A tear that’s a mile wide in the kite that you’re flying…
I’m Hasbro‘s cheerleader, but I’m not afraid to throw down my pom-poms and get a little rowdy when something just ain’t right. (See photo at left.) A hole in my Stormtroopers’ backs? That just won’t do!
I know that Battle Packs are value-priced (well, someone’s idea of value priced) and that Hasbro uses basically whatever figure mold they have available, but even a cheap plastic plug would look better than a hole in my figures’ backs. So, bad Hasbro! Bad!
The two Rebel Fleet Troopers are awesome. Everyone loves to get a quality figure refreshed, and I’m happy to add them to my army. The POTF2 Darth Vader with Interrogation Droid, not so great, but I did notice that his cape and skirt have been extended to give them a more flowing look, so at least someone is trying. (The figure’s just a little too short. Sorry!)
So, readers, what do you want to see in future Battle Packs?
March 7th, 2007 at 8:34 am
Yeah, I saw this and was bit ticked off too. But for the low-ish price I’ll still end up with two stormtroopers, whose backs I can keep facing the wall, so I can’t complain too much. My first thought was, oh crap, is it missing? To know that it is okay that it is missing and not lost or shipped accidentally without is, in a weird way, comforting at least. I also feel like recently I saw another photo of a trooper I already have and he too has this problem? I’m in the middle of packing to move so they are all in boxes and I can’t check. Wait! Wasn’t it Han Solo from the comic packs???
As for future Battle Packs? As much as I love clones, I want something OTHER than clones for bit. I’d want a McQuarrie-themed one for sure either just after or even shortly before they’ve finished releasing the McQuarrie figures in the TAC waves. If before, they could include maybe one new McQuarrie figure not currently slated for production (and at least two McQuarrie troopers, one without a damaged shield!) All with a sweet McQuarrie backdrop taken from one of the New Hope drawings he did, like the interior of the space station/death star. What else? Well, a Dark Horse Purge themed one with all of the unproduced Jedi up to that point, plus a damaged Vader would be nice. Oh yeah, and I know people think Rebels don’t sell, but the Rebel Generals/Leia/Threepio in the command centre during the Death Star battle at the end of A New Hope could be interesting too, especially if they could include the console they are all staring so intently at! Okay, so maybe that one wouldn’t be such a hot seller amongst the young folk as it would lack weapons and, well, reasons to even open the box since they just stand there looking worried. After that? Mos Eisley streets (a couple droid repaints and a new alien)? Hoth-battle with new soldiers! Bespin with new denizens and guards! Jabba’s Palace with Jabba himself and at least one new henchman/woman. Oh yeah, and a Coruscant Night Life one, reuse some various creature molds (like the Bith and Hem Dazon) with new bodies and give us some more Outlander officers or something, maybe a non-human one. That last one is my throwing the prequels a biscuit btw. Oh hell! Another biscuit! A Separtist meeting on Utapau or Mustafar (and release some of the as yet unproduced misguided souls).
Funny thing is, when I think about these I actually picture them consisting of all new figures which ain’t gonna happen. So when it gets right down to it, any of these ideas would be lucky to see one new mold I’m sure and probably max 5 figures, so not sure if they’d all work or not. Oh well, we can dream. Just like we dreamed of the Tantive IV pack because it would have army building potential and we actually got it!
March 7th, 2007 at 8:59 am
To comment on my own comment: Yeah but just wait til the Clone Wars cartoon is out! (not that the above would be pointless but I’m sure there will be a slightly new batch of characters that could fill these window boxes).
March 7th, 2007 at 10:12 am
OK, let me try this again (computer goof up)
Playing off your "Pimp this Figure" how about a Jabba Dungeon Battle Pack?
