2007 will be known as the year of the army builder sets 'cause not only are we fortunate enough to get one "battle pack" (7654 Droids Battle Pack), but we are also bestowed a Clone Troopers Battle Pack. All that's missing now is an Ithorian Battle Pack and my plan will be complete.
I kid.
A little.
In all seriousness, much like the Droids one, 7655 Clone Troopers Battle Pack may be light on the actual "building" aspect of being a building toy, but the value in getting 2 Clone Troopers, a Shock Trooper, and a Star Corps Trooper makes it a pretty nice army building set. Being that Clone Troopers are pretty popular, especially amongst the younger generation, this set will allow fans to amass huge quantities of the minifigs without exactly breaking the bank. My Star Corps Trooper had a bad paint smudge in the helmet which doesn't bother me too much. I like to think of it as battle damage. Oh hey, imagine that. Imagine if LEGO decided to release "battle-damaged troopers" of some kind. Neato. Anyways, other than the one paint smudge, the helmets look great. If they look bad in the photo, I'd have to point to the macro zoom's ability to enhance and blow out of proportion even the tiniest flaws. In real life, they're not that bad and hardly even noticeable.
The two small models you build are a gunner station and a speeder of some kind. Small on detail; not much to write about. But like the models you get in 7654 Droids Battle Pack, they would complement an army very well.
Aside from the nice assortment of minifigs, the other remarkable thing about this set is the inclusion of new weapons. 2007 will go down as a historical year for LEGO Star Wars. Up until now, any kind of blaster weapon that minifigs brandished were basically composed of the megaphone element turned around with a 1x1 round transparent red, orange, or blue plate stuck to it. It was barely acceptable, but purists who did not want to spring for The Little Armory blasters were left without a choice. If I'm counting correctly, you get three of the standard blaster and one rifle.
Three different types of Clone Troopers, 2 different kinds of new weapons, I'd be surprised if this set did not sell well. Those things alone would even make one look past the poor price per piece ratio. First Battle Droids, then Clone Troopers, I await my Ithorians. Oh, and I guess Stormtroopers would be nice too.
Price/Parts ratio: 2/10
Parts Selection: 4/10
Minifigs: 7/10
Construction: 5/10
Design: 5/10
Swoosh Factor: 6/10
Reviewer's Tilt: 5/10
Final Score: 4.9/10
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