OK, good points, of course, they really are, always are.........but....(asks someone to hold his beer, if he drank beer...he really should start drinking something at this point in life)......exceptions aren't a bad idea. I'd say that Clone Trooper armor and gear "was" superior when it was made, especially the versions worn late in the Clone Wars as the Republic probably sank a lot of credits into their gear. After that, I'd say early Stormtrooper armor early in the Rise of the Empire era "was" inferior due to being cheaper, but over the time between Clone Wars and Battle of Yavin,/Endor, I'd say Stormtrooper armor improved due to those technologies getting cheaper over time, and the Empire's need.

A better way to put it. Say that Clone Trooper armor was not a standard product of its time, but what happens when you sink some money into something to get the best product/result possible. That thing then becomes the "standard" in the later era as it set the precedent.

Also, why give it +1D, when giving it a +1 pip will do just fine. I mean, there's a reason why the last official rulebook changed the rules for Fire-Linking from +1D per extra gun to +1 pip instead. Game balancing. Granting a +1 pip to Clone Trooper stuff kills two birds with one small, simple stone. it makes them "better" without making them overpowered. Their gears' stats don't change, ou just make a mention as the Gamemaster that this stuff gets a +1 pip bonus due to being the best gear the Republic could afford at the time. So that equipment's stats stay relevant, even going into the next era and so on, for a while at least.

As for characters stating Clone Trooper armor/gear was better....well, I'm sure it's true from a...certain point of view.....(like what I did there?).....meaning, it's all about perspective, opinion, and such. People think a thing, they say a thing, doesn't make it true..

BUT! there's another way to look at this? Are stats the only way to make something "better"? NO WAY! Leave the stats as is, and make the Clone Trooper gear "more reliable", less likely to jam, much longer lasting, where later Stormtrooper gear wears out sooner, even if taken care of properly. When you think about it, wouldn't this right here make more sense?

As for the Y-Wing, I've got the perfect explanation for that. Rebel Alliance gets their hands on Y-Wings, because they need something, anything, to use against the Empire. They get them, then put them in a hangar for maintenance and such, realize their tech is old and outdated, and hasn't had proper maintenance in so long, SOOO.....they overhaul it and update it. Use modern era parts and components to get the Y-Wings back up to speed. Era modifiers are now fully negated and they fight like modern era fighters. Just figure out a cost for doing this update/upgrade/overhaul, and it'd probably be less "expensive", more "maintenance" when it comes to figuring out the cost. And due to how effective Y-Wings were and are, the Rebel Alliance definitely would have paid that price!
Problem solved!

Here's the short version:
1- Some items set the precedent for things that come later, and due to that, just hand wave the era modifier away.

2- If an era modifier seems necessary, don't add +1D, just add +1 pip.

3- Never underestimate "the power of opinion/suggestion", and you can use this to explain why people say something is better/worse than something else.

(NOTE: You can use this to shape the opinions of your players, while at the same time teaching them about it (manipulate people by teaching them how you manipulate people...works better than you'd think, especially if you are friendly))

4- Old stuff can be updated to be as good as modern stuff. We do this in the real world all the time. This can explain how there are ships and other gear that are years/decades/centuries/millennia old in Star Wars D6 with stats that don't quite represent this or need era modifiers. Someone updated these things. Like old ships used by the Corporate Sector as an example. They use ships that are old, really old, and while they're not as tuff as ISDs, they're updated to pose a relevant threat.

Your thoughts Freddy man? Does this help? Or was it too much?