ARC Trooper Captain - TVC - Basic (VC213)

Commemorate the first 50 years of Lucasfilm with figures inspired by Star Wars: Clone Wars!

If you told us at the awful Disney takeover of Star Wars that we’d ever see action figures based on characters from Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars micro-series, we wouldn’t have believed it. But here we are, almost two decades after the series premiered, and Hasbro is WORKING ALONGSIDE Lucasfilm LTD. to prepare a commemorative collection of action figures intended to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Lucasfilm. It’s almost ironic. No matter the reasons, the facts are important here. Hasbro released a half dozen The Vintage Collection action figures from Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars. And while there is no new tooling here. Hasbro took some of their most excellent sculpts from the original run of The Vintage Collection and painted them to match their on-screen appearances in Clone Wars. As you know, the ARC Trooper Captain isn’t necessarily new to The Vintage Collection. But it’s also not a reissued figure. Before we get too philosophical and oxymoronic, let us remind you that Hasbro released 2011’s TVC ARC Trooper Commander (VC54) more than a decade ago. And while no one would admit it, the character was Captain Fordo. Even the packaging referred to the action figure in the most generic terms: ARC Trooper Commander. And the ARC Trooper Commander is the template for both the ARC Trooper (VC212) and ARC Trooper Captain (VC213) figures.

While 2011’s TVC ARC Trooper Commander (VC54) was a realistically-styled interpretation of Captain Fordo from Clone Wars, this new version is quite different. It’s a realistically styled interpretation of the animated version of this character. Does that make any sense? The paint operations mimic the animated nature of the character’s essence, almost like a caricature, exaggerations and all. You can see this detail in the helmet, especially. Sure, the figure still comes with the animated-styled guns, but you see cartoon elements here more than any realistic interpretation. But that’s the point of this wave of Walmart exclusive action figures. Because Hasbro based the figures on the style of Clone Wars, bright colors and all, the action figures, although realistic in approach, carry the artistic stylings of the show. ARC Trooper Captain is a fresh take of the ARC Trooper Commander (VC54) figure. It doesn’t come with any Phase II gear, and we wish Hasbro didn’t forsake these extra accessories. Wouldn’t it have been nice to “build” the Phase II version of Captain Fordo from Volume 2 of Clone Wars? Despite the glaring omission, the ARC Trooper Captain is a highlight in the line and all the figures released under the Clone Wars entertainment logo. Between the colorful red flashes on the white clone armor to the colorful cart art depicting the character from the show, this is a magnificent release.

Like the ARC Trooper, ARC Trooper Captain isn’t perfect. The new paint job isn’t terrible, but Hasbro still had difficulty recreating the “fin” thickness evenly from the center top of the helmet back to the top fin. This oversight isn’t the end of the world, but it is noticeable, and we wish they got it right. Also, it appears Hasbro painted the color on the kama better in 2011. It looks a little sloppy and doesn’t stand out as prominently on the new release. But again, although we’re pointing out some issues or complaints, the ARC Trooper is a highlight in The Vintage Collection. And we say that knowing we technically received this character already in the lineup. We have no issue with Hasbro reusing existing tooling to create super-articulated 3.75-inch action figures. An example like the ARC Trooper Captain is a testament that refreshing figures are always welcome into the line when done well. ARC Trooper Captain comes with an impressive 27 points of articulation. The articulation system this action figure offers achieves some significant positions. Hasbro included the removable helmet, pauldron, removable belt/holster piece, a removable soft-goods kama with elastic waist, and two blasters that fit into the functioning holsters on the belt with this version of the figure. Like the other figures, the card art for the ARC Trooper Captain is gorgeous. Hasbro chose some fantastic stills from the series to select for the character photos.