Sith Trooper - TVC - Basic (VC162A)

Celebrate the legacy of Star Wars, the action-and-adventure-packed space saga from a galaxy far, far away, with this collection of premium, highly-detailed 3.75-inch scale figures and vehicles. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability.)

Hasbro broke format and introduced an army builder into The Vintage Collection, with a more obnoxiously-sized bubble than the standard figures. What’s more, they increased the MSRP by $5.00 to add only FOUR (4) more (new) weapons. So, how does one tell apart the standard release of the Sith Trooper from the “Armory Pack” version? It’s simple. Hasbro added an “A” after the VC162, creating VC162A, so none of us confuse the two. Visually, the card art for the “Armory Pack” Sith Trooper is painful to the eyes. Hasbro, for reasons unknown, has adulterated the classic Kenner packaging to make it work for all of the figures produced in the line by working in oversized bubbles. But the integrity and spirit of the line are getting sacrificed from them, forcing everything into this “one size fits all” approach. And then this exclusive release makes the visuals worse. Sometimes new packaging designs or different formats should be tried first instead of slotting something round into a square peg. Hasbro knows everyone will be army building this Sith Trooper. So why not do another Special Action Figure Set instead where each Sith Trooper comes with two weapons each? Hasbro would still be able to set the MSRP at $49.99 and save collectors about $4.00 while doing so. But no, Hasbro wants to disrupt another vintage Kenner card back with something it was never intended to accommodate. And we find their lack of respect for the line disconcerting. The “Armory Pack” Sith Trooper is NOT a candidate for the standard packaging. Please Hasbro, keep The Vintage Collection basic line packaging pure, and stop forcing things that longtime collectors see as unnatural.

That said, the overpriced Sith Trooper is a decent release if you can get over the package's massive bubble. It's fantastic to finally have a 3.75” super-articulated counterpart to the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con exclusive. And because Hasbro charged 6” collectors $11.00 more for that figure’s extra weapons, $5.00 doesn’t sound all that terrible for the 3.75” version. Still, we know that the price shouldn’t be affected at all, with all of these included accessories. Hasbro could have easily crammed all five weapons in the standard bubble and saved collectors $5.00 per figure. Remember The Vintage Collection incumbents like Starkiller (Vader’s Apprentice) and Shae Vizla (Old Republic Bounty Hunter)? They each came with more accessories than the “Armory Pack” Sith Trooper and cost collector $10.00 each. Yes, times have changed, but the point here is that this Amazon exclusive should cost no more than $12.99 with all the accessories. And no one who disagrees with that sentiment, including Hasbro, can change our minds from what we know is true. Regardless, having multiple displaying options is a nice feature to have for any action figure. This approach reminds us of the 1997 POTF2 [FF/TKC] Cantina Band Member releases, when Hasbro included five instruments with each figure. You had to buy five figures to utilize them all, but then you had an arsenal of instruments on the side in case you lost one, or wanted to add additional band members. The point here is that you have multiple options to outfit the Sith Trooper. And that interactivity is one of the keys points of collecting. Hasbro repeated ONE weapon from the general VC162 release; the large cannon. The remaining four weapons are new for this release.

You'll need SIX Sith Troopers to utilize all of the weapons designed for them (because one weapon is exclusive to the standard VC162 figure). Hasbro faithfully recreated the striking neon red color of these characters’ armor excellently, and seeing them side by side with a standard white First Order Trooper helps you appreciate how different they indeed are. Not only is the color distinct, but the textures and stylizations of their armor are unique also. You’ll find equidistant patterns of scoring throughout these characters’ armor. And the design of some of the panels is like nothing we’ve seen until now. The Sith Trooper was the first character from Episode IX teased by Hasbro. And Disney Star Wars isn’t releasing much information on them. The Vintage Collection gives collectors the most articulated action figures to date. As expected, the Sith Trooper has received the same benefits. Loaded with a wonderful 30 points of articulation across 17 areas, the Sith Trooper offers collectors a wide array of movement. The armor inhibits some of the full range of movement you’d like to achieve, but you do get enough “give” that makes these points worthwhile to the figure. Hasbro finds ways to seamlessly work in many joints that aren’t necessarily visible to the naked eye. You have to look for them to see them, and for that, we’re grateful they spend so much time ensuring the highest quality aesthetics possible for their action figures now. Ultimately, the “Armory Pack” Sith Trooper SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN worked into the basic figure line. A multipack was the way to go. Other than that, we’re happy to see this figure available.