Kotobukiya brings a fresh look to their Star Wars collection with the introduction of their seven inch scaled The Clone Wars ARTFX (plus) Statue Series. Stepping away from their normal twelve inch scale, The Clone Wars statues rival the scale we've seen over the years from Gentle Giant but at a slightly lower cost, and less breakable. Adding to their value, Kotobukiya has also made this series a Build A Figure series, with each figure in the set coming with the parts to build an additional complimentary figure. Captain Rex comes packaged with the basic clone trooper's head, left arm, jetpack and base. Not only do we get the pleasure of building a fourth figure for this set, but Kotobukiya has packed Captain Rex with small details that only add to his value. We are treated to two interlocking bases, magnetic feet that allow you to pose him anywhere on the bases, and interchangeable heads: one helmeted, and one not. These little features show Kotobukiya's attention to detail and the understanding of the need for collectors to be able to display their treasures with flexibility.
Captain Rex, quite honestly, looks like he has stepped right out of the cartoon and onto your desk! Kotobukiya has captured the scale and likeness of this new animation style with incredible detail. Most collectors might feel that the price is too high for just a vinyl statue. But, we tend to disagree. The vinyl adds something that traditional 'breakable' statues do not: a slight flexibility and the peace of mind that you are not going to drop him and break him. Captain Rex is set in an action pose, with his kama 'moving' with the action. It drapes extremely well, as if he just finished his 'quick draw' while turning around. On a similar note, his pauldron also drapes very naturally. Both have the look and feel that you would expect from these pieces of uniform. Unfortunately, neither of them carries the heavy battle-damaged look that we see on screen. The rest of his armor, however, is nicely battle-damaged. The white armor has a slight dirty wash to it that you would expect from a soldier that has worn it for a while. His paint markings have all the scrapes and scratches that we LOVE to see on our clone armor (take note, Hasbro)! Each crevice in the armor has a dirty, almost oily look where you would expect grime to build up from day-to-day use. And, it doesn't look painted on, but naturally acquired. The only negative point (and a minor one at that) is that Captain Rex's blue markings are slightly lighter than what we see on the screen. However, this in no way takes away from his overall appearance.
Kotobukiya really steps up to the plate with the small additions to Captain Rex. First and foremost, the ability to take off his helmet and replace it with his helmetless human head. We see Captain Rex on screen as much without his helmet as we do with it, so being able to display him sans helmet is a treat! Again, Kotobukiya scores big with the head sculpt, giving us the serious looking face we would expect to see from a clone captain in action. While not as detailed as you might desire, it does stay true to the animation style. Because the face and features are sculpted in the style of the cartoon, he keeps his overall animated look and feel even without the helmet. Another nice treat are the set of bases he comes with. Not only do we get two 'deck plating' style bases that interlock, each one comes with a special logo. One features The Clone Wars logo, while the other has the Galactic Republic’s logo. The bases are molded in plastic, with a metal interior. Embedded in each foot of Captain Rex is a magnet, enabling him to easily stand on the bases without any problems of falling over. And, because of the interlocking feature of not only Captain Rex's bases, but all of the bases from the other ARTFX (plus) Statues, you can display him (and his team) in a variety of different ways and combinations. It is also worth mentioning that even without the bases, Captain Rex stands up on his own with no danger of falling over. So, if you don't want to use the base, he can still be displayed. Kotobukiya has put a lot of extra effort into this new series of statues and we feel it has paid off.
