Captain Rex - Premium Format Figures

"The name's Rex. But you'll call me 'captain' or 'sir'..."
--Clone Captain Rex

Grown on Kamino from the DNA of Bounty Hunter Jango Fett, Clone Trooper Captain CC-7567, nicknamed Rex, was activated during the Clone Wars, the galaxy-spanning struggle between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Rex was a freethinking, cunning, and tough warrior, yet despite his unusual individualism as a clone, Rex followed orders without question.

Serving as Jedi General Anakin Skywalker's second, Rex commands Torrent Company of the acclaimed 501st Legion of the Grand Army of the Republic. Rex and his men were assigned to patrol the most lawless and dangerous sectors of the galaxy within the feared Outer Rim.

Can too much of a good thing really end up feeling like too much? Not all collectors feel this way, but we have to confess that being inundated with clones for the last few years by Sideshow Collectibles has made their products lines feel a tad too stale in some respects. Obviously lines like 1:6 Scale Figures are created with greater frequency than the more expensive Premium Format Figures or Life Size Busts lines, so it feels worse in the smaller scaled collectibles, but even the Premium Format line is starting to feel this familiarity a bit now as well. Don’t get us wrong, the Captain Rex Premium Format Figure is very good, but in our opinion characters like alien bounty hunters (and even some human characters) seem a little more interesting in this scale than an armored one. To be quite frank, receiving the Captain Rex Premium Format Figure was like receiving a dressed up version of 2011’s Clone Trooper (Episode II) Premium Format Figure with a few more bells and whistles. Yes Sideshow, we know what you can do with characters in plastoid armor now and it’s good and great, buts let’s move on to something a little more innovative. That being said, we do have to admit that Sideshow has made an excellent representation of Captain Rex for the Premium Format Figures line. It isn’t perfect, but we do have to credit them with taking as unique of an approach as they could to make it feel like something we haven’t seen before in the line (but did).

Before getting to the actual figure, perhaps we should start with the part of this collectible that impresses us the most. The designs of the bases in the Premium Format Figures line range from simple to extravagant. If there is a word that supersedes extravagant we’d like to use that here. The Captain Rex figure stands atop a battle-damaged Super Battle Droid – about one third of its body is represented here – and the Super Battle Droid is lying on a desert like terrain. The base itself is heavier than Captain Rex and the detail captured in the Super Battle Droid is enough to keep you occupied for hours. This may be harsh, but the Super Battle Droid is much more interesting than Captain Rex. You’ll be blown away by how much artistic ingenuity went into sculpting of this base. As you are well aware, the torso of a Super Battle Droid is barreled and thick, so this allows Captain Rex to sit high perched above it. You’ll see gears, buttons, layers of structural metal, tubing and pretty much every other part of the insides of these terrible Separatist B2 battle droids. The paint job that Sideshow Collectibles has given the base only makes the intricate sculpt look even better and brings to lights things that may have not otherwise been visible in just the sculpt. Captain Rex plugs into the base thanks to powerful magnets and stands rather securely on it confidently peering out into the horizon contemplating the successful battle her just won with his battalion.

Captain Rex is also excellently sculpted as well. One thing that perplexes us right away however is the color chosen. We’d go so far as to say that his armor is light gray and not remotely off-white or a shade of cream. In bright light the armor looks significantly lighter so that is a good thing if you have him under a spotlight in your collection. The color used to decorate the piece with color flashes is lighter than the prototype, but the final piece still looks accurate to the character in The Clone Wars. Captain Rex is another character in the Premium Format Figures line to come with a ball-socket head joint for unlimited head movement. It works very well, but the joint is extremely tight and is very squeaky when you change the positions of the head. The rangefinder on the helmet is removable and can be positioned at multiple angles, but it doesn’t rotate. You have to remove it and place it at another angle or you will risk breaking it. His right hand holding the DC-15 blaster rifle and his pauldron are removable and the two DC-17 blaster pistols are also removable and can be placed in functioning holsters that hang from his belt. For the Sideshow Exclusive edition, Sideshow has crafted an amazing grenade belt with six (6) removable grenades. Frankly, it’s one of the most fitting exclusive accessories we have seen in the Premium Format Figures line in a long time. Sideshow Collectibles mistakenly advertised that this piece comes with an interchangeable hand holding the grenade belt, but that’s incorrect. It’s just the belt and grenades that are exclusive. Captain Rex is well done, but we belt you’ll be more enamored with the base instead.