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Imperial Navy Commander

June 16, 2012 | By Errex More

The Imperial Navy Commander (VC94) is one action figure I didn’t expect from Hasbro at this point, because not too long ago we had the Imperial Navy Troopers released in the 30th Anniversary and Saga Legends lines (their cards read Death Star Troopers both times). That was a reasonably fine figure, so I wasn’t expecting any drastic changes, but the figure released by Hasbro as part of the third wave of the Star Wars Vintage Collection in 2012, is a very welcome improvement.

Although the character is wearing the same uniform, the Navy Commander is an entirely new sculpture. The body proportions are smaller and even though the uniform is a rather simple design, it is sculpted to convey a sense of fitted tailoring. There is a single coded cylinder sculpted on the right side of his breast to denote his rank, as well as a silver Imperial cog on his left shoulder.

The head sculpt is good but rather plain. The facial expression is one of mild disinterest, and the Navy Commander looks like those middle-aged guys that retain some youthful appearance until one looks closer and notices the wrinkles. Oddly enough, he looks even younger without the helmet, which is also a newly sculpted piece and has much sharper detail than in previous releases.

While the Navy Trooper had a wider leg stance, the Commander has a completely neutral, more relaxed pose, which proves to be more versatile with the provided articulation consisting of:

• Ball jointed head.

• Pegged hinge elbows.

• Pegged hinge shoulders.

• Swivel forearm cuts.

• Swivel waist.

• Swivel hips.

• Pegged hinge knees.

• Pegged hinge ankles.

Unlike his subordinates, however, the Navy Commander has a better range at the hips, because the rubber skirt piece is slightly shorter, made from a more pliable material and has a side opening that allows for sitting poses.

The paint operations are minimal, since the figure is molded in the final colors of plastic. The body is molded in black, but glossy paint was applied over the helmet, gloves and boots. The rectangles on his belt were painted in silver, the same as the Imperial insignia on his left arm and the coded cylinder at his breast.

The hair and eyebrows are painted in a very pale blonde color that kind of gets lost in the skin, but the eyes and upper eyelashes are painted very neatly in dark brown with white sclera.

The Imperial Navy Commander only has his helmet and a blaster for accessories. The blaster is one of those pointy models favored mostly by the Rebel Fleet Troopers, but I remember seeing Imperial Navy guys using them in the detention level scenes of Star Wars. The weapon has silver paint at the tip and fits perfectly into the functional holster sculpted over the Commander’s right hip.

The Commander is a mighty fine action figure on its own, but what really cranks it up a notch in my appreciation is that the pieces are perfectly compatible with previously released generic characters, like the Imperial Scanning Crew guy and several others. This is great because simply swapping heads it is possible to obtain new generic characters for both Imperials and Rebels, and that’s before even taking into account removable headgear and other accessories. The Imperial Navy commander is definitely an action figure I would not hesitate to recommend.