The LEGO Star Wars Clone Trooper Problem & How To Fix Them

[@JPOG7TV]

Lego comes off as a foreign company that you’d expect to do simple things but chooses not to with no good reason at all. They are like Nintendo but for toys. Heck the Mario Lego sets are proof of how weird their decisions are. Instead of giving us sets like the Sonic theme with mini figures, they made a whole new system which is just a glorified board game.

[@Toasted_Failure]

FINALLY someone who isint stupid

[@legoman2313]

I noticed this has gotten progressively worse these past 5 ish years. They’ve gotten very corporate and out of touch

[@LucyWest370]

I thought it was nintendos idea to make the sets so weird

[@JessicaTheEm]

​@@LucyWest370 I thought so too?

[@golden-jq3bx]

This video is so high quality, this deserves more attention

[@PenPlays]

Thank you. The best way to make that happen is share it with other people yourself. The more people who watch and comment, the more KZbin will suggest it to people

[@beuny426]

this Commander Fox looks like he was designed by the Lego Duplo designers

[@PenPlays]

Nah. The Duplo designers know what they're doing...

[@Revan638]

They just printer the legs wrong and the chest just looking at cac fox he is way more acutely designed and printed of course if you ignore the 360° printing that cac figures have

[@tovarisch3490]

I would like to remind everyone of the lego clone wars arc trooper set with an arc trooper which had a helmet with correct visor hole placement but a phase 1 style fin (To match the phase 1 arc troopers which phase 2 shaped helmets excluding the fin) I don't see why lego has not just altered the fin and added a few other little details to make it look a little less flat and shipped the helmet design.

[@nursestoyland]

Phase 1.5

[@kaleb749]

Even that’s a completely unecessary compromise. The visor accessory isn’t an immutable law of the universe, LEGO could make BOTH new accessories AND a new helmet mould for Phase II, just like they did with Phase I. It’s the only way they should be doing this

[@thevufamily9641]

Send this to Lego come on people This is tbh the best solutions to this situation I’ve seen

[@PenPlays]

It isn't that easy, unfortunately. But the more people share this around, the more likely it could get suggested into one of their feeds. It's always possible.

[@Revan638]

If cac can do that with the helmet the. Lego can as well

[@l.cressey6806]

Another thing that bothers me personally is how lego is mixing the animated and movie realistic clone trooper styles. You can more or less get away with it on the phase II troopers but it's too obvious on the phase I where we have the movie realistic helmets, but animated phase II style bodies.

[@prixplox]

For some reason, I just hate the movie phase 1 helmets :')

[@Goldenstripe941]

I for one like the helmet holes. I enjoy the customizability of them.

[@PenPlays]

Me too. It’s why I made the point I made in this video

[@laserbeamlightning]

Just want to say I really enjoy this niche you’ve moved into. You’ve gone in the direction of critiquing Lego’s strategy and I find that necessary in a crowded landscape of Lego KZbinrs who tend to accept everything and make the same complaints

[@PenPlays]

Thank you so much! I’m so happy that I’ve been able to find my voice in all of this. What’s also been important to me is that, while critical, I try and find a solution as well, or as best I can. Glad people like it.

[@laserbeamlightning]

@@PenPlays absolutely! Can’t forget that! I think that if there’s one little thing I’d add to your videos it’d be to show off the physical sets you’re talking about if you have them (you bring up so many sets that showing each and every one could get costly). Just for the visual audience members like myself but it’s not wholly necessary cause I still understand the point regardless

[@PenPlays]

You understand my situation greatly. A lot of these current sets I might not have in hand until a year or so from now, but discussion can still be made. I’ve been feeling perhaps I should apply to LAN for that purpose. Would be a means for me do just that with that kind of access.

[@laserbeamlightning]

I studied marketing too so I find your takes interesting in general and def know what it's like having worked for your childhood dream company (I did get an incredibly rare Lego set out of that gig actually funny enough) The NEED to accept you into the program haha @@PenPlays

[@moisessilva5647]

​@@PenPlayswhat is LAN?

[@mashedtomatoes1180]

I get that people dont like the helmet holes but i dont think it was a bad idea for lego to add them. With Lego being a product that you can build, customize, and excercise your creativity on, it makes sense that you can add a visor or antenna to your clone troopers if you want. Also I know it makes the helmet less accurate to the real-life counterpart but lego figures already obviously arent supposed to be realistic compared to something like mega bloks figures

[@Sashin-d8t]

They can still keep waist capes, and if they were going to take away an aspect of the clones they could atleast add one e.g arm printing on the clones in the battle pack which is more than fair given the 20 dollar price point

[@FabuBrik]

It's frustrating that LEGO has basically zero community management and interaction. The ambassadors in LAN do not actually advocate for consumers and fans but instead just shill products so they can continually get them for free.

