Clone Trooper - SW [DV/ROTS] - 12-Inch Figures

Clone troopers are soldiers in the Grand Army of the Republic. They fight to defend the Republic during the Clone Wars.

Goodness gracious how times have changed. The 3.75” action figure line is spiraling downward. Figures are getting minimalistic treatment, basic figures lines have been altogether canceled, and now 12-Inch Figures have made a horrific return. They're not what we expected. Is the Star Wars line suffering a fate that is will not be able to return from, or is this the way it’s going to be from here on out? We all know that the Legacy Collection [2] got the ax, but the 2013 Star Wars [Yoda/Attack Of The Clones] Mission Series and The Clone Wars lines have also been denied to USA markets. (They have been released everywhere else around the globe.) Not much new product made it out, but sadly the newly interpreted 12-Inch Figures line did. These figures come with very little articulation, permanently affixed weapons and incorrect paint operations (or just missing paint operations in general). We don’t know why the decision has been made to make these for the Star Wars brand, but apparently, they have big plans for these things. Now they've been carried forward into the next phase: the Star Wars [Darth Vader/Revenge Of The Sith] line look.

Clone Trooper has been chosen as one of the first two figures to open up the first wave of the new line look. The Clone Trooper and Anakin Skywalker also opened up the 2013 Star Wars [Yoda/Attack Of The Clones] line look. At first glance, the Clone Trooper figure doesn’t look all that bad. It’s proportionately accurate, doesn’t look too boxy and has a fairly decent silhouette. The Clone Trooper, however, has a very odd pink hue to his white armor. We held the figure in different types of natural and artificial light, and the pinkness of the plastic doesn’t seem to dissipate at all. Interestingly, the Clone Trooper looks as bright as white can be inside of his package. That is something we are unable to explain. The lower half of his body is completely unpainted. It's so bad that parts of his body glove can be seen but they're the wrong color. Instead of being black, they're white. How does this stuff happen? Hasbro neglected to paint any portion of the legs at all. We have no problems admitting that the sculpt of the Clone Trooper is quite good, but the limited articulated and the stiffness of the posture just seems opposite to how these characters appeared in Episode II.

The worse thing about the Clone Trooper is that his DC-15 blaster is permanently attached to his right hand. We had asked Hasbro about this detail at Toy Fair through our Q&A. They had explained to us that there is great theft in certain countries for all accessories in the 12” scale. To prevent these parts from getting stolen, Hasbro had to take this route to ensure that these figures had some weaponry. Until they can find a way to prevent the theft, weapons will absolutely be a permanent part of the figure. Sadly, it greatly affects our appreciation of this line. At the very least having a removable weapon should be a basic option. Because of the minimal articulation, the Clone Trooper really can’t be displayed in too many ways. This also makes us disappointed. But if you’re just looking for display pieces, then this new 12-Inch Figure line may be just enough for your tastes. We, however, want to see more from larger Star Wars action figures. Bigger should mean better, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth here. The figures need a lot more work to make them acceptable.