Figure of the Day: Day 483: Clone Trooper

CLONE TROOPER ARMY Army of the Republic
Clone Wars Deluxe Figures
Item No.: Asst. 84845 No. 84987
Number: n/a
Includes: Non-removable rifle, 2 more figures
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: Fall 2003
Appearances: Attack of the Clones, Clone Wars

Bio: Virtually indistinguishable from one another, Clone Troopers are identical in physical appearance, mental capability, and stamina. Part of a clone army, they are grown in the cloning facilities of Tipoca City, a luminescent city of industry emerging from the raging seas of Kamino. Although clone troopers share the same modified genetic code, their genetic structure has been altered to make them less independent than their genetic host, and their growth has been accelerated to twice the normal rate of a human. Grown and trained specifically for military combat, the Clone Army was mysteriously commissioned ten years earlier. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: It seems about 30% of all figures these days, if you could see their face, would have Jango Fett's head-- and this Clone Trooper would be no exception. If you know, its helmet could come off. The limited articulation helps keep this figure cheap, as you can move it at the neck, waist, wrist, and shoulders. And that's it. If you like its default pose, wonderful-- you're going to love the figure. If not, well, why are you reading this? The figure has white plastic and black paint, so there's no battle damage, there's no grey details, and unless you're a fan of customizing or making a diorama, this figure might not have much to offer you. Of course, I'm Clone crazy, so I have a few of these and I find them great for filling out gunships or flanking Jedi on a shelf. As toys, these figures kinda suck-- sure, I guess you can knock 'em over and pretend they're fighting, but since it can't sit or really be posed, what you're buying is a nice, low-end statue. Not that there's anything wrong with that, the same can be said about many of Hasbro's more popular figures since 2000.

Collector's Notes: For whatever reason, Hasbro has been reluctant to reissue these "army soldier" Clones of limited articulation, which is a real shame as they'd make nice bonus items in other sets as they can't cost too much to make. The prices on these once hard-to-get figures have dropped as other Clones came out and grabbed fan interest, so if you want them odds are you can find them without too much work these days. Back in the day, this figure was fairly easy to get by virtue of it appearing in most of the sets.

Day 483: September 1, 2007