It appears that Jabba is now more than he is worth.

I kinda had a feeling that this was going to happen. But, like JTA points out, isn't this more Walmart's fault than Hasbro's?

Not sure if anyone has looked at this angle, but has this price change been verified chain wide?  I have not seen Jabba yet, but I have seen the shelf tags and even a planogram at WalMart.  And those had the $34.97 price point. 

Truth be told, other retailers have different pricing for some select stores.  I've seen it at both Target and Toys R Us.  And now it looks like this trend might be carrying forward with WalMart, too.

I can appreciate Hasbro trying to mix it up by including K-3PO in the Rebel set, but come on.  It was only 2008 when we got the most recent K-3PO.   And now this new version brings us to at least 3 releases of K-3PO. 

I really would have preferred another Rebel as the third pack-in.  And there were some easy options that Hasbro could have gone with.  A clean shaven trooper with the original Hoth Rebel Trooper helmet would have worked.  Or perhaps a Snowspeeder pilot.  Hobbie would have been a great candidate if Hasbro wanted to go with a named pilot, but a generic pilot would have worked equally as well.

Another interesting note on the Anakin set?  The package art has Anakin wielding a green saber, but the packed in figure has a blue lightsaber.  Stellar attention to detail, Hasbro!

Quote from: JACKOFTRADZE on July 21, 2010, 10:27 PM

Quote from: Jabba the Slug on July 21, 2010, 09:09 PM

The Obi-Wan and Anakin sets are definite passes for me. How many times have we seen both Jedi repacked? And it seems AOTC Anakin is getting repacked again in TVC basic figure lineup.

The Anakin has a new head so it's not a straight repack per say. The only one that I am passing on is the Obi-Wan set, that one is a wasted slot. Dooku appear to have a new head too. My only real gripe is the reuse of the Mace Windu and Evo Luke bodies but I am happy these are getting another run.

I think you just answered my question... I was trying to figure out what here is at least kit-bashed or contains significant paint or sculpt changes.  So it looks like Obi-wan / SBD is the only one I don't need to bother with.

The paintjob on this Super Battle Droid is significantly different from the previous 30AC and Saga Legends versions.  It also doesn't have the holes in the body.  Not sure about any differences with Obi-Wan though.  But I would like to see him with the different lightsaber hilt (the one he's thrown).

And on this point I'm disappointed with the Anakin.  Why no green lightsaber?  That's true to the Arena battle.

Was this UGH-variant confirmed by Hasbro? 

Check the photos.  You can see VERY clear differences between the two Anakins. 

Carded UGH
Alternate closeup

Loose standard issue
Loose standard alternate shot


It's interesting that there really was no comment from Hasbro on this topic in the presentation though.

The name of this line of 2-packs seems pretty good.  And the character choices are interesting.  But the execution is somewhat lacking.

Boba Fett - I really would have preferred to see a new young Boba Fett.  That figure is from 2002 and it shows.  The downside to Hasbro pushing forward the basic figure aesthetic is that when they go back to their library of old figures, they wind up looking like garbage in comparison.  Like young Boba Fett.  The ROTJ deco bounty hunter is fine by me, especially since they're putting out the TESB version on a basic figure card.

Grievous - I'd be more into this if Hasbro wasn't putting a better Grievous out on a basic figure card.  I can only think of a couple of things Hasbro could have done that would have drawn me in for a slightly different ROTS Grievous.  And I've already got the pre-cyborg Grievous, so there's no real incentive for me to buy this set.

Anakin to Darth Vader - You had to know there would be this kind of set in this assortment.  I would have liked to see a different take on Anakin.  The Episode II Anakin with pleather just doesn't work for me.  I've been hoping for Hasbro to make a better Episode II Anakin, but they're content to reissue this figure from a 2005 Evolutions pack.

All in all, there's nothing exciting here aside from the name of the assortment.  One new or retooled figure in each set might have drawn me in as a buyer.  This assortment is a head scratcher from a collector standpoint.  But ultimately with the character lineup, I've got to think that kids are the target market for this assortment.

I'll buy both as well.  Nice to see some actual value in these exclusives so far - and at decent prices.  Wasn't there a radar canon thing in the POTF2 days?  I'm drawing a blank for some reason.  

There was, but this appears to be an all-new sculpt.  I'm liking that piece quite a bit.  It seems like it may be significantly larger than the POTF2 radar laser cannon.