ARC Troopers - TCW [SOTDS] - Battle Packs (500th Review)

Advanced Recon Commando (ARC) troopers are highly skilled clone troopers who take on some of the toughest challenges faced by the Republic army. As the most elite members of the clone army, ARC troopers are deployed on highly dangerous missions that require independent thinking. During one mission, ARC troopers team up with Captain Rex's battalion to attack an army of battle droids that have taken control of a strategic city.

The coolest Battle Packs set in a long time has been released and we bet it may be a catalyst for creating interest for a whole new fan base of collectors in The Clone Wars toy line. Looking like it was ripped right out of some concept in the original Tartakovsky Clone Wars micro-series, the ARC Troopers Battle Packs set is perhaps one of the most exciting offerings in general from Hasbro in quite some time. (Actually, it looks like The Clone Wars version of the awesome 2006 TSC Hunt For Grievous Battle Packs set.) When this set was released in September 2010, the third season of The Clone Wars had only just begun. As of the moment, there is “something that doesn’t belong in this set” and we find it particularly peculiar (but we love it just the same). Captain Fordo appears in this set as an “animated version” of the “animated character” from Volume 1 of Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars is included in this set. Whether or not he makes an appearance in The Clone Wars television series remains to be seen, but it is certainly cool to have him in the set. Of course he isn’t billed as Captain Fordo on the packaging anywhere, but most fans should know just who he is without any problems. So while slightly out of place in the set, we think it is awesome that he got included in this line. The ARC Troopers set is quite a feast for the eyes. Hasbro introduces for the very first time in The Clone Wars line the phase II clone trooper style and we have to say that this in and of itself makes this Battle Packs very special. The phase I style is important of course, but every single clone trooper starts to really look the same after a while. It’s a needed gesture to change things up a bit here and there. The set also includes a few new surprises on a character we have seen before but has been slightly reinvented for this release making the best version of him yet. (And we have to say that all the changes are warranted and welcomed.) But perhaps the real reason to buy this set is for the two new ARC Trooper figures contained within it because they are two of the greatest clones Hasbro has made from the show (yet). Ultimately cool at every level, we hope that Hasbro will find it in their hearts to make “realistic styled” versions of these characters because they are just too cool for words and we know they would be amazing sellers in this format.

As if you needed to see another Captain Rex, he once again gets included in a multipack. But he’s different from past incarnations. It appears that Hasbro has taken the head from the 2010 Commander Bly (CW39) figure and added it to a super-articulated body. If you recall, Commander Bly’s head is bigger and wider and looks a little “meaner” than the standard clone trooper and it works like a charm of Captain Rex. Our only gripe is that a new helmet needed to be made (or Commander Bly’s helmet should have been repainted) because Captain Rex’s helmet doesn’t fit properly over his head. When pushed over Rex’s new head the helmet goes “flat-faced”. Other than that, the paint applications are improved and he fits right in with the rest of this set. ARC Trooper Commander (which we will always refer to as Captain Fordo) is a dream come true for fans of anything 2003-2005 Clone Wars from the Tartakovsky era. The figure is beautifully painted and the red is the perfect shade. Not only is the color perfect but Hasbro created an uneven pattern in the color flashes which give it an awesome and naturally looking battle weary look. This figure is just plain fantastic. Even his gauntlet has the bright yellow buttons on as well and he comes outfitted with his signature ARC Trooper rifle. He also has Captain Fordo’s long-barreled blaster pistols that fit like a glove in the holsters on each side of his kama. The blue ARC Trooper with the strip on the helmet is yet unnamed and we have been unable to locate his clone designation or anything else at this point. Thankfully, it doesn’t affect his status as one of the best action figures in The Clone Wars line. He is joined along with which looks to be ARC Commander Colt (although here is some silver details missing in the helmet which may prove that it isn’t him), and he is simply labeled as ARC Trooper in the Battle Packs set, but he may rival the other ARC Trooper as one of Hasbro’s finest moments. He comes with the most awesome silver boots and his chevron-patterned kama is just superior. Both ARC Troopers have backpacks which are immediately reminiscent of what the sandtroopers wore in Episode IV. It appears that Filoni also has intentions to connect the dots using his medium too.

As a group, these clone work together quite well. The molds used allow for great range of movement and you can pose these figures in various positions and have them interact with each other which makes displaying them a pure joy. Captain Rex specifically comes with a special blaster rifle with a tripod that is very useful if you want to have him lie on the ground while battling. But what makes the weapon so cool is that is was cast from an extremely strong plastic that looks just like a vintage weapon. In fact, it is almost as clear and see-through as the “green” crossbow. This certainly wasn’t intentional, but it makes us wonder, is Hasbro on a mission to make weapons much stronger going forward? We certainly hope so! ARC Troopers is an immediately likeable set and as we have mentioned earlier, it may just incite enough desire to make new fans out of The Clone Wars line. This is the way to do Battle Packs, Hasbro. Please keep the straight repacked sets away from store shelves. We are still surprised to see so many new figures put into one package. This set certainly wasn’t the cheapest to produce and it shows from the inclusion of new figures to the beautiful paint jobs the figures received. Hasbro consistently explains to us that meeting tooling cost budgets and costs in general is the main key to the overall health of the line so that it can keep going. While we agree to an extent, we also know that bringing collectors (many of which have supported the modern line since 1995) deserve to see new product hit the shelves at a brisker rate than it does. The outlook is positive because if the line sees sets like ARC Troopers and Mandalorian Warriors, it only makes sense that collectors will be rushing to army-build these sets in their collections. In a nutshell, ARC Troopers at worst is probably the most generous thing Hasbro has done for collectors of Battle Packs in a long time. Even Captain Rex is “new” (so to speak). And while we are thankful for a set of this quality, we will always encourage Hasbro to keep this energy going full throttle because it is the only way that the line can stay afloat. These are the sets that we are going to buy. And collectors buying things means Hasbro is making money. More money means more new toys. It’s economics 101. Do yourself a favor and get this Battle Packs set. If you don’t collect The Clone Wars line, then do yourself a favor and get this set.