# 49 : Star Wars, Clone Wars - 501st & BARC Speeder

Another repaint of previous figures but this time a welcomed addition.
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Packaging
Like the SW Crab Droid, it's basically the same type of display box but with a different diorama. I'm guessing its Felucia in the background.
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D.S.A.
|Details|
"Clone troopers ride Biker Advanced Recon Commando (BARC) speeder bikes on scouting and escort missions. BARC speeders give the troopers greater range, speed, mobility and firepower than foot patrols. They prove so useful to elite units like the 501st Legion that they are soon made available to the entire clone trooper army."
|Sculpt|
Hasbro decided to make a correction in the sculpt of the helmet to resemble the animated C.W. series. I think they started making this correction with the 212th Clone trooper in Wave 4.
The blue decals on the trooper has also been made to match Captain Rex's colors(about time). I had 2 of the Wal-Mart exclusive 501st trooper issued last year. The color(see pic below) is nice but it just looks so out of place with their captain. The new helmet sculpt is the inclusion of the small gap at the 'chin'. This is supposedly where the breathing apparatus connects for space missions.
|Accessories|
DC-15 Blaster rifle
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Articulation
|Clone Trooper|
No changes to the articulation. It's still the same as previous basic white clone trooper.
|BARC Speeder|
It still has the same retractable landing gear and 'exploding' bike gimmick(trust me, just leave it at that. It's not worth asking)
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Fun Factor
I currently have 3 BARC speeders from the ROTS Treachery on Saleucami battlepacks. So it's really sweet to have it all lined up. Plus I can use Rex for the blue BARC speeder and the other 3 501st for the red speeders.
I didn't have a pic of them on the bikes mainly because of their leg stance. Their articulation(swivel hips) aren't exactly the best to use unless you want to permanently ruin your figures. But there is a solution to this problem(I think). The ARF trooper has a sort of ball-jointed articulation in the hips. So if you could swap these with the 501st, you're good to go.
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Overall
I'm glad I decided to pick up this deluxe figure. The BARC speeder is nothing new but the 501st trooper with correct helmet sculpt and with the matching blue decals to Rex is a worthwhile addition. I just hope Hasbro will decide to reissue the trooper in a single pack.

Score: ****

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# 48 : Star Wars, Clone Wars - Crab Droid

The LM-432 or Crab Droid is not the most sophisticated piece of machinery within the Separatist Droid Army. It's design is pretty straight-forward. Get a laser cannon and attach legs to it so it can move over uneven terrain.
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Packaging
This is one of the new deluxe figures for 2009. The box converts into a diorama or so I've been told. From the looks of it, the diorama is a picture of the planet Christophsis.
Once you've open the packaging there's not a lot of assembly and best of all, no stickers!!
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D.S.A.
|Details|
"LM-432 crab droids are armored infantry units that easily move over rough ground. Their legs work independently of one another, allowing them to move with agility and speed as they track their targets and take aim with their blasters. Also known as Muckracker droids, they threaten Republic forces on many planets during the war."
Personally I don't really recall seeing the C.D. in either the C.W. animated series or movie. Maybe I wasn't paying attention enough. I do remember that the first time I saw this droid in the ROTS(a bit smaller) and in the 2003 CW Series(twice the size).
|Sculpt|
The sculpt and paint is good. No real problem there. I especially like the scratch marks or paint scrapes on the legs. It looks as if the paint was really scraped off and the metal underneath was showing.
|Accesories|
No accessories though I thought a battle droid would have been nice. There is a push button at the back of the C.D. to launch the laser cannon projectile. Standard Hasbro stuff, no surprises there.
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Articulation
None of the legs are articulated despite the description as "Their legs work independently of one another". There is a button on the side that if you push continuously will make a sort of movement of all the legs.
A sort of crawling type movement. A decent attempt but it WOULD have been better if each legs had movable joints.

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Fun Factor
I'm not sure if kids will enjoy this figure. It's as dull as a figure can be. Don't get me wrong. I still like it 'cos I get to display the C.D. being attacked by my clone troopers.
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Overall
I don't really recommend this figure. It's nice to have if you're a clone army builder and you want to add to the Separatist army. 'Cos lets face it, the Clone Army needs something to shoot at while you're displaying them on your shelves. Still the lack of articulation really bugs me because it means we can't display them doing gymnastics and stuff. Lastly, there is the issue of price. This cost about AUD 30. Twice the price of a regular SW figure and less the satisfaction. If this had been a vehicle where you can put a SW figure in than I would recommend getting it. For now if you really want to add this to your collection I suggest you wait it out for a clearance sale or grab one off ebay.

Score: **1/2

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# 45 : Star Wars, Endor AT-AT Walker w/ Biker Scout & Pilot

This vehicle has got to be one of my fondest memory when it comes to toy hunting. I bought this last year in December. My family and I had just gotten back from Melbourne and I was disappointed as hell for not finding a single action figure. Well, to be fair there were a number of action figures but none that I was compelled to buy.
So the day after we got back I dropped by Target just to browse the toy aisle and I spotted the AT-AT walker box. It took me a while to figure out what I was looking at because it just looked out of place. The reason is because I had often visited this particular Target outlet and I've never seen the AT-AT. Plus, this is part of the Saga Collection which has been sold out for months. And there is also the issue of its pricing. On ebay this vehicle costs on average AUD 80(bidding start price) and not inclusive of shipping. This particular AT-AT was AUD 60! I was so ecstatic I managed to shout a small Homer "Wohoo!".
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Packaging
I've always wondered why Hasbro decided to go with the Endor AT-AT walker instead of a Hoth version. We didn't really get to see the Endor version in action. I mean if you wanted to go for the big bucks you'd issue a badass Hoth version that, even though it was issued in the POTF line(which I never got). But I digress.
The packaging is from the Saga Collection: Return of the Jedi(Episode VI).

