KASHYYYK TROOPER Elite Forces
30th Anniversary Collection Basic Figures
Item No.: Asst. 87500 No. 87544
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #0804
Includes: Display stand, blaster rifle
Action Feature: Flip-up helmet
Retail: $6.99
Availability: February 2008
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith

Bio: Clone troopers from Sarlacc Battalions A and B accompany Yoda to Kashyyyk at the end of the Clone Wars. When Commander Gree receives Order 66, he motions for a trooper to assist him in attacking Yoda. The trooper, like Gree, does not survive the encounter. (Taken from the figure's cardback. Wow, Battalions A and B. This is getting pretty ridiculous, don't you think? It's a freaking green trooper, you don't need to give us battle plans.)

Image: Adam's photo area.

Commentary: In theory, fans can never get enough clones so it was no big surprise that Hasbro went ahead and released this Kashyyyk Trooper only about a year after releasing a similar figure based on the Return of the Jedi Scout Trooper mold, but in camo colors. This will cause inevitable comparisons to be drawn, especially when it comes to issues of size and articulation. The first thing you might notice is that this figure is a few millimeters shorter than his predecessor, so if you have a bunch of the 2006/2007 model standing next to the 2008 model, but in an action-packed diorama setting you probably won't notice this much. Since the "scale" of Star Wars figures seem to change on a fairly regular basis, it seems next to impossible to define a definitive height list in the line-- enough things are way off that a few figures being the wrong size tends to be par for the course. It's unfortunate that a new version of an existing figure does seem to be a different size, especially when it's a trooper, but that's one of the many things you can probably blame on the manufacturing and prototyping processes.

As far as a toy goes, it's great. And as a collector's item, it's also pretty great. As a standalone figure, it does what it needs to do nicely-- which is to, you know, function as a toy. The figure doesn't fall apart easily and sports 14 points of articulation. What's really surprising is that he has this belt piece which is fully removable, and when it comes off, he can actually sit fairly well. How well?

He can touch his toes! I don't know if this is a first or not, but I know it's extremely uncommon. Most figures are unable to sit with their legs at a right angle, let alone at a point where they can, for lack of a better word, "stretch." Impressive! This means he can sit easily in vehicles like the AT-AP without having to distort, stress, or warp the figure in any way. This is a nice change of pace. The figure has a flip-up helmet to reveal the face, and a wonderful helmet. The figure's head seems appropriately sized for the body, and it's pretty gosh darned great. It could have been neat to see the new ball-jointed hip used, but the figure sits just fine as it is so it may be the best to just let it go and do what they did. It's a great figure to use as a pilot for your vehicles and a pretty slick trooper. You should buy some. I got 3 (so far) and will probably cap it there, but who knows. Maybe I should stuff these into the AT-TE. I like it and I'm sure you will too.

Collector's Notes: The only real notes to say are that the figure is brand new and has one variation. Packaged samples sometimes sport a sticker advertising for the mail-in Captain Rex offer-- and some don't. The ones with no sticker are the more common at this time.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 700: April 5, 2008