ARC Heavy Gunner - Unleashed (Exclusive)

ARC heavy gunners are a subdivision of the elite fighting force known as the Advanced Recon Commandos. Aptly named, these are the heavy hitters of the ARC trooper forces. They lead the way into battle and clear landing zones with their Z-6 rotary blaster cannons firing at any and all Separatist vehicles that cross their paths. Brandishing their chainguns with an unflappable calm even as a wall of assault tanks rolls toward them, the heavy gunners relish, as much as genetically crafted clones can, the satisfaction of turning hulking juggernauts into smoldering piles of junk. But the heavy gunners take no time to linger over their handiwork; they move on to the next target, and the next, focused only on their mission and leaving dreams of victory to others.

These powerful and meticulously designed artist-interpreted sculptures capture some of the most compelling Star Wars characters in their rawest and most electrofying moments. Their innermost emotions and essences are frozen in time with amazing artistry and detail. Collect them all for a stunning display of one of the greatest sagas of all time.

Who could forget the exciting opening chapter of Volume 2 of Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars when we saw Captain Fordo’s battalion bust out of the Republic Gunship to take on General Grievous. Perhaps it’s arguable, but the ARC Heavy Gunner stole the show. Between his cip-quad cannon and AT-RT Driver helmet, he was a unique force in the Grand Army of the Republic and a mainstay in the hearts of Clone Wars fans everywhere. Throughout the years, Hasbro had introduced this character into the basic figure line. Originally released in the extremely hot 2006 TSC The Hunt For Grievous Toys R Us exclusive Battle Packs set, this clone was making rounds in the toy line and collectors were thrilled. Knowing well the power of this character, Hasbro developed a version of him for the Unleashed line. In fact, it became the very final release in the entire Star Wars: Unleashed line. Talk about going out with a bang! Released as an expensive Entertainment Earth exclusive in 2007, the ARC Heavy Gunner Unleashed figure is a must-have collectible for not only Tartakovsky Clone Wars fans, but fans of clones in general.

Those of you who have been collecting the Unleashed line since the beginning may immediately realize that the ARC Heavy Gunner figure isn’t all that new. There are certainly new parts included here, but for the most part it a rehash of 2004’s Clone Trooper (and subsequent Clone Trooper [Captain]) figure(s). For the Entertainment Earth exclusive, Hasbro has tooled an all-new head sculpt, a new weapon and a new kama onto the existing Clone Trooper tooling to create a clone that matches the one we saw in the Clone Wars micro-series. Instead of a cip-quad cannon, Hasbro opted for a chaingun, which admittedly looks a bit cooler than the cip-quad cannon if you ask us our opinion. What’s more, it perfect fits into the ARC Heavy Gunner’s hands like a glove. We’re quite impressed with how Hasbro managed to tool a completely different gun to fit into the hands of the existing Clone Trooper sculpt. We’re very impressed with the final result. Hasbro also decided to paint the injured/dead clone as a clone trooper captain, although this character didn’t appear in the Clone Wars television show.

Where most previous Unleashed figures are known for the expertise in their paint operations, we have to conceded that we’re not entirely happy with how the ARC Heavy Gunner came out in this respect. The paint operations are quite sloppy in spots and completely missing from others. If you inspect the ARC Heavy Gunner from head to toe, you’ll see that there are spots that are completely absent with deco. We’re not exactly sure what happened with this release. We haven’t come across any that have had flawless paint operations. It’s quite perplexing. It is truly a shame that since so few toys come out are sourced from the Clone Wars anymore that we had to get the ARC Heavy Gunner painted this sloppily. It has wonderful moments and we love the sculpting of it, it is just that we wish more attention had been paid to its deco. We have another complaint. Whether it’s because it is Entertainment Earth or just because it cost more to make these figures now, ARC Heavy Gunner clocks in at a staggering $24.99. That’s $10 more than a general release Unleashed figure. Other than that we do have a soft spot for this release. It just isn’t perfect.

As a bonus feature to this review, we have provided the original artwork created for this Star Wars: Unleashed figure. Click the thumbnail to the left to see the amazing illustration.