Well I went to my local Target and I asked if they had any of the VTAC Snowtroopers in the stockroom. Then the guy asked me if I was a collector. I told him I was buying it as a birthday present. He asked me about five more times before he went tot he stockroom, at which point I was really annoyed.

I asked him why he was probing me about being a collector.

"'Cause if you're a collector I can't get you a figure. Collectors hog toys from kids. "

Excuse me, but I think I have the right to buy something if that's what I would like to do with my money!   Besides, I'm sure most collectors don't hog toys from children! (Save for the hotwheels scalpers). I ended up getting the figure, but I had to lie that I wasb't a collector to get it! I don't like lying. 

Has this ever happened to you? If so, do you think what I did was right, and how did you react to it? I'm just wondering because Target is the store I mostly visit for SW stuff.

The rarity guide-

These ratings are based off of what I have expeirienced while figure hunting this year. Feel free to post your own version when you reply.

Rarity Types

PW-Pegwarmer/Common
UC-Uncommon
R-Rare
XR-Extremely hard-to-find

WAVE 1
30-01 Darth Vader-PW
30-02 Galactic Marine-R
30-03 Mustafar Lava Miner-UC
30-04 R2-D2-PW
30-05 Obi-Wan Kenobi-PW
30-06 Mace Windu-UC
30-07 Airborne Trooper-R
30-08 Super Battle Droid-UC
30-09 Concept Stormtrooper-XR

WAVE 2
30-10 Rebel Honor Guard-UC
30-11 Han Solo-UC
30-12 Luke Skywalker-UC
30-13 Death Star Trooper-PW
30-14 Biggs Darklighter-R
30-15 Concept Boba Fett-XR

Wave 3 has yet to show up near me.

Got this one at Forbidden Planet's shop in Lower Manhattsn. Great figure I'll say. The standing problem is an issue, but after adjusting the pose I had him in I found a way to make him stand.

More will come.

-Clones-

Clones will now reveiw a...

Jedi, Droid, Sith, Cantina Alien, Rebel, and a Bounty Hunter.

*Ahem* What I ment to say was "clone".

Elite Corps Clone Trooper

With the recent onslaught of Clone repaints, I realized only 3 were ever in a movie. I picked one up last night at Target, hoping to find some TAC. Instead, I was lucky enough to find a couple of Clone Seargents, Engineers, and one last Elite Corps Clone.

I'll say that this is a good figure with a fitting name. BARC Trooper would suggest this as a rider/driver of a vehicle, while Elite Corps fits in perfectley with the ROTS group, the 41st Elite Corps, led by Commander Gree.

The Saga Collection was a good line for Clone Troopers, but by the end of the year, we began wondering "Will we ever get a BARC Trooper?". The question was soon answered as a "Yes".

Packaging Nice! The pose on the card is very exciting, considering how few pictures of the Elite Corps are available from their limited screentime. The back shows the trooper in the same pose with a background scene. The cardback is also a very fitting scene from the beach of Kashykk. Otherwise there really isn't much to say about this figure's card. Just the usual Saga Collection garb, nothing special. One final note, the card shows the trooper holding a rifle, but the figure, of course, does not carry one.

Sculpt This was a big contraversy. I truthfully, don't care.If Hasbro were to make a new sculpt, it might not be as good in terms of articulation. Some modifications to the sculpt would have been nice though, but I really think that all the hubba about this sculpt is really un needed. Not the best choice on Hasbro's part either, but still, it is not really necessary to whine on and one about minor details on him, such as the lower torso and thighs.

Paint To make up for some sculpting flaws, we get a fabulous cameo-paint job. There is no slop on my copy, however,with cameo it's really hard to tell what's slop and what isn't. However, areas like the visor, and other details were not flooded over by the cameo. I put this guy in front of a dark green sheet and it is very hard to find him! The cameo works!

Articulation We have a winner! This guy is standard SA, ball joints and all. All of the joints are tight and don't flop around much. This figure can be put into several dynamic poses, but nothing that we haven't seen on Clone Troopers in the past few years.

