Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 1,510: Jesse

JESSE Clone Trooper
The Clone Wars Figures with Vehicles
Item No.: Asst. 94737 No. 28039
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, stand, bike
Action Feature: Bike has rolling wheels
Retail: $16.99
Availability: January 2011
Appearances: The Clone Wars

Bio: Clone trooper Jesse pilots a BARC speeder bike to track down General Grievous in the Saleucami wetlands. The one-man bikes are named for the Biker Advanced Recon Commandos who first used them. On the swift, maneuverable BARC speeders, Jesse and his team can cover a lot of ground as they search for the cyborg general. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: In front of the Mandalorian Battle Pack's backdrop.

Commentary: Here's an interesting one. Clone Trooper Jesse isn't quite just a repaint, but is actually a figure that incorporates the bulk of the Stone-style sculpting with new hips. The figure has no ankle joints, but he does have ball-jointed hips and is the very first "new sculpt" Trooper to feature them. The figure includes some grey and blue details from the episode and is sculpted pretty darned nicely. The enhanced articulation allows him to sit on a bike without ruining his hip joints-- this might not seem like much, but it's really important given that very few clones can actually do this. (And it only took Hasbro about five years to add this joint in for biker clones.) It's a welcome change, and I hope they make sure they use it from here on out so it doesn't ruin the joint permanently on other, non ball-jointed hip figures. I like the Republic logo on the helmet because it looks cool, but it's pretty impractical-- I mean, it's a target right over his brain. Still, it's neat to look at and arguably Hasbro's best-engineered regular Clone figure in the animated line for use on vehicles. I really hope Hasbro uses this body for many other figures, especially plain white Clones. You know, the title character of the show... the ones that don't get a lot of figures these days.

Collector's Notes: New ships tend to be tougher to get and this one is no exception. As such, good hunting.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,510: March 29, 2011