Clone Commander Wolffe - TBS [P2] - Basic (#12)

Leader of the Wolfpack Squadron, the clone commander wears specialized desert gear on a mission to the sand-swept moon of Oba Diah to find a missing Jedi shuttle.

Clone Commander Wolffe may have been the biggest surprise for The Black Series 3.75” line to date. Hasbro was rather forthright about the fact that The Black Series line would be paying homage to the sixth season of The Clone Wars by providing collectors with realistic interpretations of some of the characters, but Clone Commander Wolffe (in his season 6 appearance) definitely wasn’t one of them. In an era where paint operations are pretty much in the toilet and the company who once held collectors as their first priority seems to have more interest in gaining a new audience, we are happy to report that Clone Commander Wolffe is a really nice breath of fresh air that stand out from the current cloudy future of the Star Wars brand. We say this knowing that Clone Commander Wolffe has a terrible tragic issue and it’s something that many collectors won’t be able to overlook. So we’re going to address the figure’s main (unforgivable) issue and then we’re going to talk about him like he doesn’t have it. It’s really the only way we will be able to make sense or reconcile the diametrically opposite opinions we have regarding the same figure. And yes, it’s making us nuts! Here we go. Clone Commander Wolffe is too short for a clone trooper. It’s a tragic nightmare. When compared to wave mates Clone Commander Doom (#13) and Captain Rex (#09) he literally looks like a shrimp next to them. Scale has not really been an issue for Hasbro for years, so we’re not so sure we will be able to understand why the issue is rearing its ugly head now. We have to admit that it’s a huge disappointment because this would technically be the greatest figure in the entire The Black Series line. And maybe it still is, but the short stature is a disaster.

Now that the cat is out of the bag, we can tell you that Clone Commander Wolffe may be one of Hasbro’s greatest efforts in a very, very long time. Let’s look at the sculpt and the approach to the figure. Remember the glory days when we would get a clone in The Vintage Collection that had ball-jointed articulation in every joint below the head? Guess what? It has returned. Clone Commander Wolffe comes with an astounding 27 points of articulation which means that aside from a ball-socket head joint, the rest of the place of articulation are ball-jointed. That is astounding in this say and age. We were sure that Hasbro would find some reason or reasons to “dumb down” this figure to save on tooling costs wherever possible. They’ve thankfully done nothing of the sort. What’s more, the articulation is worked in so incredibly well into the sculpt that it is almost seamless. On our sample, the ball-socket head is ever so slightly loose, but in our opinion it’s not the end of the world at all. The texture of Wolffe’s cold weather pants and skirt looks warm and toasty and gives him that important layer of thickness as seen in The Clone Wars episode. Wolffe’s outfit is very complex. The gracious addition of a soft-goods skirt is tricky to take off, but it is indeed removable. The belt (with holsters) also comes off cleanly with a faux snap, but admittedly Wolffe looks much too thin in the waist without it to remain believable. He also comes with a removable backpack and two DC-17 blaster pistols to fill the holsters. The figure is a beautiful design all around. Plus, it has a flawless center of gravity and can attain an excellent array of static and action poses.

But that’s not the best part about Clone Commander Wolffe, and not by a long shot. Would you believe that Clone Commander Wolffe may have has the greatest paint operations of all the figures in The Black Series 3.75” combined? We’re not exaggerating. That assertion nearly sounds like fiction doesn’t it? Again, after being browbeaten year after year with sloppy and inaccurate paint operations, we have to admit that it has been quite a powerful thing to be so wowed by this figure’s paint job. It almost seems like he shouldn’t even be part of The Black Series line. This is TVC quality. It’s very impressive. Clone Commander Wolffe holds a special place in Dave Filoni’s heart, and we bet that this action figure will do something similarly for collectors because it’s truly a standout gem. Clone Commander Wolffe has a beautiful white and grayish blue base color scheme. But the action figure has some of the most complex details in the shoulders and arms and ESPECIALLY the helmet. Hasbro was certain to decorate everything with a pristine steady “hand” and the final results are mesmerizing. When you turn Clone Commander Wolffe’s head to the left or to the right you can see the silhouette of a full wolf’s head (or whatever the Star Wars equivalent of a wolf is). This has been brilliantly accomplished. Not only did they need to draw the outline in the working area of the helmet, they also coordinated the physical structure of the wolf to correspond with the “facial features” of the helmet. We don’t think we have seen anything this marvelous done on a Hasbro figure ever. Yes, the figure’s height issue is borderline traumatizing, but if you get past that, you’ll see just how impressive this figure is. You should allow yourself that opportunity.