Star Wars The Black Series 501st Clone Trooper review – Archive series
I missed out on the 501st Clone Troopers the first go round as it was part of a four-pack. Not exactly conducive to army building.
My initial pickup of this base body was the Ahsoka Clone troopers. Thanks to the latest archive series branded this time as the 50th Anniversary Lucasfilm, I get another shot at building my favorite color scheme of Clones to accompany my Anakin Skywalker.
Packaging: This is more of an old school presentation of the Black Series figures with a gold gradient and a lighter greyscale image of the clones.
The bio is great as it explains the clones roles in the Clone Wars and the fall of the Jedi.
Likeness: Hasbro hasn’t needed to do a massive upgrade over the Clone Troopers used back with the #14 Attack of the Clones figure. Of course the helmet is changed, but that’s about it so there was no need to overhaul the design.
I’ve always liked the smooth panel layout of this figure so the armor plating looks like padding and you can clearly see the black interior outfit at spots.
Paint: To mix it up somewhat from the original 501st figure, this one has a battle worn paintjob. Most of that is reflected with the laser scorch marks and a dirty brown was around the lower torso, arms, thighs and shins.
There’s also some minor scuffing along the shoulder pads and the blue along the chest plate.
It definitely creates a less than pristine look and conveys that late in the Clone Wars vibe.
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Scale: The clone troopers should be shorter than Obi-Wan Kenobi and definitely looking up at Anakin and Mace Windu.
Articulation: Clone Troopers basically need to be able to aim, squat and get wiped out by droids.
This buck allows for easy attack poses whether fighting Battle Droids, Count Dooku’s special assassins or going after Jedi.
This body is pretty good on those fronts although it lacks the more modern articulation of the Ahsoka clones with the butterfly shoulders and wider hip joints.
The 501st Clone Trooper has:
- neck
- ball-jointed shoulders
- elbow (with swivel)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- torso
- hips
- thighs
- knees (double jointed)
- ankles
Accessories: Unlike the Ahsoka Clones, the 510st figure just comes with one weapon.
That’s the standard issue Clone Trooper DC-15S Blaster Carbine blaster. It’s a logical reuse from the original Clone Trooper figures.
Worth it? Thankfully there was no store exclusive upcharge for these guys so I was able to get the 501st Troopers for the older price of $19.99. They’re now up to $22.99…assuming you can find them.
For army builders, paying nearly $25 per figure is a tough proposition. Hopefully, Hasbro can figure out a cheaper alternative for clone army builders.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
The only bad thing about this figure is the scarcity of finding them. As one of the more prominent ROTS clone armies, it’d be nice to truly be able to army build these guys.
Where to get it? These were in all the retail stores like Target, Wal-Mart and GameStop. Your “best” option now is to hope more come in stock at Amazon.
Entertainment Earth has them up for pre-order with a September release.