Figure of the Day: Day 188: Clone Trooper

CLONE TROOPER Mace Windu's Attack Battalion
The Saga Collection Target Exclusive
Item No.: No. 87110
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster Pistol, Antenna Pack, Shoulder Armor
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: October 2006
Appearances: The Clone Wars (in theory)

Bio: These clone troopers follow their Commander's orders and fight to protect the Jedi Temple. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Inside the backdrop from the box for Mace Windu's Attack Battalion.

Commentary: The figure's construction may not be immediately obvious, but it's 100% recycled Clone. The body of the figure is the Revenge of the Sith #41 Super-Articlated Clone Trooper. (The mold has since been re-used for others such as the Covert Ops Clone Trooper, Shock Trooper, and Utapau Clone Trooper.) The shoulder armor belongs to Commander Bacara, and was also used for a "lunchtime special" black market Clone Trooper that was frequently seen shipping out of China on eBay last year. The figure's decoration is actually quite snazzy, just like Mace's starfighter-- there's two tones of purple coloring. If you look at the "U" on the belt, you can see a metallic shine to the color. This metallic paint is also used on the helmet in places, and on the shoulder armor. (It looks amazingly good on the shoulder.) While some have said that the figure is just a Shock Trooper with purple markings, this is not correct-- some added deco points are on the figure, and some of the markings are grey, and not purple. So it's a little more ornate, but still, the figure is basically what you would expect-- mostly.

The main flaw in this figure (ATTENTION HASBRO/COLLECTORS) is that the packaging actually hurts the figures. Each figure has rubber bands on each hand-- so all three Clones have a rubber band on both hands to hold the gun in place. While Hasbro may have thought it would make the figure more stable during transport, the opposite is true, and an extra problem is created. First, the figures frequently have the hands pop out of the arms while still in the box. While they can be popped back in after opening it, it looks stupid if you're a boxed collector-- I mean, who wants a mint in sealed box toy with a clearly flawed figure inside? Second, the "band hands" problem that were frequent in many G.I. Joe products return here, and take the guns with them. The figure's hands are often malformed, and the gun is equally messed up. In short, the packaging is literally ruining the figure. Visually, the packaging is a gorgeous box and one of the better Battle Packs we've seen so far-- but the rubber bands don't do the toys any favors. Hasbro, this is a real problem. Collectors, this is a real problem. Nobody wants to open a box and realize the toys you just bought have already fallen apart. (For the record, I bought two of these fresh from the case, they're the only ones I've seen, and both had this problem on at least two clones per set.)

Collector's Notes: The Episode II and Episode III hammock is largely called Clone Wars, so it makes sense that any Clone Trooper with the Revenge of the Sith helmet design and any relation to a character killed in that film would be, by default, Clone Wars. As far as I can tell, no fiction has shown a visual representation (or even a mention) of Mace having his on squad-- but hey, here it is. The box says "As Seen on Cartoon Network" but does not sport a Clone Wars logo like on other recent items from the series. Which is funny, because it would make more sense to say that this is a toy from the Clone Wars because it could be, yet I do not recall seeing it on Cartoon Network at all. Also, this set includes three of the Clone Trooper I just profiled, one Clone Commander, and Mace Windu in the boxed set.

Day 188: November 10, 2006