Commander Bacara - LC - Basic (BD47)

Commander Bacara is a clone commander under Ki-Adi-Mundi. He works alongside the Jedi General during the Clone Wars. The clone commander's loyalty to the Republic compels him to turn on his onetime comrade when Order 66 is enacted.

Commander Bacara has been released in the action figure line three times as of the release of the Legacy Collection version (basic figure). The first figure was released was 2005’s Revenge Of The Sith Commander Bacara (III 49) figure and it had a terrible action feature which really took away from anything positive the figure had. Painted cleanly, it didn’t do much for collectors even though we all were looking forward to it very much. While it was still designed with fairly good detail, it was more of a shame that Hasbro decided to include the action feature with arms that essentially just dangled in a bizarre pose and had one loose circular range of movement. To make matters worse, you had to click Commander Bacara’s heels together to make the action figure work. This is certainly not movement we wish to see in the Star Wars line at least. Three years passed from the end of the ROTS line and right before the 30 (77-07) line was phasing out during second quarter 2008, Hasbro squeezed in a new (and last minute) Battle Packs set entitled Battle On Mygeeto and Commander Bacara (as we knew him) was “forever” changed. That set provided us with probably the best kit-bash Commander Bacara we will ever received until we get an all-new sculpt (which at this point could be unlikely). After a year and in many aspects, the 2008 Battle Packs Bacara is still superior to the 2009 Legacy Collection basic figure. While we are sure you want to know why this is so, we are also sure you already know the answer. Commander Bacara (BD47) is a clean version of the 2008 Battle Packs figure. Hasbro also drops the “Clone” before his name and repackaged him without battle-worn detail in an effort to help pad the Revenge Of The Sith wave and provides an additional choice for picking up a needed droid part if you wanted to pass on some of the “new” figures in the wave. So for those of you out there debating on which figure is the better one, without a doubt it is the Battle Packs version. Complete with a dirty wash and scuff marks, the Battle On Mygeeto is superior in incomparable ways. (But this doesn’t make the Legacy Collection version bad, just lacking however.)

You are probably certain of the recipe used to make the super-articulated Commander Bacara. If not, please keep reading as we have itemized it here for you. Commander Bacara (BD47) has been made utilizing the 2003 CW Clone Trooper (’03 #50) figure with the head, kama and pauldron of the original 2005 ROTS Commander Bacara (III 49) figure. He essentially is completely reworked from the ROTS figure and the parts come together awesomely to create a version of Bacara that we honestly should have gotten from the start. Able to be posed with just some limitations, Commander Bacara is a great testament to how well the basic super-articulated Episode II clone trooper was made. He comes with a DC-15 blaster and he can hold it very well (just like all the other Episode II clones do). The head joint is rather large and his head doesn’t easily turn a full range of motion. No worries here though because how often do we need a clone commander to turn his head 360 degrees? The terrible shame here is that the finishing scratch marks and dirty washes were left off the figure. It really has made an almost perfect figure imperfect. If you pull out your 2008 TAC Battle On Mygeeto Battle Packs figure and compare to the new Commander Bacara, we think you will feel like you were swindled. The new figure is cast in such a bright white plastic and reflects whatever light it picks up (thus making it look even more refulgent than ever). For the Battle Packs version, the finishing watch created a faux texture that casted shadows where needed to make the figure more authentic and realistic. While we know it was not Hasbro’s intention to defraud us of a brilliantly painted basic figure, it should clearly drive home the point on how essential these finishing touches are to action figures. And it is such a shame that Commander Bacara gets a spot in the basic figure line up and it is slightly second-rate to an older version of him. This would likely frustrate anyone. We are whining here and we do want you to know that Commander Bacara is nonetheless a superb action figure.

Commander Bacara is a great addition to the Legacy Collection because the Battle On Mygeeto Battle Packs set was fairly difficult to locate. The 30 (77-07) line was on its way out and it was released as the only new Battle Packs set in the case assortment and didn’t make a significant enough splash at retail. If you didn’t miss and picked it up, this new Commander Bacara is still good to add because of the new clean paint job. And if new paint jobs count as a new figure to you, then this is a new figure, or at the very least, it is “new enough.” And it is the first time a super-articulated Commander Bacara figure has been released as a basic figure. It rounds out the Revenge Of The Sith wave in the Legacy Collection very well. Clone commanders will always be a staple in the line and Commander Bacara was long overdue for another chance as a basic figure. But he is here and looking quite sharp in the line. Despite some loose joints and a kama that doesn’t necessarily want to stay closed, Commander Bacara delivers as a more than acceptable product in the Star Wars toy line. We are confident that you we feel similarly about it too. In wave 4 of the Legacy Collection, Bacara comes with the left leg of YVH-1, so if you are not a fan of the McQuarrie artwork figures, you can skip Concept Art IG-88 and get this one instead. We however feel that you should get both because they are incredible action figures and worthy of addition to your collection for different reasons. Expect to see “repeats” like Commander Bacara flourish throughout the rest of the Hasbro line going forward (until it ends). Hasbro has created a line of figures of plethoric proportions and we have to be amenable to the fact that repeat figures (whether they have tweaks or not) will continue to make their way to us in the basic line. We of course will always wish for tweaks to be made on them all just like what was done for Commander Bacara and Boba Fett, because we absolutely consider them new figures to the line.