The Good: Incredible sculpting, Amazing poseability, Exceptional detailing, Decent accessories!
The Bad: Poor balance, Left hand does not really hold the accessories, Production markings.
The Basics: The Star Wars Legacy Collection 212th Battalion Clone Trooper is a good new version of the Clone Trooper, but it cannot stand in truly lavish poses, despite its exceptional jointwork!
When it comes to Star Wars action figures, I am about at my threshold for Clone Troopers. Given that there are legions of Clone Troopers seen in two of the Prequel Star Wars, it seems like it would be a figure one might be willing to get an infinite number of the various Clone Troopers to establish a generic standing army of anonymous soldiers. But, when spending money on toys, it seems like there is a line and for Clone Troopers, I’m about there. The reason is simple: with the new Amazon.com Exclusive Legacy Collection 212th Battalion Clone Trooper, it seems that Hasbro has jumped the shark; the company has made dozens of great Clone Trooper action figures, but with the new 212th Battalion Clone Trooper, they sacrifice functionality for style and that is an unfortunate choice.
For those unfamiliar with the 212th Battalion Clone Trooper, they are the Republic Clone Troopers seen on Utapau in Revenge Of The Sith (reviewed here!). These are the Clone Troopers who were augmented with orange accents on their armor and were the group of Clone Troopers who turned against Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The 4" 212th Battalion Clone Trooper figure is another generic shock troop which suffers from a few minor defects that rob it from being worth stocking up on. The extent to which this Clone Trooper falls down (literally) comes out more when one looks closely at the figure.
Basics
The 212th Battalion Clone Trooper figure stands 4" tall to the top of his helmet. He wears the white, orange and black armor of the 212th Battalion Clone Trooper and this figure does have a removable helmet. Beneath the helmet is a generic Clone Trooper head with a somewhat stern look on his face. The head includes ears that are very well-detailed and molded, but somewhat underwhelming on the coloring details (the lips, for example, are not colored). Unlike some of the other Clone Troopers and 212th Battalion Clone Troopers, this is neither a filthy, worn-looking figure nor a completely clean version of the 212th Battalion Clone Trooper. This has a burn marks at various points on the armor, like knee, chest and helmet.
As one might expect from the fact that the 212th Battalion Clone Trooper is based on the generic Clone Trooper, the new 212th Battalion Clone Trooper is an amazing sculpt. The figure's armor includes such realistic details as a soft belt with flaps and buttons on the pouches there. The armor on the 212th Battalion Clone Trooper's outfit looks slightly worn, which makes sense given that the 212th Battalion Clone Trooper was shot at repeatedly. The coloring details on the 212th Battalion Clone Trooper's armor are also pretty wonderful and this looks exactly like the 212th Battalion Clone Trooper's in the pictures (and in the movie). The seeming simplicity of the figure is undone by the fact that the figure is so detailed that it includes the fine detailing like the black vents on the sides of the helmet.
Unfortunately, the sculpt has production issues that several of the other figures do not have. On the back of the left thigh are deep imprints of a production number. On the bracers, near the elbows, are tiny raised letters that seem to indicate the which sides the arms belong on.
Accessories
The 212th Battalion Clone Trooper is a Republic Clone Trooper and comes with a standard Republic Clone blaster and a Blaster Rifle. The 1 1/8" long gun fits in the right hand of the 212th Battalion Clone Trooper's and looks entirely proportionate there. This is a completely generic, monotonal black firearm and, rather frustratingly, the figure cannot hold it in its left hand because of how narrow the figure’s grip is.
The blaster rifle is a big gun seen being utilized by the 212th Battalion Clone Troopers in Revenge Of The Sith as they attack the Jedi and General Grievous’s forces. The 2 11/16” rifle is big, but clean and monotonal black. The fact that the scope for the gun is on the bottom is weird, but accurate. The figure may only hold the blaster rifle in its right hand, though the left hand may be arranged to support the rifle’s barrel.
Like the rest of Amazon’s 2013 Legacy Collection figures, the 212th Battalion Clone Trooper features a droid part. The 212th Battalion Clone Trooper features the right arm of TC-70. The copper arm is augmented by silver and dark purple accents. The hand looks articulated and jointed exactly like what one expects of a Star Wars protocol droid. The arm has a simple swivel joint at the wrist and the elbow has an appropriate hinge joint. The arm has a peg at the shoulder which allows it to plug into the torso section of the Build-A-Droid figure.
Playability
The four inch toy line was designed for play and the 212th Battalion Clone Trooper is only good in that regard. The 212th Battalion Clone Trooper has poor balance, but incredible poseability, illustrating the latest in molding technology. The 212th Battalion Clone Trooper is articulated at fourteen points, only one of which is a simple swivel joint! The 212th Battalion Clone Trooper is articulated at the ankles, knees, groin socket, bust, shoulders, elbows, wrists and head. The head is on a ball-and-socket joint, as is the bust of the figure. The knees, ankles, groin joint, shoulders and elbows are all hinge joints on the ball-and-socket, giving them exceptional poseability and playability. The wrists have simple swivel joints which do all they truly need to do.
Unfortunately, the figure has terrible balance. While the figure may be posed well, the toy does not remain standing without using the holes at the backs of the feet. That makes this a great figure to augment vehicles or accessories, but it stands poorly on its own.
Collectibility
The 212th Battalion Clone Trooper is part of the Legacy Collection with the build-a-droid figure that was released in 2013 exclusively through Amazon.com. The 212th Battalion Clone Trooper was released with equal frequency as the rest of the line. Given how this is 212th Battalion Clone Trooper easily interfaces with a number of toys and has multiple playable options, it is one that fans might be willing to stock up on, but for the fact that there are other, less problematic Clone Trooper figures. That makes it unlikely that it will appreciate in value significantly or fast.
Overview
The 212th Battalion Clone Trooper is a good Clone Trooper figure, but hardly one of the most original Star Wars toys ever made. If it were not for the build-a-droid piece, this might have been one of the figures in this toy line one could pass on.
For other Clone Trooper figures, please check out my reviews of:
Vintage Collection VC15 Clone Trooper
Vintage Collection VC38 Clone Trooper (212th Battalion)
Vintage Collection VC60 501st Legion Clone Trooper
2009 Legacy Collection BD37 Clone Commander Deviss
2009 Legacy Collection BD47 Commander Bacara
2008 Legacy Collection GH1 Commander Gree
Attach Of The Clones Collection #49 Clone Trooper Republic Gunship Pilot
7.5/10
For other Star Wars toy reviews, please check out my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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