2009 Clone Wars Figures Wave 5

Ok, so here are my thoughts on all the figures from wave 5 of the Clone Wars line!

CW34 Clone Pilot Matchstick: Matchstick made his debut in one of the very first episodes of the Clone Wars, in the episode "Shadow of Malevolence". He died late into the episode as well. He has the original Clone mold as the Stone mold had not been created just yet, which means the articulation on him is the best possible. Detailing, he has an all-lew helmet, with a breathing tube attached to the helmet. Matchstick is the only pilot figure released who has a removable helmet, as Oddball, Goji and soon-to-be Warthog don't. On the top of his helmet, it's the standard pilot but in different colours, red logo and grey top. The detailing is also really coo, with those red lines, and those black zigzag shapes. The red lines are a bit off, they don't curve as much on the figure, but that's not a major problem. Other than that though, he just has the regular Clone body. The removable helmet is a nice feature as well. His acessories are the standard DC-15 blaster, and also a standard Z-6 Rotary Cannon. I rate this figure at 9/10, the helmet is a superb design, the only problems are he can't grip weapons well, and the lines are a little off, but it really is a great figure and should be added to your collection!

CW35 Padme Amidala: Padme Amidala debuts this particular outfit in the episode "Destroy Malevolence". Padme had been released in the Clone Wars line before, but in her white adventure gear in 2008. This one is her multiple-coloured adventure gear, and is much better and nicer looking in my opinion. She has really good articulation, everywhere good except the ankles, but they don't matter due to the knee articulation used. Detailing is good as well, very accurate to the look on the show. The hair design especially is awesome. My favourite detail is by far the purple/light coloured body design, it just looks fantastic on Padme. Her acessories are her usual blaster pistol, and some weird something which to me a bit like a odd rocket launcher with a mop attached to it. I rate this figure at the full 10/10, disappointing that there is no ankle articulation, but it doesn't bother me about this figure because it is so good anyway. Detail is great, one of the best Hasbro have done for Clone Wars in my opinion detail-wise. And I really like the head design as well. I hope we see a Scuba Gear Padme in the future, as that would complete all the outfits Padme has battled in.

CW36 Clone Tank Gunner: These Clone's made their debuts in the movie, where there are several on AV-7 cannons during the Battle of Christophsis. The articulation on this Clone is faultless, as it is not in the Stone mold, and therefore has all the articulation to make collectors happy. Detailing wise, he has a excellent thing on his chest, which is really cool and I really like it. he also has a small shoulder pad on each shoulder, the left of which having a logo on it, in white with the sign "V" on it, possibly for *Victory*. He sports a brand-new helmet, the most notable way to find out is to feel the back of the helmet, where it is firm/hard material. He has a nice paint job on his helmet, he has a sort of green triangle at the front, beside the grey area. He also has a mix of green and grey at the back of the helmet too. Acessories included with this figure are a standard DC-15 blaster, and also a Z-6 Rotary Cannon. I rate this great figure at the full 10/10. Articulation is awesome, detailing and paint job is superb, and he is a really great troop-building figure. A definite must have, possibly maybe more than one for the collection.

CW37 Ziro's Assasin Droid: These Assasin Droids protected the crime Hutt Ziro during the Clone Wars movie. All of them were destroyed by either Padme Amidala or the Coruscant Guard during a skirmish. Incidentally, Ziro The Hutt was once a confirmed figure for 2010, possibly as an exclusive, but was eventually scrapped unfortunately. The Articulation on this figure is almost perfect. As James Bond would say "Close, but no cigar". He has a brilliant rotating head, elbow and hand articulation is good, so is the knee. Only the ankle lets it down. It may rotate, but it doesn't bend down which is a bit disappointing. Detailing however, is simply wonderful. He has a lot of colour to him, mainly a mix of green and grey. He has two green *V* signs on his head. He has half green, half grey arms. Mixture of green and grey on the legs, though mainly grey. He has a nice red logo on his chest as well. Not much colour, other than grey on the back. His acessories are a standard Droid E-11 blaster, and a little plug-in thing that goes in his back where there is a hole. Not sure if that was in the movie, but it's in the figure. I'm going to rate this figure at 9.5/10. Nearly a perfect figure, but the difficulty in getting the ankle's to bend was a disappointment. Definitly a worthy figure to purchase though, like all of this wave.

2009 Clone Wars Figures Wave 3

Ok, so here are my thoughts on the Clone Wars figures from 2009 wave "3", except for the space gear Anakin and Ahsoka as I passed on them, but will get both in the "Cad Bane's Escape" battle pack!

