Clone Commander Cody - TCW [SOTDS] - Basic (CW03)

Cody leads the 212th Attack Battalion and serves under Obi-Wan Kenobi during the Clone Wars. He is one of the clone commanders who received advanced training under ARC trooper Alpha. Cody accompanies Obi-Wan to the Teth system to provide military reinforcements when Anakin's team comes under attack by battle droids.

When I was approached to participate in the making of The Ultimate Action Figure Collection by Steve Sansweet, I thought it was a dream. I know that sounds cliché, but I really didn’t believe it. I called my mom and dad first to share the news with them and they couldn’t believe it either. They never thought for a moment that my obsession would ever amount to anything worthwhile like this, and honestly, neither did I. Once I was invited, Steve Sansweet and company got me involved right away. Although I came into the process after a big chunk of it had been started, there was still much to do. One of the tasks involved was to go through the draft of the book, page by page, and “think” of any unique versions of action figures that may have been missed. Both Dan Curto and myself came up with a pretty meaty list. Steve rejected some of our choices and deemed them as “not different enough” and many others he warmly welcomed as new additions to the book. As I audited the list, I was very surprised to see 2010’s TCW [SOTDS] Clone Commander Cody (CW03) on it, an action figure brought to the table by Dan Curto as a unique figure. Honestly, I was confident Dan had made a mistake. After all, he did pose 2010’s TVC Gamorrean Guard (VC21) with the wrong weapon. (I digress.) All jokes aside, I was shocked when I did a side by side comparison of all three versions including the 2008 figure, the 2009 figure and then this one and noticed just how different the 2010 version was from both previous releases. (The 2008 and 2009 figures are nearly identical for the record.) They say you learn something new every day and while that may be oldest adage around, it was one that certainly applied during the creation of the book.

So what makes Clone Commander Cody in 2010 so different from the previous years? Well, I didn’t know for sure until a few days ago while desperate to find the Tuesday Morning discounted Naboo Starfighter that I found a sole “Shadow Of The Dark Side” Clone Commander Cody hanging from the pegs in the action figure section. I was once again shocked to make this score so late after its release and I immediately noticed just how differently the figure looked from the earlier versions I had already owned from purchases in the past. Cody has a completely reworked paint job. It’s so strikingly different that I don’t know how I completely missed this figure. Hindsight is always 20/20, but this threw me for a loop. It took almost three years from its original release to acquire this very important variation in my collection. While new to me, it’s quite possible that these details were documented in a column such as Adam Pawlus’ wonderful Figure Of The Day at GalacticHunter.com or the detailed Toyguide at Yakface.com, courtesy of Jayson Krebsbach, but I completely missed it if it was brought to light elsewhere. But when I did some research on it, I was surprised to find that not even Dan Curto, the man who brought this to my attention in the first place, ensured that it got added to the Photo Archives during his tenure at Rebelscum.com. (I affectionately jest of course.) Trust me when I say that the differences are noteworthy. The most noticeable difference for Clone Commander Cody is that the 2010 figure has color flashes done in a darker, almost burnt, orange color. The paint operations are much cleaner and the details from the tightened up paint operations do the figure a world of good. There are also some enhancements made in the deco on the face, like the eyes and the scar for example.

This variation of Clone Commander Cody can be found featured at the bottom of page 89 of The Ultimate Action Figure Collection with a little explanation for the reason of his separate spot in the book. Shot by the talented Dan Curto, it’s one I couldn’t have photographed if I wanted to because I didn’t own it until June of 2013. That's OK. There was plenty of good-hearted rivalry about who was shooting what with the other figures. You can however, now see further visual analysis of this figure in the gallery above in this review. 20 photos are dedicated to this figure and a nice amount show side by side comparisons next to the 2008 TCW Clone Commander Cody (No. 10) figure so you can get a good idea of just how different he actually is. The Ultimate Action Figure Collection has been the greatest earthly experience of my life. I don’t want to speak for Dan Curto, but I am confident he feels the same way. I am honored to have been part of the process and it was humbling to work with the greatness of Steve Sansweet and his beautiful assistant and manager of Rancho Obi-Wan, Anne Neumann. And what an experience it was to be at Celebration VI with everyone and meet the fans at the book signing and the panel for the book. I am forever changed. Clone Commander Cody is one fantastic example of the work and thought that went into the book. You had intense Star Wars collectors zealots working on it for you. We wanted everything to be as perfect and inclusive as it could be. I hope that resonates throughout the book as you page through and enjoy it. There were times when I could feel the eyes of the group rolling at me when I mentioned things like “but Han’s scarf is light gray on this version and darker gray on that version”, but I would do it all over again to work on something that will remain the strongest professional highlight of my life. I hope you already own a copy. Our hearts are hanging on the pages of it.

– Paul Harrison