Battle Droid And Jango Fett (Geonosis) - SW [DV/ROTS] - Mission Series (MS03)

Jango Fett and Battle Droids fight the Jedi on the planet Geonosis. The Geonosis arena explodes into battle as Battle Droids are unleashed upon the Jedi, and Jango Fett – a skilled warrior and resourceful bounty hunter – joins the attack against the Jedi.

The Mission Series line is interesting at best. Why sell two figures for $10 when you can get $6 each in the Saga Legends line, especially since they are cut from the same cloth articulation and sculpt wise. Perhaps to force interaction of two figures among the kiddies, Hasbro has created an all-new figure two-pack line all focusing on a pivotal moment (or moments) somewhere within the Star Wars saga. Always an interesting scene, the Battle of Geonosis is a rich part of Star Wars history. Many events transpired during this time, so it makes sense why Hasbro keeps returning to it to base toy on in hopes of engaging kids of all ages. Hasbro dusts off a very old Battle Droid sculpt (and makes it more inferior than it already is – more on that in a moment) and then develops an all-new sculpt of Jango Fett which is charmingly interesting at worst. In fact, the new version of Jango Fett is a bit infectious. (There will also be more on that in a moment.) Together, they form Mission Series: Geonosis (MS03), a micro-multipack with a simple approach and a very reasonable MSRP.

Hasbro used the same Battle Droid sculpt that was used in the 2012 Movie Heroes line and well as the 2007 TAC Saga Legends two-packs before it. But there is a small twist. The tooling is tired, and, the sculpted lines and details have “faded,” for lack of a better word and the plastic used to cast the figure in feels cheapened. We haven’t had more difficulty posing this sculpt in an upright position than we did with this release. It was beyond frustrating, and we didn’t know if we were ever going to be able to attain the shots we wanted. The plastic is rubbery, and the Battle Droid’s footing is uneven which makes standing the figure a real chore. The Battle Droid does, however, have a nice paint job interestingly. We’re surprised how good it is when the quality of the figure is so poor. It has a nice amount of battle-damage and scuffing. We’re impressed with that much. The Battle Droid comes with a droid blaster and removable backpack. You’ll need them to act as balancers when you try and attempt to stand up the action figure. We find it even more egregious now that Hasbro tried to sell this same exact figure for $10 by itself and a year LATER it’s being packaged with an all-new sculpt for the same price. Something is rotten in Denmark.

Jango Fett is the saving grace of this set. We’re a bit fond of the figure, and you might be too if you can overlook the revised “lack of articulation” approach taken with him. That being said, Jango Fett looks to be too cherubic in appearance in our opinion. The slight chubbiness we see stems from a more rounded helmet and chest armor. Look at our photo gallery and there is a comparison picture of 2009’s TLC Jango Fett (BD 51) figure next to him. You’ll see the differences right away. It is important to note however that Jango Fett does have a decent sculpt despite only having five points of articulation. He comes with a removable jetpack (the one from Geonosis – good catch Hasbro) as well as two Westar-34 blaster pistols. Both guns fit in his hands perfectly too. It’s not like this set contains a good character and a bad character. Both were on the side of the Separatist movement, so it looks like the Mission Series will contain comrades as well as foes for kids’ play purposes. For $10 we wish we could say you’re getting a slam dunk steal here, but the Battle Droid hampers the overall quality of the set. If these line is going to last, Hasbro is going to have to include action figures that don’t frustrate kids (of all ages).