212th Attack Battalion: Utapau (2nd Airborne Company) - Militaries Of Star Wars - 1:6 Scale Figures

A division of the Grand Army of the Republic, the 2nd Airborne Company was comprised of clone paratroopers serving under the 212th Attack Battalion led by Clone Commander Cody. Outfitted in heavy armor suits, specifically designed to withstand high altitude drops, their armor is marked with two orange slashes across the chest to denote their rank and company. In 19 BBY the 2nd Airborne Company faced General Grievous droid forces during the Battle of Utapau, and were later called upon to help overpower Utapau following the transmission of Order 66.

Well fans of Sideshow Collectibles’ 1:6 Scale Figures lines, we are getting closer and closer to the bottom of the barrel of phase I and Phase II clones from the Prequel Trilogy. While there are a ton of clones that can be made that aren’t from the films, it’s nice to know that Sideshow Collectibles have made it a goal to complete the ones see in the movies a priority. If you process this, you’ll find it hard to believe that it only took three short years to reach this point. That’s quite a tremendous feat. After the very first clone was announced, the Republic Clone Trooper (212th Attack Battalion) figure, and finally released in May of 2009, Sideshow went into overdrive with a focus heavy on clones and new product announcements with clones front and center were consistently delivered at a constant pace. Once they developed a very satisfactory phase II helmet, the obvious “repaints” made the most sense to bang out next. But fans started wondering when Sideshow Collectibles would begin thinking outside the box to deliver clones with unique characteristics like Commander Neyo (91st Reconnaissance Corps) and this figure. That time is now. After a wonderful Commander Neyo released just weeks before the 212th Attack Battalion: Utapau (2nd Airborne Company), we’re proud to say that Sideshow Collectibles has done them justice and it’s incredible to finally have the variety in our collections.

The one thing that perplexes us right off the bat with the 212th Attack Battalion: Utapau (2nd Airborne Company) figure is his name. Sideshow Collectibles has always given very detailed and specific names for the characters they release in the 1:6 Scale Figures line. But whether we’ve just been misled by Hasbro to refer to these characters as Airborne Troopers, that’s a title that Sideshow Collectibles has decided to not use for their interpretation of this character. We don’t normally point out details like this in our reviews, but we definitely found this particular 1:6 Scale Figure’s name rather strange and clumsy. We’ll refer to him as the Airborne Trooper for the rest of this review for our ease (and peace of mind). The Airborne Trooper is of the matched quality of all their recent Militaries Of Star Wars figures. The joints are still tighter than the earliest figures released in this collection and the thigh armor still sinks too low of the legs. (Man we wish they would remedy this.) The Airborne Trooper looks brilliant completely assembled. All of the details of the Hasbro figure are present here but at a much more magnificent level. His satchel is made from soft-goods and his kama has been woven out of a sturdy, yet pliable canvas material.

The paint applications are pretty much mind-blowing. The fine orange details that have been used for various markings and larger color flashes are stunningly applied. The lines are extremely neat and clean and there are plenty of instances of dirt and grime which help to age the armor and give it the authentic battle-worn look it needs and deserves. The “white” armor is actually very dirty and the black body glove has been given an extremely authentic ribbed texture (but you should be used to that by now with the clones). The whole package of the Airborne Trooper is impressive beyond words. Sideshow Collectibles did an incredibly impressive job on the “new” head sculpt. There is no interchangeable “clone” head for this figure, but the sculpt and design of the Airborne Trooper is something that should show you just what the artists and sculptors at Sideshow Collectibles are capable of doing. All of the detail is top notch. We’re actually glad that Sideshow decided to forgo adding an interchangeable clone portrait. If you’ve noticed, they only provide this if these portraits can actually be seen in the film. They offer no “off screen” versatility. We actually prefer that. It’s screen accuracy or nothing for Sideshow Collectibles. We commend them on maintaining that stance! The Airborne Trooper is an absolute must-have. If you love the 212th, hopefully you have multiples of him already!