Clone Commander Cody - TBSA - Six Inch Figures

A natural and practical leader in the clone army, Cody was a good fit for General Kenobi, to whom he was particularly loyal.

In 2015, Clone Commander Cody in The Black Series [Phase II] lineup was a pleasant surprise. But the figure is beginning to age. We were surprised to see the figure win the Fans’ Choice Poll for inclusion in The Black Series Archive line. But we bet there’ll be regrets once everyone sees how imperfect the figure is in 2021. Hasbro saved some pennies this time because Clone Commander Cody has missing paint operations, most notably the boots’ bottom. The paint operations look a little cleaner in spots, but regardless, the figures like it’s from another place and time because it is. At the original time of its release, Clone Commander Cody reused the legs of 2014’s TBS [P1] Clone Trooper (#14) figure. However, the rest of Clone Commander Cody was all-new. On top of tooling proportionate and screen-accurate armor, Hasbro tried something new with this release. They cast the shoulder armor and the visor differently from the rest of the white armor and glued it to the tooling. Not only does this create clean lines and a strong transition of color, but it also gives the figure a new level of authenticity that we just haven’t seen in this line so far. Added details like the bicep garters and the antenna coming out from Clone Commander Cody’s left shoulder armor are also new and tooled with care. Nothing looks wonky or out of place necessarily, and proportions to these tiny parts look to scale. The phase II helmet, although obscured by the visor, is also excellently sculpted and cleanly painted. It sits a little too high on the neck post, but you might be able to forgive this misstep as you get a fabulous range of motion with it (because of the error). For the rerelease, the head sits a little too loosely on the neck post this time.

What is a little surprising with The Black Series Archive Clone Commander Cody is the pint job. Clone Commander Cody does have a couple of varying colors of orange. The color differences exist because there are molded orange plastic parts as well as painted white parts. We guess that Hasbro intended for all of the orange pieces to match, but sadly they don’t. And for the rerelease, the orange paint differs from the original version. But since the orange color is lighter this time, it better matches the molded parts. But other areas, like the bottom of the boots, no longer have the soles painted gray. Some may feel these are minor setbacks, but we think that figures should look better with each release. Regardless, Clone Commander Cody looks good despite the coloring imperfections. All of the articulation is here that you have come to expect in this line. Clone Commander Cody doesn’t disappoint when it comes to its articulation, although Hasbro works in better-functioning articulation in their more recent figures today. You can pose the figure in various ways, and it has an excellent balance for some of the more extreme action-packed positions clone lovers will undoubtedly want to try. We do have to draw your attention to the lack of accessories. Hasbro claims they want to give collectors something more substantial in this range. However, Hasbro will only successfully satiate collectors if Hasbro can finalize the 6” range with complete and beautiful paint operations AS WELL AS include many accessories with the figures. Adding a DC-15 blaster and DC-15 blaster rifle to Clone Commander Cody is NOT enough. We’d like to know where the holoprojector and Darth Sidious hologram are. And, where is Obi-Wan Kenobi’s hilt? Lastly, where are the removable helmet and backpack?

We have always strongly felt that clones who reveal their faces/heads in the films should receive a removable helmet. For instance, Commander Gree and Commander Bly should NOT come with removable helmets. Clone Commander Cody, however, SHOULD have come with a removable helmet. We also feel that Hasbro should have also retooled his left leg to add the armor’s deep scratches as the on-screen character had. And we’d like to know where the dirt of the Utapau terrain to finish off the figure? For $19.99 and higher, Hasbro has to give us a little more “stuff” for the money, especially for a line that they say they are dedicating to collectors. With all that said, we still believe that Clone Commander Cody will be a hit, especially since there is a vast younger Star Wars audience who are in love with clones. There is enough quality here to engage the younger audience and adult collectors who aren’t against the Prequel Trilogy. It will be interesting to see where Hasbro takes the 6” line when it comes to the rest of the clone commanders. Hasbro should know by now that we see clones in the same way as we do bounty hunters. If you make one, then you have to make them all. We think with just a few minor exceptions that Hasbro is already on the right track. But it looks like we lost that opportunity since this is the rerelease, and nothing significant was changed or updated. We hope Hasbro continues The Black Series Archive line to get older figures and popular characters back out to the market. But for goodness sake, please update them to get them looking the best they ever have; otherwise, this is all a waste of time. Clone Commander Cody needs more accessories, more paint, and high-quality plastics. All we ask for in return for our $20+ is a well-designed action figure.