Clone Trooper (Training Fatigues) - TAC - Basic (30 55)

Clone trooper trainees wear red uniforms to identify their status while they undergo the intense process that teaches them marksmanship, weapons handling and other military skills. They all eat and train together, reinforcing their role as an indistinguishable part of a large group and discouraging any hint of individuality.

Sometimes we wait so long to get a particular Star Wars character made into an action figure by Hasbro and then the final product leaves a lot to be desired. Such is true for the Clone Trooper (Training Fatigues) figure in the 30 (77-07) line. While in theory this figure should have knocked the socks off of collectors, the final figure has one glaring issue (and a silly add-on feature) which is a shame because we essentially waited half of a decade for this character to become an addition in the basic figure line. Clone Trooper (Training Fatigues) is a character that saw brief but very indelible screen time in Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. Interestingly, we didn’t see them in any action in the film. Instead, as the camera panned across them, they were simply eating a meal before their training. So why in the world would Hasbro sculpt an otherwise awesome figure in a terrible action stance? That answer eludes us. Clone Trooper (Training Fatigues) will absolutely need a revisit in the future to correct the legs (especially his left leg) so that he stands upright and let Hasbro leave it up to the collector to put this figure into an action stance. Even if you attempt to position him as straightly as you can, you still can’t eliminate the lean. Were it not for the terribly sculpted legs, this figure could easily have been a definitive figure for collectors. But we will obviously have to wait for Hasbro to revisit him (if ever) to make him perfect.

As another action figure with a gimmick, Clone Trooper (Training Fatigues) comes with eight individual phase I clone trooper armor pieces (that stay on for the most part but look rather silly because they only cover up portions of the figure). (These pieces have been recycled from the Obi-Wan Kenobi figure from the 2005 ROTS Jedi Vs. Sith Battle Packs set.) This feature is meant to provide a little bit more playability to a rather static figure, but it just doesn’t work too well in our opinions. It looks as if he has clone armor stuck to him instead of actually wearing the pieces properly. To make matters worse, his entire midsection remains uncovered and it really looks silly to have an unprotected cod section surrounded by incomplete armor. This feature was clearly designed for the kiddies, so collectors shouldn’t lose too much sleep over these removable parts. (Just push them over to the side.) Clone Trooper (Training Fatigues) is an action figure that we really wanted to like. He is an important part of Episode II, but we don’t know why Hasbro had to “ruin” him by giving him those awful legs. It is such a shame too because of the tooling costs Hasbro wasted on making the knees ball-jointed. What is the point Hasbro? Why give a figure ball-jointed knees when you are going to pre-pose him anyway? We’ve ranted enough and we think you get our point but this figure is “close but no cigar” and it really frustrates us as collectors. Just a little more tweaking and this figure would have had it all.

The coin that he comes with identifies this character as a Clone Trainee. And if you’re a variation hunter, this figure also comes with an action figure stand that has an incorrectly sourced Expanded Universe logo on it. (Interestingly, the Clone Trooper (7th Legion Trooper) comes with a Revenge Of The Sith logo on it.) He comes with the standard clone trooper blaster and he will be an easy choice for an army builder if you can overlook his faults. The head sculpt has been cast after the actor Bodie Taylor and the likeness is quite impressive. But you’ll really have to pay attention to the face paint as the eyes are not necessarily painted perfectly on every sample we saw in th stores. This seems to be an issue that Hasbro has been working diligently to rectify because deco in the face can really make or break a figure, as it does here. So spends some quality time choosing yours. The outfit he is wearing is spot-on and Hasbro did a great job in the paint applications here. The removable clone armor pieces are just a gimmick here and the kids will love it, so like we said, just tuck the pieces aside if they bother you. (Editor's Note: While this figure definitely needs some work to be perfect, Hasbro must have thought it is just fine as is because they resurrected this body type to make the awful Crimson Empire Entertainment Earth exclusive multipack. And what a tragedy that set turned out to be. But don't get us started on that rant. No Ewok multipacks, but give us Power Rangers in the Star Wars line? Ugh! Apologies, for we digress again!) Our love for Hasbro remains unchanged, but we hope that they never use this figure’s legs for another action figure again. (And please give us a retooled version in the very near future too, Hasbro.)