Yoda & Clone Trooper - Premium Format Figures

After Anakin Skywalker's betrayal and the enactment of Order 66, only Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda remain to infiltrate the Jedi Temple and reverse the homing beacon that calls the Jedi back to Coruscant and into a trap laid by the Sith. The two powerful Jedi approach warily, anticipating that Palpatine's emergency session of the Senate has left the decimated Jedi Temple inadequately guarded.

An entire platoon of elite 501st Clone Troopers stands between the Jedi and the temple doors, but neither Obi-Wan nor Yoda express any fear as they approach their adversaries, their former allies. For Obi-Wan, it is an honor to fight side by side with Yoda, his former master and the most respected Jedi Knight of all. Head of the Jedi Council, Yoda is nearly 900 years old, but whatever frailty age has forced upon him disappears the moment he draws his lightsaber. Though his stature is small, his skills as a warrior are unparalleled. The Clone Troopers Yoda faces don't stand a chance against the Jedi Master.

Could there be a more impressive visage in the Star Wars universe than Jedi Master Yoda impaling a clone trooper with his lightsaber? Probably not. And we are hard pressed to think of a "better" example either. Sideshow Collectibles thought it was a great idea too and made one of the most unique and brilliant Premium Format figures in their career. Not only awesome, it was probably the wisest choice for a Premium Format figure to date because Sideshow Collectibles once again wows collectors to an unbelievable degree with this latest delicacy and it rises to the top as one of their most impressive releases in their long catalogue of high-end collectibles. The Premium Format line typically always makes collectors happy to giddy degrees, but the ones that captures a scene from a film with brisk interaction between (multiple) characters always excite more than those that contain single characters. Where to begin to rave over this amazing piece is quite a puzzle for us and as a result, we believe this review will be all over the place. But you need to know that Sideshow has delivered a stellar product that exceeds expectations in new ways. This collectible gives you an unprecedented Star Wars experience and engulf you in the conflict of Order 66. It shines brilliantly from head to base and alerts you to details you may never see otherwise thanks to Sideshow Collectibles high convictions to collectors to provide us with accurate representations of our most favorite Star Wars characters.

While the Clone Trooper is 100% polystone and has no separate armor pieces, the figure is beautifully sculpted and doesn't need the extra pieces that would inevitably raise the final cost unnecessarily. More parts translate into more dollars. Sideshow has ensured that the Clone Trooper has the right armor color, appropriate blue color flashes and exact proportions to the images of the 501st Legion we saw in Episode III. Sideshow has also managed to capture an incredibly believable collapsing pose of the Clone Trooper from his fatal injury from Yoda's glowing green lightsaber. Sideshow Collectibles had the responsibility to develop a believable and excellently sculpted "Clone Trooper" base that serves as the foundation for the beautiful Yoda figure (which is a separate piece that attaches by a plug in the clone trooper's chest). They met their goal tenfold and the results are just simply striking. Yoda is another wonder here. With a portrait that may just be the best likeness of Yoda we have ever received, Yoda is a very heavyweight sculpted figure with a full body that attaches to the Clone Trooper very well and very realistically. Complete with layers of soft-goods, Sideshow Collectibles designed him with a battery compartment and with a button (where his bell-button would be) that you can press and release that lights-up his lightsaber and powers it down with a second hit of the button. Yoda is perhaps more exciting in this display more than the Clone Trooper, but they both will impress you and render you speechless.

We hope that Sideshow Collectibles will make it their mission to continue to bring revolutionary ideas to their Premium Format line. It is evident that they plan to bring aggressive ideas that are outside of the box to the line for collectors and for this we are particularly thankful. Not only is the presentation of the interaction of the characters in this piece very stunning, the details on each character will astound you. Sideshow has accounted for every wrinkle in Yoda's skin and every dirt smear and scratch on the Clone Trooper's armor. There is almost nothing that you can complain about here but if we had to take exception with anything here it would be the approach of the lightsaber. We think Sideshow needs to first eliminate electronic functionality in their lightsabers and secondly, they need to design lightsabers in an opaque plastic where they can color the center of the blade "white hot" and utilize a clear color coating over the white, We believe this will result in a more realistic and dynamic lightsaber and Sideshow would have to worry about the electronics any more. (It just doesn't work folks, stop asking for this!) The Yoda & Clone Trooper Premium Format figure is such an exciting collectible and it is better than anything Gentle Giant Ltd. could give us. (Sorry about that comment – we are huge GG fans ourselves.) We truly look forward to what more exciting concepts Sideshow will introduce to us in the future. Because we think that this one will be a hard Premium Format figure to outdo.