Clone Commander Stone - TCW [R] - Basic (CW44)

Commander Stone takes part in a mission to rescue Republic hostages being held by Weequay pirates. The clone commander battles the ruthless pirates and dodges sulfuric geysers to help Jar Jar Binks deliver the ransom and free the prisoners.

It was inevitable that The Clone Wars would continue bring new and interesting clone commanders to the small screen, but we don't think fans realized just to what extent. The extent is actually quite large and it seems unending almost because we keep seeing more and new clone commanders at a very brisk rate. Thankfully, Hasbro is performing their due diligence to get as many as they can out to us. In general, we are being introduced to more clone commanders than we probably ever thought we would and we are to the point where it is really getting hard to remember then all (or tell them apart for that matter). Don't get us wrong, we love clone commanders, but it is a bit overwhelming sometimes to keep them all straight. Yes, they all have their unique color flashes and patterns and even head sculpts, but the lines are becoming blurred and getting them in the basic figure line isn't as exciting as it used to be. But that doesn't mean that new clone commanders aren't necessary. That would actually be opposite of what we are trying to say here, but perhaps the way they get translated by Hasbro in action figure form needs to be changed up a bit. While we are receptive to change, we also are resistant to change that makes figures head in a negative direction. Clone Commander Stone will undoubtedly be seen by many as a step in the wrong direction. But the figure brings a lot of new positives as well.

Change is exactly what Hasbro brought to the Clone Commander Stone action figure, but not all of the results are for the better. The silhouette of the figure is more accurate than ever before and the armor details are a spitting image of the animated characters, but Hasbro takes a few steps backwards when it comes to articulation. Some will feel that Clone Commander Stone is much too narrow and they might be correct about this. But although Hasbro has decided to go a route that includes less articulation, the figure has much more mobility than you may first believe. Clone Commander Stone is an all-new figure, but Hasbro has eliminated parts of the super-articulated clone and applied less articulation and inferior (swivel) articulation to this new template. Per Hasbro, they claimed that the molds for the super-articulated clone trooper were wearing down and they needed to tool a new design for future clone trooper figures. But this wasn't entirely the way to go. Clone Commander Stone comes without articulated ankles and instead of ball-jointed wrists and waist, they have been converted to swivel joints. Likely to cause high levels of chagrin in the collecting community, it is a reason to be initially disappointed. But believe it or not, Clone Commander Stone is very satisfying in many other important ways. You'll have to compare this figure to stills from the TV show just to see how accurate this sculpt is now. Hasbro has also still has managed to keep the removable helmets very scaled to the figures body and they are successfully developing accessories in ways that aren't so bendable, so we give credit where credit is due. Clearly we wish Hasbro would do a U-turn with the articulation, but we can't help to fall in love with this sculpt overall.

So don't look at Clone Commander Stone as a sad turn of events because he is anything but that. Clone Commander Stone may just rank above average as far as an action figure is concerned. Where Hasbro lacks for articulation, they in turn make up for it by giving the figure great paint applications that cover the figure all over. And Clone Commander Stone has an amazing color flash pattern. The lines and colors are rich and clean and the small symbols and patterns have been applied very neatly. Stone also has a great likeness. Even though we can barely make out the "53" tattoo on his forehead, it looks cool and complements another neat tattoo on the back of his head. Similar to Clone Trooper Fives, Hasbro did ensure this detail made it to the figure and it is one of the characteristics that make this clone trooper unique from the others. Stone has a little bit more gray on his head than the character we saw in the series, but the likeness still looks great as is. Besides, he could be a little bit older than the other clones. In a small step back, Stone slightly suffers from looking too clean. If Hasbro is going backwards with articulation, then perhaps they can move forward with great dirty final paint job applications. Stone is definitely an action figure in need of some fine tuning. This is probably even less likely to happen then Hasbro returning to the super-articulated body type. Sigh. Sometimes it is too defeating to be a Star Wars collector, isn't it? But, if you can look at this as it is what it is, then you should be able to tolerate the new Clone Commander Stone figure very well. He is a great action figure with the most accurate armor of any others released to date, but he certainly isn't the best when it comes to articulation. Sometimes we have to sacrifice one thing for another. That's exactly what Mr. Stone does.