Sculpt--4.5/5
The Vintage Original Trilogy Stormtrooper is easily the best and most accurate Stormtrooper figure Hasbro has made. I love it, you love it, and if you don't have one yet, then you will love it once you get one. So it's very awesome that Hasbro has used the VOTC Stormtrooper as the base for this new Sandtrooper figure. Obviously, reusing old figures is a great idea in cases like this.

So is there anything new here? Not counting the sandtrooper gear, yes. The belt is an all-new sculpt, mostly to accommodate the removable thermal detonator (that cylindrical thing on the back of a stormtrooper's belt). Since the sandtrooper backpack can't fit properly if the thermal detonator is present, Hasbro decided to make it removable! This is a great decision on Hasbro's part, because they could have easily not given us the option of turning this figure into a normal (if somewhat dirty) stormtrooper and left out the thermal detonator entirely. Hasbro also tried to improve the holster by making it slightly bigger and with more room for the blaster, but in the end it still doesn't work as intended. It is obvious that they wanted you to be able to store the blaster in the holster with the handle facing forward, but in reality, it simply fits better with the handle facing back.

In terms of the sandtrooper gear, the rank pauldron is all new. It's got the ammo pouch attached to it and has better detail than the Power of the Jedi version. I kind of wish it could be a little thinner, but on the plus side, it isn't as think as the ones used on the Evolutions sandtroopers. Hasbro also made this pauldron easier to remove; the neck hole is slightly larger, and you should have no trouble getting it off of the ball-jointed neck once the helmet is removed. The sandtrooper backpack is the same that came with the Evolutions sandtrooper figures.

Now that all the basics have been covered, it's time for the nitpicks. If you don't care about complete accuracy, just skip this paragraph--you have been warned! Stormtrooper buffs know that there are slight differences in the stormtrooper armor. For instance, the armor in A New Hope is different than those in Return of the Jedi. In terms of sandtroopers, they have slightly different armor than any of the regular stormtroopers. The most noticeable difference is perhaps the slightly different knee armor. The sandtroopers have a sort of diamond-shaped kneepad instead of the standard trapezoid shape stormtroopers have. This difference has never made it to a Hasbro sandtrooper figure as far as I know. The other noticeable difference is the abdomen armor. The sandtrooper has slightly different details when compared to a regular stormtrooper. The Evolutions sandtrooper was sculpted correctly in this regard, but this figure is not since it uses the VOTC mold. That brings us to the VOTC mold itself, sure it's great, but can it be better? I think the helmet can be more accurate; as it is, the shape is off a bit and it tapers off too much toward the top when you look at it from the side. Just look at practically any stormtrooper figure from other makers: Medicom RAH stormtrooper, Gentle Giant mini-bust or Bust-Ups, or even a Medicom Kubrick stormtrooper! They all have much more accurate helmets than Hasbro has ever done. Don't get me wrong, I love the VOTC stormie, but there's still room for improvement.

Articulation--5/5
The sandtrooper has all 14 points that the VOTC stormtrooper had: ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed elbows, wrists, ball-jointed waist, hips, ball-jointed knees, and ball-jointed ankles. That's about as good as it gets with Star Wars figures! I especially like the waist joint which allows the upper body not only pivot forward and back, but side to side in addition to rotating. This joint was sorely missed on the Evolutions sandtroopers and they look a bit stiff because they lack it. All of the other joints are great as well and they all have a wide range of motion. I guess the only thing I can complain about is that the leg stance is a bit too narrow for my tastes, and it can make creating action poses a little difficult.

