CLONE COMMANDER REX — BRACCA MISSION

STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION (HASBRO)

“Presumed dead at the dawn of the Empire, Rex operates in the shadows – helping any clone brothers who remain separate from the Imperial ranks.”

I haven’t reviewed a Vintage Collection figure since February of 2022, which is quite a while ago. To be fair, I haven’t bought any VC in that time either. I found myself experiencing diminishing returns as the price increased and the figures got more complex, but not so much more fun. But, well, there’s a new Rex, and he’s on my short list of characters that could get me to buy a VC figure. So, you know, that’s what happened. Thrilling, right? Well, let’s review this guy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Clone Commander Rex (Bracca Mission) is part of the latest assortment of Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Vintage Collection, which is a mid-summer release. He’s figure VC317, and officially hails from the Bad Batch sub-set of the line. I was intrigued by his “commander” rank, which he was granted during the Battle of Mandalore in Clone Wars, but which I’m also pretty sure Jesse stripped him of when Order 66 kicked in. I suppose with the whole Republic Army dismantled and the whole dying thing, Jesse may not have officially filed the necessary paperwork, so I guess Rex gets to keep the higher rank? It does at least help to further differentiate from the other two VC Rex figures (though one of those is *also* from Bad Batch, which just further confuses whether he kept the promotion or not).  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  Rex’s largely built from the most recent revamp of the Clone Trooper body, introduced last year.  It’s a good starting point.  The articulation scheme here is more in line with where the larger scale was a few years ago, which is good for range and stability, especially at this scale.  I found it much easier to get him into poses and also keep him standing than typically is the case with Vintage Collection figures.  That’s a very welcome improvement.  He gets a new head sculpt, which is just the helmet.  It’s a good recreation of Rex’s modified helmet from later in the show, improving even on the earlier small-scale Black Series sculpt.  He also gets a new pauldron and belt.  The pauldron’s a little floaty for my taste, but the helmet at least helps keep in place in a lot of poses.  The belt also gets a fabric skirt piece, which is much better for posing than the sculpted one from the earlier Rex.  It sits a little odd on the front, but generally looks okay.  Rex’s color work isn’t too bad.  It’s more on the basic side, going for a cleaner Rex than we’ve seen previously.  We do still get his tally marks, since it’s a Phase II model, and they’re nice and clean.  I counted 161 this time, which is down by two from the smaller Black Series…I think.  I may have miscounted on one of them, though, so don’t quote me on it.  Rex is packed with an alternate unmasked head, as well as his twin blaster pistols.  The head does get his slight scar on the temple, indicating it’s a post-Order 66 Rex, as it’s meant to be.  It still looks a little weird to me to have him with the Morrison likeness, but it is what it is.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Every time I’m tempted by a Vintage Collection figure, I try to remember that it’s generally not a line I’m super into, and that I don’t tend to enjoy the figures once I get them in hand.  As such, I wasn’t initially planning to grab this one.  I am, however, weak.  Once I saw him in person, I had a hard time saying no.  I felt like I was gonna regret it…but I actually don’t?  I don’t like the pauldron.  It’s floaty and the exact sort of thing that bugs me on this line.  That said, it’s a small thing, and the rest of the figure’s enough to offset it.  He’s actually a lot of fun, and a lot more sturdy than I expected.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.