[@PenPlays]

Idk who you are watching, but some do advocate for consumers. In fact most do. Anyone who feels otherwise is just jealous they get stuff for free. Something that they can still make deductions on as a consumer, considering most have spent years before as one.

[@Sashin-d8t]

@@PenPlaysI think brick master Harri is good because he is very positive but I think he finds it very hard to advocate for fans because he is scared of losing his membership. Solid brick is very good at giving a calm and thoughtful opinion. He is in the middle of MandR and Brick Master Harri

[@neptunemacaw3354]

i would like to shed more light on the printed kama issue. because the kama's rapped around the figures legs back and front, posing the legs would put stress on the kama's. this would cause short term wear, fraying the kama's. especially with how rough kids can be you can see where this is an issue. another good example of this is fabric skirts, which now either get printed or replaced with a plastic skirt. so its not just clone troopers. now the waist fabrics other figure are receiving are not quite the same, as they do not rap around the legs. which when posing the figure does not cause as much stress. for clarification i don't like the printed kama's either, but there is a good reason for it. i just wish more people knew.

[@PenPlays]

As discussed in the video. Wear is not a concern as there are current sets with characters that use fabric elements. Much like the print situation, even if there is wear during play, that's a given regardless of them being there or not.

[@neptunemacaw3354]

@@PenPlays I don’t mean to come of rude or redundant, but in my original comment I said fabrics that wrap completely around front to back. The new fabrics only wrap from side to back. Causing less stress on the fabrics.

[@legoman2313]

I appreciate presenting solutions instead of just criticism. I really don’t like how Lego has responded negatively by ignoring criticism while getting worse quality control.

[@TCPile332]

So to fix Legos problem with waist capes not being able to sit with you ive seen some someone I don’t know who did the KZbinr was, but he made a custom Lego waist cape in which you can sit down with on and walk. It’s connected to the legs and it looks really freaking nice.

[@neptunemacaw3354]

i wish more people talked about the storm trooper helmets as i see them as a bigger issue then helmet holes. go back the old ones were perfect. i haven't been able to find a single reason why they cant got back. also yea i would die for a knight trooper battle pack.

[@PenPlays]

Night Trooper Battle Pack just seems so likely now that they've designed one. Not sure if that'd be the place for Captain Enoch, of course, but I'll take an army builder. The Stormtrooper helmet is still very much in line with the oversized nature of LEGO helmets these days, and while there is a lot of negativity around them, they do have an impressive likeness, sans some proportions.

[@neptunemacaw3354]

@@PenPlays if Enoch is in the battle pack I’m going to lose it.

[@xhearthfirex6571]

Biggest problem is that we have too many Phase 2 Clonetroopers. People are too biased… I think Phase 1 is way Cooler and they should concentrate on making them !

[@Beed089]

I agree, but you realize that thats just creating the same problem for the phase 2 lovers. Honestly I think a mix of the two would be ideal.

[@ECHO_212th]

I’d think lego has concentrated more on p2 because is more rentable, the p2 are basically the icon of revenge of the sith (the best and most popular movie of the prequels) and if there’s a mix of both it would be more difficult to make an army of p1 or p2 trooper, have both of them in a single army would be weird and less “accurate”

[@xhearthfirex6571]

@@Beed089 yes i think so too but we got only p2s for years now. Last p1 were Clone Wars (and the Figure Pack). That’s just unfair man

[@xhearthfirex6571]

@@ECHO_212th but does it have more of a community and fans than Clone Wars ? I can’t imagine that because anytime anyone brings up Republic era people talk how Clone Wars was the best and the movies sucked

[@Beed089]

@@xhearthfirex6571 thats annoying too, is that the figure pack i wasnt able to even find anywhere

[@kaleb749]

Finally someone that doesn’t pretend Phase I visors just HAVE to be used for Phase II, that LEGO can in fact make new accessories

[@LiamNormandin]

I agree with everything he said because currently my commander For is wearing custom paper Kamas😅

[@allen0937]

I completely agree that they should have made a different visor for the phase 2 clones. They ruined the helmet just to accommodate the ugly old visor piece. One thing you didn't mention and is the main reason why I'm not collecting clones, is the movie/cartoon mixed design. I personally prefer the movie design for the helmet and the torso, and I think the mixed design doesn't look that nice.

[@PenPlays]

I hate to break it to ya. The reason they’re mixed is so LEGO has a consistent style that matches between them all. As minifigs are naturally cartoony, that’s not likely going away any time soon.

