Sandtrooper - SW [S - P3] - Exclusives

More than 25 years after we first saw the Star Destroyer enter the screen at the beginning of A New Hope, Star Wars continues to both inspire and entertain. Much more than just a series of films, Star Wars is a total experience. Essential components of that experience are the toys that we grew (and continue to grow) up with and the sense of community that brings us together to discuss, debate, and share all things Star Wars.

It is with respect to the heritage of that experience that Hasbro offers this limited action figure to celebrate the dedication and enthusiasm of the fan community.

May the Force be with you!

2004 was a renaissance year of sorts, but maybe not in the exact way you’re thinking. Hasbro was having a long and relatively successful run with their three-phased Star Wars “Saga” line. The line look changed in the beginning of 2003, but then abruptly changed again by that summer resulting in three distinct line looks for the toys made in this collection. But as they entered 2004 rather strongly, a new curve ball was thrown their way and Hasbro had to act faster than a speeding bullet. 2004 was the year that the Star Wars Original Trilogy was released on DVD; with an official released date of September 21, 2004. And Lucasfilm wanted all licensees to focus on the Original Trilogy for their respective product lines. With quite a few waves planned in advance, Hasbro had to quickly terminate the Star Wars “Saga” line and quickly plan what figures would make up The Original Trilogy Collection coming in the summer. But before that happened, Hasbro still had other things in the works that they had to get out as well. One great example of this was the 2004 San Diego Comic Con exclusive “Silver Saga Edition” Sandtrooper. This character perfectly encapsulates the spirit and symbolism of the Star Wars saga, so Hasbro decided to keep going with it and not change their plans.

Although released at a time when fans start drooling over a concerted focus on the Original Trilogy, it was still officially part of the Star Wars “Saga” line up. And we would soon learn that other Star Wars “Saga” products would release concurrently with The Original Trilogy Collection. This 2004 SDCC silver Sandtrooper is one of them. The “Silver Saga Edition” Sandtrooper is pretty much more of the same. If you have the early releases in this line, you know that they’re really nothing more than quirky spectacles in your collection. They really don’t bring anything special to the line but commemorate the long running Star Wars saga. Hasbro took 2001’s POTJ Sandtrooper (Tatooine Patrol) figure and essentially just cast it in the new metallic silver colored plastic and slightly retooled it a bit. The only difference aside from the coloring is that Hasbro permanently affixed the E-11 blaster to the figure’s right hand. But this has been standard practice with these “Silver Saga Edition” figures. This time, the Sandtrooper doesn’t come with macrobinoculars either, which makes putting up his left arm a bit awkward as it has been designed for that very accessory.

In the past, Hasbro has reduced some of the articulation in these figures, but they didn’t take this approach with the Sandtrooper. Officially released as a 2004 San Diego Comic Con exclusive, those who couldn’t make it out to the convention weren’t totally out of luck. A portion of the figures made their way to StarWarsShop.com on July 26, 2004 where they pretty much sold out immediately. Again, these figures are display pieces. They’re not really meant to be an official part of your Star Wars collecting. The concept of these figures was generated at a time when Star Wars was celebrating 25 years, 1977-2002. Now we’re a couple of years beyond that so it has lost a little bit of its luster. No matter how you feel about the “Silver Saga Edition” figures, one thing is for sure. People still go crazy over them as they sell out almost instantly whether they’re a Toys R Us exclusive or a convention exclusive. We don’t expect these to be a standard part of the Star Wars line. There will be other ways to celebrate the Star Wars saga in the future. But we think this small run of them will be noteworthy as time move forward. The 2004 “Silver Saga Edition” Sandtrooper is a nice addition to this quirky set of figures. We feel Hasbro knows how to pick the characters in this line well.