- "Your armor, it's shiny and new. Just like you."
- ―Clone trooper captain Rex, to a group of clone shinies
Phase I clone trooper armor was the armor worn by clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic during the early stages of the Clone Wars.
To Humans, the clone trooper's armor appeared white overall, but to Kaminoans, clone trooper armor had many colors due to them seeing in the ultraviolet spectrum of light. Phase I armor was later replaced by Phase II clone trooper armor as the Clone Wars progressed.
Description[]
With some design assistance from Jango Fett, the basic armor design became composed of twenty form-fitting plates of lightweight plastoid-alloy composite, sealed to a black bodysuit and weighed just under forty kilograms. Because the armor would be used by an army of physically identical clones, only one size was needed. It loosely resembled Mandalorian shock trooper armor, as a result of Jango's participation in its design. The austere sensibilities of Kaminoan society resulted in the blindingly pristine white state of each set of armor, although command units originally had stripes of different colors, depending on their rank (yellow meaning commander, red meaning captain, blue meaning lieutenant, and green meaning sergeant). However, as the Clone Wars progressed, the colorized markings began to identify the troopers with specific units. The helmets usually had fins on the top.
As the Clone Wars progressed, some troopers began to show individuality, customizing their armor to adapt to their needs with items such as visors, rangefinders, pauldrons, kamas, enhanced communications gear, and jetpacks. A light source could be attached to the helmets to illuminate dark areas.[4] Some troopers even painted unique designs on their armor and helmets according to personal tastes.
The armor was heavy, uncomfortable, and not very well liked by clone troopers, hence it being often referred to by non-clone GAR personnel as a "body bucket". Its inconvenience was due to the Kaminoans' lack of knowledge of Human anatomy. It did, however, have coolant systems to prevent overheating, and also included enhanced breathing filters inside the T-visor. The armor could take some modular attachments, like a bacta pack for a medic or small flamethrower for Advanced Recon Commandos. The armor suit also resisted vacuum environments, allowing the trooper to continue to fight outside of spacecraft for a short time (though recovery was needed).
Some armor sets, depending on what planet the trooper was stationed, were customized to fit the planet's conditions. For example, those on water planets such as Glee Anselm had water resistant armor, and advanced breathing equipment for underwater operations, along with fins attached to the boots. The armor of some troopers had symbols to designate the squad that they were in.
During the later part of the Clone Wars, the Phase I sets were mainly replaced by Phase II armor. However, some clones chose to keep either some, or all of the elements of their Phase I armor, at least until Order 66, such as CC-01/425, and the ARC troopers who killed Master Sev.[5] Even after the Republic was reorganized into the Galactic Empire, some of the newly-rebranded Imperial stormtroopers continued to use Phase I and Phase II armor before it was replaced by a new design.[1] A group of Kaminoan Clone Masters would later rebel against the new regime, creating a batch of anti-Imperial clone troopers clad in Phase I armor. However, this new clone army would be defeated by their Imperial counterparts.[2]
Appearances[]
Non-canon appearances[]
- LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
- LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
- Kowakian Monkey-Lizard on LEGO.com (original article) (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Giant spiders are awesome.... on LEGO.com (original article) (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Always count your clones before take-off on LEGO.com (original article) (content obsolete and backup link not available)
- You can't hit the brakes in space on LEGO.com (original article) (content obsolete and backup link not available)
- Orders are orders on LEGO.com (original article) (content obsolete and backup link not available)
- Sith make the best pancakes on LEGO.com (original article) (content now obsolete; backup link)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 game
- LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 film
- LEGO Star Wars: Microfighters — "Tank Attack Antics"
- LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
- LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
- Battle of the Sith Lords (Canceled)
Sources[]
- Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: The Visual Dictionary
- "Republic Fighter Tank" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link) (Picture only)
- The New Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology
- "Guide to the Grand Army of the Republic" — Star Wars Insider 84
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary
- Star Wars: Movie Heroes (Pack: Battle Packs: Republic Troopers) (backup link)
- Ultimate Sticker Collection: Star Wars: Battles of the Clone Wars
- Star Wars: Force Collection (Card: Clone Trooper)
- Star Wars: Force Collection (Card: Commander Ponds)
- Star Wars: Sith Wars
- Star Wars: Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Republic 78
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Star Wars: Battlefront II
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Rookies"
- ↑ The Clone Wars: The Clones are Coming on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ Star wars Republic #25