Clone Trooper - TVC - Basic (VC15)

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One thing that will never change as long as the Hasbro Star Wars line is still active is that there will always be a plain white clone trooper somewhere within it. With each release, Hasbro attempts to tweak it to make the latest model better, but some tweaks have been more successful than others. Interestingly, many fans and collectors are under the assumption that the “all-white” Phase II Clone Trooper never appeared in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. This strange urban legend prevails throughout the collecting community, but it couldn’t be more incorrect. Granted, they are in the background, and we don’t see too much detail, but please refer to the Reference section of this review to see the scenes in which they appear. That said, hopefully, Hasbro will give collectors the perfect Clone Trooper action figure one day. Hasbro released the first version of this clone at the beginning of the Revenge of the Sith line in 2005 as Clone Trooper (III 6) in the series. (It later got repainted as our first Shock Trooper, too.) However, the figure had an action feature and limited articulation (and annoying removable shoulder armor) that made it inferior from the start. As the line progressed that year, Hasbro treated us all to the first super-articulated version of the same all-white clone trooper as 2005’s ROTS Clone Trooper (III 41) and used it countless times since to make a plethora of other companies and battalions. We lost count of how many others Hasbro cast from this same mold. It was an awesomely tooled figure and was in proportion with the other figures in the line. Almost every time it was repainted and released, Hasbro included the bulky antenna, but thankfully, it was removable because it wasn’t present on many clone troopers in the film. The antenna was primarily seen only on the Clone Trooper (Coruscant Landing Platform) soldiers (which, coincidentally, were often confused with the all-white clone troopers in the film). Yet, Hasbro included them on most other clone Trooper action figures. Then, fast forward to 2009. Hasbro added the Gelagrub Patrol Battle Packs set from the Legacy Collection to the line, and they needed to develop a new clone trooper that could straddle the beast. They designed a highly articulated version of the Clone Trooper (327th Star Corps) character, featuring ball-jointed hips. It made the saddling of the gelagrub possible.

This iteration is the Clone Trooper that Hasbro chose to use to implement the all-white clone included in Wave 2 of The Vintage Collection. While it is a reasonably significant figure loaded with articulation, we admit that we are much bigger fans of 2005’s Clone Trooper (III 41) release than this new version for The Vintage Collection. Quality issues plagued the initial releases of the Clone Trooper. Hasbro AGAIN managed to fasten the belt on the figure upside down. (Editor’s Note: Hasbro corrected the upside-down belt issue, but the fix isn’t 100% consistent.) The first batches of this figure also came without blue and black helmet lines. Quality issues abounded elsewhere as well. While we don’t mean to sound ungrateful for the upgraded ball-jointed hips, we don’t think that they function well. Instead of allowing the figure’s flexible movement in various positions, the hips function more to spread its legs out from the body to “straddle” something. It’s not a practical point of articulation and feels wasted here because it limits the way you pose the legs. We are also exhausted with the removable helmets. Enough is enough. Until technology can perfect this, the helmets look out of scale to the body when placed on the figure’s head. At some angles, it doesn’t look terrible on this clone trooper, but it overall doesn’t work well. We mentioned the paint operations issues. Hasbro omitted the blue “cheek” details and the black line that runs parallel to the visor on the first batches. Hasbro, however, has unbelievably corrected this issue as well. Unfortunately, Hasbro opted for swivel wrists, so they didn’t update the figure’s hands, which was disappointing to us. The 2008 TAC Commander Gree (08 03) figure features ball-jointed wrists, so it’s unclear why Hasbro didn’t upgrade this figure with that enhanced articulation, especially if it was previously available. After all, this is The Vintage Collection, and it should only include the ultimate versions of action figures. Hasbro needs to incorporate the best enhancements wherever possible. The figure is pristinely white, which is okay by us, but we hope that if they update other clones using this same tooling, they include more battle-damaged details. The historical context of this figure is incorrect, resulting in a few errors on the packaging. The original Clone Trooper card was 2005’s ROTS Clone Trooper (III 6), and they pictured 2005’s ROTS Clone Trooper (III 41) figure instead.

Since the spirit of The Vintage Collection is nostalgic, we hold Hasbro to a higher standard to get the details as accurate as possible. We are not nitpicking. They also date the original Revenge Of The Sith card/packaging from 2004 to 2005. There were no Revenge Of The Sith action figures in 2004, so this is another error. Another running change for this figure focused on the card art. There is a variant with enhanced brighter and more vibrant coloring for the character photo on the front of the card. Newer batches have this updated card. Packaging errors don’t affect whether the action figure is good or bad, but as we have stated before, a critical part of The Vintage Collection experience is the packaging. That said, at this point, perhaps most of us have all the plain white clone troopers we need already in our collections. But this new Clone Trooper is an entirely new style. We bet that it will be a popular action figure in this wave because collectors love to army build. We suggest checking your figure carefully before purchasing it, as we have found many with sloppy or missing paint details. And since this action figure is not much more than white plastic with some black-painted details, it’s notable to us that we have seen so many with deco issues. Additionally, Hasbro appears to be using inferior plastic that yellows or turns green immediately after production. We found a few examples of figures with yellowed helmets and bright white bodies. Therefore, this is something to keep in mind when looking for one to purchase. (Editor’s Note: It is possible to wipe off this discoloration with a cotton rag and some elbow grease. It’s a slightly sticky substance that is lying on the surface of the white rubbery plastic.) The new Clone Trooper doesn’t bring that much more to the Star Wars line that we haven’t already seen before. However, if you prefer updated and upgraded (arguably) action figures, especially those designed for army builders, then this is one for you. We think a clone trooper with greater prominence should have filled the spot for a clone trooper in The Vintage Collection, but they’re destined to arrive in the line at some point. Still, perhaps Hasbro has something up their sleeves and is planning to release them somewhere else in the line in another wave. This Clone Trooper isn’t the best interpretation of the Phase II Clone Trooper. Then again, it isn’t a terrible action figure at all. But we’re not sure how necessary its inclusion in The Vintage Collection is.