Shortly after the announcement of the new Star Wars Black Series Galaxy Collection, four new figures were revealed as part of a mini assortment from the final season of The Clone Wars. The four figure wave would be a Walmart Exclusive in the US - and via the Fan Channel elsewhere - and yet would still be numbered and have the side art designed to line up with the general releases from The Clone Wars. The wave featured a new Ahsoka Tano figure, one of her 332nd Clone Troopers, a loyalist Mandalorian and one of Darth Maul's Mandalorian Super Commandos.
Packaging 4.0
The 332nd Clone Trooper is the 3rd figure in The Clone Wars series of Galaxy Collection figures and the box design follows the yellow colour accent for the Clone Wars releases. The figure is rather oddly named as 332nd Ahsoka's Clone Trooper - which makes sense in terms of what it is saying, bt is out of line with others where the regimented number may have been used in the figures title, but not the commander?
The art panel is in greyscale, but they have tried to show the pattern on the helmet. The Trooper is shown with his blaster raised while Clone Gunships fly in overhead. This image is repeated on the back with a short piece of background text.
"During the Clone Wars, a division of the 501st Clone Troopers pledged their loyalty to Ahsoka Tano, demonstrating this with their repainted helmets"
Like all Galaxy Collection figures, watch out for the numerous tape pieces holding the shaped box in check. The figure is accessed via the top or bottom flap and the tray and window slide out as a single unit with the window separate from the box to aid recycling.
Paint & Sculpt 3.5
When I first picked up the figure and saw him in the box, he looked so much like the older format Clone Troopers that I honestly thought Hasbro had not given him the newly designed body - the trick they had pulled with the recent Clone Trooper Lieutenant. Thankfully, it was just the way he has been positioned in the tray that makes him look the old figure. Once you have him in hand and open up the joints you can start to see the improvements.
These new Troopers from Hasbro actually have a cast head under the helmet - unpainted of course - with the helmet glued on top. This can lead to warping of the helmet, but thankfully mine was in good shape on arrival. The helmet is cast in white with the Ahsoka orange markings added over the top. There was some early commentary about how basic this looked, but in hand it is applied well and mirrors the pattern the Troopers have on screen. I love how it also finishes so roughly towards the back of the helmet recreating its battlefield application by the Troopers themselves. Like the Kamino Trooper that uses the same Phase II head, the helmet is a little to slim and straight and lacks the wider eye pieces and the rounder base as seen on the movie Troopers and the first Phase II figures. I can't see how this is because the helmet is based on the animated style because during Season 7 the helmets worn by the 332nd on the Clone Wars were also wider and with a broader visor.
The new Clone body is cast in more parts to remove the need to paint white over black or black over white and that means the lines are much crisper where the armour finishes and black undersuit is left. It also means no obvious variations in white armour where the painted part was much duller than the cast plastic. Over the white of the armour on our 332nd Trooper is painted the original blue of the 501st with shoulder pauldrons, chest piece and legs all marked with a blue colouring. Again, this is not a true sharp line or coloured panels but the edges are left rough and chipped.
The proportions of the new body have also been called into question by some with mention of how it is more stylised and aimed to the look of the Clone Wars show. I do not see this at all, and when you line up the new body with the old the proportions are pretty similar.
Accessories 3.5
The 332nd Trooper is armed with two blasters, the first being the DC-15S blaster carbine. This is cast in a hard glossy black plastic. And unlike the Kamino Trooper's weapon, we get some paint applied in the shape of a silver panel on the handle and a touch on the side of the barre further up.
The blaster looks bent, which is disappointing as the original Clone Trooper weapons did not have such an issue. When you do compare new with old you see that this is a new piece which is cast in a slightly smaller size but gains the bend in the process.
The blaster fits well enough in the right hand and can be held with the left hand under the barrel.
The Trooper also has the DC-15A Blaster Rifle to use. This too is cast in a hard glossy plastic which does seem to bring out more details in the gun than previous versions. There are no additional paint apps on this one. It too fits in the right hand with the left cradling the barrel.
This too is a new piece, and is again a touch smaller than the old one. We also have some marking differences on the barrell and the central panels as shown below. The changes on this one make little difference and I would have actually been as happy with the older version - but perhaps with a touch of paint.
Articulation 4.5
The new Clone Trooper has an articulation count of 18 points of articulation with the additions of the new butterfly joints at the shoulder.
Head : ball joint neck
Body : ball joint torso
Arms : butterfly shoulder, ball joint shoulder, single rotating elbow, wrist pivot
Leg ; ball joint hips, thigh swivel, single rotating knee, ankle rockers
The head has a good range of motion, sitting a little higher on the neck than the previous Clone body. The arms are now no longer restricted at the elbows - so even though it is now a single joint, it is much more responsive and can bend much further. The elbow pads are no longer fixed on the joint and are executed as soft plastic that moves over the joint rather than blocking against it.
The shoulders were also a previous issue where the hard cast pauldron struck the chest armour and stopped all motion. This is not fully alleviated, but the pauldrons are now soft cast plastic and can bend more against the armour as the arms move upward.
The legs now have a full range of motion with the hips opened up and a knee joint that can bend fully, albeit on a single joint. Kneeling poses are now available without leaning to one side. The knee pad, like the elbow, is soft plastic and floats over the joint and does not impede it. The ankle rockers are secure and tight and the figure will stand pretty well in most poses where both feet can be planted - you do have to learn to use the knee rotation to help keep the feet secure which is a little odd but this ultimately works and looks better than over turning the thigh swivel that then turns the thigh armour too far out.
Summary
The new Clone Trooper body is going to see some heavy use in the coming months, and as a fan of both the prequel and original trilogy era's, and as an army builder, I see no issue in that. The new 332nd Clone is obviously following on from the hype of Season 7 and is well timed. The helmet is questionable in terms of complete accuracy, and I still prefer the original Phase 2 helmets over this new version. My only other significant issue with the figure is the decision to make it a limited exclusive - a big gripe I have when any army builder is made a limited release.
With a decent paint job, good articulation and a nice new box to boot the 332nd has much to offer. The weapon changes are however an odd decision, and the smaller DC-15S blaster is worse off for it with that bg curve in the barrel.
I score the 332nd Clone Trooper a very respectable 3.5
About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, Star Wars, Black Series, The Clone Wars, Kamino, Clone Trooper