Credit:  Carded sample provided by Randy S.

BD42 was the debut of this particular trooper sculpt. The figure had a goatee, and anti-goatee-ite collectors freaked out.  Hasbro announced that they would be introducing a running change to the figure so it would include a clean shaven face, which is more suitable for army building.  That figure never materialized in the TLC main line.  This one, however, did have an error to begin with, as the first samples to roll off the assembly line were missing the soft goods “skirt.”  Eventually, Hasbro did release 2 variants, and both of those first appeared in the pretty awesome Defense of Hoth battle pack.  One figure was just a repaint of this BD42 with blond hair/goatee.  The other had a new beardless headsculpt, but also included new headgear with the scarf wrapped around the face, instead of the “open hat” look of both bearded troopers.  The clean shaven trooper was released a second time in the TVC 3-pack Hoth Rebel Set (where he was listed as “Rebel Commander”, while the blonde bearded trooper was also released for a second time in the TVC Special 9 Pack.  The clean shaven trooper was released a third time in the Search for Luke Skywalker battle pack, which came with the much-celebrated cannon trigger thingie, which I have since lost.  It’s okay though.  Many “Bothans” died due to my ensuing rage.  And finally, in 2018, the clean shaven trooper was put in his rightful place in the main line as VC120, after being relegated to multipacks for almost a decade. 

That makes 4 releases of that clean shaven figure, and 2 for the blonde bearded guy.  That leaves BD42 as the only release of the dark haired bearded trooper.  Does that make him rarer than the others?  Probably not, since he was available in a few TLC mainline assortments, with a couple of different droid parts.  I would venture to say that the “rarity” of this version lies somewhere between the more rare blonde, and less rare clean shaven, but I don’t know that for sure.  So with all that, this is the “granddaddy” of the modern Rebel Hoth Trooper variant trio.

You most likely know about this base figure already since you probably have at least one version of it.  You may also have already read our review of VC120.  Basically, that review applies here.  The figure is super-articulated by 2008 standards, although as a trooper, it could have benefited from what we call JLA, or “Jedi Level Articulation”.  Ball jointed hips would give it a wider range of action posability, although it still does pretty well as is.  Ball jointed wrists would give it more life-like options for wielding the rifle, such as looking down the sights.  And of course, we’d always love a return of the rocker ankles, which is the one thing missing from the current VC140 Stormtrooper that would have put it in the conversation as greatest figure ever made.

The headsculpt/paint job is what makes this figure unique as one of the variants, as it is otherwise identical to all other releases.  This figure has a goatee, with dark brown hair.  It’s totally fine to sprinkle one or a couple of these guys into your Alliance army on Hoth, but the clean shaven version would have made more sense as the first main line release, leaving the bearded variants for multi-packs and exclusives.  Nevertheless, it’s done well, and helps the figure stand out in a crowd.

The figure does look great, and although some collectors may cringe at the mixed use of soft goods, the “skirt” doesn’t hinder the range of motion of the hips at all, and I believe still keeps it aesthetically pleasing.  The paint applications are generally pretty solid.  The figure comes with a pistol (with working holster), a removable open cold-weather hat, a removable back pack, and a 2 piece tripod-mounted mini cannon.  There’s not much to complain about. 

Back in the day, we originally gave this figure a score of 10 out of 10, which may have made sense in 2010, as it was awesome at the time.  While some of the luster has worn off, and Hasbro’s technology has made it so that this figure could easily be improved upon, it is still an outstanding figure in the grand scheme of things.  It also is, hands down, the best Hoth Rebel Trooper available, as it more or less crushes all previous offerings.  If you can get any of these variants, you should do so.  They make for a great Echo Base set up.  8/10.

Build-A-Droid 

Hoth Rebel Trooper (First Release) contains the right arm for U-3PO, who was on board the Tantive IV as it was attacked by Darth Vader’s Star Destroyer.  Source:  A New Hope.

OR

Hoth Rebel Trooper (carry forward) contains right arm for HK-47.  This murderous and snarky droid terrorized meatbags during the Old Republic Era.  Source:  Knights of the Old Republic.