CW20 Clone Trooper Denal: Denal made his debut in the episode "Duel of the Droids", from which the gear of this figure is based on. He later appeared, and was killed in the episode "Cargo of Doom" where he sported different gear, which appears in the same battle pack mentioned above. One of the best parts about this figure is the remoable helmet, Denal never removed his helmet in the show, so to get a removable helmet anyway without him taking it off is fantastic, even if he just has the standard Clone head on him. Articulation for this figure is excellent, in all the good places, even ankle, as this figure isn't in the Stone mold. Detail wise, he doesn't have much detail on him, so it can't have been much work on his detail. He has a customized helmet, blue lines on his fin, across the top of his black area, and down the helmet too. He has the standard 501st legion arms. Aside from that, he has the regular Clone body. His acessories are a standard Clone DC-15 blaster, and a jetpack. Both based off what he used in "Duel of the Droids". I rate this figure at 9/10. It's a cool new Clone to add to the collection, the detail is accurate and he has nice acessories. Only problem is that he can't hold his blaster well, which is a bit of a problem.

CW22 Cad Bane: Cad Bane made his debut in the season 1 finale, in the episode "Hostage Crisis". This was the first Cad Bane to be released, followed by a better articulation and designed one in 2011, plus in Clone Trooper disgiuse in a battle pack. This was at the time a pretty good figure, considering it was Hasbro's first attempt at Bane. Looking back over it though, it really is a really poor figure, now that they've well improved it. The size of everything, like the head, the hat is off. The articulation is absolutely apalling on this figure. I can't think of a Clone Wars figure with worse! The legs have absolutely no movement, it's movement in the arms is minimal. The detail is also pretty poor, the cloak's detail is wrong, the arm pads are off, and the head looks squashed in and inaccurate. The hat is also pretty poor. Acessories included are two blaster pistols and a sniper rifle. Hasbro tried hard with a quick release of Bane, but honestly, they would have been better off waiting a bit to make this figure better. I rate this figure at a really poor 3/10. The acessories are nice, and the holsters are a cool, but otherwise, it really is poor. The 2011 version is much better, and even if you have this 2009 version, I advise you to get the 2011 one as it is MUCH better than this one.

Lego Harry Potter 4865 The Forbidden Forest

Ok, so here are my thoughts on the Lego Harry Potter set in 2011, The Forbidden Forest.

Lego.com description:
In Forbidden Forest, Lord Voldemort and his followers have captured Hagrid and tied him to a tree. When Harry Potter enters the Forbidden Forest to face his destiny, Lord Voldemort attacks. Will Lord Voldemort defeat Harry Potter once and for all? Will Narcissa Malfoy betray the Dark Lord?

• Includes 4 minifigures: Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort, Hagrid and Narcissa Malfoy
• Accessories include wands, snake, owl, mushroom and spider
• Measures 5” (12cm) wide and 4” (10cm) tall.

NOTE: It lists an owl being in this set in the description, but there is NOT a owl in this set.
Mini-figures:
Harry Potter: Harry wears his school robes in this set, which is unusual as he wore his casual clothes in the movie. Also unusual as his casual clothes had already being made. Harry has the same hair piece as all the other Harry mini-figures since the line was revived. He has a decent face print, highlighting the scar and glasses. He sports a Gryffindor torso with back printing in this set.

Hagrid: Hagrid is in his usual outfit, like in all the other sets, in this set, He has a very well done hair piece, getting every last part of hair right. The hair can be removed to reveal a smiling face print beneath. His feet can not move.

Voldemort: Voldemort is the only regular sized mini-figure in this set not to have back printing. He has a really good face print, which looks really evil, as well as being a rare entirely white head. He comes with a cape, and a snake respresenting his, Nagini, is included. Voldemort includes a decent torso piece.

Narcissa Malfoy: Narcissa is the best, and is the only exclusive mini-figure to this set, She has a two-sided face print, one content and the other shocked. She has a brilliant torso design, which features front and back printing. She has a brilliant two-coloured hair piece also. Also, she has a nicely printed leg/dress piece.

The set: The other things included are a tree, which has four blue fire pieces, which you use to trap Hagrid by the tree. The set contains a snake, mushroom and spider for putting around the tree.

Overall: This is a very useful set to have. It contains an entirely new figure *Narcissa*, two figures in previous expensive sets *Hagrid and Voldemort* in a much cheaper set, and it includes a tree which could be useful for a diorama. I rate this set at the full 10/10. It contains a lot for such a cheap set at $11. An all-new mini-figure, two previous expensive ones in a cheaper set, and another Harry! The tree is a nice build, and I definitly recommend you pick this set up, it is well worth the money.