Accessories--5/5
You get the standard Imperial blaster, force pike/lance thing, removable thermal detonator, corporal's shoulder pauldron, backpack, figure stand, and mini hologram figure. This is a good set of accessories for a sandtrooper, and the inclusion of the new force pike was nice. This one is much more accurate than the one that came with the POTF2 Dewback with Sandtrooper pack, with more details and more accurate length. Interestingly, the tip looks suspiciously like an X-wing laser gun. One thing I have to commend Hasbro on is the return of using stiffer plastics for accessories such as this. No more rubbery spears that bend with the wind or under the force of gravity! Woohoo! The removable thermal detonator is also a nice touch, and as mentioned earlier, you can turn the sandtrooper into a normal stormtrooper. Good accessories all around, and pretty much everything you need for a sandtrooper. I suppose they could have included the other rifles that the sandtroopers used, but the standard blaster is still accurate.

The included stand is the standard one we've been getting with the name of the movie embossed on the surface. The Darth Vader hologram figure came with my sandtrooper, and its an alright piece, but I personally have no use for it.

Paint--3.5/5
The paint job is adequate. There's nothing mind-blowing here, in fact, some things aren't even painted when they should be. The teeth of the "frown" on the helmet aren't painted like they were on the VOTC stormtrooper, nor are the details at the abdomen (however, a reader has pointed out that the abdomen is not painted on a sandtrooper, so this is technically correct), nor does the thermal detonator have the characteristic blue-gray rings. The painted dirt effects aren't the most convincing Hasbro has done. It doesn't look entirely like dirt to me, it's more like...a toasted marshmallow. Mmmmm, toasted marshmellow... Anyway, the backpack is also a bit lacking in that it is missing the white accents that are found on the tube-like section. However, Hasbro did seem to add a slight weathering job to the backpack which is nice. The force pike is also nicely painted and weathered which is good since it's one of the new accessories.

Packaging--4.5/5
The Saga Collection goes back to a more rectangular cardback and retains the edge-to-edge blister that Hasbro has been using since the ROTS and animated Clone Wars figures. Thankfully, the tape holding the edges of the blister has been reduced, so it is now possible to get the figure out without even dealing with the tape. The blister itself is more rectangular this time, but is still rounded on it's surface. This makes it a bit harder to stack the packages on top of each other, but if you store your MIB figures in boxes then this won't trouble you too much.

As for the actual card, it tapers off a little at the bottom so that it is not truly rectangular. The front of the card continues the retro feel of the Original Trilogy Collection, but this time the silver lettered "Star Wars" goes straight off to the sides instead of creating a frame around the figure. This packaging also continues the use of a background image that compliments the scene or movie the figure is from. I've always liked this as you can potentially cut them out and use them as a background for displaying your figures. Plus, it just helps make the packaging feel all that more special and individualized. Another nice touch is the color-coded upper left corner of the card front which tells you which episode the figure is from. This helps make it easier to find new figures at the store and it has come in very handy.

The back of the card has a bevy of information. An image of the character from the movie is in the upper right corner while below it is a full body shot of the action figure. To the left is information about the character, plus little bits of data relating to the character such as "Mission: Rescue Han Solo". It's a nice addition and they're kind of fun to read. Below that are cross-sell images of other figures in the line. In the bottom right corner is a window displaying the included hologram figure, which adds to the cool factor of the overall look of the card. What can I say? I like this packaging, and I think it's some of the best I've seen since the Freeze Frame series.

Overall--4.5/5
There's been a lot of repacks and repaints in The Saga Collection, and for the most part, I've been avoiding most of them. In this case however, I'm 100% for it! Repacking the VOTC stormie or repainting him as a Sandtrooper is one of the smartest things Hasbro can do, so I'm glad they did it here and didn't resort to using a lesser stormtrooper mold. And with the VOTC stormtrooper comes the awesome articulation--who can say no to that? Throw in some new accessories and the option to turn this into a normal sandtrooper and you've got a great figure on your hands. The paint job could be a bit better, but as it is, I'm still pleased with the final figure, so it doesn't bother me much at all. If you're looking to add to sandtrooper corps, then this is an obvious must-buy. Highly recommended!

--Photos and review by Garett Yoshimura
garett@carrotnetwork.com