Accesories Again, nothing out of the ordinary. We get a small scout pistol, a DC-15 Carbine, a base, and hologram figure. I really think the carbine is a better choice for this figure for a few reasons-He's shown holding it on the card insert, ROTS Clones used this one more often. The stand had the correct movie labled on it, unlike some of the final 22 figures. THe hologram figures will be missed by me. In my opinion, they were one of the coolest extras yet.

Value Worth my seven dollars. This is becoming the ordinary for figures, and I'm not so happy with that, but I'll say that a quality figure like this (Previously a VTSC) is worth seven bucks. 10/10

Overall Buy him if you are a fan of clones. If you're not, make it a priority, even so!!!! This figure is amazing, 'nuff said.

RATING
Packaging 9/10
Sculpt 8/10
Paint 10/10
Articulation 10/10
Accesories 9/10
Value 10/10

OVERALL 9.3/10

-Clones-

Oops, I already had a topic.

Actually, Deanna Rash, I've been a member for quite a while. Just haven't been active for a while.

-Clones-

I finally got to Target. After searching fora Sandtrooper to no luck, I scanned one of the many Derlins and the basic figures were listed as in stockroom. I asked an employee if the Sandtrooper was there and five crazy minutes later, he brought it back and said "This one?". Yep it was! Review:

I'm finally starting to bore of the Saga Collection package. However, as a trooper builder, Hasbro does not fail to supply some good pictures onto the box. The trooper stands in a neutral pose inside the card, which upsets me, considering the fact that other figures have been action posed and yet he's not. Oh well, I'll live, I mean, I don't keep figures carded. That would ruin the purpose of the TOY.

Just like all the other revision cases, the Sandtrooper includes a pamphlet that advertises the Naboo and Endor waves. It brings me to wonder what pamphlet, if any, will be included in the battle of the repaints waves. The figure was easy to get out and so now to it.

We all realize that there are many figures that need resculpts. Hasbro gave us several this year: AT-AT Driver, Death Star Gunner, among others. Last year the Evolutions multipacks included a Sandtrooper, that had a (Especially in the varient pack) "I just emerged from the toilet" battle damage job and NO waist articulation. Flash forward, and I'm sitting in front of my computer typing about what could very well be, the ultimate original trilogy figure.

I usually cover the price point and value of a figure last, but I need to get to that now. He's a $6.64 figure with "more gadgets than a swiss army knife" and a sculpt that included a smaller bubble and one accesory that was great but sold for ten bucks. So I'm impressed with this.

Next, we see the sculpt. It's a superior thing from two years ago. With some modifications, including the backpack hole and removable thermal detonator. It's an all around good model. The head to toes are perfect. I guess Saga has been good with sculpts. And it usually means bad paint and articulation, but unfortunately for all you pesimests, it's not.

The paint is delicous and the sand damage does not resemble a toddler after an "accident" like previous figures. The slop is nowhere to be found.

The articulation is by far the best feature in this figure next to accesories. The Sandtrooper can go into several dynamic poses. The only bad thing is the torso articulation doesn'tgo backwards as far as other figures with ball joints in that area.

The accesories, as I have hinted are wonderful. The vibro lance makes for some great guarding poses and the blaster is in perfect scale. It fits nicely in the holster, however it's a bit of a pain to do that sometimes. The thermal detonator can be stored in the pack while it is on, seeing as the detonator cannot be attached while the pack is in use. Speaking of the pack it too is a goody goody sculpt. The paint job on these accesories is great too. The final accesorie isn't really one. The pauldron is probably older but I don't know. It's sufficient though, and we've all seen those bad things that can happen when Hasbro tries to fix already good figures. Also included is a base which reads "Sandtrooper". This guy looks quite impressive on the stand.

Th quality is fine, and I've got to say, I'm still excited about this trooper. He could quite possibly be the best figure of 2006. But I've got my eyes on that Clone Seargent as far as my next buys go.

So I do highly suggest this figure. He's now shipping in revision packs. Som get him while he's still available, this Sandtrooper will be gone by 2007.