[@allen0937]

@PenPlays I think you are right 😭 I probably have to wait 5 to 10 years for the next update, or start collecting the old ones (that will be so expensive)...

[@Revan638]

Cac made a new visor with a print on it that fits the Lego clones with the helmet holes on it look great acutely

[@Revan638]

I prefer the realistic phase 2 version as well they did do great in 2014 with the 212th battle pack

[@allen0937]

@@Revan638 me too! Those old ones looked so nice!

[@sokolitonii]

thank you for the great info, what are your favorite phase 1 battle packs or trooper minifigures?

[@masterpig5s]

A rubber waist cape that clipped around the body could be a a solution. Easily removable when they want to be seated

[@Revan638]

The cloth waist caps where perfectly fine with no issues I mean they put Instruktions in on how to put them on in the first place

[@masterpig5s]

@@Revan638 Yeah, I was getting to the point of them being removed in a hurry by children

[@Daft_Vader]

You don't even need to remove the waist capes, they sit down fine with them on

[@_l1ghtsk1n_jesus_53]

The helmet holes really aren't that big of a deal to me, but The Printed on Kamas and the quality control issues GOT TO GO.

[@Squishyk9]

A storm trooper battle pack would be sick

[@LoftOfTheUniverse]

Idc about Rex having an oversized pauldron. Better than nothing lol or tiny

[@LLegaLLizeITxC2]

i hate the holes, on the old clone wars figures, the holes weren't as prominent from the front so id didn't mind them, but the phase 2 without look just 100x better

[@willbricksproductions]

This is a really good vid Honest

[@PenPlays]

Thank you, I'm glad you think so

[@smallpeicesofplastic6108]

Great video but you mixed up phase1 and phase 2 troopers but still provide a non biased look on this issue

[@unironicallyunfunny]

Honestly I prefer the old plastic pauldrons/kama's, they just look better imo

[@neptunemacaw3354]

if they printed the kamas on the side of the legs, they could show the pistol holsters.

[@PenPlays]

Holsters are something that LEGO has been very deliberately trying to avoid representing, even if the characters who should have the bear arms.

[@neptunemacaw3354]

@@PenPlays but characters like Indiana has them.

[@BBBLYap1]

The thing with the accessories, I think theyre fine. If people say theyre fine with the p1 having those visors then they should be with p2 having them aswell. The lego version is too long in both cases. But again lego proportions so I guess its fine.

[@correctopinion4708]

id be okay w kamas being printed on the sides of the legs. rn tho? its awful not even a kama xd

[@Revan638]

My biggest complaint with the new figures are the helmets holes the helmet prints the torso prints and the no cloths Those big mouth prints are not in the animation or in the realistic version except for Rex but his is just wird In general becouse it sould look like phase 2 mouth peace but it is not if we look at the other animation phase 2 helmets The torso printing lookes just way out of proportion for animation clones it sould be a bit smaller and realistic of course is way smaller Cloths where never an issue you even head instructions on how to put them on so you could just take them of again The helmet holes as said just put them where they would normally go instead of where no holes sould be even tho cac uses there one helmets they still got that right and print better the Lego dos Just put the holes in the right place and change the face printing so everything fits together

[@thekingofchocolate7265]

Fox has also white printed in the middle of the torso wher it should be red

[@spaceiscool7856]

As a dane, I would like to say that the phrase "only the best is good enough" is actually a mistranslation of the original phrase. The original phrase translates to: "The best is not too good." Which yes, is very close in meaning, but not the same. They're essentially saying that the phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is bullshit and you absolutely should keep improving, even if you're on top of the market.

[@LLegaLLizeITxC2]

I love Lego figures, but lego should do some basic research on the wishes and priorities of their customers. wouldn't that make them even more money?

[@PenPlays]

That’s correct! It also makes the product even better for the people who don’t care too. It’s a win/win scenario

[@hannesn2871]

14:30 Just rise the round part from the helmet just a little bit and than put the hole in it. That's not that Accurate but it's worlds better than the helmets as they are right now and if u make new attachment they wouldn't fit on the old trooper wich would suck.

[@neptunemacaw3354]

lego has proven they can do multi layer printing so light colors look good over top of dark colors. they do it all the time in lego minecraft. it baffles me they downright refuse to do it in any other theme then minecraft. well besides darth mauls head, that multi layer printed.

[@Greaper300]

Commander thorn should have been in the gunship

[@Martinez4thnlong]

Love the video

[@PenPlays]

Thank you, I appreciate it.

[@KCbricks21]

I wish Lego would make Kamas again, even if they wouldn’t be able to make cloth kamas why couldn’t they make plastic ones?

