Review of Yoda vs. Clone Trooper
Star Wars Premium Format Statue
Sideshow Collectibles
Date Published: 2010-04-07
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3.5
out of 4
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Introduction
I loved the Star Wars of my youth. And we're not talking kindergarten youth here - I clearly remember waiting in a long line
in the rain, skipping my college classes to watch Return of the Jedi on opening day. So it was with great anticipation that I
waited for Episodes I, II and III, much like he rest of nerd-dom. And sadly, like much of the rest of our motley crew, I was
deeply disappointed by the final result.
The movies weren't all bad though, and occasionally there was a great scene, battle or piece of dialog. One of those scenes is
after Order 66 has been carried out, and Yoda does battle with a group of Clone Troopers blocking his way to a ship. Since he
was no longer fettered to some puppeteer's hand, he was able to do some truly cool Jedi moves, and one culminates in his leap
onto a trooper's chest to retrieve his light saber, which he used to skewer him through. It only hurt for a second.
I swore to myself awhile back that I wasn't going to buy any more Sideshow Star Wars Premium Format statues. I already have
way too many, and I wanted to move to more breadth and less depth in my PF collection. And then those bastards at Sideshow
showed off one of the coolest they've done - the recreation of that specific scene, right down to the green lit saber blade.
Yea, I'm weak.
This release is a rarity though - there's no exclusive version! Instead, they stuck with one version limited to 1500 pieces.
This pair is just now in stock at Sideshow, where you can pick it up for $350, or you can check my Where to Buy section at the
end of the review for some additional options.


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Packaging - ***
You know the drill here - sturdy box, basic graphics, solid Styrofoam, no Certificate of Authenticity. No real change from
past PF"s, but this one (unlike the recent Disney Evil
Queen) does come in a very large box. That's due to the size of both Yoda and the Trooper.
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Sculpting - ****
This is a very large Premium Format statue, containing two complete characters as it does. Both are properly scaled for the
rest of the PF series, and they captured the look of this exact moment extremely well.
This is the prequel Yoda, so he has the CGI'd wrinkles, hairs and skin textures. The face is extremely expressive, and the
expression is one of serious and deadly determination.
While the Trooper has a helmet on, they still managed to convey his utter shock and dismay at the realization that there's a
light saber handle sticking out of his chest. I imagine he's thinking "I didn't sign up for this".
It's very difficult to pull of an extremely dynamic design with any statue. Too often, capturing a snapshot of action ends up
looking silly or comical, not exciting or dangerous. But this is one of the best dynamic poses I've ever seen, and I'm
extremely happy with the final result.
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Paint - ****
At this price, you expect pretty much perfect paint operations, and you get them. The skin tone on Yoda is screen accurate,
and his eyes and hair line are clean and realistic.
The trooper has the more complex color palette - this is a 501st trooper after all - but they've done a terrific job
weathering the brighter colors and adding in just the right touches. Even the hole created by the fiery hot saber has burned
edges!
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Light Feature - ***1/2
I'm very happy to have the included light up feature, but that doesn't mean it is perfect.
The feature works easily enough. There's a zipper on the back of Yoda's jumpsuit, and beneath it is a battery compartment.
Push the little tab down, and it pops open, but it did take some effort to get it to work. Once open, you must remove the
small plastic tab, allowing the three batteries to light up the saber.
Yoda has a belly button - not that kind, but the kind that you push and it turns on the saber. There's a single light in the
saber hilt that's supposed to light up the full length of green plastic.
Unfortunately, it doesn't do that particularly well. The first half looks great, but by the time the light gets through the
trooper's chest and down to the back half, it's too weak to create an appropriate effect. Get rid of ALL the lights, and it's
okay, but even then it's weaker than it should be - and certainly weaker than it should be at this price point.
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Outfit - ***1/2
The trooper's armor is all sculpted resin, of course, so he's already been covered in the 'sculpt' section. Here I'm just
looking at Yoda's costume, which is cloth (hence the 'mixed media' of this PF).
There's three pieces to Yoda's outfit: the outer robe, the darker brown jumpsuit, and the belt. The belt and outer robe are
actually easily removed, something very unusual for a Premium Format statue.
There's also a zipper in the back of the jumpsuit, but that's supplied so you can reach the battery compartment, not so you
can remove his suit.
The stitching and material are top quality, and the fit is great. I do wish that the hood had a wire in it, and that
would have pushed this to the four star category. Without it, it's tough to get the hood to lay just right.
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Value - **1/2
Many of the recent licensed PF's are running around $300 - $350, so the price isn't a surprise. What makes this one a slightly
better deal than most is two features - the lighting saber, and the inclusion of two full characters. While you won't feel
like you got a steal, you won't feel abused either.
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Things to Watch Out For -
As always, you want to be very careful inserting the not one but two metal posts into their respective resin slots. The metal
can easily damage the softer material.
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Overall - ***1/2
This is a great Premium Format statue, giving us not just cloth and resin pieces, but a light up feature as well. The only
thing holding this one back from it's full potential is the slightly weak light, which doesn't illuminate the blade evenly end
to end.
It's a fairly minor issue though, and I'm happy that I broke my resolution and jumped back into the Star Wars PF's with this
pair. I don't feel the need for any other prequel versions (including Dooku, whom I skipped), but this pair will have a place
of honor on the shelf.
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - Bupkis
Accessories - Bupkis
Outfit - ***1/2
Light Up Feature - **1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2
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Where to Buy
Online options include these site sponsors:
- Sideshow has these
in stock right now for $350. Surprisingly, none of my other sponsors are carrying this one.
- or you can search
ebay for a deal.
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Related Links -
Other Star Wars PF's I've reviewed include:
- I have been trying to cut back, at least on Star Wars PF's, and the last one I reviewed was a full year ago: Slave Leia.
- prior to that, I looked at Boba Fett, Darth Vader, ANH
Leia, ANH Obi-Wan, and Han
Solo.
You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case
any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.
Discussion:
Want to chat about this review? Try out one of these terrific forums where
I'll be discussing it!
Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!
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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.
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