I thought it was funny at first when I saw they showed one foot of the walker. The two bonus figures, not so much 'cos I'm used to it. But it doesn't really matter right?

(Pics above obtained from www.rebelscum.com. I was too lazy to go into the store room to look for the box. Well at least now you know I'm THAT lazy.)
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D.S.A.
|Details|
The All Terrain Armored Transport or AT-AT Walker or Imperial Walker was one of the vehicles used by the Galactic Empire to scare the crap out of the rebels during its reign. The overall design is pretty simple if you think about it. It's like a camel without the hump. LoL.
The feet have brown paint to indicate having walked on the forest ground of Endor or your backyard. The legs are a bit wobbly if you lift up the Walker but its pretty stable once it stands. If it does topple over, then it would just be true to the movie now wouldn't it? *snickers*
There is a little gimmick to this toy.
Inside the cargo bay there is a handle which you use to move the head. There are two compartments: the head or cockpit and the cargo bay.
|Sculpt|
The sculpt is more or less accurate with the movie version. With exception to the actual scale of course. We all remember how the Walker crushed the Snowspeeder in Ep. V. The foot alone was massive. Have a look at how big the foot is compared to the Scout Trooper.

In the movie the foot was at least 3 or 4 times the size of the trooper.

|Accessories|
Aside from the 2 bonus troopers, nothing. But I'm not upset by it. I'm just glad to own one.
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Articulation
The legs move at the 'hips', knees and foot. The head could be moved by moving it manually or by using the control stick inside the cargo bay.
The chin guns move and simulate firing sound.
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Fun Factor
A definite must for Star Wars collectors of all ages. I mean its just a must if you can grab one isn't it? Playing with it(not that I do...I swear!!) would just be awesome but if you're the buy-and-display type, then it will definitely be the topic of the day amongst you and your friends. Its like having a party and your woman is the hot babe with long legs. Your friends would oogle at her when you're not looking.
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Overall
I never dreamed I would be lucky enough to find one of these, let alone for a bargain. If you're looking for an AT-AT walker with some minor action poses and sound effects this would be it. If you want something purely for display I suggest you get a Revell AT-AT Walker.

Score: ****1/2

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W.A.R. # 41 : Star Wars, Anakin Skywalker's Modified Jedi Starfighter

That's one long title for a blog post don'tcha think so? But it's what the box says. From making droids to tricking out his ride, Anakin Skywalker should have had his own "Pimp my Starfighter" show on Tatooine TV.

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W.A.R. Contents:

• Packaging
• Detail/Sculpt
• Features
• Pricing

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Packaging

Back to W.A.R. contents

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Detail/Sculpt
When I decided to take pics for this review the weather was sunny and warm so I decided to have a 'photo session' outdoors.

The body for this Starfighter is taken from the Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor. If you went "The Delta-what now?", it's alright 'cos I did the same. I'm a Star Wars Fan but I'm not really into the technical details. If you are, you can find more info regarding this vehicle and other stuff at the Star Wars Wikia page.

The UpgradesWing Laser Cannons

Forward-mounted hyper drive engines

Stabilizers(the black triangle-shape at the tip of the wings)
Positionable Vector Thruster

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Features

• Opening canopy
• Retractable landing gear
• Firing Torpedo(by twisting the head of the astromech droid)
• Positionable vectored thruster
• Stabilizers
  

Back to W.A.R. contents

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Pricing

I haven't seen this for quite some time at the shops but I'm sure you can find it online. The thing with Star Wars figures and vehicles are that there will ALWAYS be a repack if you wait long enough. I bought it for AUD 40 at Big W.

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This is definitely a keeper. Having the normal version of this vehicle is alright but having a tricked out version is like having a Porsche on steroids. It's a shame this vehicle was mostly featured in the Clone Wars 2003 animated version. Which was also sadly destroyed by Asajj Ventress. At the same time, this vehicle is a repack of the 2003 version.

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Star Wars : The Clone Wars Season 2

Season 2 of the highly anticipated Star Wars, The Clone Wars is almost here. The preview was shown during the SDCC 2009.

As far as Star Wars fans are concerned, I'm sure we're all anxious to see the role of the Mandalorians in the new season. We also get to see Bounty Hunter Cad Bane as we were all expecting. That is surely one badass bounty hunter. Currently the new season is suppose to start this coming October.

On another note, with regards to the SDCC '09, there were a lot of new S.W. vehicles and figures unveiled by Hasbro. Some I admit are just repacks or repaints or whatever you would call it. I've surfed the pictures, courtesy of Rebelscum, and these are the vehicles I would like to see on my shelves next.

Corporate Alliance Snail Tank

Magnaguard Starfighter

Shadow ARC-170 Starfighter

Republic Gunship with fully closed blast shield doors

Wedge Antilles Red 2 X-Wing Starfighter

*All the pics above was taken from Rebelscum during the SDCC '09. For more pics of the Hasbro booth at SDCC '09, you can see them here and here.
Top on my list will be the Republic Gunship of course with the X-Wing coming in second(I blame the extra ladder).

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