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Clone Trooper (Phase I Armor)

May 22, 2011 | By Errex More

Given the popularity of Clone Troopers, it is no surprise to see them included in the Vintage Collection line-up by Hasbro. Oddly enough, the Phase I Clone Trooper had not been released up until the sixth wave of figures, but the en result is worth the wait. Up until now, the differences between Mk.I and Mk.II armor had not been particularly obvious in the action figures made by Hasbro, to the point that some of the releases we got in the Saga Legends and Legacy collections were actually kit-bashed from the original Super-articulated Clone Trooper released back in the 2003 Clone Wars collection with pieces taken from the Clones released for Revenge of the Sith.

From a practical standpoint, it made perfect sense, as the differences were minimal and the figures looked good enough, although for the release of this new Mk.I Clone Trooper (VC45), Hasbro went all the way to produce an armored figure that actually captures most, if not all, of the small details that really differentiate each type of armor.

On the torso is difficult to list precisely what these changes are because the shapes are very similar, although the angles and the volumes do change from one model to the other. The most obvious is the shape of the lower chest plate, which in the MK.II is almost a smooth curve, while on the MK.I it has a short straight segment just below the sternum.

On the legs, the differences are more evident, as the ridges on the front of the thigh plates are much more pronounced and the armor shows a lot more of the black under-suit than in previous versions of these Clones.

One piece of criticism against this particular Clone Trooper is that the legs appear to be too thin when compared to those of the older releases. I think that the proportions are screen accurate, it’s just that we have grown used to see the more stylized shapes of the later day armors.

Probably it is because this Clone has an entirely new sculpt, but the overall details appear to be much sharper, specially on the removable helmet as evidenced by the longer fin on top and the more defined ear panels.

The face sculpt under the helmet is also fairly good, even though the likeness is somewhere between that of Bodhi Taylor and Temuera Morrison, rather than being one or the other.

One thing I absolutely love about the Vintage Collection Clones, is that Hasbro is not cutting corners as far as articulation goes, and thus this particular Clone gets the full Ultra Articulated treatment, with:

• Ball jointed neck.

• Pegged hinge shoulders.

• Pegged hinge elbows.

• Pegged hinge wrists. Configured so each hand can bend on a different plane.

• Floating torso.

• Pegged hinge hips.

• Pegged hinge knees.

• Pegged hinge ankles.

And yes, there is not a single plain cut joint in there and all of these joints work remarkably well, which I find to be kind of impressive. About the only thing left to improve upon would be finding a way to add an upper thigh swivel, but for the time being this is as good as it gets.

This clone Trooper comes equipped with both the larger blaster rifle and a blaster carbine. Both pieces seem to be made from black plastic using newer molds and each one has silver painted details.

Even though this is a basic, plain white Clone Trooper, it’s actually a fairly impressive figure once you get it out of the package. Not necessarily one you’d want to army build with, given the current action figure prices, but certainly a worthy addition to any collection.