Sideshow Collectibles 1/6 Star Wars Clone Wars Commander Bly

SSC continues it's Clone Wars line with Commander Bly, who most notably served under Jedi General Aalya Secura in the Star Wars prequels and Clone Wars animated series.

As with other Phase I and II clones in the series, Bly comes with a huge assortment of accessories, including a number of different posed hands, both styles of clone helmets, as well as an unhelmeted portrait.  There isn't too much to say about the figure itself beyond the fact that it is a generally well-made, and well-designed set with high production values, as are pretty much all the clones that Sideshow has released so far.  The bodies and some other technical aspects were partly done by Hot Toys through both companies' mutual design and distribution partnerships, and this shows in the great articulation and posability of the figures despite the armored nature of the costume.  As far as accuracy to the films and media, SSC has done a pretty good job of keeping with the look of the character, giving him his unique features like flip down visor/HUD and distinct armor colors and insignias while staying mostly within the molds and template of the clone figures.

If you're into Star Wars Clones, you're going to get this for your collection and likely won't be disappointed.

I chose to use the Phase II helmet, but you can also select from a Phase I, if that floats your boat.

Flip down visor and long rifle...check.

Can't really blame him, he was just carrying out orders.

Sideshow Star Wars Infantry Battle Droid Two Pack

I'm a big fan of the Star Wars Clone Wars animated series, as well as a fan of Star Wars in general.  While there have been some hits and misses with Star Wars 1/6 products over the years, Sideshow Collectibles has been doing a very good job with their Clone Wars action figures recently. 

Released the second week of January as part of their "Militaries of Star Wars" 1/6 action figure line, these Infantry Battle Droids are a surprisingly well-engineered product with over 20 points of articulation including telescoping necks, legs that swivel at the hip joint, and gripping fingers.

Nice box captures actual poses possible with these figures.

As with many SSC 1/6 scale toys, the packaging includes a magnetized flap.

The two droids are even able to replicate their "shutdown" state, all folded up when you first open the package.

I was able to secure the "EX" version with an extra backpack screen-printed with the number 1138, of course a reference to George Lucas' first film as a director.

They come with a pair of blasters and removable backpacks.

Overall, they're a pretty cool addition to any Clone Wars fan's shelf.

The only issues I have with these are the backpacks, which don't have a locking anchor point and thus are prone to falling off, and the stiffness at certain moving joints.  The latter may be attributed to the final process where paint may have dried into the moving parts, or else a general production side effect of plastics just being tight due to their newness.  It can make your first attempts at posing a bit nerve wracking as it can feel like putting too much pressure will break the plastic parts.  Just take your time when first handling, and you should be fine.

I'm pretty happy with these, and glad I was able to pick them up.  The price might seem a bit high, even for a two-in-one set, but considering these are all new molds and tooling, then it seems to be about in line for the R&D and production of a brand new, licensed product.

Halt!

I'm not sure if these are TV/film accurate--the neck seems a bit short.  Roger roger!

Sideshow G.I. Joe Stalker Bash

Just received Sideshow's 12" GI Joe Stalker Exclusive version figure about a week ago.  It's an excellent figure, but of course, I had other plans.  First thing I did, as I've been doing with most of the SSC Joes, is replace the body with a Hot Toys TrueType Advanced AA.  I used a spare Hot Toys Blade head, and Hot Toys Sergeant Barnes' boots.  The rest is all stock Sideshow, from the molded gloved hands, weapons, belts, pack, harness, drop down, knife and sheath, etc..  Overall I'm very happy and with some of the custom stuff I used, I have enough spare parts to start another Stalker or other military bash.

G.I. Joe Dusty Kitbash Continued

Added some more bits to Dusty.  One of these days, I might add the face camo.  >_<

G.I. Joe Dusty Kitbash WIP

Although I've been liking Sideshow's 12" Joe line, I had some reservations about their treatment of Dusty.  I ended up canceling my preorder and decided to just put together my own version.  Here's what I have so far:

New Pick Ups: Sideshow Duke Exclusive

I received the Sideshow Exclusive version of G.I. Joe Sergeant Duke this past Friday.  Although it took awhile to get to me, it was a good deal off eBay, so I can't complain too much  ;).  I have to admit, I didn't really care for it when it initially debuted--something about Sideshow's paint apps and sculpts just don't make a good first impression on me.  It might be my expectations now that Hot Toys, and other companies have raised the bar on realistic looking 1/6 scale figures.  However, since then, the whole set has grown on me and I decided to pick it up at my first opportunity. 

Unlike a lot of my figs, I unboxed him right away and immediately swapped out the body for a Hot Toys Sgt. Barnes nude.  I also added cloth boots (forgot which brand).  Geared up, I think he looks really good and would make a fine addition to anyone's collection.

New Pick Ups

Rec'd Sideshow Commander Cody today!  Really nice job by Sideshow IMO.  Paint apps are solid, comes with a ton of accessories, and it just plain looks great.  Will add more pics later.

Comes with three (3!) swap out heads, tons of posed hands including the iconic Darth Sidious holgram, and more!

Firefly Unboxed

Finally got around to taking Sideshow's Cobra Firefly out of his packaging and getting his gear together.

I left off the gaiters and (like I've done with all the Sideshow Joes) swapped the body for a HT TT male with cloth boots (good old Soldier Story CIA SAD v2s).

I think it's a great figure overall with a lot of interesting gear, and a slick look--perhaps one of the best of the Sideshow G.I. Joe figures so far next to Snake Eyes.