Clone Troopers - ROTS - Commemorative DVD Collection

These specially-trained soldiers once served as the mighty Army of the Republic, fighting under the command of their Jedi generals in the Clone Wars. When Palpatine executes his sinister plan and issues Order 66, the clone troopers brutally turn against the Jedi at the command of their new master, a betrayal that ushers in the first Galactic Empire.

When it comes to Clone Trooper sculpts, Hasbro knows how to make the most of their existing tooling. This approach is especially true with the Clone Trooper [Phase II] Deluxe figures. Not only did they issue four unique sets in the Revenge Of The Sith Deluxe assortment, they also released a set as a Walmart exclusive which included three 38th Armored Division clones (also called Combat Engineer Clone Troopers) as part of the Revenge Of The Sith Commemorative DVD Collection multipacks. These figures aren’t the worst things Hasbro has produced this far, but there is no denying that the figures aren’t the best things they’ve made. Hasbro should amortize their costs in every way possible, but the reuse of these particular figure sculpts is now tiring. The clones sport Phase II helmets and some revised tooling, especially in the torso. (Perhaps this was to make them more screen accurate and not to illustrate any differences between phase I and phase II body armor.) Although just like the 2005 ROTS Clone Troopers [Phase II] Deluxe figures, these latest figure also sport the 2003 date stamp. However, all are refreshed to either be screen accurate to Episode III, or interpretations of the concepts from Revenge of The Sith concept art books. The latter is true here. Unlike the Deluxe sets where overlap existed between them, this exclusive release contains three of the same styled character, albeit two distinct sculpts.

If you recall, the Revenge Of The Sith Deluxe sets included three unique Clone Trooper sculpts. These include one standing (Clone Trooper [Phase II] [A]), one kneeling (Clone Trooper [Phase II] [B]) and one lying (Clone Trooper [Phase II] [C]). This time we get two of the standing Clone Trooper [Phase II] [A] character and one of the kneeling Clone Trooper [Phase II] [B] figure. Each figure has unique, but simple, articulation. All figures are static below the belt. And not one of the Clone Troopers has any articulation in the legs. The figures are meant for background diorama fodder because they’re not true action figures in the typical sense. Yes, they come with simple movement, but most collectors have treated them as statuesque figures to provide some depth to their clone armies. Sadly the figures aren’t sculpted that well, and they have a cartoonish look and feel to them. We wonder if they’ll be able to inspire collectors to pick them up. We do believe that Hasbro cleverly decorated them to be enticing to collectors as three of the four different packs each contain an exclusively color-flashed Clone Trooper that is currently nowhere else available in the Hasbro Revenge Of The Sith line. Still, we have to wonder why Hasbro felt the need to reach for these sculpts for a retailer exclusive multipack like this. The Clone Troopers serve a purpose in the basic figure line, but Hasbro shouldn’t expect collectors to rejoice over them.

Each Clone Trooper comes with ball-socket articulation in the head, two swivel shoulders, and a swivel waist. And depending upon which hand is holding the gun, each figure has a swivel wrist. Their blasters are also sadly permanently affixed to their hands. This is perhaps the biggest disappointment of all for us. Sadly, the 38th Armored Division Clone Troopers were not part of the final version of Revenge Of The Sith. However, they are part of the Revenge Of The Sith Concept Art which makes them a viable option to produce as action figures as far as we’re concerned. To date, we have received almost every Clone Trooper from the Revenge Of The Sith Concept Art. These include the Clone Troopers [442nd Siege Battalion] set, the Clone Troopers [5th Fleet Security] set, the Clone Troopers [7th Legion] set and then the plain “all-white” Clone Troopers [Phase II] set. In our opinion, it would have been much more ideal to include all three specially marked Clone Troopers in each set in the Deluxe line like they did here in this Walmart exclusive set. It’s nice that Hasbro thought outside of the box for this release. There will undoubtedly be collectors who adore Clone Troopers and will eat up all of these simply articulated figure sets that Hasbro produced. But for us, they still come off as a little too bland and too simple in approach for our tastes. The figures with more articulation are so much more interesting anyhow.