Sandtrooper - LC [2] - Basic

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. Admittedly a favorite character from the Hasbro team, they ensure that these Imperial troopers make multiple appearances throughout the basic figure lines. The Sandtrooper from the Amazon.com exclusive Legacy Collection [2] Droid Factory multipack has now been released in the capacity for which he was destined. In May of 2015, retailer Go! Games & Toys, part of Calendar Holdings, began getting these figures in small numbers. This was a huge surprise, because collectors were under the assumption that they never were produced. Now these figures comes to us once again, but in a way that is exciting because of our general love for this pack-in premium. This is good news because the Legacy Collection [2] Sandtrooper may be the nicest looking figure in this line look and now we have a second stab at him, albeit the original version. It’s important to note that the figure is nothing new. However, the excitement here is the original Legacy Collection [2] packaging and corresponding droid part, something that wasn’t even known to exist until May of 2015, almost two years after these figures were meant to debut.

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 pretty much unique on all copies and samples thanks to the paint operation methods utilized) and a plethora of accessories thereby deeming it the consummate and definitive Sandtrooper action figure money can buy. 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 screen accurate. We think that certain accessories should identify a certain ranking of the Sandtrooper units, not just the various colored pauldrons.

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 in the Amazon exclusive Droid Factory set. Or if you’re lucky enough to find the originals carded at the retail level (only Calendars locations), you’ll have to pay $19.99 per figure. Obviously this 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 buying multiples wouldn’t be the end of the world.