Star Wars: The Bad Batch premiered in the Spring of 2021 on Disney+ and was soon followed by the first Star Wars Black Series figures in the Galaxy Collection format. After the first four general release figures, Hasbro planned a Deluxe Wrecker and a series of exclusive releases (Walmart in the US and via the Fan Channel in the UK). Clone Captain Rex was planned as part of this group and was numbered #06 in the line to follow on directly from Wrecker.
Due to a number of factors, both Wrecker and Rex were significantly delayed and didn't land on UK shores until January 2022. That had left us with a gap in our numbered Bad Batch collection with figures like Admiral Rampart, and Imperial Crosshair arriving first throwing the numbering out for a short time.
The Bad Batch series utilised a deep red colour accent on the Galaxy Collection box with artwork that combines with the figures on either side for a wider montage. The artwork repeats on the rear of the box, and to the side of this is a brief summary for Rex - although it remains generic and doesn't add any context to his role in The Bad Batch or on Bracca where they find him in The Bad Batch, Season 1.
"Clone Captain Rex served the Republic during the Clone Wars. He viewed military service as an honor, and he always completed his mission"
Out of the box we are presented with Rex with his soft goods robe. The body is the same as the 2017 Star Wars Celebration Rex / 2018 Wave 15 Rex. The armour is cast in white plastic the black of the undersuit and the blue of the 501st armour painted over the white. There are a couple of places around the joints where the joint is cast in black and in these instances, the white is painted on top which gives a poor coverage and leaves that looking a bit murky. This is not a huge issue on Rex as his time on Bracca has left his armour heavily weathered with a good level of grime added across the body.
Rex retains more detailed paintwork than the average Clone and all his tally marks are in place on his lower legs and on each wrist section. The helmet is an update to the original 2017'/8 figure. It remains unique to Rex in terms of recreating his welded amalgamation of both Phase 1 and Phase 2 Clone Trooper helmets. For some reason, a visor has been added alongside the existing sight finder. This is certainly not consistent with the Bad Batch appearance and an odd choice unless Hasbro were working off early concepts/ The helmet continues with the intricate paintwork with the Jaig eyes design and more tally marks around either side.
The helmet is removable revealing the Temurra Morrison head sculpt underneath complete with buzz-cut hair. This is the same head as used for the earlier Rex figures and it is treated with the photo-real technology as seen on the 2018 version to add realism over the head sculpt.
The likeness, like all clone trooper heads to date, is excellent and translates Rex from an animated series to a real-world setting very successfully considering we do have a real-world base for how he would look.
The helmet does retain the previous issue where the flesh of the head can be seen around the mouthpiece of the helmet where the chin is not quite covered.
The soft goods are new for this release of Rex to depict how he was seen on Bracca during his Bad Batch appearance. These are a tailored set of robes that go over Rex's head with two armholes and an elasticated midsection to keep it tight-fitting against the armour underneath.
The hood section is a different cut of cloth in a green finish and despite being shown as going over Rex's head in the promo images, it is stitched in a way that this can't actually happen - it just kind of sits up behind the head. This stitching also means that without the helmet to keep the hood in check it follows suit with other hooded soft goods in the line and sits awkwardly behind the head unless you turn it inside out to keep it flat against the body.
The soft goods are fully removable for those who are after a more traditional Captain Rex. The body underneath is fully painted and weathered and retains the soft goods Kama. They have however lost the pauldron from his shoulder to allow the cape to fit. That leaves him looking a little odd, and not quite accurate to the episode where Rex clearly had his full 501st blue pauldron on his left shoulder. While I can see why Hasbro trimmed it, a removable version or swap-out part should have been included for those grabbing this Rex as a Clone Wars stand-in as they missed the original releases.
Captain Rex comes armed only with his twin DC-17 blaster pistols. These were first sculpted for
the 2017 release of Rex and have been included with several Clone characters since. They are cast in black plastic with limited detail and no further paint apps.
As Rex uses the older Clone Trooper body the issue remains that the left hand is not equipped with a trigger finger to allow the blaster to be held correctly. And while Rex can hold a pistol in each hand the positioning in the left hand is off and can't be pointed in firing poses as it sits out of line. You would have hoped by now considering how often the Clone bodies are used that a left firing hand would have been an option.
When not in use the blasters slip into the holsters on either side of Rex's belt.
Hasbro have chosen to revert to the original 2014 Clone Trooper body for Rex, the same as the 2017/8 release. This means the arms and legs are double-jointed at the elbows and knees respectively and there is a broader range of motion - aided further by a slight reduction in the elbow armour we saw come into play with the original Rex to extend arm movement. The downside is the hips are quite tight with the shape of the thigh armour clashing with the midsection. This means Rex can't really kneel or sit.
Like the older Clone bodies, Rex does present with a few soft joints with a bit of play in most of them. There does seem to have been a strengthen though two with the old issue with dodgy ankle rockers resolved with a satisfying click of a ratchet as you pose Rex's feet.
Considering the context of his appearance it makes sense for Rex to re-use older figures and while the newer Clone Trooper body is cleaner in the armour panels and has improved leg articulation, this older version does look and feel more robust and doesn't suffer from odd floating armour around the knees and elbows when posed. Although I am not opposed to re-releases of figures, I do want a level of screen accuracy and I don't quite get the addition of a visor and the lack of a Pauldron option under the soft goods.
The soft goods themselves are OK, although the promised hood is useless, and I can't fault the paint apps with such a good level of detail on Rex's individual markings and tally marks. The weathering - usually an issue I flag on most Black Series releases - is well executed in this instance.
Rex's issue is that he is exclusive and like the other Walmart US exclusives for Bad Batch will be tough to find in the US and won't last long via the Fan Channel here in the UK and elsewhere.
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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...