Clone Commander Wolffe - TCW [SOTDS] - Basic (CW48)

Clone Commander Wolffe is under the command of Jedi General Plo Koon. Wolffe is a seasoned trooper who uses his extensive battlefield experience to lead clone troopers through the challenges of combat. His scarred face and lost eye are the result of an encounter with the skilled assassin Asajj Ventress.

Sometimes there comes a new clone commander in The Clone Wars line that just knocks the socks off of us. This time it’s the Clone Commander Wolffe basic figure. He’s a character who really has just made a few rare appearances in his clone gear in The Clone Wars television show, yet will likely become a collector favorite. He has one of the best head sculpts in the entire animated line, a sculpt that rivals many portraits in the realistic styled line and his confident blue clone armor is just spectacular. He’s a rehash of parts that we have seen time and again in The Clone Wars basic figure line, but Hasbro knows how to utilize their catalogue of parts to bring us fresh and new characters without allowing the line to become stale. It says a lot that Hasbro has been able to bring us so many takes on a clone since the line began in 2008. Essentially we should have been tired of seeing clone after clone, but between the clever concepts created by Filoni and company to the expert execution of them in the toy line, clone commanders and their battalions are an exciting staple for collectors and we don’t see the pace slowing down any time soon. Clone Commander Wolffe may just be another one of these clones, but we have to tell you that Hasbro has delivered a higher level of sculpting in the portrait that we pray will continue throughout the duration of the line. Quite honestly, Wolffe has one of the bets portraits on an action figure….ever. Maybe it’s easier to impress collectors when the clone has gross battle-damage (he is missing an eye) than those without, but still, a lot of detail went into making this action figure a step above and beyond the rest.

Clone Commander Wolffe is a combination of both 2008’s TCW [F/S1] Captain Rex (No. 4) and 2008's TCW [F/S1] Clone Commander Cody (No. 10) with a new head and without the pauldron (and some other changes). The extremities of his armor are colored in a dark grayish blue and end at the elbows and knees with a jagged chevron pattern. The design is completely eye-catching and really looks spectacular. This same blue has also been used to decorate the upper chest and shoulders and parts of the upper arms as well. The helmet is also nicely painted. The chevron pattern is repeated in the midsection of the helmet and the blue cuts have been applied in an angular manner up the sides of the helmet. Lastly, the same blue trims the outer edges of his kama and this is really beneficial for tying his look all together. The helmet is off course removable. But there is a slight problem here. Die to the new head sculpt, the helmet doesn’t fit nicely over his head. In fact, you’ll have to stretch the helmet over his face (especially the nose) to even get to on his had. Maybe this isn’t so bad. It will force you to display him sans helmet and allow you more time to appreciate that amazing portrait. Oh, and about that amazing portrait? Well, it’s absolutely amazing. There is no other way to put it. Not only did Hasbro perfectly capture his injury, they have captured the expression on his face even better. Wolffe has pouty lips, a concerned expression (thanks to perfectly angled eyebrows – he doesn’t look happy, yet he doesn’t look angry), and a slight expression of worriment that so many of the clones have experienced in the television show. Wolffe’s scarring is utterly stunning. Hasbro has painted some light pink in there to represent scar tissue and the gash heading up to the top of his crown is so believable it’s unreal.

Clone Commander Wolffe also comes well accessorized. In addition to his DC-15 blaster, he also comes with that hug over-the-shoulder cannon that shoots a projectile. And then he of course comes with the two small pistols that fit into the holsters on his kama. The weaponry is stuff we have seen 100 times before but Clone Commander Wolffe pulls them off well when holding them. He’s super-articulated, so you have great flexibility in the way you have him posed with his various artillery and he can even balance the large gun on his shoulders without a fight. And to be honest, Wolffe looks very comfortable holding the larger weapons. But as we have mentioned before, Clone Commander Wolffe’s best asset is his head sculpt. We’d hate to recommend buying a figure just for an explicit/graphic/awesome head sculpt, but if there is an action figure to do this for, it would absolutely be for Clone Commander Wolffe. The Clone Wars has received heavy criticism from many collectors who only buy the realistically styled figure. And many of them had valid arguments. But The Clone Wars line has evolved into something wonderful and some of the best action figures Hasbro has made are coming to us through this line. And what’s puzzling is that Clone Commander Wolffe falls under the “amazing” category for us even though he is based on a figure that came to us in 2008 when The Clone Wars line made its debut. But as Hasbro is proving to us time and again, a lot of their energy is focused on The Clone Wars line. We can resist it or acknowledge it, but the one thing that rings true is that Hasbro is making some very impressive figure in The Clone Wars line. Wolffe is one of them.