Review – Star Wars Clone Trooper

I know that this 12-inch Star Wars Clone Trooper isn’t for everyone, and there’s certainly no way that this line will ever be all that successful or even long-lived, but as someone who has been enjoying the Kenner Vintage Jumbo Star Wars action figures (Amazon.com search*) I had no choice but to buy this when I found it at Target. $10 for a 12-inch scale Star Wars action figure? This I had to see — and review! — and I’m happy to say that the figure serves its purpose very well.

What Is Its Purpose?

So just why did Hasbro create this 12-inch scale Clone Trooper action figure? I have no inside information, but I suspect its a response to sales of the standard Star Wars action figures and a small test for a possible line expansion in 2014. With only four figures in this line planned for 2013 — Anakin Skywalker and this Clone Trooper, both on the market now, and Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi coming later this year — there’s not a lot of chance that this line will be on shelves much, but after opening this Clone Trooper I can say that I’ll be buying Darth Vader and hoping for a standard Stormtrooper release next year.

Seven Points of Articulation

The Clone Trooper has the Kenner five — swivel head, shoulders, and hips — as well as swivel wrists for a total of seven points of articulation. I find it highly entertaining that so soon after I suggested that action figures need only five points of articulation for play that Hasbro seems to be embracing that idea and running with it. Will a reduction in articulation in what toys have had in recent years drive sales lower still? I guess we’ll know in a year or two if Hasbro abandons their ideas and moves back to overly-articulated action figures.

Sculpt

Excellent work! In fact, the sculpt is a tad too good if I’m going to display these action figures with the Kenner Vintage Jumbo Star Wars line (Amazon.com search*). The fairly neutral pose works well and the details are tight and the Clone Trooper looks wonderful. And it was only $10!

Paint

One nice thing about basic Episode II Clone Troopers is that the toys can get the bulk of their colors from white plastic; very little paint apps are required to make one of these Clone Troopers look right. Fortunately, Hasbro put the effort into making sure that the few bits of paint were added neatly and other than some minor slop here and there the paint is as good as I was hoping. If it wasn’t for this guy being a little shorted than the Kenner Jumbo Stormtrooper (and the sculpt issue I mentioned earlier) this toy would look like it came from the same line . . . but at a much lower price!

I Can’t Drop My Gun!

The one negative I see is that the figure’s rifle is a part of the hand and cannot be removed. I suppose that helped Hasbro keep the price under $10, but I think I would have rather seen a reduction in size to 10-inches or even 9-inches if that would have made the weapon a separate accessory. But that’s a minor complaint and as long I keep comparing this toy’s $10 price tag to the cost of Kenner Vintage Jumbo Star Wars action figures (Amazon.com search*) then I remain very happy with my purchase.

Closing Thoughts

While I don’t like the toy enough to grab Anakin Skywalker or the prequel-styled Obi-Wan Kenobi action figures I’m going to keep an eye open for Darth Vader and snag him as soon as I seem him. This is a fantastic buy at $10 and fans of Clone Troopers should grab this for their collections even if they normally prefer toys with a lot of articulation.

I don’t see this line having a life past the four figures that are planned for this year, but I’ll sit here and hope that we see new figures in 2014. In addition to a Stormtrooper I would also love to see a few droids and a Boba Fett in this series.

Trust me and give this a shot. It’s only $10 and it looks very nice on my shelf . . . and I suspect it will look good on yours.