I haven't bought Hasbro Star Wars in a while. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I bought Star Wars ANYTHING. So I was at Target, I happened to go in the toy isle and saw Maul, R2, Luke and the Sandtrooper on the shelf in their minimalist black boxes.
Looked at Maul, crap.
Looked at R2, crap.
Ended up going home with a Sandtrooper and Luke Skywalker. I opened them up and I've got to say, I'm quite pleased. These things are actually really well done. Mine didn't have any problems, paint application problems or any quality control issues. $20 bucks a pop is a little high, but when I see the new 3 3/4 crap that goes for $10 to $12 (man, I remember when these things were like $4-$7), I sorta of see how they're "worth" it.
I really dig the sculpts on the trooper and Luke, specifically the headsculpts. The Sandtrooper looks just like the hero helmet from the films and the proportions on both are great. I don't see why they couldn't achieve this with the 3 3/4 troopers. They could have easily shrunk this down. I don't really like how Luke looks with the helmet on, but having him holding it at his side, blaster in hand and lightsaber hilt on belt is just tops. I really dig both of them.
I'm definitely not going to jump into this line, but if I come across some here and there, I'll definitely pick them up. Like I said, it's been awhile since I've purchased anything Star Wars. I'm definitely going to pick up Han, Greedo and Fett if I come across them, specifically Han.