Star Wars: Republic Commando (Delta Squad) - SW [SOTDS] - Exclusives

Delta Squad is a specialized group of highly trained clone troopers who fight the battle droid army during the Clone Wars in Star Wars: Republic Commando video game. Clone trooper Boss is the taciturn leader of Delta Squad. Clone trooper Scorch is the wisecracking demolitions expert. The squad's hunter and marksman is clone trooper Sev. Clone trooper Fixer supports the team as a technical expert and computer hacker.

Hasbro metaphorically pulled a rabbit out of their hat with the surprise announcement of the updated Star Wars: Republic Commando (Delta Squad) right in time for the 2011 San Diego Comic Con show via Toys R Us’ website. Proudly displayed July 1st on TRU’s pre-San Diego Comic Con page, it confirmed that the Republic Commandos were seeing release for the first time as super-articulated action figures. It’s hard to believe that a half of a decade had passed since we got them the first time with the limited articulation they possessed (but stunning paint jobs) when they were released as 2006’s TSC Republic Commando Delta Squad. Those 2006 sets command a premium and are quite hard to find. It's nice to know we now have another chance... and for better figures! With two less Geonosian Warrior figures this time, but a plethora more articulation, the new set is incredibly awesome for multiple reasons. It’s hard to say if it’s summarily better however because some of the paint operations on the 2006 set are a bit more impressive. But don’t misunderstand us at all please. The 2011 set is marvelous and although it’s not perfect, it should nonetheless pacify articulation junkies who have waited for the Delta Squad to be updated to super-articulated status. Besides, the included figures are incredibly constructed and beautifully paint as well. Some of the included characters may not have the total wow factor when compared to those in the 2006 set, but we’ll get to the specifics of what makes one better than the other in a moment or two. The Star Wars: Republic Commando (Delta Squad) Toys R Us multipack has instantly excited collectors around the world and many cannot wait to add this crew to their collections. The good news is that this set, although introduced at 2011’s San Diego Comic Con, is not an SDCC exclusive and instead are a general Toys R Us store exclusive. This gorgeous set has indeed hit retail just as promised and fans are scooping them up left and right. Inside the box you’ll find five glorious action figures that look fantastic inside and outside the streamlined packaging and they truly represent one of the finer moments of Hasbro’s involvement in the video game side of the Expanded Universe.

All four Republic Commandos are based on the awesome Fi Skirata figure from the 2009 LC Clone Commandos Evolutions Walmart exclusive. This super-articulated figure is great, although, we have to state that it should have been designed to come with ball-jointed hips. The very nature of their movement and various poses sort of necessitate this much needed enhanced articulation. So don’t be surprised if you feel that these figures are still lacking a smidgen in the articulation department. Hasbro has taken the backpacks from all of the figures in 2006’s TSC Republic Commando Delta Squad set and have applied them here and they even managed to match them correctly to each respective Republic Commando. (Not that this is a hard task, but one mistake could be disastrous for the rest of the figures.) What’s more, Hasbro has evidently tried rather hard to match the paint jobs of the 2006 figures to those in this set. Yet, despite a concerted effort to match them, each Republic Commando is unique in its own way. One detail that has been abandoned for the 2011 Star Wars: Republic Commando (Delta Squad) set is the black line that made its way along the perimeter of each Republic Commando’s visor. While we thought that detail made their helmets pop out, it’s actually not accurate to the characters in the video game and served more like helmet mascara more than anything else. So we applaud Hasbro for choosing authenticity over effect. Hasbro has also updated the paint job on their DC-17m ICWSs. Folks, let us tell you that these stock mount weapons look fantastic and if Hasbro has any sense at all, they’ll apply this paint job to figures both in The Clone Wars line as well as The Vintage Collection. The guns are so impressive we bet you’ll think they’re the best Hasbro has done to date. And the creepy included Geonosian Warrior looks a little pale to us, but overall it’s a great action figure that comes with 16 points of articulation (the standard 14 plus two more for the wings) and the awesome sonic blaster that their kind always seem to carry around with them.

Republic Commando Boss may be the brightest figure in the lot (just like he was in 2006), but he still looks incredible and may be the closest matched to its 2006 counterpart. A little bit light when it comes to the dirt on the lower portions of his armor, this leader still looks phenomenal updated in super-articulated glory. Republic Commando Fixer is not as impressive of an update as some of the other Republic Commandos. While we see improvements in the accuracy of the paint job, the dirt and damage on the 2006 figure looks spectacular and Hasbro hasn’t matched the same artfulness this time around. Most notably, the heavy duty damage in the form of scratches on his knees that were present on the 2006 figure are now gone and instead are some very light brush marks. There’s a lot to be said when certain figure look filthy and we feel the 2011 version of Fixer is definitely too clean. Republic Commando Scorch looks to be an improvement over the 2006 version (both the 2006 TSC Republic Commando Delta Squad set and the 2006 TSC Scorch Republic Commando (SAGA 021) basic figure) and this time has a significant amount of scuffing on his armor and a richer yellow to accent his armor plating. He also has one less thigh strap and it actually is correct this time around. Scorch is definitely an upgrade. Republic Commando Sev may be the one figure with the most significant changes. The magenta color that adorned his armor in the 2006 set is now a deep maroon. And the articulated arm coming from his backpack is now sky blue. We like some of the paint operations on the back of the 2006 figure better than the 2011 version, so this one is a toss up. But another detail to note is that the weapons canister attachment that clips to one of his shins is completely missing from the 2011 version. It was the one detail that set Sev apart from the rest. It’s definitely a tough call to absolutely state to a definitive certainty which set is the better one. We are partial to more articulation and so are most other collectors. Perhaps for that reason alone we can say that the 2011 iteration of the Republic Commandos definitely reign supreme.