Captain Rex/Clone Trooper Fives - TCW [R] - Two-Packs (Under The Helmet)

If you’re into The Clone Wars line, you quickly learned that there will never be a shortage of Captain Rex action figures. In the first couple years of The Clone Wars property, collectors were treated to no less than half a dozen and history shows us that this number will continue to grow, perhaps exponentially. But Hasbro knows how to change it up a bit to make each “new” version of Captain Rex interesting enough to buy again. Hasbro via Walmart released four two-packs in 2009. Two were under the “Screen Scene” banner while the other two were part of the Under The Helmet series which falls under the Tw-Packls format of multipacks. Unfortunately, neither platform performed well at Walmart and the lines never progressed beyond them. And two of the failed Walmart sets were reissued at Toys R Us as their own exclusives too with the goal that they would be more successful at a second retailer. And they were! (By the way, despite a price increase, the Screen Scenes two-packs based on the Ambush episode performed very well at the second retailer and sold out at Toys R Us! Go figure!)

Interestingly, the sets in general should have performed much better than they did because they are a solid product. A never-before-released clone trooper and a new version of Captain Rex should be a surefire hit! Captain Rex is a repaint of 2008’s TCW [B] Captain Rex (No. 4) figure. The most noticeable difference for this release is the inclusion of Rishi eel blood on his left arm and hand. (He uses this blood to mark his handprint as a symbol of bravery on Clone Trooper Echo. And Echo along with Clone Commander Cody make up the second set in the Under The Helmet series.) Captain Rex is overall a great action figure. he is loaded with 25 points of articulation and comes with a removable helmet and pauldron. He isn’t as heavily accessorized as his basic figure counterpart, but he has his two DC-17 blaster pistols which complement him the best in our opinion. While his head sculpt is good, we still think Hasbro can do better. He has a slightly pea-sized shaped head that looks a little off to us.

But the reason to spend the $13 and change on this set is obviously for the Clone Trooper Fives figure. He is exclusive to this set and to date Hasbro has no plans to release him in another format, including a basic action figure. Fives couldn’t have a more perfect name. His clone ID is CT-27-5555, hence is how he got the name Clone Trooper Fives. He is a pretty bland clone with some unique facial hair. He also has a distinguishing “5” tattoo on the right side of his forehead. Based off of the 2009 TCW [R] Clone Trooper Echo (CW17) sculpt, he’s super-articulated and comes with a removable helmet and DC-15 blaster. By today’s standards, the set was a steal at Walmart for just under thirteen dollars. This should have been a deal for any collector. But they became clearance fodder and collectors were able to purchase the Under The Healmet sets for pennies on the dollar. In all honesty, don’t pay more than $10 for these. But you’ll definitely want to add Clone Trooper Fives to your collection; it’s a must! This is a great way to build the Grand Army of the Republic. We hope Hasbro keeps them coming!