ARC Commander Blitz - TVC - Basic (VC282)

It’s astounding. The last time we saw ARC Commander Blitz in the Hasbro Star Wars basic figure line was in the 2011 TCW [SOTDS] Defend Kamino Battle Packs set, and it was an animated interpretation of the character instead of a realistic one. Now, after over a decade, we have ARC Commander Blitz in a natural style and part of The Vintage Collection, thanks to Walmart picking it up as their retailer exclusive. However, collectors should prepare themselves that this is nothing more than a fancy repaint of the “now old” 501st Legion ARC Trooper tooling we received years ago. That’s alright because we don’t expect Hasbro to deviate from this tooling. It keeps all of the clone and ARC trooper commanders in perfect scale with each other and helps create uniformity in a figure line with many oddities and outliers. Not all Hasbro’s choices to celebrate 20 years of the Clone Wars were incredibly fantastic. Still, admittedly, we’re happy to see ARC Commander Blitz back in the basic figure line, realistically rendered, and with a gorgeous portrait with stunning paint applications.

We’ve blamed Hasbro for keeping the Star Wars brand dull and unengaging. We still feel similarly. We get thrown a bone here and there, and that’s helpful to rejuvenate our collecting passion. Still, those instances are so few and far between anymore that it’s easy to lose sight of the expected figures we need to add to the lineup, like ARC Commander Blitz. Yes, it’s a repaint but necessary, and we’re happy to see it in The Vintage Collection. With so little to get excited about anymore with Disney Star Wars and the character selection feeling misguided, we should have some faith restored with a character like ARC Commander Blitz, which pays homage to when Star Wars was at its best. The biggest sin here is the almost $18 price tag (after tax) for a sculpt that was $5 cheaper a half-decade ago. This practice of overcharging for figures will kill the basic figure line once and for all. And it feeds the aggravation and annoyance where collecting is a hobby so few of us still enjoy. We are living in tough collector times. But we’ve strayed more than we wanted here, so let’s return to the figure.

ARC Commander Blitz is a great-looking action figure. The paint operations look fantastic, and Hasbro faithfully recaptured most of the details they did on the 2011 figure, from the distinct diamond pattern on the kama to the bright yellow color flashes shaping the contours of the armor. Hasbro opted for a richer yellow with a bit more orange color to it. It looks slightly off, but we believe you will be happy with what Hasbro accomplished here. None of us should expect newness when it comes to clone characters anymore. It’s the nature of the beast. ARC Commander Blitz is a rework of 2023’s TVC ARC Commander Havoc (VC274) figure. While Havoc had some new tooling, Blitz is merely a repaint of the Havoc/Colt buck. And while we can’t necessarily pinpoint where the portrait came from (one of the 501st members), we know Hasbro reused it, too. The figure has four weapons, a removable pauldron, and a removable helmet with an articulated (and removable) rangefinder. Hasbro saved a lot of money by reusing the existing tooling, so they SHOULD include that many accessories. Oh, and the figure’s card art is gorgeous. However, we would have preferred to see a yellow-colored nameplate.