Thursday, January 27, 2011

Sideshow Collectibles Scout Trooper

I came to a collector's impasse this past month. Expecting a big overtime pay-out, I wanted to treat myself to something cool and unusual. I looked into high-end collectible "dolls." These 1/6 scale figures are highly detailed and stupidly expensive (often 2 or 3 times the price of Barbie special editions). The problem is that even the 1/6 scales are a dime a dozen: there are literally hundreds to choose from and my local comic book shop alone stocks several lines. I picture myself succumbing to temptation and having yet another army begging for shelf-space.
But at the top of the heap is Sideshow Collectibles "Premium Format" statue line. Each one is sculpted by an entire team of artists from
traditional poly-stone casting and metal-work to stitched cloth pieces and paint-detailing. Not to mention severely limited production runs.I decided in the end that this was the figure for me: it fits right in with my armoured/mechanized character goods and it's Star Wars. And it's even more stupid-expensive than even I'm usually comfortable with so I won't be tempted to buy too often.
This is the Scout Trooper from Return of the Jedi. He's the first "troop" character from the line-up (not counting the older speeder-bike riding version). The Scout Trooper features the usual body-suit, padded vest, strapped on armour, and utility-belt. All miniaturized to 1/4 scale. He also features weathering effects painted on his clothes giving him a just-served-his-tour-on-Endor-moon look.

My version is the "exclusive edition" that came with a sniper rifle accessory. I'm a little annoyed that this is the only part that's exclusive about it. I was willing to pay a bit more than market value because it's a limited run of only 300 (mine is hand-numbered #102 on the base). However, in truth there are 850 of these because there were 550 others that are renumbered and packaged without the rifle.
As can be seen in the first pic, yes, for the first time my old PS3 looks small by comparison. I can be fairly confident I won't be buying too many of these again soon.

1 comment:

MrBabou said...

1/4 scale?? WOAH it must look huge!! It looks really nice indeed. I like the pic showing off the glove that really looks like a real life one, leather and all. Looking forward to seeing it in real life ;)