Taun We (Kamino Cloner) - SW [S - P1] - Basic (’02 #25)

A sole tiny saber dart was the first breadcrumb that led Obi-Wan Kenobi down the trail to a cloning facility in Tipoca City on Kamino. After some debate on whether the system even existed, Obi-Wan Kenobi took R4-P17 and his Jedi starfighter for a ride to where the stars were clustering on faith and discovered a very perplexing human-making factory. The whole sequence on Kamino was hauntingly mysterious. While the Kaminoans were forthright and honest, Obi-Wan Kenobi was so confused by its details and had great difficulty putting all of the pieces together. Why would a Jedi organize the production of clones? And why would a specific bounty hunter be the template for them all? Unable to see the proper scheme unfolding, Obi-Wan Kenobi reported back to the Jedi High Council his findings on Kamino. Unsatisfied, The Jedi High Council instructed Obi-Wan to bring Jango Fett before them to investigate these events further. We all know how well that turned out, didn't we? Before the chaos, one character introduced us to the Kaminoan species. The calming Taun We was our first glimpse at these creatures. And Hasbro made her a priority in the Star Wars "Saga" line.

Taun We (Kamino Cloner) is a very graceful creature. Her thin and delicate frame, coupled with her soothing voice, made her probably as eerie as she was likable. She showed kindness and respect towards Obi-Wan Kenobi, and we have to credit Hasbro for brilliantly adding these traits into a fine sculpt of her. Tall and perhaps the physical manifestation of what we epitomize when we think or hear the word alien, Taun We (Kamino Cloner) isn't nearly as articulated as we'd hoped. As a display piece, the figure is as perfect as you can get, except for one major issue. Taun We is almost unable to stand upright without assistance (and good photo trickery in our gallery). The back of the "dress" is longer than where the legs stop, thus creating an unbalanced appearance. We find this particularly frustrating because our opinion is that the very least an action figure should be able to accomplish is standing upright without the aid of a stand. It seems that this desire is often not met. If you can finagle this action figure in the right way, you can make her appear she is standing with a good posture, but you will probably lose your patience before you can make it work. It involves bending the dress and twisting her body. It isn't a very pleasantly assembled figure for sure.

Taun We (Kamino Cloner) comes with an interesting accessory. Although the character functions more like a tour guide, customer service representative, or liaison for the company than anything else in Attack Of The Clones, we find the inclusion of a clone chamber odd. We also see her title as odd. Doe she "really" clone humans? We think not. There are worker bees at the cloning facility doing all the hands-on work. She is merely, for lack of a better word, a guest relations representative on Kamino and a good one at that. The clone chamber is "empty," and we also find this tidbit interesting. Did Hasbro find it controversial to include a clone embryo, fetus, or a more developed baby, so they decided to add an empty container instead? That point is unknown, but since the Star Wars "Saga" line is for kids first, it seems as if the inclusion of a baby clone might have raised some eyebrows, generally speaking. Even moviegoers were slightly disconcerted to see an endless sea of clone babies in the facility in jars. It's understandable why a setup like that is controversial in a toy line. We would love to see an updated release of Taun We with more articulation and the ability to stand straight when displayed in a collection. But we don't know if that is likely since the Kaminoan is not that important to Attack Of The Clones' storyline.