The Good: Amazing poseability, Exceptional detailing, Awesome balance, Decent accessories!
The Bad: Grappling accessory is a bit odd.
The Basics: The Star Wars Legacy Collection has another winner with an incredibly armored Clone trooper in the Clone Commander Deviss figure with the ARC trooper armor.
There is a ton of backstory to the costumes and characters in the clone army in the Star Wars film Revenge Of The Sith, so much so one might argue that the television series The Clone Wars is little more than an attempt to make the background clones in the last live-action feature film sensible. I mention this at the outset of my review of Clone Commander Deviss because there is no reasonable reason even die-hard fans of the Star Wars Saga would know who Deviss is by name. Yet, still, he is getting a perfect rating from me for the 2009 Legacy Collection figure of him!
For those unfamiliar with Clone Commander Deviss, he is one of the Clone Troopers seen in Revenge Of The Sith (reviewed here!) wearing ARC armor. His enhanced Clone trooper armor defines him as an elite soldier and his presence in the film is so hard to pick out that Hasbro had to use a generic shot of Clone Troopers from Attack Of The Clones for the figure's packaging!
The 4" Clone Commander Deviss figure is a heavily-armored and accessorized shock troop which may be stocked up on and because this is such a wonderfully articulated figure, it is very much worth buying more than one of!
Basics
The Clone Commander Deviss figure stands 3 7/8" tall to the top of his helmet. He wears the standard white armor of a clone trooper, save that his is modified by a belt with a gray plastic "skirt" (or cape below the waist) which is reminiscent of the Snowtrooper's outfit. The belt and skirt is removable as is the shoulder harness that features a black and maroon shoulderpiece which presumable indicates that this clone trooper is a Commander. Deviss's skirts are also differentiated from other specialized Clone Troopers in that each side of it has a holster with a blaster in it!
The standard Clone Trooper armor is also modified in the helmet area and I've no problem with the fact that Clone Commander Deviss's helmet is not removable. The helmet features a visor that flips up when not in use or may be rotated down to cover the helmet's eye section. This implies that Deviss is a scout or tactically-motivated Clone and that detail is pretty neat.
Clone Commander Deviss is also accented in the armor by the coloring. Unlike the standard, clean white of the Clone Trooper's armor, Deviss has numerous armor plates which are maroon and his helmet has striping that is maroon as well.
Accessories
No one comes to the battle as prepared as Clone Commander Deviss. Deviss features a blaster rifle, two blaster pistols, a ripcord and handle accessories. The blaster rifle that the Clone Commander Deviss comes with is the standard Republic two-handed blaster rifle which was remolded special for the Legacy Collection figures. The 2 1/4" long gun fits in either of Clone Commander Deviss's hands and looks entirely proportionate. The monotonal black weapon is generic, but looks appropriately mass-produced. The blaster is long enough so the barrel may be cradled in Deviss's left hand, which is molded to hold it that way. More than that, the barrel of the weapon is so large at the firing point that it looks more like a little cannon than a simple blaster rifle and that fact is bound to thrill most Star Wars fans!
The two tiny pistols Deviss comes with reminds one instantly of the Speeder Bike Pilot guns. They slide out of their holster and fit easily in either of Clone Commander Deviss's hands. Each pistol is only 3/4" long, cast entirely in black plastic and is not accented by any other colors or plating. These simple blasters look mass produced and like a last-resort weapon when the rifle is exhausted!
The baffling accessory is the rip cord. This is a 6 3/4" nylon cord capped off at each end by a 7/8" plastic claw. That plastic claw is molded too close to latch onto much of anything. Moreover, the 6" travel length of the cord does not make for a great accessory, though it was pretty easy for me to figure out how the plastic hook allowed Deviss to travel the length of the cord. All that could make this figure better would be a longer cord so this accessory actually had some playability, though a way to anchor each end would be great as well!
Like all of the 2009 Legacy Collection figures, the Clone Commander Deviss features a droid part. The Clone Commander Deviss features the head and firearm to HK-50, a humanoid droid that looks like a Terminator Endoskeleton. The head is an insect-like droid head that makes one think of General Grievous blended with a Star Wars Medical Droid. The gun is a 1 Ωî flat black plastic weapon that fits in either of HK-50's mechanical hands.
Playability
The four inch toy line was designed for play and the Clone Commander Deviss is exceptional in that regard. The Clone Commander Deviss has great balance and even better poseability, illustrating the latest in molding technology. Clone Commander Deviss is articulated at fourteen points, almost none of which are simple swivel joints. Clone Commander Deviss is articulated at the ankles, knees, groin socket, waist, shoulders, elbows, wrists and head. The head is a simple swivel joint, which isn't bad because the helmet inhibits much movement, making the limited movement of the figure more realistic, not less! The knees, ankles, shoulders and elbows are all hinge joints on the ball-and-sockets, giving them exceptional poseability and playability. The wrists and torso having simple swivel joints do all they truly need to do.
Collectibility
Clone Commander Deviss is part of the Legacy Collection with the build-a-droid figure that was released in 2009. Clone Commander Deviss is 2009 Legacy Collection figure BD37. Clone Commander Deviss was fairly common and demand for it was easily met, though many fans did not ditch their Revenge Of The Sith Clone Commander Deviss, which offered less than this version. Despite the fact that this is a resculpt, this remains one of the more sought-after Legacy Collection action figures and a surprisingly good investment for those who can find it cheap now.
Overview
I might seem to be throwing out "perfect" ratings a lot of late, but this is another Legacy Collection Clone trooper that deserves that esteem and the effort of tracking one down!
For other Legacy Collection figures, please check out my reviews of:
BD17 Princess Leia (Slave Leia)
BD34 Leesub Sirln
BD39 Jawa with Security Droid
BD41 The Utai
BD42 Jeremoch Colton
BD43 Agen Kolar
BD47 Commander Bacara
BD49 AT-AT Driver
BD50 Wing Guard
BD52 R2-X2
BD54 Zuckuss
BD55 Snowtrooper
10/10
For other Star Wars toy reviews, please check out my index page by clicking here!
© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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