Utapau Shadow Trooper - Militaries Of Star Wars - 1:6 Scale Figures

Hasbro is certainly good for a few “Hasbro Universe” concepts for sure. They were the purveyors of the Shadow Trooper concept and in 2005 released the Revenge Of The Sith Utapau Shadow Trooper TARGET exclusive basic figure. It sold like crazy and collectors were army building it at full price, not even waiting for clearance. And the demand was so great that it was a Fans’ Choice poll winner and the Utapau Shadow Trooper was released in early 2008 under the new 30 (77-07) Saga Legends branding. (And it became one of the briskest sellers in that group as well!) Knowing that their unique concept was hugely embraced, Hasbro upgraded the sculpt of the original 2005 Utapau Shadow Trooper utilizing the collector favorite 2005 ROTS Clone Trooper (III 41) sculpt and gave it an incredible new paint job in the Utapau Shadow Trooper color scheme (obviously). In a strange turn of events, these sets didn’t nearly move like the basic figure did, which is a shame because the figure were much better. But it’s apparent that love for the Utapau Shadow Trooper hasn’t waned nearly a half decade after its debut and now Sideshow is now the third licensee to bring this stylish clone trooper to collectors’ homes. (In case you’re curious and cannot figure out who the second licensee was, it was Master Replicas, who released the Razor’s Edge Collectibles exclusive Utapau Shadow Trooper scaled helmet. (This is an awesome collectible by the way.)

So now Sideshow steps up to the plate and releases the Utapau Shadow Trooper in 12” format. It’s quite honestly the best Utapau Shadow Trooper collectible on the market. When it comes to any “shadow” figure in the Star Wars universe, licensees tend to get lazy and ignore the various dirt and battle-damage markings on the armor, whether it’s because they want to save a few pennies or think that you won’t notice. There are obviously no machinations in play here and Sideshow Collectibles held nothing back to decorate this figure brilliantly. The armor has plenty of dirt, wear, and some unknown speckled spatter on it and you’re immediately taken by the fact that is looks incredibly realistic. We are by far very impressed with the final results. The Utapau Shadow Trooper is of course a “night version” of the Republic Clone Trooper (212th Attack Battalion: Utapau) figure that Sideshow released in 2009. Similar patterns are evident and where the off-white and orange used be on the Republic Clone Trooper (212th Attack Battalion: Utapau) figure is now black and gray respectively. The outstandingly painted red visor immediately catches your eyes and reinforces the true uniqueness of the Expanded Universe character. We inspected the figure very carefully and we noted that every line is crisp and its silhouette is lean and athletic. The figure comes with more interchangeable parts and accessories than you’ll know what to do with so be prepared to spend some quality time with this figure.

Sideshow Collectibles has been accused of milking the Militaries Of Star Wars line. We don’t think that is a very fair assessment. With each release, Sideshow Collectibles brings at least one new thing to the table and if it is just a “simple” repainted figure like the Utapau Shadow Trooper, they have tweak previously existing parts to make them better. For example, the Utapau Shadow Trooper comes with the stiffest joints of any “armored body” figure we have received to date. What more, the removable and interchangeable hands are very stiff and slightly difficult to pull out and push back in which creates more posing options. More often than not, Sideshow’s earliest Militaries Of Star Wars figures had a propensity to fall over due to loose joints. But with each release this is becoming less and less of an issue. The Utapau Shadow Trooper is just another wonderful addition to their already impressive line of 12 Inch Figures. There have been more clone trooper figures made to date than ever before and they are some of the finest collectible specimens available in the market. Sideshow had once described their 12" line as affordable quality. We’re not so such if they need the qualifier in their description. While the figures may be slightly cheaper than those made by Hot Toys or Medicom Toy, they are competing with them and perhaps even giving their competitors a run for their money. (We think Sideshow has already surpassed Medicom Toy.) The Utapau Shadow Trooper only reinforces this thought.