Covert Ops Clone Trooper - TAC - Saga Legends

Covert Ops Clone Troopers go behind enemy lines to gather information without being detected. Like all clone troopers, they serve in the highly skilled army of the Republic under the Jedi commanders until Order 66 directs them to eliminate the Jedi as threats to the Republic.

We have to admit it. The candidacy of the Covert Ops Clone Trooper as one of the Fans’ Choice picks had us a bit floored. While not terribly common, the figure was in stock At StarWarsShop.com for some time before completely selling out. They even found a few pieces in stock when they ran their warehouse clearances too. One thing is for sure. The Covert Ops Clone Trooper is indeed a beautiful action figure. A Hasbro concept, it’s pretty much unknown where Hasbro was inspired to give this figure its deco. We bet that you’ll find room in your collection to warmly welcome quality action figure like this without any reservations. And now that he’s won the Fans’ Choice Saga Legends poll, the Covert Ops Clone Trooper will once again become available for those that may have never had the chance to purchase him back in 2005. This character didn’t appear in the film and there wasn’t even an Expanded Universe source of it before its release. But it’s a character that you are going to wish was in the film just due to its sheer awesomeness. In a world where most clone trooper action figures are white, Hasbro takes the completely opposite road and develops a “stealth” clone trooper of their own. There is no doubt that this figure came out of left field, but maybe that’s part of the reason we’re so thoroughly impressed with it. Hasbro focused very hard on this figure to make it shine and look fantastic.

Accessories and the like were secondary. This simply means there is nothing new here to enjoy. But once you have this figure in your hands, you’ll know the real reason why it’s one you shouldn’t be without in your collection. There are some figures that will get better with age. We're predicting this will be true for the Covert Ops Clone Trooper. It likely won't lose its figurative and literal luster. Maybe we’re off on that sentiment, but there has to be a reason why this figure is so popular. Hasbro took their extremely popular 2005 ROTS Clone Trooper (III 41) figure and repainted it in one of the most aggressive paint jobs we’ve seen on a clone to date. In a very surprising move, they cast the figure in a gray metallic plastic. This figure glistens in light from the “glitter” throughout the plastic. It looks remarkable, It is a very sparkly action figure, but he looks wonderful. As much as this figure really picks up the light, the effect is subtle, but it’s also poignant. The top of its helmet, the shoulder armor, top of the chest armor and the lower leg armor have all been decorated with a gray camouflage pattern and these parts look spectacular. The stripe (or mohawk) on the top of the helmet, the elbow armor and the center stripe of the knee armor have all been colored in a rich purple. And then to help accent the parts of the armor that are purple, Hasbro added three-pronged lines underneath the left and right sides of the helmet’s visor, the top of the hands and a larger version of this design runs horizontally and vertically across his chest.

He almost looks as if he belongs in Mace Windu’s battalion just for his purple color alone. The Covert Ops Clone Trooper is striking to look at from every angle. Originally made to celebrate the release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith on DVD, now the figure gets treated like any other Star Wars action figure by the addition of him to the Saga Legends lineup. Covert Ops Clone Trooper comes with 23 points (and 14 areas) of articulation. Because it uses the same sculpt as Clone Trooper (III 41) figure, its hip joints aren’t perfect. When you articulate them in an action pose for example, the hips will pull away from the joint and create unnecessary stretching. We have always had luck with this setback and the legs have returned to their original position without any permanent damage. But we have also heard reports of the legs tearing at this hip joint from the force. Covert Ops Clone Trooper comes with a DC-15 blaster and DC-15 blaster rifle. Both weapons fit perfectly in the figure’s hands and you’re able to recreate many believable poses with them at a very authentic level. But truly the best part about this figure is its paint job. Instead of fancy packaging, Covert Ops Clone Trooper now gets a fancy black metal coin sporting the Expanded Universe logo. It’s a nice touch to this unique clone. We hope Hasbro can continue to create more of their own incredible and unique takes on clones in the Star Wars action figure line because this one is spectacular. We hope they keep them coming to collectors!