Welcome to Rebel Fleet Trooper Jones and the Temple of Wrongness.  This figure is a spectacular failure, and one of the most Kenner-esque of the Power of the Force 2 figures, which were still being made by the Kenner division in 1997. There’s so much wrong here that it’s difficult to decide where to begin.  Let’s start with something that isn’t too far off the mark:  the height.  The figure comes in at almost exactly 4” tall.  At the 1:18 scale, that translates to exactly 6’ tall.  That’s a tick too high based on the bio card, which lists the average Rebel Fleet Trooper at 1.75 meters, or roughly 5’9”. That happens to also be Mark Hamill’s height meaning it should have been 3.75” (boom, full circle).  People complained about the height when it was released because it was roughly the same as the various POTF2 Darth Vaders, but it was really more the case of those Vaders being too short.

If the height is only slightly exaggerated, the girth is ridiculously out of proportion.  The Rebellion’s budget must have been stretched razor thin with all these body-hugging tailored shirts for their soldiers.  [Editor’s Note:  You don’t do the budgets, Chris.  I do!]  Alternatively, this particular Rebel Fleet Trooper could have paid for his own tailoring in a fit (get it?) of vanity to show off his Rob Liefeld-esque physique.  I’m not really sure at exactly what point in time I consider the start of the “modern Star Wars” line, I just know that the ridiculous proportions of this figure rules out 1997.  Perhaps I’m not being fair because the actual character would have to be the size of The Rock to be able to lift these massive weapons.

Surely if Kenner were going to commit the sin of making a cartoonishly disproportioned figure, they would atone for that with an accurate deco, right? NOPE. The pants, which resemble tight fitting riding breeches, are tan when they should be gray.  The shirt is gray with it should be light blue.  I know it’s a big ask to get these details right.  You have to watch a whole 2 minutes and 39 seconds of A New Hope to see these details.  Clearly that was a bridge too far for Kenner in 1997.  Between the tan tights, helmet, inaccurate belt, and tailored shirt, this sort of looks like a motorcycle cop.  We all know that Kenner wasn’t above repurposing tooling from one license to another.  Star Wars tools were used for the Robin Hood:  Prince of Thieves line. Could this figure be from an unproduced CHiPs line?

The last bit of interest is that I remember the Rebel Fleet Trooper being the only new figure in its assortment.  The rest of the figures were carry forwards.  I think it was the only “one figure” assortment ever, but don’t quote me on that, even though I used quotes in that sentence.  [Editor’s Note:  Someone ask Chris how many of these 1/10 RFT’s he bought when it first came out, being that it was the character debut of a figure that should have been available in the original Kenner line.]