2010 Tactical Droid TA-175/ Armoured Scout Tank mini-rig pack

Ok, so here are my thoughts on the 2010 Clone Wars mini-rig of Tactical Droid TA-175 and Armoured Scout Tank!

Tactical Droid TA-175: TA-175 appeared in the Clone Wars episode called "Liberty on Ryloth". He betrayed his Separatist general, Wat Tambor, by stealing his shuttle as Tambor wasted time trying to get the last 'valuables' in. TA-175 is a re-paint of the 2009 CW46 TX-20 figure. The re-painted areas of TA-175 include the sides of his legs, just above the feet, the head, the chest armour and part of the arms. He has a logo near his chest, similar to TX-20's but in a different colour. The articulation is decent on this figure. His feet, head and arms are all really flexible. The only bad articulation is the stiff knees, but they're not too bad. His only acessory is the standard droid E-11 blaster. I rate this figure at 9/10. Detailing is superb on this figure, flexibility is good as well. Only blip is the stiff knees, bit it's still a really good figure and well worth getting.

Armoured Scout Tank: This mini-tank is a straight re-pack from another mini-rig, "Battle Droid with Armoured Scout Tank". It's basically the front part of an AAT (Armoured Assault Tank) taken away from the rest of the AAT, and with the cannon's on it's right side missing, but is still in a way, Hasbro's invention. You have to squeeze whatever figure you want to put in into a certain part near the back, so it doesn't fall out easily, or move around on the vehicle. There is also a handle for putting a figures hands on. It has a neat playability feature, aimed at the kids, where you twist the part at the back one way, which fires one of the rocket firing pieces out, twist it the other way, and it will fire the other way! I rate this vehicle at 9/10. The colouring and detail on it is superb, very reminiscent of the front of the AAT. Only problem is it could have used two more cannons on the other side, but it is still a great vehicle.

As a whole, I give this pack a 9/10. It's a very useful pack to have. It contains one of only two of the Tactical Droid's made so far. It also has a neat mini-rig which has only appeared twice, once in this, and once in another mini-rig.

2010 ARF Trooper Boil/AT-RT Walker mini-rig Pack

Ok, so here are my thoughts on the Clone Wars 2010 ARF Trooper Boil with AT-RT Walker mini-rig!

 

ARF Trooper Boil: Clone Trooper Boil wears this armor in the episode "Landing at Point Rain". Boil was the first ARF Trooper in the desert camo that Hasbro made. Boil has the standard Clone body, which includes all the necessary articulation, including ankle. Detailing, his helmet features a deco of that girl Numa, on the side of his helmet. He also has a red triangle on the top of his visor, as well as a blue line going straight through the middle of the helmet. Boil's ARF armor is very similar to the generic ones, except that he has yellow paint on his shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, shins, around his chest area, and a bit on the side of his ribs. ARF Trooper Boil's only acessory is the standard DC-15 blaster. I'm going to rate ARF Trooper Boil at 9/10. Artculation and detailing on Boil is absolutely superb, Hasbro have got all the colurs, positions and paint colours for the detailing is simply spot on, everywhere. It would have been nice to get another acessory with him, or a removable helmet, but that's the only downside of a otherwise fantastic Clone figure.

AT-RT Walker: The only AT-RT Walker appearance in the show was in the episode "Liberty of Ryloth", though it will be returning in season 4 of the TV show. The AT-RT Walker never appeared in the episode this mini-rig pack is based on, so it's deco's and all are entirely Hasbro's creation. The AT-RT features good movement and articulation in the legs, top and bottom. It has a very nice rotating cannon, which is good playability for the kids. It has a neat removable piece on it, right behind the driver's seat, which you have to push it inwith it's pointy thing into the hole on the AT-RT. It is very easy to get a figure into a good position onto this vehicle, which is good. The paints applications on this are really cool, and definitly make it stand out from normal AT-RT's. It has a yellow line going down the front of it, similar to the Waxer line on his ARF Trooper gear. The AT-RT also has a red triangle on it. It's painted in the desert camo, like the Geonosis troops. It has four yellow lines on it. Two at the front, near the cannon, and two just behind the driver's seat, although I don't know what they say. It contains two handles for the figure you choose to put on it to hold on to something. I'm going to rate this superb vehicle at the full 10/10. It's a really, really nice vehicle. Articulation on it's legs are awesome, rotating cannon is a cool playability addidition, and the paint applications and detailing are really outstanding on this.

