Coruscant Guard (The Clone Wars) - Maquettes

Clone trooper security forces on Coruscant led by Commander Fox. The Coruscant Guard was made up of the most elite clone troopers in the Republic, and it was their duty to protect the Supreme Chancellor and the members of the Galactic Senate. Among the many heroics of Commander Fox and the Guard was a thwarted kidnapping attempt on a distinguished Republic Senator by a deadly Trandoshan bounty hunter.

Throughout the course of Gentle Giant’s impressive line of mini busts and maquettes, their choices for exclusives have been quiet perplexing. We aren’t trying to imply that they are bad choices, but we wonder why they (as well as other licensees) think certain characters constitute exclusive status. Gentle Giant decided to delegate Forbidden Planet with the The Clone Wars Coruscant Guard Maquette. If you have the plain white Clone Trooper Maquette, there isn’t too much new brought to the table with this piece, but the burgundy details that accent the white armor on this piece bring something special to this character. The figure is streamlined and angular and is a perfect three dimensional rendering to the clone we see in The Clone Wars film and television series. It is a perfectly copied form from animated series and all of the proportions are intact. The angle of his rifle is in a perfect position and doesn’t block the collectors’ view so all of the defining markings which point him as an elite member of the Coruscant Guard battalion can be seen.

There is a surprising amount of imperfections on the Coruscant Guard. We believe many are intentional, but the maquette has lots of wear and streaking which give it a lived-in look. As a result, you’ll see many areas in the nooks and crannies which have a gray color over the white armor. And while this looks pretty cool, unfortunately, we have noticed in many places that the burgundy red color is uneven and sloppy. This is especially true along the rim of the helmet. It’s very distracting. We understand that these pieces are hand painted, but our sample was definitely painted by someone who appears to have been in a rush. The insignia in the center of the chest looks pretty good and it’s remarkable how much personality it adds to this clone trooper. You may think that this piece is a simple repaint of the all-white Clone Trooper maquette, but that isn’t the case. The arms are different and they are holding different weapons. (We actually applaud Gentle Giant Ltd. for making these two clones so distinct from each other!)

The Coruscant Guard are not that prevalent in The Clone Wars franchise. This is part of the reason why it we find it odd that collectibles are made of characters of this tertiary status. And we find it especially odd that the Coruscant Guard has changed so much from the guards we saw in Attack Of The Clones. Then again, Hasbro also created a TARGET exclusive Battle Packs set of this brand of clone trooper as well, so it must strike a chord with kids and collectors. The Coruscant Guard Maquette is a fine addition to Gentle Giant Ltd.’s prolific line. Limited to only 800 pieces worldwide, once this product sells through, it won’t be easy to locate. When it comes to Gentle Giant exclusive products, they disappear overnight basically. Could your Maquette collection live without this piece? The answer is definitely yes. But you probably have to have them all if you collect this line and therefore it will be a necessary addition. We just suggest inspecting your piece first to ensure that the paint job looks decent.