"There's been a rebellion, sir. Don't worry. The situation is under control."
After the first batch of Star Wars Black Series figures from the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ Series, a selection of retailer exclusives were announced for release in the Autumn of 2023 filling in some gaps from the Kenobi series, albeit by way of variants and repaints as opposed to brand new Black Series figures. One of the first of these to arrive is Clone Commander Appo, a character from The Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith and attributed to the Kenobi arm of the Galaxy Collection via his flashback appearance in the show to the assault on the Jedi Temple during Order 66. Appo is number 16 in the Kenobi series and is the first figure to be released in window packaging since Hasbro reversed their plastic-free packaging decision. Appo uses the blue accent colour for Kenobi including the artwork on the slanted box side that sits into the wider montage between Tala and the upcoming Duel’s End Darth Vader. Appo is a Target US exclusive, and available via Hasbro Pulse and Fan Channel retailers in the UK.
The rear of the box carries limited detail of the character's appearance in terms of accompanying Anakin to the Jedi Temple during the events of Order 66. Having not been named or credited during the Kenobi series he can and does fit into other collections such as The Clone Wars, Revenge of the Sith or even The Mandalorian through the Grogu flashback elements.
Appo is created on the new Clone Trooper body with modular parts that reduces the requirement for painting and presents a crisper transition between white Clone armour, and the black undersuit. Over this crisp white armour are the blue markings of the 501st applied to chest, arms and legs with a weathered application to depict both the hand-painted origin of these markings and elements of battle damage with scratches and edge wear. The colour of the markings is a contentious decision by Hasbro as the blue is out of line with all the other 501st Clones released to date, having much more of a green hue within the blue. This colour is actually accurate to the costumes used for Kenobi, but not as we see them on screen after the lighting and post-production is applied. While the accuracy to the prop is applauded, Appo would have perhaps been best served with a colour palette in line with his fellow 501st Clones.
Appo features a removable Phase II Clone helmet, as was designed for the new Clone Trooper body and removing the helmet reveals the generic Clone head sculpt underneath. The fit of the helmet is about the tightest I have found in the Black Series, which does pose a paint rub risk going forward. The likeness to Temura Morrison - as he was at the time of Revenge of the Sith - is good, but the facial paint application is at a much lower quality than the other unmasked Clones, almost reverting to the pre-facial print decor with thick black eyebrows, simplistic eyes with limited definition and no facial shading. The painted hair is also not as good as other 2023 Clones and has unpainted flesh-tone edges on the front and rear of the hair.
Commander Appo features two weapons, the standard combination of a DC-15S blaster carbine and the longer DC15-A blaster rifle. Both are crisp in detailing but cast solely in black plastic with no paint applications. At the point of weapon deployment is the point you realise that Appo arguably has one of the best upgrades to date on a Clone Trooper - a reworked left hand with a trigger finger! Now arguably he doesn’t need it as much as a dual blaster-wielding ARC Trooper, but you can vary the look of the weapons with the option of either left or right-hand grip with the secondary hand supporting the barrel of either weapon.
Articulation comes in at 21 points of movement, all pinless and designed around the armour joints themselves. The arm motion is impressive thanks to wrist, elbow, bicep and shoulder joints including a butterfly shoulder with plenty of options for the two blasters. The legs are also mobile enough for kneeling poses by rotating the thigh section down so it doesn’t clash with the groin section. The aesthetics are sacrificed a little by way of the knee and elbow pads which don't bend with the joint and instead protrude outwards once the joint is moved - with a conscious decision to leave the knee pads unglued on Appo allowing you to pose these appropriately depending on the leg position an option previously denied on other Clones when the pad is fixed securely in place.
Commander Appo is a figure that has taken some big strides forward for the Black Series and future Clone figures with the return to a window box, the new left-hand trigger and the knee joints. It also takes a step backwards with the unmasked head and the quality of that finish vs. other Troopers. And there remains a question over the shade of 501st blue used. It is another retailer exclusive which makes availability difficult, particularly it seems in the US, and over-inflates the base price for a repainted figure to £2-£3 more than a general release. For fans of The Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith Appo is another addition to the Grand Clone Army of the Republic but badging him as an Obi-Wan Kenobi release feels like a stretch.
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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...