I rate the pack as a whole at 9/10. Boil doesn't come with a removable helmet, but it is still a truly great pack for your collection, or for your Clone army. I totally recommend you pick this one up. Hasbro really did do a superb job on this one.

2011 Clone Wars Special Ops Clone Trooper/Geonosian Drone 2-pack

Ok, so here are my thoughts on the Clone Wars 2-pack of Special Ops Clone Trooper/Geonosian Drone, as well as an inclusion of ARF Trooper Waxer from the other 2-pack of this wave!

Special Ops Clone Trooper: This variation of Clone Trooper made it's debut in the episode "Landing at Point Rain". The figure of this Clone uses the original Clone mold, which is good for me as it's my favourite mold while the Stone mold sucks in some departments, but this mold rocks! Anyway, this Clone, like any Clone that doesn't sport the Stone sculpt, has ankle articulation, which is always a bonus. The design and colouring is great and I really like it. He has a red logo on each shoulder pad. The helmet is a new sculpt, with those sonic repelling devices used by Clone's on Geonosis to stop their sonic blasters. I really like the helmet sculpt, mainly because it's new, and differ's from the regular re-painted helmets. The only accessory with this figure is a usual DC-15 blaster. I'm rating this figure at 10/10. It's a superb troop-building Clone, detailing is spot on, and he has a new helmet variation! So I can find no faults with this figure!

Geonosian Drone: Like the Special Ops Clone Trooper, this figure debuted in the series in "Landing at Point Rain". It is always nice to have another new species as a figure and this is a great figure at that. All the limbs on this figure are removable, which is indeed a great playability feature. He has a decent sculpt and looks very animated, like a Clone Wars figure should. He has decent articulation on him. His head is a kit-bash of the head from the 2010 CW34 Undead Geonosian figure, but of course with a more 'living' look to him. Like the Special Ops Clone Trooper, this one is a superb troop building pack and well worth a purchase, maybe even two or three of this two-pack. The accesorie's with this figure are a neatly designed sonic blaster, and (Hasbro really went over the top with this) a tri-pod mounted machine gun as used in season 2 episode 5! I'm going to rate this figure at 8/10, Hasbro have done on a fantastic job, detail wise and accessory wise. The only blip, which is problematic, is that he doesn't hold either gun well, which can be a problem displaying him, other then that, it really is a purchase-worthy figure!

ARF Trooper Waxer: Like the figures in the other pack, Waxer had his ARF trooper gear in "Landing at Point Rain". Waxer is another ARF Trooper variation and probably my favourite ARF variation at that. Waxer has a ton of paint applications, all of which Hasbro have done accurately and superbly. As he is in the original Clone mold, he has ankle articulation, which is always a bonus for displaying figures. Waxer is not part of the Special Ops Clone Trooper/Geonosian Drone 2-pack. I got him loose from Ebay which is why I don't have the 2-pack he comes with. My favourite detail on this figure, is the yellow line in the middle of his helmet. It just looks great and really stands out on this figure. The paint application with Numa on his helmet is nice and very touching toward Numa. The accesories this figure comes with are a standard Clone DC-15 blaster and a also standard Z-6 Rotary Cannon. Very usual that Clone's receive these weapons with their figures. I'm going to rate him at 9/10, Hasbro have done an amazing job on this figure, paint wise and he looks great. I'm taking half a mark off as I dislike getting yet another Z-6 rotary, and another half because when you try to put the DC-15 blaster in either hand, it just moves off awkwardly and points in another direction.

New Upcoming Cad Bane In Denal Armor

Ok, so here are my early thoughts on the upcoming "Cad Bane in Denal armor" from the "Cad Bane's Escape" battle pack!

This is by far the best figure out of a pretty poor pack. It contains a re-pack which no one at this stage needs another of (Anakin), a re-paint of the messed up first space variation (Ahsoka) and the only new figure, which is this version of Cad Bane. The helmet design is good, only difference between it and the 2009 Denal helmet is the red visor attatched. This battle pack is based off the episodes "Cargo of Doom" and "Children of the Force". Cad Bane's clone armor is excellent and totally accurate to the show and is in the SA Stone sculpt which I have noticed, has pleased some collectors. This Cad Bane's face is different to the 2011 Cad Bane with Todo 360 in that the breathing masks arn't present and that the shape and size of this one is smaller. Cad Bane comes with a DC-15 blaster. The pressence of ankle articulation is welcome as well. The last point of interest is that there is a small green part on his left arm which is his blood as he was shot in the arm at one point when a bolt of his was deflected by Ahsoka Tano back at him. Right now, I rate this figure at 8/10 but my thoughts could change!