Sideshow Collectibles 1:6 scale 12-inch Clone Troopers

So far I have 3 of Sideshow Collectibles 1:6 scale 12-inch Clone Troopers from the Star Wars franchise (Phase II troopers only appeared in "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith") - Imperial Shock Trooper (REVIEW here), 501st Legion: Vader's Fist Clone Trooper (posted earlier HERE) and Clone Commander Cody (most recent addition - more pictures HERE). As I'm building my own little Clone army, I thought it'll be nice to take a few pictures of the three of them together, so here goes :)

Having seen most of the 12-inch armored troopers from the six Star Wars films released by various 1:6 scale manufacturers - Hasbro has the honor of having released the first version of these 12-inch troopers; then there's Marmit and Medicom before Sideshow stepped in - I have to say Sideshow Collectibles Star Wars armored troopers from their Star Wars Military Series are the best by far, especially their version of these Clone troopers. If you have been following my posts, you'll know that I'm not particularly fond of the Phase I helmets and did not purchase any one of the Phase I clone troopers from Sideshow or Medicom at all.

Neither did I buy all of the versions of these clone troopers with phase II helmets that Sideshow has released, only those that I like and so far, it's these three figures and they certainly look good standing together.

Since Sideshow hasn't exactly nailed the art of painting heads / faces, it's good that they stick to these figures with helmets as it is easier to paint and they make them look good. I'm not too fond of the 1:6 scale Cody portrait / head sculpt that was included with the Clone Commander Cody figure either.

Sideshow also seems to have improved on the art of weathering the armor of these clone troopers. These troopers never rest for too long in their fight against the Separatist forces. Their armor gouged, dented and smeared with the mud of a hundred worlds, they are patched, repaired and sent back to the front lines time and again to continue the battle for the Republic way.

This rendition / depiction of the armor is all in line with George Lucas' dream / visualization of the Star Wars universe as dirty and grimy, unlike the many science-fiction and fantasy films that had come before, which featured sleek and futuristic settings (including Star Trek).

So what happened to the clones? In 11 BBY, the cloners of Kamino rebelled against the Galactic Empire by using their cloning technologies to launch a war against the Empire. This uprising provoked Palpatine, who had now made himself Emperor, to decide that an army of genetically identical clones presented too many possibilities of turning against him, just as they had done to the Jedi. Thus, it was through this radical reform that the Fett clones would gradually become overshadowed under a pool of clones from different genetic templates and many more birth-born recruits. [source: wookiepedia]

Click on this picture for a bigger and better view :)