Clone Trooper - POTJ - Sneak Preview

Ten years after the fight to save the Naboo from invasion, the galaxy is on the brink of civil war. Under the leadership of a renegade Jedi, thousands of solar systems threaten to secede from the Galactic Republic.

A courageous Jedi Knight, his impulsive and headstrong apprentice, and a queen-turned-senator are drawn into the heart of the conflict... and the beginning of war.

A new trooper like none other seen before stars front and center in Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. In addition to an all-new army, the film also shows us how the Clone Wars began and how the Republic defended itself against the threat of Separatists that were introduced in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The Clone Trooper, as they’re called, are not too distant in appearance from the Stormtroopers in the Original Trilogy. In fact, if they were wearing different helmets, you might not be able to tell them apart. As the main battle players in Attack Of The Clones, it makes compete sense why a Clone Trooper was chosen as one of the four Sneak Preview action figures for the Power Of The Jedi line. But unlike the other members of this quartet, the Clone Trooper may be the least exiting of all. We definitely think that they’re cool characters, but the action figure interpretations is a little too stiff for our liking.

Clone Trooper comes with only five points of articulation. There is sadly no waist joint for the member of the Army Of The Republic and it really is a major disappointment. What’s worse is that the figure only looks good when constantly holding the included DC-15 blaster rifle. His left arm is cupped and his right hand is designed to hold the trigger section of the weapon, so the figure limits how many poses you can get out of this action figure. The Clone Trooper looks good, but other than standing in the same exact fashion for eternity of your shelf there isn’t much more you’re going to get out of it. The head moves left, right and around and the hips are swivel, but what good are those points of articulation when you need to have both of his feet flat on your display surface to prevent him from falling down? Clearly there are some wasted opportunities here. But the figure is ready for battle and looks great when fully situated, so it’s hard to fault it completely.

It’s only when the figure is “dressed down” that you realize how many faults it actually has. It may make more sense for you to display this action figure ready for battle at all times. Clone Trooper has a very realistic paint operations deco scheme. There are speckles of various carbon blast particles, but Hasbro also managed to add some “red dirt” from the planet Geonosis to the legs (with a concentration of it at the lower portions). You can pose the Clone Trooper with or without its rifle, but when you do pose him with it you’ll see why he was designed in the manner he was. The Clone Trooper really looks fantastic. You can also decide whether or not to attach the blast effect to the nose of barrel as well. Either option looks great, but the blast effect on this action figure makes it look even better. That’s our take on it at least. Clone Trooper isn’t the best of the Sneak Preview figures, but it’s a wonderful army builder and likely a necessity for your collection.