Sculpt�4.5/5
At first glance this may seem like the Clone Wars Super-Articulated Clone Trooper with a new helmet and a built-in action feature, but in reality the sculpt appears to be all new or slightly retooled. As good as the SA Clone Trooper was, this one is actually a bit better in terms of the little details. The belt for instance, has increased detail in all the boxes and clips attached to it. On the flip side though, the belt is not separately sculpted like it was on the SA Clone, so it doesn't have that realistic layered look. But for the most part, the details look pretty much the same just slightly sharper. Lines and edges in the armor just seem to be cleaner on this new Clone. This trooper also has peg holes in his feet. They are the shallow type but they are still useful for more difficult poses. Of course, the helmet sculpt is all new and it looks great! It's very close to the source material and has good proportions and all the right details. It's nice to know that Hasbro got this helmet right on their first try. But is there anything wrong with the sculpting? Well, the hip area looks a bit too wide, most likely to accommodate the action feature's mechanics. On the plus side, having the legs set wider apart makes their range of motion much better than it was on the SA Clone, who had a tough time with sitting or kneeling poses thanks to his hip armor obstructing movement.

Articulation--4/5
The Clone Trooper has 13 points of articulation: ball-jointed head, ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed elbows, wrists, hips, ball-jointed knees, and ball-jointed ankles. Awesome! Despite having an action feature, Hasbro has managed to include almost every articulation point from the SA Clone Trooper! The only thing missing is the ball-jointed waist which is an important articulation point for creating more dynamic poses. But even without the waist articulation, this figure still rocks! You're still able to make plenty of great poses, and best of all, the action feature doesn't get in the way!

Features--5/5
The perfect action feature? It doesn't screw up the articulation, it hasn't affected the sculpting too much, and there's no huge button or other out of place activation button! It's the best of both worlds! Squeeze the Clone Trooper's legs together and his right arm swings up. Perfectly useful for quick-draw attacks, quick-pointing points, or scratching the back of a fellow trooper.

Accessories--5/5
Apparently Hasbro heard the complaints of not including the large blaster rifle with the SA Clone and wisely included both the regular blaster and the large blaster rifle with this new Clone. Like the big guns? Use it! Prefer the smaller rifles? They got you covered! Or you can go all out and have your trooper wield both guns at the same time. You also get two interchangeable shoulder pads, one plain and the other with a Galactic Empire insignia on it. I'm not sure how the different shoulder pads play out in the movie, but it's nice to know that Hasbro went through the trouble of letting us choose between the two.

Paint--4.5/5
This guy looks great. Clean job on the helmet and nice job on the armor. The black bodyglove areas are good too, but it could be better along the edges. I've seen some Troopers with some slop though, so if you can choose be sure to get the best one. In the future I wouldn't mind seeing some repaints of this figure with the various color schemes of the different troopers seen in the movie.

Packaging--4/5
I'm really digging the ROTS packaging. I love the color palettes that Lucasfilm's marketing department chose, and I think that the orange Star Wars logo is a nice change of pace from the silver and gold iterations of the past. The shape of the cards also takes a dramatic step away from the rectangular cards we've gotten in the past. A large Vader helmet looms at the top of the card, looking down at the raging lava below. In the dome of Vader's helmet you can see an image of Obi-Wan and Anakin dueling it out and crossing lightsabers. The bubble covers most of the card and goes right up to the bottom edges of the card. The sides of the bubble are taped to the back of the card which makes it slightly hard to get the figure out of the package in a hurry, but MOC'ers will have nothing to worry about. After opening a couple of figures, I was beginning to miss the old packages that I could just tear into without having to worry about sticky tape. There's also a nice layered effect with the use of two cardboard inserts within the bubble featuring the Star Wars logo and a photo of the character. The cardbacks are likewise well designed with perhaps the best cardback layout design I've seen in years. There a nice photo of the character from the movie, a short description of the character, a photo of the actual toy, and nice cross-sell imagery to get you excited for the other toys in the line. Considering how much less space there is on these cards makes the design all the more successful.

Overall--4.5/5
Simply awesome. The fact that it is practically as good as the SA Clone despite the action feature is reason enough to want this figure. Great posability with an action feature that doesn't get in the way makes for a great figure for anyone, even for those who despise action features. Interchangeable shoulder pads and the inclusion of two different rifles was also a nice touch and only adds to the value of this great figure. And, this Clone Trooper's helmet fits on the SA Clone's body! Bonus!

Update: Hasbro has released a repaint of this figure as the red Shocktroopers seen in the Senate battle and Mustafar.

--Photos and review by Garett Yoshimura
garett@carrotnetwork.com