Original Review by Chris, 11/12/2014

The 30th Anniversary Collection gave us a lot of clones.  It gave us clones that looked like Snowtroopers.  It gave us clones that looked like Biker Scouts.  It gave us clones wearing brown polka pots and with this release, it gives us a clone in his jammies.  The intent of the figure is noble.  As had been mentioned several times now, Hasbro went to great lengths to keep the 30th Anniversary Collection fresh.  This slot in the Attack of the Clones wave could have gone to just another Phase I Clone Trooper, but instead Hasbro decided to give us something new on a couple of fronts.  First is the obvious, in that the figure is dressed in the red training fatigues from Kamino. Second is that the likeness is not based on Temuera Morrison, but is instead based on Bodie Taylor, who played the younger adult clones. 

The figure itself betrays this intent to offer something new and exciting.  It’s one of the most disappointing efforts in the 30th Anniversary Collection.  If you’ve read my reviews you know that I’m a sucker for figures that pack in a lot of play value.  At first glance this figure seems like it is loaded with it, but those features don’t work that well.  Most of the armor elements clip onto the figure.  Moving the limbs of the figure causes these pieces to pop off almost like it’s a spring loaded action feature.  I know that as a child this is the type of thing that would have greatly frustrated me.  The removable helmet and chest armor do offer satisfying play value, however, but the paint applications on the helmet are crude.  Just as I could see my younger self being frustrated by the clip-on elements, I admit I would have loved the helmet and chest piece.  I don’t think Hasbro could have done anything different, but the clip on shin armor looks too bulky.  It’s like the figure is wearing clone snow pants. 

For adult collector displays, the value of the figure is as a Kamino clone without those removable armor elements.  The bad news is that the underlying figure stinks.  Right off the bat fans complained because the plastic lower shirt prevented the figure from sitting.  In Episode II, the training clones were seen seated at a table eating lunch, and some fans actually wanted to recreate this.  I believe everyone should be able to collect what they like and in the manner they like, but let me say this one thing.  If you actually took the time to set up a Kamino cafeteria display, you are the worst.  Even if you ignore the sitting issue, Hasbro sculpted a fatal flaw into the left leg.  The lower leg is sculpted at an angle which means in order to stand the figure, you have to engage the knee and move the left foot back.  This of course has the effect of shortening the length of that leg and your figure is now listing to port as result. Add in the final complaint that the figure does not interact well with the included DC-15S blaster and you have a 5 out of 10 figure.

Updated Review by Bret, 1/30/2020

First of all, as a retort to my esteemed colleague’s original review, I say that if you didn’t take the time to set up a Kamino cafeteria display, you are the worst.  Well, maybe not.  I never set one up because of the many faults inherent in the design of this figure.  But boy, did I dream of setting up that display on my shelf!  There’s nothing that captures the essence of the cultural phenomenon that is Star Wars, than seeing a bunch of clone trainees eating their lunch in the mess hall.  The one that is front in center certainly seems angry about something.  Maybe it’s that he already knew that what would likely be his only shot at 3.75” plastic immortality was basically ru-eened by the figure we’re reviewing here today.

The figure tries to do too much, doesn’t do most of it very well, and seemingly forgot to handle the basics in the process.  The stance is a travesty, as the clone trainee leans hard back and to the left.  This may have come in handy when reconstructing the magic laser blast, but it’s not good for much else.  If all of them were defective in this way, I don’t think that Obi-Wan would have been very impressed with Jango’s clones.  The lack of ankles, and the inclusion of swivel shoulders really make this figure difficult to pose in a way that isn’t awkward. 

The armor pieces are basically silly.  I will give Hasbro credit for the snap-on methodology, as pins would have left unsightly holes all over the figure.  But as Chris said, they are executed in such a way as to further hinder what little motion there is in the figure, lest you risk the pieces popping off.  I also second Chris’s statements regarding the helmet and chest piece being the best of the armored pieces, and I could have done completely without the rest.  Instead, money could have gone into better articulation and figure tooling.

Besides the bunch of silly armor parts, the clone comes with a blaster which he holds sturdily in his hand (including the floating trigger finger), but can barely execute a THWG (two handed weapon grip).  The holster works well, but is of the annoying “mailbox” variety.  So instead of the extra armor, perhaps additional weapons or other accessories could have been included, like a table setting so you can recreate the lunch scene.  Oh yeah, which of course brings up the other sin of the is figure:  The hard plastic lower tunic and crappy articulation preclude any shot of faithfully recreating that scene, as the figure cannot be placed in a sitting position.  Being the one time we saw this character on screen, it is an egregious oversight for the figure to not be capable of sitting.

If you can get past the bad (and there’s a lot of bad), you can still manage to populate your Kamino dioramas with these guys.  It’s another one of those figures that should qualify for the category of “It’s a substandard effort, but I’m glad it exists.”  Sadly, it may be too much to ask to forgive the drawbacks of this figure.  I got a bunch of them back in the day, but they would easily qualify in a top 10 list of most frustrating figures in the modern line.  I’ll reluctantly keep Chris’s 5/10, as it is at least (barely) better than a 5POA figure.