Original Review:  Bret - 04/30/2010 2:47 PM

This figure is all new.  It is from concept artwork created by Joe Johnston.

I like this figure.  It’s not the most exciting concept, especially since we recently got the McQuarrie version, which I’m partial to.  However, it’s still pretty neat.  He looks like an arctic samurai.  For some reason, I feel he’s more of a GI Joe looking dude. In any case, he’s super-articulated.  His skirt, while made of cloth, is still restrictive to the legs, so unfortunately, posablity is limited a bit.  He comes with one small pistol which fits into his hands or the holster.  He has a removable backpack.  The paint job is straightforward, but I like it.  It’s very striking.  Hasbro did a nice job bringing the concept drawings to plastic.  I picked up two of these guys.  They’ll look nice with all the other concept figures Hasbro has churned out recently.

Updated Review:  Bret - 12/12/2018 7:05 AM

Throughout the modern history of Star Wars toys, going as far back to the “Expanded Universe” subline of the POTF2 era, Hasbro/Kenner has given us some interesting figures based just on concept art.  Personally, I’ve been enamored by the behind-the-scenes stuff since I was a kid.  I had one of the Ralph McQuarrie portfolios from ESB.  I’m pretty sure I still have it somewhere, but I have sadly lost track of it.  While McQuarrie is probably the most well known of the designers from the OT, a close second is Joe Johnston.  Over the years, Hasbro immortalized several of the concept sketches from both designers into plastic action figure form.  That tradition continued here in the Legacy Collection.  This concept snowtrooper is based on Johnston’s work, while we were already treated to a snowtrooper concept figure derived from the sketchbook of McQuarrie in the TAC line.

The original review hits most of the key points.  The figure is perhaps most striking in that it is so different from the final version.  The McQuarrie concept was much closer to the finish produced, which is what makes this one all the more interesting.  Looking more like a samurai than an Imperial cold weather soldier, it almost seems like the concept was resurrected to serve as an inspiration for Snoke’s Praetorian Guards from The Last Jedi.  Star Wars, no matter who happens to be running the show, is well known for repurposing old concepts into new characters, vehicles, and locations for current media.  We’ve seen this time and time again in the PT, ST, and animated series.

So the figure itself is pretty good, with a few nitpicks and perhaps only one major flaw.  The sculpt is terrific, in general, and does a great job of bringing Johnston’s sketches to life.  Everything about the figure is distinctive, while still bearing at least a passing resemblance to final on-screen snowtrooper.  The most obvious difference is the coloring.  The large amount of blue thorughout the uniform seems to be rather un-Imperial, and perhaps more in line with something you might see in the Republic.  The helmet and uniform have a samurai look, which is interesting, as we all well know the many pieces of art, literature, and history on which George Lucas based much of his work.  The cloth skirt works well aesthetically, as it has for several versions of the ESB Imperial Snowtroopers.  The big flaw is that the design of the skirt does manage to hinder full motion of the legs, which is a bit of a shame.  Perhaps a split down the length of the back, or something more akin to a clone trooper kama would have been appropriate from a figure design aspect, even if it may have deviated from the concept drawing.

The figure has standard super-articulation.  The head is limited slightly by the backpack, which in (both of) my samples was very loose and popped off easily.  The blaster is decent, and fits in the hand fairly tightly.  It also fits well in the holster.  I wasn’t actually able to figure out what the intent was here, though.  The holster appears, at first glance, to take the blaster with the grip facing foward (which is a bit odd).  However, flipping the blaster with the grip facing towards the back (which makes more sense) actually does fit better, even though it doesn’t look like it was meant to be that way.  So take your pick.  Also, since we’re so used to seeing snowtroopers carrying larger weaponry, it seems that this guy is showing up to battle a little lacking in the firepower department.

Overall, it’s a decent figure, even though the skirt inhibits range of the leg articulation and reduces posability somewhat dramatically.  Otherwise, it’s more of a novelty figure, to go along with the myriad other concept and “just off-screen” figures that Hasbro has given us over the past 20+ years.  It isn’t going to blow you away, but it is a very cool figure to add to your novelty shelf, or displayed with other concept figures.  Whatever it loses for lack of leg range, it gains back for it’s uniqueness.  7 out of 10.

Build-A-Droid 

Concept Snowtrooper contains the right leg of HK-50.  This was a model of assassin droid from the Old Republic era, built by Revan.  Source:  Knights of the Old Republic II - (Legends).

Verdict: No Action 

If you look, you can find this figure for under $20 shipped on eBay.  No reason for Hasbro to do anything here, as demand doesn’t justify action.  Even with flaws, this can be considered a definitive action figure version of the concept art upon which it is based.

Verdict Guide:
Re-sculpt = The figure is not definitive, and a new version should be developed.
Re-issue = This version is definitive (or close enough), and shows sufficient secondary market demand to warrant a straight repack.
No Action = This release does not require new attention.