Republic Assault Submarine With SCUBA Clone Trooper - SW [TPM 3D] - Deluxe

An assault submarine glides through the water piloted by a scuba clone trooper. Marine missions require special methods for assault and reconnaissance, as demonstrated by the Republic's "Devilfish" OMS (One Man Submersible). The versatile subs can be operated underwater or on the surface of the water. Either way, scuba clone troopers can attack from the sea, firing the sub's torpedo launcher at the enemy.

Some things in Star Wars come full circle, don’t they? Who could forget the brilliant underwater skirmish during the Battle of Mon Calamari in Volume 1 of Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars? Let’s admit it. It was the shortest three minutes we never stopped talking about at the water cooler at work or on the various message boards at your local favorite fan site. It just “worked” perfectly and it was precisely directed. Kit Fisto, who has the ability to breath underneath the surface of water, stole the show. Between his new look incorporating a bare chest and bare feet mixed with his trademark smile only made us fall in love with him all over again. And Kit Fisto became the mediator to try to resolve the conflict of the virulent relationship that existed between the peaceful Mon Calamari and warmongering Quarren species. This whole quick but encapsulated battle sequence has been permanently burned in our psyche as one of the greatest moments of the Clone Wars we would ever witness. It still holds up extremely well even today. Dave Filoni must have gotten a little envious and maybe he wanted to get this magic into his television show, so he developed his own Battle of Mon Calamari sequence as the opening episode of the fourth season of The Clone Wars. We’re not even going to pretend to hide the fact that we are partial to Tartakovsky’s vision, but we also have to hand it to Filoni for not only showing respect to Tartakovsky’s take, but also making his own special and awesome as well.

With a new episode of The Clone Wars, Hasbro took it upon themselves to get a character from season 4 into the basic figure line as soon as they could. And not taking into account the nightmarish distribution errors, Hasbro did ensure that the Republic Assault Submarine With SCUBA Clone Trooper would arrive relatively quickly on store shelves. They made it one of their priorities. Your mileage will vary, but the sets started appearing online months before the first stores started peppering the Star Wars aisle with these goodies. Part of the 2012 Star Wars [The Phantom Menace 3D] lineup, this Class I, Deluxe, or what any other name you want to call this line, the Republic Assault Submarine With Clone Trooper is a set you’re going to want to army build if you’re a The Clone Wars fan. And both the figure and vehicle score high marks from us and are equally entertaining. Unlike the most recent The Clone Wars figures, the SCUBA Clone Trooper is nearly super-articulated with 13 points of mobility. The only thing keeping him from super-articulation is that he has no waist joint. Interestingly, the SCUBA Clone Trooper figure barely even has nuances of 2008’s TLC Clone SCUBA Trooper (BD 10) figure, but that’s just fine by us as it keeps the two Clone Wars properties separate. And variety is the spice of collecting. We are particularly fascinated by one part of this figure and that would be his removable flippers. They actually feel like real foam rubber with a texture and pliability we just haven’t seen on a Star Wars action figure to date. (The flippers are of course is cast in plastic for the record.)

The SCUBA Clone Trooper figure has amazing interaction with the Republic Assault Submarine. The action figure and Class I vehicle here in this set were meant to be together and evidently designed in the same room. Oh, and unlike so many other Class I vehicles, this is actually based on an actual vehicle in The Clone Wars television show. (We have to be frank that we were totally over all of the Hasbro concepts. It’s really refreshing to get screen accurate vehicle again.) The Republic Assault Submarine is awesome. It’s weighty, durable and simply yet beautifully painted. The alternating red and white is flawless. Hasbro could have gotten really lazy here and there could have been a lot of color bleeding, but that isn’t an issue at all. The vehicle fires two projectiles via buttons on the underside of the vehicle. Then if you press the large button underneath the “windshield” it releases the launchers and they swing out to you can put the vehicle in a more aggressive mode. The canopy cover/windshield swings up with the handlebars so you can pilot the SCUBA Clone Trooper standing up to patrol the waters of Mon Calamari. The Republic Assault Submarine has been designed with a really neat place to store the figure’s weapons. Hasbro has tooled “blaster storage” onto the hood of the vehicle. It’s a nice option to have. There are some small issues that bother us about this Class I set. For instance, and this could just be our sample, the SCUBA Clone Trooper is not painted very nicely. Where Hasbro was precise with the vehicle, they got equally sloppy with the figure’s color flashes. Still, this set is a blast. Don’t waver trying to find one. You’re going to love this thing.