Review of Clonetrooper Sergeant - Star Wars Clone Wars
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

Stormtroopers and Clone Troopers - can a Star Wars fan ever have too many? That's an interesting query - and Sideshow Collectibles is doing their own testing to see what the answer is.

They've released another in their series, and this time it's a Sergeant Clone Trooper. For those not up on their Clone Trooper insignia, that means a green deco.

This guy runs around $80 or so, depending on the retailer, and there wasn't an exclusive version. They regular was produced in a limited edition of 2500, which isn't too extreme.

Packaging - ****
Sideshow developed some of the coolest packaging ever when they started this line, ushering in the age of no twisties, wrap around covers, and magnetic closures. They've continued the tradition, and it still works great.

There are two trays, a large one for the figure, guns and stand (plus a couple hands), and the thin trays for the multitude of additional hands. No twisties, no rubber bands, no tape holding anything in the plastic - it's all goin' commado.

Sculpting - ***1/2
There's not much to complain about when it comes to the sculpting here. there's no real portrait, but the armor looks fantastic.

Now, I suspect that some fans will find issues with something - some aspect of the helmet that isn't quite screen exact, some piece of the armor that's not quite in scale. But I gotta say that I think it looks terrific, and I have no serious complaints.

The pelvic armor is a bit tight, which makes the hips look a little weird (and would be awfully uncomfortable), but that's a minor nit. Unless you're the poor sucker wearing this stuff.

Paint - ****
While the white armor is cast in the proper color, the green striping is obviously added, and added well. But it's not the show room perfection of this detailing that makes it look good - it's the damage and wear. They've done a terrific job of adding in scuffs, wear marks, scratches, and discoloration in appropriate places. This adds a tremendous amount of realism to the figure, and gives him the feel of a battle tested soldier.

Articulation - ***1/2
The underlying body is the standard Sideshow sixth scale version that they developed a couple years ago. It's not quite TrueType level, but it's a huge improvement over their previous body, and it works well enough for Troopers like these.

There's all the usual joints, ball, cut, pin, etc. You know what's here, and the joints are tighter and smoother than the first few releases. The figure includes some 'action' feet, and you can pull off poses with these because the ankles, knees and hips are tight enough to hold weird poses. They aren't quite as tight as some similar bodies, but they work well enough.

You can get some fairly natural stances, although again, it's not quite at the TrueType level. Some folks may feel the need to swap these over, but it's not necessary.

Accessories - ****
This guy comes with a TON of extra hands, done up in some really nifty poses.

There are a total of thirteen hands, including the two he comes wearing. There's a set of gun gripping hands, a set of soft gripping hands, a set of fists, a set of hands in a "STOP" pose (or perhaps a salute), a set of thumbs up, a set of pointing hands (one pointing with one finger, the other pointing with two fingers), and one single hand that is posed in a peace sign, two fingers up in the flying V.

The hands swap easily enough, but be careful with the posts. You should free them up before you put them on, but go easy on the pegs. They can snap with too much pressure. All the hands have their own pegs and ball joints, so you don't have to keep swapping them on the actual joint. That's a much appreciated addition.

There's also a second set of feet. The front half of the foot is bent, perfect for some action poses. They swap as easily as the hands, but the same caution should be taken when adjusting the posts.

There are the two blasters that we've seen before, long rifle and short. The short has the folding stock, and both fit great in the gripping hands. The scale is excellent, as is the paint and sculpt.

Finally, there's the usual display stand. You shouldn't need it, but for those that prefer to keep them safely secured on the shelf, the consistent stands are a nice touch.

Outfit - ***1/2
Underlying the Clone Trooper armor is the ribbed black stretch costume. It fits tightly, and looks pretty close to screen accurate. It's not exactly how the costume was done, but the approximation works for me.

The various pieces of armor are made from a solid, hard plastic, nothing rubbery here. The pieces fit well, and the sculpt looks great. The chest piece seems to ride a little high, but everything else looks terrific - well, it would if you weren't an idiot like me and you don't forget to turn the bicep armor around. I didn't even notice til after I'd edited all the photos, but I'm warning you not to make the same mistake. The calf armor was also turned around on mine in the package, but that I was smart enough to notice.

Fun Factor - ***
The armor and accessories are quite sturdy, certainly as sturdy as what we see with mass market toys. It's surprising, but while these are probably out of the price range for most folks to buy them for kids, they could be great toys. Perhaps that's what makes them such great collectibles too - they haven't lost sight of the tradition of their ancestors.

Value - ***
At around $80, these are actually a pretty good deal. That's not too far off from the price getting charged by some of the smaller sixth scale figure companies, who use far inferior bodies. Obviously, the body and armor re-use across multiple figures helps keep these down in cost, but it's still a good value for the Star Wars fan.

Things to Watch Out For -
I mentioned the stiff pegs - be sure you work them lose a bit before putting the hands on, and take really care with them. Otherwise, you should be good to go!

Overall - ***1/2
Another great trooper for the shelf. It's hard to get excited about another Clone Trooper when we've already got a boat load, but Sideshow knew they'd need to up the ante, and that's where the ton of hands and extra feet come into play. The underlying body could still be a hair better, but fans of the Troopers should be pleased with the addition to the collection.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ****
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ****
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***
Value - ***
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other sixth scale Sideshow Star Wars include:

- last up was the diminutive Jedi, Yoda.

- I also liked the recent Gammorean Guard.

- it was awhile before that for the previous review, Admiral Thrawn and his command chair.

- prior to that was Lando Calrissian, and the Shock Trooper.

- Darth Vader was perhaps Sideshow's best Star Wars release.

- then there's the Utapau Trooper, the Imperial Stormtrooper, and Captain Antilles.

- I wasn't as thrilled with Ki-Adi-Mundi, but Obi-Wan in Clone Armor is easily one of their best. Then there's Aayla Secura, Tatooine Luke and Han Solo.

- Sideshow had a strong year in 2008 with Commander Praji, the exceptional Palpatine/Sidous and ANH Obi-Wan, and the not quite so exceptional Ilum Padme.

- also in the sixth scale line, I've reviewed Leia and Bespin Luke, the Holo-chess set, Sideshow's Asajj, a terrific figure, Yavin Luke, the Endor Troops, Jabba the Hutt and his throne, Bib Fortuna, Jedi Luke, Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, Bespin Han Solo, regular Anakin Skywalker and Kit Fisto.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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