“General Kenobi, Target sighted”
In 2021, Lucasfilm celebrated its 50th Anniversary and to mark the occasion Hasbro developed and released a number of commemorative products within the Star Wars Black Series tied into the various Star Wars properties that Lucasfilm have released over the years. This ranged from the movies themselves to books & comics, and to the animated series. The line rolled over into 2022 and in the Spring of that year presented us with our first Star Wars Black Series figures from Genndy Tartakovsky’s 2003 Clone Wars animated series.
Each of the 50th Anniversary figures was packed in special packaging, and for any figures that had an associated release at the time in the 3.75 inch Star Wars collections, Hasbro endeavoured to replicate this packaging giving us not only giving us more Kenner-inspired card backs, but also card backed figures from The Clone Wars and in this case the specific Tartakovsky versions. The cards are scaled up for the 6-inch series and are shaped with a Clone Trooper helmet design to one side. They are predominantly white in colour with black trim and a black Star Wars header logo. The character artwork, taken directly from the series, and the character name are an inserted header within the blister itself. While this ARC Trooper is named as Commander Fordo in the show, the Black Series release doesn't use Fordo's name directly. The only variation to the original card is the addition of the Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary gold logo to the top right.
Round the back we have the standard Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary timeline and background text as used on all of these 50th Anniversary badged products. Above this, we also get more character art and background text with an accent colour applied to the top section of the card and appropriate in colour to the character with our ARC Trooper having a bold red finish as per his armour.
Many of these Anniversary figures were tweaks or repaints, and the Phase 1 ARC Trooper is no different using the new Clone Trooper ARC Trooper body first released in 2021 as Echo and that has gone on to be used on various other figures since. The Phase 1 helmet is taken from the new Phase 1 Troop Building figure and features a sculpted but unpainted head underneath - albeit with the helmet glued in place. The proportions of the figure are a real-world interpretation of Tartakovsky’s animation and therefore despite the source material, our Clone Wars ARC Trooper is perfectly scaled and proportioned against any other figure in the line.
The armour is cast in white across the body with black joints used and also reflective of the Trooper’s body suit underneath. There is a skirt section in a softer plastic added around the waist featuring a blue/grey finish with red trim and then white over this is a second soft plastic belt piece inclusive of twin working holsters. This piece is cast in white with the grey straps painted on top leaving a little bit of an unsightly join where they connect to the white belt and packs. The same principle is used on the dual Pauldron which incorporates a fuller chest armour section sitting over the base torso. This is also a blue/grey finish with the chest piece painted white and red added to the left shoulder, a slightly muted red finish due to the grey underneath. The rest of the armour and helmet markings in red are painted neatly with no rough ‘hand painted’ look edges we see on the Phase 2 Clones. Further details are added neatly including indicators on the left wrist, and the full look is finished with the ARC Trooper backpack cast in deep grey with gunmetal silver painted segments.
The body is pinless which does aid articulation as well as aesthetics and our ARC Trooper boasts 19 points of articulation. These all work to a good standard and are as designed although the shoulders are partly restricted by the pauldron. The new body also uses fixed knee and elbow pads and these can start to look a little strange as you pose the legs and arms as they remain fixed to the upper section. This aside, our Trooper can kneel, achieve firing positions with the included accessories, and also work in more dynamic poses for display. The helmet also features an articulated range-finder which can pivot down on one axis to sit over the Troopers’ visor.
The articulation allows the Trooper to wield any of the four included weapons, a luxury for Clone Trooper releases of recent years. We have a pair of DC-17 blasters, black in colour and with limited detail considering their size. These are designed to sit in the twin holsters, and can also be held - although only the right hand gets the trigger finger leaving the blaster looking off in the left hand. We also have the standard DC-15A and DC-15S blaster rifles included. These are a newer cast with crisper details but still lack any paintwork. These fit in the right hand, with the left now used to support the barrel of each if a two-handed pose is required.
For fans of the original 2003 Clone Wars animated series or fans of the Clone Wars era in general, the ARC Trooper is a great-looking figure with good articulation and accessories. He presents a nice variation to the other Phase 1 Troopers we’ve seen to date and the shame is perhaps that we didn’t see the blue variant released. At the time of writing, the figure remains relatively easy to find and at a price equivalent to the original RRP. Carded collectors too will appreciate the retro look and packaging for display - although it appears unlikely we will see any more beyond the trio released in 2022.
Keep Track of all the Star Wars Black Series figures from Hasbro at our comprehensive
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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...