Clone Trooper Captain - TBS [P2] - Six Inch Figures (#13)

Here they come to clutter your collection! It took a little longer than perhaps expected, but Hasbro is continuing to repaint existing sculpts in The Black Series 6” line in an effort to quickly bring new characters into the line. Now they are on their third clone. The Clone Trooper Captain now has his day in the sun and admittedly it is one the first we feel Hasbro should have began with since these are clearly seen in Attack Of The Clones. Hasbro reused the sculpts of the Biker Scout figure from the Speeder Bike and Biker Scout as well as the Sandtrooper to make the Imperial Shadow Squadron TARGET exclusive set. But now they’re repainting the 6” figures, albeit simply, to bring us new characters from the films. The Clone Trooper (#14) figure was first released in The Black Series [Phase I] line and has been repainted as the Clone Trooper Sergeant (#07) and now the Clone Trooper Captain in The Black Series [Phase II] line. Everything you know about the original figure has been carried forward here of course, including the accessories, and very little that is different should be expected. Unlike the Clone Trooper Sergeant (#07), the Clone Trooper Captain has been cast in a bit brighter white color. But the color flashes are better than ever. These paint operations have clearly been tweaked which makes for a very clean look on the action figure. Hasbro's consistency has been quite rocky with this line, but it appears good change is in the air. We are still waiting however to return to the days when the paint operations consistently outshine the sculpts again but who knows if that will ever come to pass. It’s nice to see a main clone get produced in The Black Series 6” line because the former Clone Trooper Sergeant is just too obscure in the film to fully appreciate.

Thankfully, the Clone Trooper Captain looks pretty fantastic. With a nice amount of articulation and a design that perfectly captures both the essence and silhouette of the character, The Black Series [Phase II] Clone Trooper Captain is adding to the clone trooper officer ranks that we all want to see completed as soon as humanly possible. Don't shoot us, but we hope that Hasbro completes all of the clone trooper officers and soon, so that they look consistent, because right now they’re already appearing a little too differently from each other than we are comfortable seeing right now. It’s great that Hasbro chose this particular clone trooper officer because aside from Clone Trooper Commanders, Clone Trooper Captains are the most visible and have the most screen time in Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. Obviously the Clone Trooper sculpt comes without a removable helmet (which is honestly a good thing). As we all know too well, and ill fitted helmet just ruins the aesthetics of clones. But perhaps what would have made the Clone Trooper Captain a very unique release would have been to give this figure and all-new head sculpt with a removable helmet feature for screen accuracy purposes. It seems like Hasbro is extra careful with the phase I helmets anyway. As with so many other phase I Clone Trooper action figures released throughout time, Hasbro has give the Clone Trooper Captain a pretty clean paint job instead of the off-white armor color they gave the Clone Trooper Sergeant. Clearly this means that this clone is based on the scenes in Kamino during Episode II that the clones were receiving their helmets. Or maybe they have just been dropped into battle for the very first time.

We don't understand this phenomenon too well, but the clone trooper officers tend to always look better than the all-white infantry clones in the toy line. The same is true for the Clone Trooper Captain. This red color-flashed soldier is a tremendous asset to the 6” line regardless of his cleanliness or dirtiness. We’re still inclined to rate this sculpt as being a little bit distant from perfect status, but there is no way you won't be somewhat impressed with it or find something to admire about it. Hasbro included clever articulation systems that give this figure an edge over many of the other figures in the line. The double hinge-jointed elbows, which we saw on both the Sandtrooper (#03) and the Stormtrooper (#09) have been carried forward with the Clone Trooper Captain and works just as well as they did in the past. You’re able to bend the arms in ways that ball-jointed articulation just doesn’t allow. And you can really attain some amazing poses. With the precise matching of the pins, we couldn’t be happier with their execution here. Add to that plenty of extra mobility courtesy of ball-jointed shoulders and wrists, the Clone Trooper Captain can be posed in so many ways that all previous 3.75” versions of this character couldn’t come close to capturing. We’re elated about this and it keeps us assured that Hasbro has great intentions for this line. If Hasbro can just lock down tighter paint operations, there would be a much warmer reception for this line. More accessories would be appreciated too. Give us some value for the high price tag! Overall, we are anywhere from impartial to enjoying this line. There are some gems, but there are more duds. We just want them to lock down some of the details better. But even if they don't give us more accessories, they have to do something to reel in the quality a bit more.