Commander Appo - TSC - Basic (SAGA 064)

One of the greatest surprises of all time was when Hasbro let collectors know at 2006’s San Diego Comic Con that there would be three (two general release and one a Walmart exclusive) more waves of basic figures coming before the basic figure line started to celebrate 30 years of Star Wars with the 30 (77-07) line. The Saga Collection was truly one of the most cleverly organized collection in Hasbro’s long history with the Star Wars license. Between the color coding and the clearly identified sourcing, it made life easy for those who choose to archives their collections. When it came to the three new waves of figures (also known as the Repack & Repaint waves), Hasbro dug deep and picked characters from many Expanded Universe sources as well as new takes on the characters from the films. Some figures that were meant to be from the films actually ended up becoming EU figures with the extras that Hasbro gave them, specifically this figure, Commander Appo. Always trying to find ways to use and reuse the 2005 ROTS Clone Trooper (III 41) mold, Hasbro brilliantly gives us a new take on a character that actually was seen in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith.

Commander Appo may just seem like another “off-screen” clone trooper, but Hasbro has made him in a way that will actually allow him to both be sourced to the Star Wars: Jedi Purge story AND from Revenge Of The Sith. Commander Appo is essentially a 501st Legion Clone Trooper with a new pauldron. But the great news is that you can remove the pauldron and have a pretty awesome 501st Legion Clone Trooper. We already know what you’re going to say. Unfortunately, Hasbro tried to literally save a few pennies in the paint job costs and didn’t paint the blue chest markings all the way up to the chin. We do find it slightly unsettling, but there is no denying that despite this small flaw that Commander Appo is truly a special action figure. Many collectors love the 2005 ROTS Clone Trooper (III 41) body and with every “new” figure Hasbro makes from it just seems to get better and better. Commander Appo is one of the finer results. Complete with a personalized action figure stand and a very boring random miniature hologram figure, Commander Appo truly has it all.

Aside from a great base body sculpt and a likeness to his comic counterpart, Commander Appo has a stunning paint job. Hasbro has given him “dirty markings” throughout the armor. If you look closely enough, its designed from a mosaic pattern. (Some of our gallery photos pick up on this.) The blue color flashes throughout the armor are expertly and cleanly painted and the shade of blue is flawless. The figure has 14 points of articulation and the joints (except for the hips) move wonderfully to allow you to attain an array of positions. It’s easy to conclude that Commander Appo is a figure that many collectors will be buying multiples of because he is such a great figure. If you can overlook the chest detail inaccuracies, this is the ideal 501st Legion Clone Trooper to army build. From the correct angles of the blue helmet detail to the matching parallel lines running up and down the legs, Commander Appo will remain a favorite in Hasbro’s basic figure line. He’s one of our favorites, and because of this we suggest making him an addition for your collection.