Figure of the Day: Day 312: Clone Trooper (Sneak Preview)

CLONE TROOPER Sneak Preview
Power of the Jedi Sneak Preview Collection
Item No.: Asst. 84455 No. 84680
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, blaster bolt
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: February 2002
Appearances: Attack of the Clones

Bio: Ten years after the fight to save the Naboo from invasion, the galaxy is on the brink of civil war. under the leadership of a renegade Jedi, thousands of systems threaten to secede from the Galactic Republic. A courageous Jedi Knight, his impulsive and headstrong apprentice, and a queen-turned-senator are drawn into the heart of the conflict... and the beginning of war. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: The face that launched a thousand sales. This is the very first action figure of the Clone Trooper, and it was initially available in fairly limited numbers a few months before its debut in the "moving pictures" at your local theater. This figure captured the all-digital troopers with six points of articulation (which, for the time, sucked) and dirty leg decoration specific to the battles of Geonosis. With limited articulation and very specific deco, there were lots of opportunities to revisit this figure, and Hasbro more or less decided against this. But more on that later. This figure is pretty much good for dioramas, as its dedicated pose doesn't allow it to do much in the way of sitting back or looking normal. This is not a lover, it's a fighter. So if your dioramas need more fighting figures, this is an excellent addition to your collection. The basic Clone doesn't have a lot of room for subtlety in its deco, as it's a white figure with some black on it, basically. This figure manages to meet those expectations quite well.

In 2002, Hasbro released but 3 Clone figures-- this one, a red redeco/retool, and the Pilot. That's it. They were a little more adventurous at the end of 2003, but the manufacturer tended to be really conservative with their Clone releases until Revenge of the Sith, and it turns out that fans would buy pretty much every figure presented to them. So this figure was a great start of a huge collection with no end in sight.

Collector's Notes: Depending on where you shopped, this figure may have been in short supply or on clearance. I bought several at full price, and several at about $1 and change on the Target clearance rack. This mold has never been reissued or redecorated (except for the aforementioned retooling), so if you want one, happy hunting. A lot of fans don't like this figure just because it doesn't have twice the articulation, but it's still very good for what it aspired to be-- a sneak preview into the second-to-last Star Wars film.

Day 312: March 14, 2007