Editor’s Note:  This review has been updated with a second look…

Original Review:  Chris 8/19/2013 11:25 AM

The first rule in the military is to choose a high contrast uniform.  The second rule is to make sure that your command and control structure is color coded. If there’s one thing you want, it’s for your enemy to be able to identify your org structure from miles away with the naked eye.  Of course by now you realize I’m being facetious and color coding the NCO’s and officers makes about as much sense as military scouts on a forest moon forgoing all attempts at camouflage.  By Episode III, the Grand Army learned from their mistakes and the toy-minded color coding designated units and not ranks.  They also learned the value of camouflage, but it’s a lesson they’d forget three movies later.

So all of this brings us to the Clone Trooper Sergeant figure from the better-than-expected inaugural wave of the 3.75” Black Series.  There’s a very good reason not to jump into the review of this figure right away.  You don’t need it.  You already know this figure very well.  The core body has been released over and over and over and over and over again.  I probably even forgot an “over” in there.  There’s no real reason to delve too deeply into the figure itself.  You already know it’s fantastic.  The only things that differentiates the various VC45 based clones are the helmets, paint decorations, and accessories.  In the case of the Clone Trooper Sergeant, the only thing that is different from the base VC45 Clone Trooper is the paint deco.

The green sergeant designation on this figure is much more of an olive drab than the bright green on previous attempts at the Clone Sergeant.  Given my recent obsession with camouflage, I appreciate the minor nod toward a classic military color.  Also, this certainly seems more accurate to the on-screen model.  The green paint also appears slightly distressed on the helmet giving it a used look.  I’m not really sure if this is intentional or not, but it works.  From all the references I can find, it seems like there is an inaccurate paint app on the sides of the helmet along the band.  It is painted gray on the figure, but seems like it should be the same green.  At this scale, I’m not sure it’s something to fret about.

Updated Review:  Bret - 10/23/2018 07:05 AM

Sigh.

FREAKIN’ SIGH!

Chris is getting me back for all those stormtrooper and sandtrooper reviews I made him do.  Here is yet another “upgraded” clone using the VC45 sculpt, which Hasbro went all in on.  They were, rather quickly, making their way through the ranks of Phase 1 troopers, and then through the unit designations and commanders of Phase 2. 

If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that Chris digs this new sculpt, and I don’t.  I don’t like the thin limbs, and I don’t like the awkward ball jointed hips because they don’t make it easy to stand the figure straight up in a neutral pose.  Maybe it’s just me.  Maybe I’ve gotten too old and just can’t manipulate these figures into proper poses any longer.  It happens.  For most of my adult life I’ve been able to do a decent job of keeping up with toy and video game trends.  Then my nephew started talking about some nonsense called Pokémon, and I knew that I was old.  It was a little jarring, but who needs that weird yellow idiot anyway?  I understood Star Wars, so I was fine.  Taking pictures of these VC45 clones in a neutral pose makes me feel like Star Wars action figures are passing me by.  Maybe I should move on and collect the 5POAs, or go for the grossly oversized 6” monsters.  They seem easy enough to stand up.

As of today, Hasbro has taken that VC45 white phase 1 clone trooper, and repainted it as a Phase 1 Lieutenant (blue) and now here as a Phase 1 Sergeant (green).  Somewhere in their ever expanding “parking lot” of unmade figures, Hasbro must have the Commander and Captain ready to go on short notice.  There are still slots available in Spring 2019 that Hasbro can use on these 2.  Not sure what the demand out there can support, especially with a 41st Elite Corps (Coruscant) repaint on the horizon.  We keep feeling that the community is cloned-out, but Hasbro keeps ‘em coming. 

While I still am not crazy about the sculpt, the articulation is great for a variety of action poses (if you can get past the difficulty in achieving a neutral pose).  I will continue to give credit for the Phase 1 bucket, which looks great.  It’s the Phase 2 helmet used for the same body sculpt that Hasbro needs to trash and redo.  The sergeant comes with the standard DC-15A blaster, which is unfortunately absent of the silver details that were painted on most of the TVC releases.

Anyway, I’ve had it with VC45 sculpt reviews.  I hope we never see one again.  So stay tuned for my review of #12 41st Elite Corps Clone Trooper - a figure so badly done, it was nearly adopted as the Cleveland Browns mascot.

I’ll stick with Chris’s score, even though I’m not a real fan of this sculpt.

Verdict: No Action 

This had better be it for the Clone Sergeant.  There’s really no need to do much else, since apparently I’m in the minority on what to do with this sculpt.  I’d make the limbs thicker, but I’ve got plenty of previous clone troopers that I’m very happy with.  You can find these for good prices on eBay, so it would seem there isn’t much room for another release.  Let’s leave this one alone.  Maybe Hasbro can get around to updating the LT and CDR figures, although personally, I can live without them.

Verdict Guide:
Re-sculpt = The figure is not definitive, and a new version should be developed.
Re-issue = This version is definitive (or close enough), and shows sufficient secondary market demand to warrant a straight repack.
No Action = This release does not require new attention.