Sculpt--4/5
Here we have another clone trooper! But at least this clone was actually seen in the movies unlike the white clones Hasbro made throughout the ROTS line. Anyhoo, this clone uses the super-articulated clone mold (ROTS clone #41), so if you have that figure then you know what this figure is gonna be like. So why not a perfect score in this department? Well, there are just a couple of things that bother me about this particular mold. First, the neck is way too long...actually it's just the helmet that sits way too high on the ball joint. It sits so high that you can see the ball joint when you look at the figure head-on. I know that they did this to get more motion out of the joint, but it just looks a bit ridiculous and unrealistic. Second problem is the hips. The sculpt just doesn't leave enough room for the hip articulation to work well. You can get full motion out of the hip joints, but you can potentially damage your figure in the process. And lastly, the freakin' belt is still upside down! This little error has been known for a while. C'mon Hasbro, just fix it already!

Articulation--4.5/5
The clone has 14 points of articulation: ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed elbows, wrists, ball-jointed mid-section, hips, ball-jointed knees, and ball-jointed ankles. You can't get much better than that these days, but the problem with the hip joints keeps this figure from getting a perfect score. Ball-jointed hips would solve the problem me thinks.

Accessories--3/5
You get the standard clone blaster, the antenna thing, and a unique figure stand. The antenna is removable, which is good since I haven't seen any Utapau clones with it (but who knows? maybe there was one or two). The blaster is standard stuff that we've seen plenty of times before. The stand has the figure's name printed on front and has the ROTS logo on the top surface. I like the stands. They're simple and effective and they do what they're supposed to.

Then we have the exclusive mini hologram figure. Each figure in The Saga Collection will come with one randomly packed, though it seems that good-guy figures will come with good-guy holograms, and bad-guy figures will come with bad-guy holograms. There are 12 different holograms in all, but so far I've only got 8. Boba Fett came with my clone, so I guess Hasbro classifies the clone as "bad guys". I have to admit that I was stoked that Hasbro was including a little something extra with their figures, but I kind of wish they weren't as action-posed as some of them are. But in the end, I'm glad they're there, and I like the way they've been integrated into the packaging.

Paint--5/5
Let's face it, this is the only reason we're shelling out money for another clone...okay, that's not true; there are plenty of us that will buy clones no matter what! But let's face it, we want this figure because he's a Utapau clone, and Utapau clones look cool. Hasbro did a good job here, getting all the orange marks where they should be, and throwing in some great battle-damage for good measure. Not only did they add black dirt marks, they also painted white patches over parts of the orange sections to simulate chipped-paint. Great job!

Packaging--4.5/5
The Saga Collection goes back to a more rectangular cardback and retains the edge-to-edge blister that Hasbro has been using since the ROTS and animated Clone Wars figures. Thankfully, the tape holding the edges of the blister has been reduced, so it is now possible to get the figure out without even dealing with the tape. The blister itself is more rectangular this time, but is still rounded on it's surface. This makes it a bit harder to stack the packages on top of each other, but if you store your MIB figures in boxes then this won't trouble you too much.

As for the actual card back, it tapers off a little at the bottom so that it is not truly rectangular. The front of the card continues the retro feel of the Original Trilogy Collection, but this time the silver lettered "Star Wars" goes straight off to the sides instead of creating a frame around the figure. This packaging also continues the use of a background image that compliments the scene or movie the figure is from. I've always liked this as you can potentially cut them out and use them as a background for displaying your figures. Plus, it just helps make the packaging feel all that more special and individualized. Another nice touch is the color-coded upper left corner of the card front which tells you which episode the figure is from. This helps make it easier to find new figures at the store and it has come in very handy.

The back of the card has a bevy of information. An image of the character from the movie is in the upper right corner while below it is a full body shot of the action figure. To the left is information about the character, plus little bits of data relating to the character such as "Mission: Rescue Han Solo". It's a nice addition and they're kind of fun to read. Below that are cross-sell images of other figures in the line. In the bottom right corner is a window displaying the included hologram figure, which adds to the cool factor of the overall look of the card. What can I say? I like this packaging, and I think it's some of the best I've seen since the Freeze Frame series.

Overall--4/5
Who doesn't want more clones? Utapau clones for that matter?? This is one of those figures that most people will need to have, and for the most part, this figure doesn't disappoint. We already know the shortcomings of the #41 clone mold, so all that's left to talk about is the paint, and this figure has done a good job in that department. Recommended!

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