Resurgence of the Jedi Battle Pack

[sebillba]

Although this set consists of rehashes of four characters that have all been released umpteen times in the past, I've been really looking forward to it ever since the pics revealed at SDCC. The main reason for this is that after 14 years of collecting the modern line, it looks like Hasbro have finally given us the definitive version of the classic farmboy Luke, arguably the most iconic image of the central hero of the OT.

Of course, he's still not perfect, but such anticipated figures rarely are, particularly figures of Luke... from the photos I've seen, it looks like the TAC body, with a new head and the VOTC legs, resulting in slightly mismatched proportions. Also, I've heard reports that the "skirt" portion of the tunic is too stiff to allow him to sit down.

Anyway, he appears to be a huge improvement over previous efforts, and I still can't wait to get him after all these years. I've already ordered the set online, and it's on its way to me, but I won't be able to actually see it until Christmas. What I'd really like to know is, has his head been cast in flesh-coloured plastic, or molded in a different colour and painted with flesh tones? (I've mentioned this many times before, but flesh-painted heads is probably my biggest pet hate in action figures, and could really ruin this one for me.)

Aside from that, I'd really like to hear any other comments, good or bad, about any of the figures in this set. For example, I understand that R2 has the rotating head / retracting leg feature (also well overdue imo) and 3PO is a dirtied up repaint of the Saga version (though I can't really see that from the pics)... anything else of note about these figures? And Obi-Wan - is he any different from the Legacy version? Have they fixed the floppy double-jointed neck?

Let's hear what everyone thinks about this set!

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

I don't yet have this set but I'm looking forward to it. The Obi-Wan issue is a little annoying, seeing as how it appears to be the exact same figure released in February. The only difference I can see is the new holo Leia; even the table is the same, and that's an accessory I really don't need two of. But it's cool to have a Leia in the pose she makes when turning off R2-D2, so that's something. C-3PO looks alright, if not that interesting. The real reasons to get this set are Luke and R2-D2, who both look fantastic. The non-chrome dome on the new basic R2-D2 looks beautiful, so it'll be nice to have a similar look on a version without the restraining bolt. Thankfully, again, R2-D2 is FINALLY in the R4-G9 sculpt, over four years later (not counting the dirty TAC version). I'm also excited about the Luke. Hopefully the leg issues won't be too bad. I was also worried that this pack would share shelf space with the Training on the Millennium Falcon pack, which has the same characters, but luckily that one seems to have sold through all the way.

[Devo]

I received this set from Entertainment Earth the other day and I'm actually looking to ask Hasbro a question about the Luke figure - have a look in the Q&A thread.

Its not bad. The character selection would be pretty unappealing for a longterm collector only for the fact of a brand new farmboy luke headsculpt which is actually really good! Theres also the R4-G9 mold R2-D2 that many have been asking for since 2005(?) - my favourite thing about him is Hasbro have finally seen sense and abandoned the chrome dome which was never accurate and instead painted it silver like every other astromech. Then we have the new Leia Hologram where shes bending over - a nice change from the standing-up one. Finally I like getting these card backdrops - I will actually use it in my display of this scene.

Luke's head looks to be molded in the fleshtones because you can see underneath his hair is a flesh colour. Thus I think the hair is painted over it. The paint, and its rare to say this today, is magnificent IMO...apart from the bit of fleshcoloured hair visible behind his neck. The headsculpt is probably as good as its ever likely to get - it doesn't necessarily scream Mark Hamill but it also doesn't look like some kind of simian or a child. This looks like a 19 year old man and the hairstyle is dead-on. So its a 3 3/4" luke as far as I'm concerned. I'm also pleased to say that the ball-joint does not wreck the sculpt. He has a full jaw with no wierd angles cut into it and no gaping chasm between his chin and his neck or the back of his neck and his hair. I dare say Hasbro are getting slightly better with these. Excellent headsculpt that I hope we see again and again.

This luke also has a great bodysculpt - I'm not sure if its a reuse of a previous one such as the 'early bird' but its cool. The skirt part is very stiff though which leads on to the figure's problems:

-You can't really get this guy to sit
-and IMO his legs are too short and thin for this body. I've heard that they are indeed VOTC legs but I never got that figure.

The last thing to speak about is Ben kenobi - I believe he's the same as the basic figure except, hilariously, his lower SG robes are more suited in colour to the sculpted torso of the basic figure whilst the lower SG robes of the basic figure are in turn more suited in colour to the torso of this Battlepack figure. Also his jedi robe is a lighter shade of brown than the basic figure. I've no idea if these were deliberate changes.

Edit - forgot about Threepio. This ones fairly disposable. First of all he's silver and not gold and secondly Hasbro's idea of tatooine weathering is to put random black splodges on him. I don't understand what its supposed to be - oil? When did he have oil on him? This is the dud of the set.

[DarkArtist]

looking forward to getting one..looks to be a really good set. can't wait

[sebillba]

Devo, thanks for the great review. I knew from the Q&A that you and vger already had this set in hand, so was hoping one of you would respond. It's good to hear that Luke's head is made of flesh plastic - I know it has other imperfections, but this is the one thing that would make or break this figure for me. I'm sure this is going to be the best farmboy we're ever likely to get, well it's taken 14 years to get him SA without any crappy soft goods, and therefore on a par with say, VOTC Han. I think vger asked about the possibility of getting him redone with a soft goods lower tunic, to allow him to sit, but this would be another step backwards imo, as this always ruins the aesthetics of the figure.

From what you said, I think I'm going to be pretty happy with this rendition of Luke, so will try and pick up at least another, maybe more, loose extras.

[adultstarwarsfreak]

. I don't understand what its supposed to be - oil? When did he have oil on him? This is the dud of the set.

I have mentioned this in another thread but I believe Threepio is supposed to represent the time he took an oil bath in the Larrs garage. I know he does not fit the Bens home scene but at the same time he can be used with the Jawa Capture R2 when Luke encounters the message. Just a thought

[DarkJedi5]

Got this set and was really disappointed with the R2. The middle leg has the frequently occurring backwards middle foot and the wires on his left and right feet are painted more white than bronze (or whatever it is supposed to be). All in all, it was poorly assembled and sloppily painted. Bummer.

[bigbarada]

The middle leg has the frequently occurring backwards middle foot

This is the reason that I never buy astromechs based on the R4-G9 mold. I still prefer the VOTC R2 body to anything else.

[Old Fossil]

I imagine those wanting this set just for the Luke might be better served by waiting 9-12 months... the figure will likely be issued single-carded, if it's that good.

I think that's what I'm gonna do. I really don't need another Threepio, Artoo, or Ben, especially if theyr'e gonna cost me 25 bucks.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

I found this set at TRU the other day, but won't get it until Christmas. R2-D2 had some sand/dirt detail on his feet, which is annoying as I was hoping this could be an all-purpose plain R2-D2. Luke seems to have a face painted in flesh colors rather than molded that way, which I know annoys some people. It didn't look too bad but there was some shoddiness to the application. I can't really judge for a few more days, though overall, it looked like a fairly cool set.