Shock Trooper - TAC - Saga Legends

Shock troopers are elite members of the clone army. Under Palpatine's new regime, they are assigned as escorts and bodyguards to the Emperor.

Hasbro didn’t get out all of the clone troopers actually seen in Revenge Of The Sith into the basic figure line as super-articulated figures right away, most likely due to the limitations of how much reference material they could actually look at in advance before the film was released. In fact, aside from a very, very brief appearance of the plain white clone trooper, the next one "movie" clone trooper came a year later in the form of the [Utapau] Clone Trooper (SAGA 026) in The Saga Collection basic figure line. But once that happened, the floodgates just opened up and collectors almost couldn’t keep up with them. It was inevitable that Hasbro was going to make the most of the 2005 ROTS Clone Trooper (III 41) figure, but we don’t think any of us knew to what extent. A TARGET exclusive Battle Packs set entitled Skirmish In The Senate was released and gave us two beautifully decorated Shock Trooper action figures and also released in The Saga Collection (the first time available). (We would however learn that they weren't painted 100% authentic to the film.) The figures were done so well for the most part that Hasbro needed to find a way to get them back out to collectors. And they thought of a great way they could do it. The created a sub-line entitled Saga Legends which ended up becoming one of the most popular series of repackaged figures of all time. This "repackaged" sub-line was embraced by collectors because we got to be part of the figure selection. Besides the addition of a Fans’ Choice poll hosted by the fine folks at Rebelscum.com, Saga Legends was also a way for Hasbro to clean up deco on these previously made figures to make them better than ever.

And the Shock Trooper was a figure tha received his fair share of updates too. Many think that the Shock Trooper is a straight repack of the figure that was contained in the Skirmish In The Senate Battle Packs set. But this isn’t the case. Hasbro corrected glaring deco errors on the helmet and made the figure screen accurate finally for the 2007 Saga Legends release. The Skirmish In The Senate version had the hash marks on the helmet too close together. And if you look at it from a distance, it almost looks like one big bold red line going across the brim of the helmet. The hash marks on the "cheeks" were placed askew as well. The 2007 Saga Legends version has the appropriate spacing (red – white – red – white – red, etc.) which is how these Imperial shock troops appear in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. And the alternating stripes on the "cheeks" have also been placed in their appropriate locations. Eagle-eyed collectors will also notice that a slightly different shade of red paint was used for the Saga Legends release. It’s not overtly different, but there is at least a shade of difference in the two figures’ colors. The figure is super-articulated and with the inclusion of the updated paint job now, we now have a Shock Trooper that captures nearly every detail of the onscreen character except for maybe a dirty final wash to give it some wear and tear. Saga Legends was created to keep core characters and army builders in the “basic” figure line at all times. And it makes sense why the Shock Trooper was one of the first figures reserved for this line. A clear candidate for multiple purchases, the Shock Trooper is a figure that fans want many of for their collections.

The 2005 ROTS Clone Trooper (III 41) base figure sculpt is a wonderful piece of action figure art. And to be honest, the Shock Trooper figure may just be the best looking figure utilizing this sculpt! The red and white with black details looks fantastic. Do you remember when we got all excited about the 2005 ROTS Clone Trooper (III 6) figure getting repainted and rereleased as the Clone Trooper [Shock Trooper] (III 6) variation? That was a different time and most of us cared less that the sculpt had an action feature. But we have come so far and now we demand for almost all of our figures to be loaded with as much articulation as possible. And we hanker for a minimum of 14 points at least in this day and age of collecting. Wanting an action figure with that much articulation is a great standard to uphold. So it looks like we’re in luck, at the very least, when it comes to clone troopers. The Shock Trooper will likely become a staple in the Saga Legends line as long as the line continues. Between the incredible articulation and beautiful paint job, the Shock Trooper is indeed the definitive version of this character. Very little needs to be done to make this figure better. Many fans prefer the non-removable helmet option for clone troopers. (And we’re fans of this too.) Removable helmets are nice for Star Wars clone troopers (or other characters) that actually show their face in the films. Be sure to get a few Shock Trooper action figures for your collection. You must absolutely own at least one!