngs when it comes to action figures. This designation sets him apart from the rest.

The 501st Stormtrooper is a repaint of 2006’s TSC Shadow Stormtrooper, whose history goes back to 2004's VOTC Stormtrooper figure. The lines are a bit cleaner and the white plastic used to cast the figure is especially white. Hopefully this will fight the yellowing that seems to surface over time. The figure of course is super-articulated with 14 points, but as you may know all too well now is that we’re not crazy with the movement below the belt. His legs are affixed to the hips much too closely to each other. Any meaningful pose just cannot be attained with this current set up. From a distance, the figure actually looks pretty good, but there are some drastic retooling needed to make this figure more ideal for collectors. As an exclusive, you probably already know that it’s MSRP is outrageous. This figure cost collectors an astounding $14.99. That’s plain ridiculous when basic figures in The Saga Collection retail for $6.99 each. Whatever you choose, at least it’s a unique take on a popular character.