BG-J38 (as shown, from 8d8)
2-1A with torture rack (from 2-1B)
Tortured Power Droid (Power droid with painted damage & 8d8′s rack)
a couple of kitbashed/repainted guards:
Gamorean Guard (resculpted hands, pike & gun)
Wooof (repainted skiff guard Klaatu with cloth skirt ala vintage
or even a Kitbashed Fozek (cheap way: skiff guard lando, with new arms & head) or a repainted Weequay (new, or kitbashed arms & blaster)
March 7th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
You mean those aren’t coin-operated soldiers???!!! Yeah… that was a real shocker to me. The other shocker was they retooled the Rebel Fleet Troopers a bit and that kind made things a little bit right. Future Battlepacks? How about two Bespin Guards with new heads (I don’t even care the jackets are open), a couple of Stormtroopers (everyone likes those, right?) and VOTC Boba Fett?
March 7th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
What battlepacks would I like to see
1) Marvel Years 1 Eight for Aduba-3
Figures to include 1) Han Solo (VTOC) 2) Chewbacca (VTOC) 3)Amaiza 3)Jaxxon 4) The Starkiller Kid (Rehash of one of the mltiple lukes) 5) The Tractor robot
2) Marvel Years 2 Post ROTJ
1) Luke (Rehash) 2) Dani 3) Kiro 3) Lumiya 4) Fenn Shysa (Rehash Boba)
3) the Star wars holiday special
1)Chewbacca (VOTC With Life day Robe) 2)Malla (Rehash wookiee) 3) Itchy (Rehash Wookie) 4) Lumpy (New Sculpt) 5)Saun Dann
4) Droids (TV) Figures
1)Thall joben (Rehash Luke) 2) Jord Dusat 3) Kea Moll 4) R2-D2 3) C-3P0 5) Tig Fromm
5) Droids Pack A
1) Death Star Droid RA-7 (PotF2 Black Version) 2)IG-88 (POTJ Repaint) 3) R5-X2 (R5-D4 Repaint) 4)R4-M6 (Rerelease) 5) C-3PX (C-3PO//Boba Rehash)
6) Droids Pack B
1) RA-7 (Sandcraler version) 2) CZ-3 (Rerelease) 3) 2-1B (Potf2 rerelease) 4) FX-7 (Potj Rerelease) 5) R2-B1 (Rerelease)
March 7th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
I for one would love to see more Clone Wars stuff. I am sure we will eventually. Anything with clones and battle droids. Especially the latter….battle droids with sniper rifles!!! One thing that I would love to remind Hasbro is that a lot of us that buy the battlepacks do so to have extra troops for a lower price.
For the OT, why not an Endor battlepack with some Ewoks in it? We are woefully short on Ewoks. I totally agree about the rebels..maybe a Rebel Pilots pack? Of course those of us who have been at this a while will already have most of those..but there is room for a few headswaps there somewhere.
March 7th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Right! Ewoks! Of course! It’s been mentioned before but for some reason they don’t spring to mind right away. Yep, we need Ewoks, especially ever since the introduction of the Gungan race made Ewoks look wicked awesome and fierce!The Marvel packs are a fantastic idea. I mean, I think the comic packs so far are selling well, sold out in my area anyway. Same for the McQuarrie troopers. Flying off the shelves. Which means either collectors and scalpers are snatching them up and/or even kids dig ‘em. Or they and their parents mistake them for regular stormtroopers and kind of by them by accident. Regardless, I would hope a McQuarrie pack is viable along with the Marvel ones!
March 7th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
The battle pack that I’d like to see (and half expected to by now) is a “Bespin Encounter” from the “refreshments” scene in Empire. Put the illustrious cd-rom blaster effect Vader on the right and POTJ Bespin Capture Han with blaster drawn on the left. Throw in a Leia, a VOTC Fett with an empire paint scheme, and a POTJ Bespin Guard with a new head (even though one wasn’t really in the scene) and you’ve got an easy, easy win. Kids would love the action captured in the scene and we’d get a totally new (and long overdue) fig plus some more welcomed-ish repaints/kitbashes.
