Captain Rex - TBS [P2] - Basic (#09)

Captain Rex is a tough, free-thinking clone trooper who leads the 501st Legion under the command of Jedi General Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars.

Don’t worry, this isn’t the Captain Rex you’re looking for. Or maybe it is. Who knows anymore. If there is ONE THING that Star Wars collectors have been incessantly shaking their head over, it’s exactly Hasbro’s inability (i.e. unwillingness) to release the stunning phase I Captain Rex that was meant to be released in the canceled Legacy Collection [2] line. Oh wait. It’s 2015. You can’t say “canceled” anymore or the natives go into uncontrollable panic. Let us clarify: the indefinitely suspended Legacy Collection [2] line. We digress. Anyway, the fate of phase I Captain Rex still hangs in the balance, so in order to help meet that single figure’s demands, Hasbro decided to make a phase II realistically styled Captain Rex which isn’t as good, but necessary nonetheless. The Black Series [Phase II] Captain Rex 3.75” figure really isn’t as bad as we’re alluding he is. He is super-articulated, utilizes an all-new sculpt that should make most folks happy and has a better than average paint job which brings everything home quite nicely. Perhaps the big deal with Captain Rex is that it’s an all-new sculpt. In a sea of nonstop repacks and repaints (barely), it’s certainly a breath of fresh air to see something that’s “all-new”. Although simply accessorized, we will admit that Captain Rex is a nice addition to The Black Series basic figure line, even if he is significantly taller than the rest of the clones that accompany him.

There are some things that are noteworthy to point out about Captain Rex that are more negative in nature. Firstly, we feel his head sculpt is too small, but it’s just a tad noticeable. There is no removable helmet here (thank goodness) but if you look at the head sculpt, you begin to realize just how small the head would have to be in order to fit something underneath of the helmet. His head would be completely out of scale with the rest of the basic figures. The other issue is that his rangefinder is too chunky and unable to move or articulate. That was definitely a cheapskate move on Hasbro’s part. The only other issue we have to point out is Captain Rex’s height. He is taller than both Clone Commander Doom (#13) and Clone Commander Wolffe (#12), but much closer in height to Doom. Doom borrows many existing parts from Captain Rex, save for the head sculpt and torso, so that’s probably where Clone Commander Doom (#13) loses some of his height. We’re more likely to believe that Clone Commander Doom (#13) may be the most appropriately sized clone in this wave, as Wolffe is definitely too short, and Captain Rex looks every too lanky. It’s not terribly noticeable, but it does exist, his lankiness that is. Despite these two small setbacks, Captain Rex is a nice action figure. The phase II sculpt looks nice in realistic style and the paint operations that add significantly dimension to his appearance have been done quite well too.

We’re perhaps most impressed with the multicolored border that goes around the face of his helmet as well as the sides of his torso. There were great concerns that his torso was reused from the Saga Legends Captain Rex (SL10) figure. While Hasbro may have used the same digital files to a similar result, we’re happy to report that it’s an all-new sculpt. The new pauldron fits beautifully on Captain Rex. At first glance you’ll probably be fooled into believing it’s something that has also been used form Captain Rex (SL10), but you’d be wrong about that too. It’s another all-new sculpt. The “stick men” on his armor have been done very well, but apparently this isn’t something that is too difficult for Hasbro to accomplish well. This detail was also successfully added to the simple Saga Legends figure as well. With a softer than normal kama and super-articulation, Captain Rex can be posed a variety of ways. You’ll have a lot of fun playing with him an incorporating him into your collection along with your other realistically styled The Clone Wars figures. For weapons, Captain Rex comes with two DC-17 blaster pistols, the only weapons any of the clones from this wave came with this time. It would have been nice to have Captain Rex maneuver a chain-gun around or something similar, but that wasn’t in the plans for this release. Overall, there isn’t much room to complain about Captain Rex. We still want phase I Captain Rex, Hasbro. Please make that a reality soon!