By the time the Legacy Collection (Blue) was winding down in 2009, we had already received 5 versions of the Republic Gunship, while the arrival of a 6th was imminent for TLC (Red).  Something was seriously missing from our gunships.  In 2002 during the “Not AOTC” Saga run, Hasbro offered us the first Clone Pilot figure, which included a tiny ball turret as an accessory.  Now, in preparation for the photography for this review, I made an amazing discovery.  And when I say “amazing”, I am referring to the fact that I somehow missed this until just the other day.  I had never before realized that the tiny turret actually interacted with the gunship.  I thought it was supposed to be more like a just-off-screen substitute, with it being designed to act as ground emplaced equipment, like a small piece of artillery.  But I discovered, for the very first time, that the base is sculpted to plug into the two posts located just inside the cargo bay - precisely where the ball turrets connect in the film, and in the same way that is done by the subject of this review.  This was a revelation!  I had no idea this was possible!

I had no idea this was possible.  Thanks for keeping me in the dark, jerks!

Anyway, the turrets from 2002 were woefully small, but at least Hasbro had something, even if it was a secret to me.

Fast forward to 2009, and Hasbro released one of the most popular battle packs of all time.  Although it came with only 2 figures (the same, no less!) and only 1 ball turret instead of the 2 required to properly outfit a gunship, it was still a hit.  These things flew off the shelves.  Hasbro resupplied us later in the new TLC (red) packaging, but those also flew off the shelves.  These were pretty hard to find, being army builder figures and accessories.  You needed to buy two just to outfit a single gunship, and as stated, the 6th version came out in 2009.  So if you were a silly completist like yours truly, you needed to buy 12 battle packs to do right by your collection.  For the record, this completist has only a lone gunship loaded out this way.  In 2013, TVC got the 7th (and last as of this writing) gunship that was released, and it included 2 of these ball turrets inside the package, which was a good thing.

The star is, of course, the turret.  It can be configured to interact with a large base that turns it into a ground-emplaced turret, or you can do away with that noise and plug it into the ship as nature intended.  The arm swivels, and the ball rotates.  This gives you a few different looks.  The arm snaps cleanly into the pegs on either side of the troop bay, and is easily removable without fear of breakage.  A figure will fit inside, but I have to say that you need a baby’s hands to manipulate it into the seat.  It’s an exercise in frustration for most adults, but a little patience will allow you to get the figure seated properly, and gripping the controls, if you’re lucky.  The clear plastic has not yellowed over time (in my sample), and still looks great.

One complaint about the turret itself is that it affixes to the gunship in such a way that it sits partially below the floor of the ship.  This means that it can’t really be on the ground.  You need some kind of base to elevate the ship about an inch off the ground so the turrets float without bending upwards. 

The figures included are two identical clone pilots.  They share their DNA with the 2003 03-50 Clone Trooper (I love linking to that review), with a few minor changes.  It’s got a removable pilot helmet, which works well, and comes with a DC-15 blaster.  The blaster, for some odd reason, is cast in a pewter color, making it distinct from almost every other DC-15 in this scale.  Hasbro is so weird sometimes.  The figure is excellent, although many people prefer the more modern, but oddly skinny, TBS Phase 1 #08 Clone Pilot.

The complaint I have with this figure is that Hasbro should more correctly have included the basic white clone.  In the film, the pilots are only seen inside the cockpit, while the turrets are manned by regular troops.  Nevertheless, accuracy aside, if you got yourself a pair of these sets, you could have your gunship fully piloted and gunned with 4 (pilot) clones.

This is one of the great multi-packs of all time.  It’s not perfect, but it’s close enough.  I wish it was more readily available, and this could be a candidate for re-release at some point, especially with VC45 clones (or TBSP1 #08 pilots).  8/10.