March 7th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
I totally agree with zevs that such a battle pack seems like a no-brainer, and could be a good seller for the kids, unfortunately, for me, it represents the worst aspect of the battle pack format from a collector’s point of view: Yet more of the standard main characters, perhaps, as you say ,repainted/kitbashed (the latter if we’re lucky) and maybe, MAYBE, one new sculpt (let’s say in this case it was a Bespin guard with a closed jacket and different head…and the Vader I guess, but I’d have to see him close up to know if I’d want him or not). And so, if I want that guard I’ve gotta fork out the full cost of the pack for 4 other figures I could more or less live without. Or my other option is to wait for the inevitable ebay seller to dissect the batch and offer them up individually (with all other collectors bidding on that one unique sculpt and driving it up to a price close to the entire battle pack anyway). Take some of the recent packs, Dagobah, the Geonosian arena, the Carkoon one, I’m not getting any of these because they don’t give enough of anything significantly different. If the Dagobah one had included a SA Bespin/Dagobah Luke and the repainted R2, if the Carkoon had had a new (even kitbashed) skiff guard of some sort along with a significantly improved paint job on another, if a kitbashed arena Jedi never before seen in plastic plus a previously rarer figure like Pablo Jill had been included in the Geonosian one, then I’m sure I would have had to cave in and buy at least one or two of them. As it stands now, I’m buying two or three of the Tantive IV because of the army building potential. IMO the best recent battle pack was the Ambush at Ilum because 3 of the figures are unavailable (2 are the same of course but with different results) and we finally get a C3PO with snow paint-ops! (R2 too though I find his a bit subtle). I’m not saying Hasbro shouldn’t make the main character focused battle packs, especially if they help keep the line viable and keep the kiddies supplied with the staples characters, but as dream packs go, these are far from making my list. The last thing I need right now is another Vader or Boba Fett (unless he’s McQuarrie or animated Vader/Boba Fett of course).
March 8th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Let’s see some requested reissues. Jabba’s palace goons and catina aliens that could be tossed in a Battle Pack.
1. Catina Smackdown: VOTC Obi-Won, Ponda Baba with removable arm, Hem Dazon in different colors, Dannik Jerriko (without the tendrils and no holes in face), and Momwaw Nadon with vintage blue outfit.
2. Jabba’s Court: J’Quille, Ree Yees, Beedo (VOTCGreedo repaint in hilarious non-accurate colors..for fun!), Gammorean Guard and Ishi Tibb (repaint or something??)
3. Cantina Encounter: VOTC Han Solo, VOTC Greedo with blast mark, Myo, whats-his-name the human space pilot, and white skinned Djas Phur (wasn’t there one?)
4. Endor Battle: VOTC Scout Trooper, VOTC Stormtrooper, AT-ST Driver, 2 ewoks.
March 8th, 2007 at 10:10 am
5 battle droids of any design (movie accurate). They could be red (yeah yeah), tan, super battle droids, or even destroyers (EP 1). Of course they would be best as a mixture of these all probably. Maybe since we’re getting two droids for the price of one in the basic line we could have six or seven droids for $20 -$25.
March 9th, 2007 at 9:38 am
Sean_C the catina ones would be good sellers, I think they could kitbash together one of those Sauron type patrons from Bossk and someone else body, probably Ponda Baba’s, and that would make it more attractive, maybe even retool a young Ep 1 Anakin for that vertically challenged patron he is having a laugh with. The Endor battle would be good too (and as an aside, your mention of including stormtroopers reminded me that I figured out that the Saga Sandtrooper, with all his sandtrooper accessories removed, makes for a pretty good Endor Stormtrooper, I found a few that seemed to have less intense sand blasting on them and they just look like slightly dirty soldiers, they fit into an Endor diorama nicely). And the 3. Cantina Encounter, nice idea for the blast mark, would even be cool if he was a bit "crispy blackened" but doubt Hasbro’d go for it, would be even nicer if it included a little booth for them to sit in!