Review – Star Wars ARTFX Clone Trooper Statues
While I was at the Diamond Retailer Summit a few weeks ago I got a look at the set of four Star Wars ARTFX Clone Trooper Statues that was on display in the Diamond booth. While I’m not a statue collector (we’ve been over this in the past), I do have a weakness for Stormtroopers (and I consider Clone Troopers to be a type of Stormtrooper) so I spent a few minutes drooling on these guys and then continued on may way.
I didn’t make it far before someone from the booth caught up with me and offered to send the display pieces home with me. This is the sort of thing that sometimes happens at shows as booths are being torn down; display pieces suffer dings during shows and a lot of times it’s easier for companies to take home as little as possible than it is to repack pieces and take them to the next show. So, before I knew it, the rest of my day was spent babying these as I went from the convention center to the airport and then headed home.
It was worth babying these guys for ten hours.
Captain Rex
First up is Rex dynamically posed with two blaster pistols (it is not at all uncommon to see Rex with two pistols, rather than a rifle, so it’s nice to see the statue suitably armed). Rex has one pistol drawn and aimed at an unseen target as he is in the middle of drawing his second pistol. The sculpting on this piece is remarkable, with every detail bringing home the style seen in the animated series.
About 7-inches tall, Rex is typical of the other statues in this series. Lightweight, built of some sort of plastic that I’m not used to feeling in statues, Rex’s coolest feature (and the others in the series share this feature) has to be the magnetic feet that adhere perfectly to the base. This means you can shift Rex’s position on the base and repose him from time to time. Sure, none of his limbs move, but this little bit of customization possibility means that not every display will look exactly the same.
Commander Gree
Next we get a look at Commander Gree, the green-decorated Clone Trooper in charge of the Elite Corps on Kashyyk. Gree is kneeling, with his rifle held at rest as he peers into the distance. The rifle is not connected to the figure, which makes it a little easier to transport this guy in a backpack and send him through security at the airport. It also makes the entire piece a little more durable, since the plastic of the rifle is more brittle than the figure so having the two separate allowed me to wrap the rifle for safer transport.
Gree’s paint is typical of the other statues in this series, and that means a lot, since his paint job is flawless. (Not exactly unexpected since these statues are $60 each, but the perfect paint is well appreciated.) With some light washes for detail, weathered and beaten effects on the colored stripes, and crisp line work, everything about Gree’s paint app is what you’d expect from an art piece. I may not be a statue collector, but I really respect the work that goes into these and I can understand why some people have massive statue collections.
Commander Cody
Standing tall, rifle aimed and ready for battle, Commander Cody fits in perfectly with the rest of the team and is obviously ready to blast something. Unlike Gree, though, Cody’s weapon is secured in place and cannot be removed. I’m not sure if this is how the statue is shipped, or if it was something done to this display piece, but the locked-in-place rifle made this the harder of the four pieces to get home safely. There was one particular incident when a flight attendant decided to try to rearrange my backpack in the overhead compartment when I thought for sure this guy was a goner, but luckily he was in excellent condition when I got home.
The description of these statues over at Diamond Toychest mentions that these come in pieces and must be assembled, so I’m assuming the rifle is actually a separate piece. If you get these, and have the choice, I recommend leaving the rifles as separate parts since it makes moving the figures a lot easier. I also recommend saving the boxes; if I’d had the boxes for these they would have taken more room in my luggage, yes, but it wouldn’t have been as tough to get them home as it was transporting unpacked pieces.
I feel lucky that only one rifle broke (a small piece came off) during the travel, which just shows how durable these statues actually are. Most impressive!
Clone Trooper
This basic Clone Trooper statue isn’t sold separately but, instead, is assembled out of parts found packed with each of the three other statues. So for $180 (the statues are priced at $60/each) you actually get four statues, each one roughly 7-inches tall. That’s not a bad deal for statues, especially statues that have proven to be as durable as these. Plus, these are Clone Troopers so they’re automatically a step up from most statues.
And the pack is removable, held in place with a magnet! So you can display the figure with or without pack, which is another customization option. Personally, I prefer the pack, so that’s exactly how my Clone Trooper is going to be outfitted on the shelf (just as soon as I find a shelf for these guys).
Each of the three statues comes with a stand (I mentioned that earlier, pay attention), and all three stands can be placed together so that you can display the four statues as a group. (Five statues, if you grab the AFX exclusive Commander Fox statue I mentioned last month.) The photo below deserves a closer look, since it shows just how great these guys look in a group.
Closing Thoughts
Statues. Damn, damn statues to hell. These things are way too tempting, and it doesn’t help my willpower at all when people are nice and give me absolutely amazing Clone Trooper statues like these. Durable, attractive, and minor customization options makes these a great collectible for any Star Wars fan who has fallen into the trap of buying statues. I really need to track down the kind soul at Diamond who gave me these, because I love how they look and they make an awesome addition to my Stormtrooper collection.
These are available now, from Big Bad Toy Store, Entertainment Earth, and Amazon.com. If you’re a statue fan then grab these now, because I have no idea how long they’ll last but they’re too cool to miss.
If you do not buy statues then run. Run far, far away. Do not buy a statue or else you will be forever cursed. And if someone gives you one of these as a gift then . . . well, do what you feel is best.
Philip Reed now feels like he should order that Commander Fox statue and add it to these four guys. Is that wrong?
I love these statues. I got the Jedi set with the Yoda build a fig. They are very well sculpted and sturdy. I love the magnetic base they hold firm and no pegs. I was thinking about getting this set. But I think I’m gonna go with the sith set first. I love general grievous. troopers eventually.
A little edition. They all come in pieces that you assemble together. The Jedis light sabers were all connected to the hands and they slid into place on the wrists. when you get them in the box they have 2 stands, the bases that you got with yours and a square star wars clone wars plate. One of the sets with the pack in for the forth figure comes with the extra base for the extra figure to stand on. I think my Anakin came with Yodas feet and his base. Do the helmets remove from yours? I saw pictures with Codys helmet off.
@Smack6102 – I haven’t tried snapping these apart. I’m worried that I’d break them. Are there faces under the helmets?
Codys has a full head sculpt in the pix i’ve seen. I just found out from starwars shop. When you buy them in the box they come with alternate heads without the masks that you can interchange. Good thing you didnt try to pull it off.