Sideshow Star Wars Yoda and Clone Trooper Premium Format Figure

[JeffSaylor]

Pint-sized Jedi Master lets his lightsaber do the talking and proves size does not matter...

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The Yoda and Clone Trooper Premium Format Figure is currently IN-STOCK at Sideshow Collectibles priced at $349.99. FLEXPay is also available for three easy to pay installemtns of $116.99.

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At the very end of Star Wars Episode II, fans got to see firsthand just how powerful the venerable Jedi Master Yoda could be in combat, ferociously fighting the renegade Count Dooku. Later in Episode III Yoda had a lot more action scenes, including a specifically violent encounter with Clone Troopers outside of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant (about 1:33 in). As he and Obi-Wan Kenobi dispatch the Clones guarding the Temple, Yoda throws his lightsaber with masterful precision, skewering a Trooper through the chest. With a flourish the diminutive Jedi leaps onto the Clone's chest to pull out his lightsaber before flipping in the air and going after his next target. This brutally iconic scene is captured with incredibly life-like detail in Sideshow Toys' newest Premium Format Figure, Yoda and Clone Trooper!

Following in a long line of Star Wars Premium Format figures, the Yoda and Clone Trooper statue is pretty amazing right out of the shipping box. It comes packaged in a very sleek black box that’s positively immense. The front and side panels are very simply decorated with a huge photograph of the statue and its name at the bottom. The back panel has a similar image surrounded by screenshots from the film of Yoda and Clone Troopers in action, with a description of the scene, characters, and the statue itself at the bottom. It's a very sophisticated looking box, and it really stands out.

Open that big box and you'll find a huge styrofoam coffin sealed and marked by a quality checker. Within this safe shell are the components of the statue: base, Clone Trooper, left hand with blaster, Yoda, and lightsaber blade. Even without instructions the statue is incredibly easy to put together.

First, remove the yellow wrapper from around the base. Then stand the Trooper on top of it, fitting the post in his left foot securely into the top of the base. His hand attaches via a magnet, which is very cool. Yoda plugs into the Clone's chest via a post, while the lightsaber blade plugs into the lightsaber after passing through the Trooper's chest. Assembly takes hardly any time at all, so you can have your statue completed ASAP.

Fully assembled, the Yoda and Clone Trooper Premium Format Statue is huge! From the bottom of the base to the top of the Trooper’s head is approximately 17 inches, which is really impressive when you think about how tall it would be if the Clone was standing up straight. The statue rounds out at about a foot wide and deep, so it'll definitely need a special place in your collection. The base itself is a thick disc that's very heavy to balance out the weight of the statue (everything together weighs upwards of 16 pounds). The Clone stands on a finely textured surface that's broken up by bits of debris from the initial invasion of the Temple. On the underside of the base is the name of the statue and its handwritten edition number.

The Clone Trooper is a member of the elite 501st Battalion, tasked with following the orders of Darth Vader himself. That means, of course, that he has the unique blue accents on his traditional white Clone Trooper armor. The Sideshow Trooper here looks great. The sculpt is remarkable, with intricate detailing all over the place, particularly well done on the striated black bodysuit visible at the major joints, all of the cool bits and pieces on his belt, pistol, feet, and the great big helmet. As you'd expect on an item of this caliber, there's a great attention to detail and the finer sculpted parts really contrast with the smooth plating of the armor.

The paint job on the Clone is likewise top notch. There's a great shading difference running from the pure white of the clean parts of the armor through darker "worn" areas (there's a nice "used" effect on the entire Trooper). The blacks on the bodysuit, gloves, and blaster are deep and dark, and the blue is vibrant. There aren't a whole lot of other colors on the Clone except for some silver and gray details on the helmet and the scorch marks around the lightsaber holes.

On the other side of this duo is the fearsome Jedi Master Yoda. Relentless in his pursuit of the truth and saving as many lives as possible, the green alien really comes alive in this statue. The pairing reminds you just how small Yoda really is, as his whole body is about the length of the Clone's chest. Yoda is endowed with a tremendous sculpt that pays careful attention to his knobby, furrowed skin and stringy hair.

The expression on the Jedi's face is all business, with a close-mouthed, narrowed-eyes scowl that expresses no pleasure in the life he has been forced to take. Yoda's head, feet, and hands are painted with a rich green color. His hair is grayish green and his eyes are yellow, green, and black, while his finger and toenails are yellow and brown. Of course, this wouldn’t be a Premium Format Statue without additional materials, and so Yoda’s clothing is all fabric. This includes a dark brown robe (complete with Velcro belt) and an outer, light brown jacket. The soft goods are very flexible and look just like clothing, with an especially nice texture to the jacket.

Once you put the two figures together, the poses really mesh. We've seen on several instances that a quick lightsaber blow can catch its victim completely off-guard, and that's exactly what’s going on here. The Clone is essentially dead on his feet, slumping to the ground while still holding on to his blaster. The slumping body is eerily lifelike, especially the position of the feet and the head as the Trooper tries to look down and understand what is happening. Yoda on the other hand is a coiled spring of action, retrieving his lightsaber with a single underhand grip and ready to spring off of the Clone.

The other special feature of this statue is the lightsaber itself. The hole in the Clone's chest goes all the way through, so the saber blade is one long piece that actually pierces it. But that's not all. There is a hidden button on Yoda's chest that turns on an LED light in the lightsaber handle, thus illuminating the blade. Here it seems that Sideshow made a tough choice, and one that I agree with.

Initial descriptions of this statue said that the light up effect might be accomplished via a wall plug, which would've severely limited its placement in a collection and meant having an ugly cord snaking out of it. Instead it has the LED and a battery compartment in Yoda's back (accessible by a zipper in his outfit). The tradeoff? The light is not extraordinarily bright, and indeed it only really lights up between Yoda and the Clone as the LED is not powerful enough to light up the distant tip. I feel that light up effects like this are gimmicks, and while cool, are not going to be on all the time or the main focus of the statue. Instead, the statue looks great on its own, can be put anywhere, and for an added thrill turn off the lights and hit the button.

Yoda and Clone Trooper make for a very impressive statue that's definitely going to be the centerpiece in a lot of collectors' displays. It's incredibly dynamic and fluid, packing a lot of motion and life into a static pose. There’s bound to be some controversy regarding the graphic violence here (it does depict a lethal stabbing after all), but at the same time the piece captures a crucial scene from the film that exemplifies the fight between good and evil. Fans of Yoda and the 501st will definitely want to check this out, and anyone interested should remember that Sideshow's FLEXPAY options can help offset the fairly steep price tag.

The Yoda and Clone Trooper Premium Format Figure is currently IN-STOCK at Sideshow Collectibles priced at $349.99.

For even more images of this spectacular statue, CLICK HERE!


Review and Photos by Scott Rubin

Review sample courtesy of Sideshow Toys

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