Original Review by Chris - 8/17/2014 8:00 AM:

2006’s Death Star Gunner, also known as an Imperial Gunner, is a figure that has two elements that I hate.  Namely swivel elbows and articulated knees without articulated ankles.  When a figure has articulation at the knee, but not at the ankle, that knee join is essentially useless for everything except for sitting.  If you try to pose the figure in a bent legged pose, it requires you to balance it on the tip of that foot since the ankle doesn’t flex in compensation.  I’ve made this analogy several times before.  It’s like trying to balance a quarter on its edge.  It’s doable, but nothing you could hope to permanently display.  This is why I bristle when collectors question the merit of ankles on certain figures.  Why stop there?  Without ankles, the knees serve no purpose, so you might as well drop those too.  And then when can slippery slope debate the merits of every point of articulation until we allow Hasbro to just upscale the Command figures to 3.75” and call it a day. 

I usually hate the swivel elbows because the arm flex runs along a predetermined range of poses based on the angle of the cut.  In this case, the point of articulation seems to accommodate the required poses.  I don’t find the swivel elbows limit this figure as badly as it does on other figures.  It still has the problem of popping apart, but that is more inconvenience than lasting issue with the figure.  So despite these two personal annoyances, I still like the figure a lot.
 
Hasbro packed a lot of value into the sculpt.  Imperial Gunner costumes run a gamete of configurations.  The 501st Legion lists five distinct approved combinations.  By giving us a removable black Stormtrooper chest plate, this figure can achieve two of those five combinations.  It’s always nice when this flexibility is built into a figure.  The helmet is removable which was a complete Easter egg feature at the time of the figure’s release.  It was unknown to the community and created a bit of a buzz when the figure ended up in hand. It also caused a bit of controversy because the underlying head was a Jango Fett clone.  Some OT purists were upset by the Prequel Trilogy invading every aspect of their beloved movies.  I truly detest the PT, but I don’t see the fuss.  Just leave the helmet on. 

Because of the protruding power pack on the included E-11 blaster rifle, to neatly stow the weapon in the holster, it needs to be done in cross draw fashion.  Updated E-11 holsters compensate for the power pack to hold the weapon in a normal draw.  I don’t particularly care for the cross draw holster.  Especially when the grip has to face forward on the figure and it results in a rather unfortunate photographic effect.  I had to digitally remove the grips in the pics above, which is something I only do a as a last resort. 

One annoyance with the figure is that it is sculpted with the balaclava on the outside of the jump suit leading to the frills around the neck area.  This is not the way the Imperial Gunner uniform should be worn, but the only set photo shows the extra had committed this costuming gaffe. Unfortunately this error manifested itself in the sculpt.  Hasbro would be wise to double check these things with the 501st Legion before going to press with the figure.

Overall, I don’t think this figure is an eyesore when displayed with more contemporary figures.  The technology is dated, but it can be made to work.  I give this a 6 out of 10.

Updated Review by Bret, 4/24/20

Not much to add to Chris’s review.  Since it was written in 2014, Hasbro issued a “definitive’ Death Star Gunner with the release of VC147.  That figure, was intended to be sourced to Rogue One.  That figure could be specific to RO due to the omitted shoulder emblem. 

While the TVC version is far superior to the Saga Collection release, this still works in your collection if you’re a stickler for the details and variations of the Imperial Gunner uniforms.  At the time of Chris’s writing, the 501st costuming group recognized 5 variants.  As of today there are 6, although none of them are specifically listed as sourced to Rogue One.

So what TSC 041 gives you are two options.  Based on the 501st, it seems that the jumpsuit without the armor make it “Version 2”, which is from ROTJ.  Adding the armor chest plate makes it “Version 5”, which is listed as EU.  That renders inaccurate my choice for photographing this gunner in the seat of a Death Star canon from ANH.  To which I say, “You know what 501st?  Your face is inaccurate!”

Anyway, despite the existence of VC147, the specific outfit(s) make this still unique and able to be displayed.  That’s because it’s still a reasonable figure from a sculpting standpoint.  It looks good, and has decent articulation, especially by 2006 standards.  Ball jointed head, shoulders, and knees on top of swivel everything else - but no ankles.  He’s got the removable helmet (with clone head), removable armor, and blaster/holster combo, as well as the TSC stand.  We’ll keep it at a substandard, but still acceptable 6/10.