Clone Trooper - TVC - Basic (VC15)

One thing that will absolutely 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 in it. With each release it seems that Hasbro tries to tweak it to make it better, but some have succeeded more than others. Interestingly, many fans and collectors are under the assumption that this 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 really don't see their helmets, but just check our reference photos below to see the scenes in which they actually appear. Hopefully this error will soon be squashed. Hasbro gave us the very first version of this clone trooper in the very beginning of the Revenge of The Sith line in 2005 as III 6. (It later got repainted as our first Shock Trooper too.) But the figure had an action feature and limited articulation (and annoying removable shoulder armor) that really made the figure inferior right off the bat. As the line progressed that year, Hasbro treated us all to the very first super-articulated version of the same white clone trooper as III 41 (you've probably heard of this reference before) and it has been used countless times since to make a plethora of new clone troopers. We have honestly lost count how many more have been cast from this same mold. It was an awesome sculpt and was in awesome proportion with the other figures in the line. Almost every time it got repainted and released, Hasbro included the bulky antenna, but thankfully it was removable because it really wasn't on many clone troopers in the film. The antenna was primarily seen only on the Clone Trooper (Coruscant Landing Platform) soldiers (which interestingly were always confused as the all-white clone troopers initially in the film) yet Hasbro included them on most other clone trooper action figures.

Then fast forward to 2009. Hasbro decided to make the Gelagrub Patrol Battle Packs set and they needed to create a new clone trooper that could straddle the beast. They made a super-articulated version of the Clone Trooper (327th Star Corps) figure with ball-jointed hips which made this possible. And this is the Clone Trooper that Hasbro decided to make all white and include in wave 2 of The Vintage Collection. While it is a pretty great figure that is loaded with articulation, we have to admit that we are much bigger fans of the 2005 III 41 than this new 2010 TVC version. And just like the III 41 figure, do you believe Hasbro managed AGAIN to fasten the belt on the figure upside down? (Editor's Note: Hasbro has corrected the upside down belt issue, but the fix isn't 100% consistent.) While we don't mean to sound ungrateful for the upgraded ball-jointed hips, we don't think that they function as well as they could. Instead of allowing the figure to be posed in various action stances, they really just allow it to spread its legs out from his body in order to "ride something else". It's not an effective point of articulation and its almost wasted here because it actually limits the way you pose his legs. And enough is enough with the removable helmets. Until technology can perfect this, we are honestly tired of the helmets looking slightly too big when placed on the figure's head. To be fair, it doesn't look too bad here on this clone trooper, but it just isn't our favorite style in general. What makes this worse is Hasbro left off the "cheek" details and the black line that runs parallel with the visor. (Editor's Note: Hasbro has unbelievably corrected this issue too. Check out our revised photo gallery!) The figure still has swivel wrists so Hasbro didn't update the figure here and we think that is a little bit unfortunate. 2008's Commander Gree (08 03) has ball-jointed wrists so we're not sure why Hasbro didn't take the time to update this figure with this enhanced articulation if it previously exists. After all, this is The Vintage Collection and should only be including the ultimate versions of action figures and Hasbro needs to incorporate the best enhancements wherever possible. The figure is pristinely white which is OK by us but we sure hope that if they update the Shock Trooper or the 501st Legion Trooper using this same sculpt that they include a lot more battle-damaged details.

Hasbro also managed to post a few errors on the packaging. The original Clone Trooper card was III 6 and they have a picture of the III 41 figure. Since the spirit of The Vintage Collection is historical in nature, we are holding Hasbro to a higher standard to get the details as accurate as possible. And we don't think we are nitpicking here. They also date the original Revenge Of The Sith card back from 2004 to 2005. There were no Revenge Of The Sith action figures in 2004, so this is another error. There is also a variant with the picture on the card front. Newer figures have a much brighter background (the yellow is brighter). Packaging errors don't affect whether or not the action figure is good or bad, but as we have stated before, The Vintage Collection is definitely about packaging too. At this point in time, perhaps most of us have all the plain white clone troopers we will ever need already in our collections. The new Clone Trooper is a completely new style however and we bet that he will be a popular action figure in this wave. We suggest checking your figure over before purchasing it because we have found many with sloppy paint jobs. And since this action figure is essentially white with black paint, it's amazing to us that we have found so many with paint job issues. Also, Hasbro seems to be utilizing that inferior plastic that yellows or greens right out of production. We found a few examples of figures with yellowed helmets and bright white bodies. So this is something you should keep in mind while looking for one to purchase. (Editor's Note: It is possible to wipe off this green discoloration with a cotton rag and some elbow grease. It's a slightly sticky substance that is laying on the surface of the white rubbery plastic.) The new Clone Trooper doesn't really bring that much more to the Star Wars line that we haven’t already seen before. But if you like updated and upgraded (debatable) action figures, especially 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 (like the 501st Legion Trooper for example), but perhaps Hasbro has something up their sleeves and are planning to release them somewhere else in the line in another wave. (Editor's Note: A couple of other clone troopers are already rumored or have been shown utilizing this sculpt already.) The Clone Trooper isn't the greatest interpretation of the phase II clone. Then again, he isn't a bad action figure at all. But we're not sure how necessary he is in The Vintage Collection.