Figure of the Day: Day 204: Clone Trooper

CLONE TROOPER Jedi Temple Assault
Revenge of the Sith Kmart Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. 85837 No. 85838
Number: n/a
Includes: Blsater pistol, blaster rifle
Action Feature: Squeeze legs for quick-draw attack
Retail: $24.99-$29.99
Availability: Summer 2005
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith

Bio: Clone troopers were genetically engineered soldiers that served as the Grand Army of the Republic until the secret execution of Order 66. They now serve Darth Vader and the Emperor and are ordered to hunt down and destroy all of the Jedi. (Taken from the figure's box.)

Image: Adam's coffee table. The trooper with the dirty legs and battle damage on the stand is not the figure profiled in this review.

Commentary: In 2005, for some reason, Hasbro really liked Kmart-- or so we thought. Hasbro game the once mighty retailer the Jedi Temple Assault Battle Pack with the Clone Trooper from Darth Vader's own personal legion of Clone Troopers. Which also included the Jedi-turned-Sith as well as a completely random Clone Pilot. The three 501st Clones had blue markings similar to the film, but were missing the stripes on the sides of the legs as seen on the big screen and later versions of this trooper. Not surprisingly, the figure was a repaint-- a quick-draw Clone Trooper was sold in early 2005, and this redeco glued down the shoulder pad. Aside from that, there's not much different aside from paint, so what you see is what you get. Squeeze the legs, the hand goes up, and they fight. It's pretty cool.

Collector's Notes: Initially, this set was hard to get to the point where some collectors, yours truly included, haunted Kmarts daily after hearing it might be in circulation-- and during 2005, I saw a grand total of two of this set. It was easier to get in other markets, though, and in 2006 Hasbro and Kmart had a second run of this toy. And not one to waste a good opportunity, Kmart jacked up the price by five bucks. For 3 501st Clone Troopers, the Clone Pilot, and Anakin/Vader, $25 was a stellar deal, $27 wasn't bad (our Kmart charged $27.49 and it wasn't a sale, the store just charged 10% more on everything across the board). But $30? Well, it could be worse given the $7-per-figure prices of today's figures. If you see this set, you should probably consider getting one, be it for the figures or for the nifty window box packaging.

Day 204: November 26, 2006