Sandtrooper - LC [2] - Droid Factory

Sandtroopers hunt for two Droids on Tatooine. Wearing armor modified for harsh desert climates, Sandtroopers search the town of Mos Eisley for R2-D2 and C-3PO. A Sandtrooper questions "Ben" Kenobi, who uses a Jedi mind trick to make the Sandtrooper agree that "these are not the Droids you're looking for."

Hasbro is slowly but surely making efforts to right what was wrong with the Sandtrooper action figure. It’s just a shame that recent figures just haven’t had the widespread availability they should for such a core character from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The latest, the Sandtrooper from the Amazon.com exclusive Legacy Collection [2] Droid Factory multipack, may end up becoming the rarest. We don’ say that to incite panic and to make you run and pay any price for that figure, but we all should know that exclusivity today means “hard to find after it initially sells out”. And we can cite many examples where this is true. The Legacy Collection [2] Sandtrooper may be the nicest looking figure on the new line look card back. Something about its colors blends seamlessly into the card back art. The figure is nothing new. After all, it’s just the corporal version of the squad leader figure we received in The Vintage Collection: 2012’s TVC Sandtrooper (VC112) figure. Hasbro followed suit and gave the figure a wonderfully filthy paint job and a plethora of accessories thereby deeming it the consummate and definitive Sandtrooper action figure money can buy.

So, you likely own 2012’s TVC Sandtrooper (VC112) and if you do you know exactly what you’re getting here. Although the paint operations are unique on the Legacy Collection [2] Sandtrooper [Corporal], Hasbro approached the deco in a similar manner. They look great side by side and look like they’re actually from the same collection, instead of looking completely different that previous versions. You also get the same exact accessories as the VC112 figure which makes this version almost redundant in a certain light. We have always felt that Hasbro should delegate certain weapons and accessories based on the ranking of the Sandtrooper getting released, even if it isn’t exactly scree accurate. We think that certain accessories should identify a certain ranking of the Sandtrooper units, not just the various colored pauldrons. But that’s just our own little input. Obviously everyone has a preference when it comes to the Sandtrooper characters from A New Hope. Getting the same accessories does ensure however that you can display the various ranked troopers in multiple different ways. It sort of adds some additional diversity to them that might not be there otherwise.

It’s hard to believe that this sculpt is now approaching almost half a decade in age. Originally released with 2009’s LC Dewback With Imperial Sandtrooper at Walmart, the sculpt was first utilized again for the single-carded 2010 TVC Sandtrooper (VC14) figure. After much complaining about the cleanliness of that action figure, Hasbro went beyond the call of duty and repainted the figure for 2012’s TVC Sandtrooper (VC112) figure in a much more exaggerated fashion. Some feel the paint operations are much too heavy, but we will take more than less when it comes to the Sandtrooper character. The Legacy Collection [2] release of the Sandtrooper [Corporal] is much wanted and quite warranted. But if you’re looking to army build these action figures, you may have difficulty doing so. You’ll have to buy the same six action figures each and every time to you try to acquire additional figures. This is the one and only bone of contention we have with any Droid Factory line. It makes army building one figure very difficult and sometimes frustrating. The saving grace is that “most” of the figures in the Legacy Collection [2] Droid Factory Amazon.com exclusive is that most are army-building characters. So maybe this will all work out.