ARC Trooper - TLC - Basic (BD 53)

The elite Advanced Recon Commandos have received special programming that allows for independent thought. ARC troopers are used for exceptionally dangerous missions that require flexible, self-sufficient thinking.

The ARC Trooper has seen many action figure releases since his first introduction to us in the Clone Wars multimedia event. These specialized clone troopers were immediately embraced by collectors and fans alike and Hasbro has found a way to consistently get them out to us in one form or another to buy again and again and build our collective armies. While some of them may just been simple repaints, Hasbro has also created new or retooled previous versions as well making each unique and refreshing the action figure line time and again. And each ARC Trooper has been special in its own way. Since the ARC Troopers can be found across many Expanded Universe sources, it would be expected that the appearances of the various ARC Trooper action figures vary as well. And while you may assume that this particular ARC Trooper is a repack of ARC Trooper "Alpha" from the popular Comic Packs set that was originally released in 2007's TAC line, you would actually be incorrect because the paint operations are different, but it is certainly based on that one. This figure is obviously intended to be a more generic ARC Trooper as is evidenced by this new paint job and a completely different character bio on the back of the card (specific to the Tartakovsky Clone Wars micro-series actually). When we say "new paint job" we really mean that there have been significant changes made to this figure for its first basic carded release. First off, the blue paint used on the entire figure is a different shade than what we have seen before. And the blue lines found perimetrically around the visor as well as the blue line coming down the helmet to the chin have been significantly cleaned up. There isn’t any bleeding onto the white portions of the helmet and Hasbro has ensured a very sharp looking helmet by careful application of the color. It never surprises us any more what a great paint job will do for a figure. And this ARC Trooper has been amazingly improved upon since his original release.

On top of the different blue paint, Hasbro has also changed the combat markings and battle-damage. The patterns are different and the shapes of the marks are newly sized and placed throughout the figure’s armor. It makes this figure just new enough for us. ARC Trooper is the final figure in the '”blue phase” of The Legacy Collection. Obviously not one of the standard “new” figures in wave 7, it was intended to be a "greatest hits" type figure to allow for more figures to carry the new droid parts. Hasbro decided to move forward with giving collectors and kids more variety when picking up figures with droid parts. And we are thankful that they have included many figures never before available in the basic line as some of these choices. But to be honest, we have to include ARC Trooper in the “new” category. Hasbro has cleverly refreshed the figure just enough to warrant another purchase of it. And we believe this may be either to much chagrin or to much joy depending upon what kind of collector you are. (We are joyous.) The figure looks better than ever carded and we hope it may just find a place worthy enough to add to your collection. It is a great figure, loaded with tons of articulation, great design and color. And after all, he is a clone trooper and we all love clones. Just like the original figure from the Comic Packs, ARC Trooper is mostly the 327th Clone Trooper (from the original Evolutions set) with a whole bunch of new parts including a new head (when compared to the Evolutions figure - the head has been used on many figures since), calves, pauldron, and helmet. It is unbelievable how far this ARC Trooper has come and is worlds away from our first 2003 CW ARC Trooper (Grand Army Of The Republic) ('03 #43) figure. Technology can really be a truly stunning thing when it comes to authenticity and it is simply amazing how this technology works with artist talent to deliver top quality action figures. It seems that anything can be accomplished today including the tiniest accessories and dead ringer likenesses. It seems that nothing can block Hasbro from reaching their action figure wishes and goals.

The ARC Trooper may also look familiar to you outside of the similarly colored Comic Packs figure. Hasbro has reused it twice for 2008's TAC Anakin Skywalker/ARC Trooper (3 of 6) Order 66 (Series 2) TARGET exclusive set. (But the ARC Troopers were painted in red and yellow for those sets.) And they have been repacked in the TLC Saga Legends line as well. Hasbro is making every effort to get these out to us in large numbers. If you are a fan of the original Clone Wars series (or any other multimedia version of the original series like comic books and novels for that matter, you will for certain enjoy this figure. And we believe if you are a movie-only collector, you may just have a soft spot in your heart for this figure too. It is hard not to like the ARC Trooper – he is a progressive clone trooper and looks like he was just off camera in the films. That can be a lame claim, but we use it sparingly in our Research Droids Reviews and are sincere by that statement. He easily could have fit in the battle seen in Attack Of The Clones. If you are an army builder, then you have even more reason to pick up this figure. Only shipping in a remix case of wave 7, we do not expect this figure to hang on the pegs too long. All six “new” figures in the Attack of The Clones wave have been released in higher numbers than this figure (to the point of almost double). So we recommend not passing on it if you are to see it in a store. You may be more inclined to add this figure to your collection for the HK-47 part than Captain Typho (as they contain the same part). But whatever your choice, we have to say that both are tremendous action figures. Back to ARC Trooper, he is truly a great re-released figure and we are thankful that Hasbro changed up his deco a bit to make him new enough to collectors who “buy them all”. It was a small surprise to the basic figure line and he will likely remain the version of this character that will see rerelease into Saga Legends or the basic line as time moves forward.