I got my set of 3 yesterday... Pretty fast shipping really.
The Troopers are nice figures and I like that SS fleshed out some EU debate by listing the specialties of the troopers as Commandoes, as well as giving them ranks more based on uniform than rank badges (as by ROTJ there was no military advisor helping, and thus rank badges are generic, so EU's playing them off as other pieces of equipment than rank designation).
The "Sergeant" in the trench coat rocks... Probably my favorite of the 3. He has the thermal shirt, the coat is really nicely designed and decoed, the bandoleer of goodies shows it's less a bandoleer of grenades and more a bandoleer of parts (for his weapon? For an explosive? hard to say). The helmet's multiple plastic pieces meshed with the cloth center make it a really interesting design too...
I'm a little disappointed that some of the pouches are basically glued shut. That's ****** for people who want to load them up with equipment or whatever. I think the backpack can be fiddled open though (Sergeant's pack is the cloth variation).
I see some differences between Dragon/Side Show in how they do things... They're both pretty good, but I'd like more "function" on costumes in the future (IE: Pockets that open, etc.). A sidearm on oen of the troopers would've been nice too, as it seems "unlikely" that none of the 3 would have one.
The "Trooper" generic figure is really nice, and it's cool to see he's got a hooded shirt underneath his uniform vest too... It's a little known costume detail on the Endor outfits actually. The vintage and POTF2 figures have it, but it's kind of tough to tell that's what it is. The "Trooper" has probably the neatest outfit though I think. His pack is also the modular "metal" design used on Hoth which is great because I wasn't sure they'd give us this design...
The Nik Sant figure just makes you long for a basic figure of him in Scout disguise as well as his "pathfinder" uniform. The figure's headsculpt is true to form, showing that Nik Sant isn't "old" like many mistake him as being, but rather he's just very blonde with a bushy (been in the field too long) beard. He too comes with the cloth pack...
Again they all 3 have the same rifle, which is the "Rebel Rifle" based on the MP-44 German assault rifle (the predecessor of the AK-47, and really most modern assault rifles). A nice weapon... Would've been nice to see removable energy clips though, something common on 1:6 scale figures, and perhaps a sliding stock since that's how the weapon appears to function in a way. Can't have it all though.
Overall though I'm happy with the purchase but the cost is definitely something to think of in the future. I may not buy these in 3's if that's how SS is going to do all troop types. I don't think I can justify it honestly. One figure, probably the most "generic" is how I'll go forward with this line, as much as it pains me to cut any of them out. I just love the military aspect of SW so much, but the cost is rough to choke down.
Good figures though... The "these guys look like GI Joes" tag some have applied to them is pretty baseless since it's a criticism of design for the film and not the toy... As toys representing the characters, they're outstanding.
Might I also say, the Sergeant and Nik Sant figures are outstanding likenesses of both characters. Close inspection of the Sergeant's scenes shows he's a spot-on sculpt with the goattee and all.
Like I Said in my news post, if Hasbro did 3.75" Rebel figures this nice, there'd be a LOT less bitching on my part. I might even have to change my signature... at every forum I visit. Ugh.
