Clone Trooper (442nd Siege Battalion) - TSC - Basic (SAGA 057)

Hasbro was clearly at an unfair advantage when they started planning the heavily promoted Revenge Of The Sith line. Perhaps they didn’t have enough access to the reference materials of the clone troopers (and other characters) that actually appeared in the film (courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.), but the line started off without a lot of the main or prominent characters (as well as including even more that didn’t even make it into the final cut of the film). At the launch of the Revenge Of The Sith line on April 2, 2005, there weren’t many clone troopers available to collectors that actually appeared in the film and subsequently made into 3.75” action figures. Some came quicker than others, but it would take years before all of the clone trooper battalions were available and in super-articulated status. During the Revenge of The Sith line, Hasbro cranked out three pre-posed Clone Trooper 3-packs in their popular Deluxe line (and a fourth set for a Walmart exclusive). The figures overall were a debacle and rendered useless by most collectors. But at the same rate, they offered collectors three more unique takes on the phase II clone trooper. Despite not appearing in Episode III, they were absolutely cool clones and most collectors were hoping that Hasbro would reinvent them into super-articulated status. After all, they all were based from concept art clone troopers that got rejected for the final version of the film. The great news is it’s now a reality to own them in definitive glory.

The 442nd Siege Battalion Clone Trooper gets its turn in the basic figure line and is developed from the ultra popular 2005 ROTS Clone Trooper (III 41) sculpt. As you already know, this is a great figure on all accounts and it honestly looks amazing in the 44nd’s color flashes. Essentially a green version of the Utapau Clone Trooper (SAGA 026), the Clone Trooper (442nd Siege Battalion) has a remarkable paint job full of battle-damage. The figure looks great, poses beautifully and looks generally incredible in your growing Grand Army of The Republic in your home collection. As cool as these clone troopers are, unfortunately, not much of their back-story has been developed in the Expanded Universe yet. Little is actually known about their role in the Clone Wars. Based on their appearance, we would wager they served gallantly to protect the Jedi and the fight for freedom in the galaxy. (As you can see, you’ll have to make up your own stories.) The 442nd Siege Battalion can be sourced however all the way to The Art Of Revenge Of The Sith book (which was also launched on opening day April 2, 2005) where sketches are shown of various clone trooper concepts that both made it and didn’t make it into the final version of Episode III. Unfortunately, many cool concepts were abandoned that we feel were some of the best clone trooper phase II styles we have ever seen. Thankfully they can be enjoyed and an Episode III creation vicariously through Hasbro’s action figure.

Hasbro really ensured that the Clone Trooper (442nd Siege Battalion) came with a very clean paint job. The lines on the helmet (and visor in particular) are clean and crisp and it’s important to make them this way because it really affects how realistic the figure comes across. Complete with 14 points of articulation, pretty much any pose you desire is possible. The figure comes with a removable antenna and blaster pistol and a personalized action figure stand. And in case you didn’t get enough of them with the first 50 or so basic figures, you get another repeated miniature hologram figure. (Kill us now!) Unless you’re building an infinite amount of chess games, we think Hasbro should have canceled the hologram pack-in premium after the first couple of waves. Or maybe a shift to the color purple would have made these a bit more interesting. But The Saga Collection is about the great action figures and not the silly pack-in stuff. In the same wave, collectors were also treated to another super-articulated clone trooper that first appeared in the 2005 ROTS Deluxe set. Hasbro updated the cool Clone Trooper (Fifth Fleet Security) figure too. The 442nd Siege Battalion figure may have not appeared in Revenge Of The Sith, but we think it is ultimately one of our most favorite figures in the entire The Saga Collection. That’s quite an assertion for a figure that was part of the last three suddenly announced “Repack & Repaint” waves before Hasbro released the 30 (77-07) line. We highly recommend this figure!