[@lemonynora]

Yeah the helmet holes are really icky

[@Toasted_Failure]

I see what you mean. But seriously is a minifigure terrible for 2 helmet holes? The proper way to fix the helmet holes is. Raise the holes that people would've wanted it to be on yes it will be inaccurate but what can we do to fix this problem? Remove them entirely DO YOU WANT PHASE 2 OR NOT

[@Tijsdr]

​​@@Toasted_Failureput the Helmet holes on the hole under it and redesign the visor or just use the Helmet holes for characters with a visor and put only one hole on the right spot for characters with rangefinders

[@Toasted_Failure]

@@Tijsdr once again another sensable person

[@Tijsdr]

@@Toasted_Failure i don't personally think the Helmet holes are a problem, I'm just trying to think about an optional solution to make everyone happy

[@Fishfiend6171]

Excuse me, why are we upset about phase 2 having holes but nobody is upset about phase 1 troopers, the community makes no sense

[@starmovies5523]

Is speak with my wallet, the last clones I bought where without the stupidly placed helmet holes.

[@madschtz]

“Only the best is good enough” is a mistranslation. The actual slogan is “the best isn’t too good”. Might seem trivial and maybe it is, but I do think there’s a difference

[@PenPlays]

I am very well aware of that

[@yoswag7380]

No more asking and let the lego group cook

[@tavionmcneil64]

I’m not really a fan of the double standard of Lego Star Wars fans. Nobody cared when the snowtroopers in 2022 didn’t come with fabric kamas. Everyone only started throwing a fit when the clones didn’t have them. I get that they don’t look good, but if you’re going to complain, don’t ignore the snowtroopers

[@PenPlays]

They didn't go ignored at all. That was people's biggest complain with them.

[@tavionmcneil64]

@@PenPlays I've rarely seen anyone talk about Snowtroopers. It's always the Clones

[@kaleb749]

Probably because clones are currently in production

[@tavionmcneil64]

@@kaleb749 This was two years ago. 3 months before the Republic Fighter Tank with the clone commander

[@nofacedgoldfish6216]

What I find hilarious is that because the official images of the range finders on the helmets have them in the correct position, this implies Lego would rather use photoshop to false advertise than actually put holes for the finders. Greedy companies do be greedy.

[@Masonthebrickboy]

The reason they added helmet holes is because without the helmet holes and accessories is because it limits kids creativity to making there own figures

[@PenPlays]

Please watch the whole video in its entirety. This is covered

[@Masonthebrickboy]

@@PenPlays Sorry 😅 too quick to assume things!

[@PenPlays]

@@Masonthebrickboy My goal was always to touch all important bases. One absolutely cannot forget the kids in this situation. But we both can be happy with a final result too!

[@CloneCommanderCrater1102]

Lego didn't try to convince people that the commander was a pilot, and this belief that they did is just idiotic. Not a single piece of official material of the clone commander listed him as a pilot, he was always correctly listed as a commander. There is only one single instance of him being referred to as a pilot, and that was by the designer saying that he could *double* as a pilot, in the designer video.

[@PenPlays]

Saying it doubles as a pilot is convincing people that it’s a pilot.

[@CloneCommanderCrater1102]

@PenPlays It was a single time and was a mistake. They weren't trying to convince people, it was just the designer misunderstanding the differences between clone types.

[@SamMfjcjfk]

i dont care about any of the flaws i think people should stop being so sensitive about the littlest things

[@Sashin-d8t]

Lego is billion dollar company, and they can’t get the one p2 commander Fox they have ever done right. All they had to do was look at some concept art as for kamas I think they are just greedy. The kamas didn’t stop u from sitting the clones down and if them wearing down was really a problem they could use another material, and they could even do both and leave the option for a physical kama

[@AkarisRamen]

The printed kama is ok looking I guess

[@Toasted_Failure]

Printed kama sucks huh?

[@McDonaldsSpriteBeLike]

Why dont people understand that the holes are in this place so that the Accessoires fit exactly on top of the lenses if they were lower it wouldn't fit

[@PenPlays]

Did you watch the whole video?

[@McDonaldsSpriteBeLike]

@@PenPlays I did

[@Averageman902]

@@McDonaldsSpriteBeLikeThe problem is that some don’t have any accessories, but they still have the holes. It just looks weird.

[@vast9467]

you do realize that the holes already in the helmet can be moved?

[@prixplox]

They do. He said that in the video.

[@Toasted_Failure]

I don't believe lego is JUST a kids toy. Am just more pissed people Complain that helmet holes suck and are EXTREMLY biased

[@PenPlays]

You'd be shocked to find people don't think they just outright suck, and are rather just complaining about their location. They just struggle to articulate that properly. Most get why they're there, but they could just be applied better.

