Clone Trooper 10-Pack (Five Marching & Five Shooting) Non-Licensed Import (01-23-2003)

Includes:
• Five Marching Clones with detachable heads and weapon
• Five Firing Clones with detachable heads and weapon

Each figure individually bagged with accessories and then polybagged in one single sleeve holding all ten

J: In this column you will usually find Spice and I 'pregnant-dogging' about the lackluster Star Wars product being jammed out of Hasbro's factories. Well, if negative rhetoric doesn't melt your butter, than surely something new (praise) will. Too bad we had to turn to a pirate supplier in order to have something to actually direct the kudos too!


Spice: From unnamed sources I received several shipments of these bootleg version Clone Troopers. I was told (by this source) Hasbro has done and is still doing everything in their power to shut down this rogue company that was producing them. I tried on several occasions to get the official word from Hasbro on these and never heard a word. So let’s see what they have no comment on. Collectors could care less, and diorama builders REALLY could care less about where they came from. General J and I will go into detail on these seeing as many sites opted not to give them more than sales plugs for the few unlicensed Hasbro dealers that were trying to sell them.

J: A lot of collectors have thrown up their hands conceding when faced with the dichotomy of this bootlegged Clone product. On one hand, here you have decent army-building replicas at a very fair price. On the other is the dogmatic impression that if it isn't produced by Hasbro then it's not a true Star Wars collection item. Some fans went as far as scribing ardent web-petitions asking Hasbro to produce something similar. It really tickles me that petition freaks saw these as another reason to put signatures to paper! The question I have to ask is why? Let's face it, buying these quality toys isn't analagous to one cheating on his spouse. But some folks are still crying foul that if Hasbro didn't make it then it's not fair to them to buy it!

Hasbro would just as soon take an already used mold (e.g. "Sneak Preview" Clone) leave off the dirty paint job and call it good. In fact, with the recent rash of mold recycling, I'm probably right! Who needs that when a bottle of nail polish remover could do the same job for you. Instead, at least for this round, I will say good-day to the Hasbro money-making machine and seek out the illegally-smuggled goods. Let's not be unbiased though, We're going to scrutinize the details on these Hong Kong Clones just as closely as we do the 'Official' products coming out of Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Click thumbnail for large image Spice: I will begin with the figure I liked lesser of the two. This would be the one similar to the Sneak Preview figure from the Power of the Jedi series. First off the best pose for this one is aboard a Republic Gunship, it is really cool, and hey not dirty yet, you can’t beat that for less than four dollars! These figures have no articulation from the waist down, the heads turn and the arms move. This version does stand quite well and holds his weapon fairly easily. The only real difference I see is the larger dimensions the figures have (fatter) and the G.I. Joe-like weapons that are included in every baggie. The chest is slightly different from the real deal as well.

J: You also don't get the always-exciting (sic) blue-burst Saga packaging, just individual polybagged figures in one long plastic sleeve. Of course, why pay six dollars a figure when you can get these effectively for under three bucks a piece. I say spare the bubble and get more real product. Their heads are packaged unattached but connect to a peg sticking from the neck area. Don't be fooled, they fit up just fine, and if you want to use the loose helmets as a background object go ahead and knock yourself out.

Click thumbnail for large image This version of the Clone Trooper makes for a better Geonosis battlefield combatant than the Hasbro Clones. If you could get into the middle of the battle, I'm sure you'd see something similar to this guy rather than the "ready for action" posed, limbs all askew Hasbro versions. These figures here represent what one could see as a more "focused" warrior.

These figures can even boast blow for blow superiority to Hasbro offerings. The helmets look slighly exaggerated in some respects, but are still more accurate than earlier Hasbro Clones. You get a more accurate helmet, more accurate weapons, and, yes, the feet holes will fit your favorite figure stand as always. You get the impression that these "fake" clones are a little more basic than the official ones, but the simplicity leaves you with a more realistic and aestetic package. I say 'try these on for size."


Spice: The other version of this figure is my favorite, the marching style clone. With enough of these you can create the view Obi was catching from that balcony on Kamino, utterly amazing. With figures like Lama Su and the Clones children 2 packs, loose collectors have much to look forward to. There are drawbacks to this fabricated phony. The first being the way the feet are really bent on some (shipping?, who knows) but I had much difficulty getting these to stand on their own. The weapon was also an issue, this really throws off the balance. Most of all was the inability to stand inside the Republic Gunship with weapon in hand. It is simply too tall for the smaller scale figures that were made by Hasbro for this ship. The problem is Hasbro has yet to produce a Clone that will actually stand and deploy on the Gunship! None made to date will drop, remember Troops I have my younglings (ages 6 & 8) perform actual field test with these. They were just as impressed as Obi-Wan with their new army of 30.

Click thumbnail for large image J: They beat Hasbro to the punch here with the formation marching Clones as seen in the last moments of the movie, and earlier in the Kamino facilities as well. I bet diorama freaks would love these and I'm sure AC Pin has amassed dozens of these to populate some future diorama effort. So for any ideas even close to army-building, these pieces are more than 'a little on the nose.'

Oddly enough, these figures reinvent a pre-existing Hasbro tactic (which I call "the Collection 2" syndrome) and take it to new heights; they have succinctly stolen movie poses of the Clone Trooper and translated them over to plastic. The marching clone included here really hits me in the gut, I can almost hear the rifle clicking in his hands and feet hitting the ground in mid-march. Admittedly, you don't get a lot in the line of articulation with these figures, but, again, do you in an otherwise Hasbro Collection 2 figure?


Spice: Best thing yet is the price, at about 3 to 4 dollars, quantity being the factor in the pricing here troops. Simple the more you buy the cheaper they are what I was told. Bottom line with two more Gunships scheduled for release this year you may be saving your wallet a whole load of money when it comes to outfitting them with Fake Troops. I really think collectors will like these as much as I did.


J: I would rather stuff my Gunship full of these guys and let Master Yoda be surrounded by the best. They are a little taller than the already-released Clone Troopers, but this can be expained away by the awkward, limbs flailing poses seen to date. Don't waste the ink signing petitions to nudge Hasbro into making these, your time would be better spent doing odd jobs to pay for some of these guys. It's actually ironic that a cool product like this won't make it into the hands of fans, while Saga product clogs the pegs.




FINAL THOUGHTS:

	Spice - These would be a definite plus to any collector’s collection. You will not be disappointed. If you spent the eight dollars to have two in your collection it is well worth it. Hasbro may hear the cry’s of collectors and produce a ten pack for three dollars apiece. Yeah right. I’d say Thumbs up to the Fake Troops; they will do their job well, I'll guarantee that.
	J - Sure, they may be the scourge of Lucas' ever-vigilante crack team of copyright attorneys, but they weren't created in vain. Whoever is responsible for these, well, I give them as much credit as I would give to Master Sifo-Deyas for writing the order for the creation of the real Clone army!

 

Grades	J	Spice
Visual Impact	9.3	8.5
Detail & Paint	7.9	8.1
Accessories/Weapons	10.0	4.1
Articulation/Function	6.0	7.0
Overall	9.6	9.5

 

+	they fill a big void that Hasbro has neglected to fill thus far
-	they're unlicensed, so some collectors are furtive about buying these and skeptical of the quality
+	they're unlicensed, so those smart enough to buy are getting a great deal and a great product
-	a little cartoonish
+	they're still superior to the versions that Hasbro has made to date
-	If they were a little shorter they would fit in the gunship properly

(Figures made in Hong Kong by non-licensed manufacturer, imported to the United States)

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