[@Toasted_Failure]

@@PenPlays yes I agree. I don't have a problem if people didint complain as if. IT'S THE END OF LEGO KILL THEY'RE CEO.

[@LaraPosting]

I do not want a stormtrooper battle pack with the new helmets, they're so ugly and bad, hate em

[@AkarisRamen]

Printed wastecape🤮

[@Toasted_Failure]

You contridict yourself in 2 comments

[@deepseacocoon]

@@Toasted_Failurehe went through a character arc lol

[@marvel_dc_basedyt69420]

Me personally I'm fine with the way the helmets look now, but as a consumer of a company who's motto is "Only the best is good enough" and as a major Clone Wars fan, I do have an alternative solution: Don't get rid of the current helmet mould, it's perfect the way it is. Instead, only use the current mould for characters that use Sun Visors and Macrobinoculars, such as Commander Cody, Commander Fox, Commander Bly, Captain Vaughn, Snipers, etc. Then, create a new helmet mould that uses the design practice of the current one (mainly the brow line being protruded out) and put the holes in the correct spot, the bumps that are underneath the current holes, and use that for every other Clone Trooper like the grunts, Captain Rex, ARC Trooper Fives, etc, and have that helmet only be used for Rangefinders and flood lights. At first I thought maybe they could get away with having only one hole on the right of the helmet since nearly every Clone Trooper that has a Rangefinder only has one and it's always on the right, but then if Lego wanted to bring back the flood light attachment, then they'd have to have a 2nd hole on the other side so you could have two floodlights or have a Rangefinder on the right and a flood light on the left, or have two Rangefinders for some weird custom figure. This would solve the problem of the current helmet, because as it is, the current helmet mould is perfect, but only for a specific set of figures. The holes are aligned perfectly so that when you use a Sun Visor or Macrobinoculars, the holes are filled and the bumps bellow the holes line up perfectly to the old helmet mould, which makes sense, since Sun Visors and Macrobinoculars don't go on the bumps in-universe, they go above them in the negative section between the bumps and the top of the helmet, but for Rangefinders and flood lights, they go in the bumps, not in the negative space above them, so you can have the helmet mould that works for characters like Cody, and you can have a new helmet mould that works for characters like Rex, and you can use this new mould as the main helmet mould for the grunts so you can give them Rangefinders, or you can use the other helmet mould to give your grunts Sun Visors or Macrobinoculars. This would be the best solution and I hope it happens because I don't want this currenf helmef mould to be taken out of production, it can still run concurrently as long as Lego keeps producing Clones that utilize Sun Visors and Macrobinoculars, which there are a lot. In fact, the new Rex minifigure can still have his current helmet in production alongside a new one that gives him his Rangefinder in the correct position, as they could make an Umbara set and use his current mould for the scenes where he's using Macrobinoculars, and then use the other helmet mould for the scenes where he has his Rangefinder, same goes for other 501st Troopers like the grunts, Fives, Jesse, Hardcase, and Kix

[@kaleb749]

2:00 big correction, Lego’s choice being between using helmet hole helmets for all clones vs only the named clones is a huge false dichotomy. LEGO could have simply made A new Phase II specific visor mould to accommodate the screen accurate helmet holes, such as they side with Phase I. However, they didn’t

[@PenPlays]

That’s discussed in the video.

[@Averageman902]

Lego Star Wars fans when they want something:😡 Lego Star Wars fans when they get something:😡 Lego Star Wars fans when they improvise a set:😡 Lego Star Wars fans when they don’t improvise a set:😡 (No hate)

[@vast9467]

when they don’t get the thing they want the way they want it, because it’s done in a confusingly wrong way

[@Averageman902]

@@vast9467 oh.

[@Averageman902]

@@vast9467 but still, be happy you got the set you wanted.

[@Trija204]

I really couldn’t care less about the helmet holes

[@Dovah_Slayer]

These design choices are odd and annoying as a huge lego and star wars fan this actually enrages me

[@LiamNormandin]

I agree with everything he said because currently my commander For is wearing custom paper Kamas😅

[@xhearthfirex6571]

Biggest problem is that we have too many Phase 2 Clonetroopers. People are too biased… I think Phase 1 is way Cooler and they should concentrate on making them !

[@lemonynora]

Why not do both? Or do something new. I’d love a TK trooper battle pack. Those troopers look cool and feature heavily in the bad batch

[@Toasted_Failure]

oh yeah? It's like you idiots HATE the helmet holes because of a video you watched