Shield Generator Assault - TLC - Battle Packs

Han Solo and Princess Leia have to get inside the Imperial bunker; inside is the shield generator that protects the second Death Star. R2-D2 starts to unlock the blast doors, but a stormtrooper's well-aimed shot fries the droid's circuits. Using a captured AT-ST walker, Han tricks the Imperial officers into leaving the bunker, where they are quickly surrounded by Rebels and Ewoks.

The Shield Generator Assault Battle Packs set has the distinction of being the first one released that had four instead of five figures in it. Immediately, this was disappointing news to fans. When Hasbro announced that this medium was changing platforms, fans just felt that the line was trying to get away with highway robbery. But the final product lightly alleviated some of the aggravation of getting one less figure because it was executed so well and delivered an excellent addition to the line. It brought two never-before-attempted action figures to collectors and this made many of us happy. In particular, the long-awaited Nik Sant finally saw the light of day. He has the distinction of being one of the Fans' Choice candidates (from 2002, losing out to the McQuarrie Concept Stormtrooper) that has finally been released. With the exception of the Imperial Officer (affectionately known as Lieutnenat Renz), all the figures are of premium quality. Both Han Solo and the Rebel Trooper (In Biker Scout Disguise) and super-articulated and R2-D2 is a repaint of the very popular VOTC figure. While we know that five figures are better than four on any day, we have to admit that this is one of the better Battle Packs we have received by Hasbro (and that even includes the ones with the five figures).

The star of the set is the Rebel Trooper (In Biker Scout Disguise). While not labeled as such on the package, this character is meant to be Nik Sant (who was first immortalized in collectible form as a one-sixth scale Endor Rebel Soldier in Sideshow Collectibles' beautiful 12" line. Rebel Trooper (In Biker Scout Disguise) has the first ever helmet that doesn't flip up and is constructed of a rubbery plastic that fits (albeit very tightly) over the figure's head. Nik Sant's likeness is very cool (and accurate) and he comes complete with body glove detail that covers his head and exposes his face. The rest of his body is based on the totally awesome 2006 VTSC Biker Scout figure, so you know how awesome this recipe is for this new figure. Hans Solo is another surprise in this set. Looking a whole lot better than the 2006 VTSC Han Solo (In Trench Coat) due to a better likeness (he has an all-new head sculpt that just shines) and paint job (his utility belt is colored much better this time around), this figure is truly the definitive version of this character and outfit. We recommend giving this one your soft-goods trench coat. There are of course some awkward moments when posing his body as he has a bizarre lean or bend, but he is a pretty great figure overall. R2-D2 is another great addition to this set. Although he has a bizarre accessory which functions as his battle-damage when he got blasted by a Stormtrooper, it doesn't look as bad as you may think. We expect many of you will pose R2 without it, but it is definitely unique. Perhaps Hasbro could have abandoned this concept altogether and given us a different fifth figure. We suspect that this little accessory created unnecessary tooling costs and even a Stormtrooper repack would have befitted this et much better. Imperial Officer (this figure is actually Lieutenent Renz) is probably the weakest figure in the set unfortunately because we really wanted a great version of Lieutenant Renz. Because he is essentially a repaint/retool of 2006's TSC Moff Jerjerrod (SAGA 040), he is very limited in articulation. This is a figure that could use a bit more than what was included with it.

The concept for this Battle Packs set is great. It succeeds in execution for the most part and we tried posing these figures with the 1997 POTF Endor Attack playset and they didn't look half bad with that back drop. Of course it isn't to scale, but since playsets are so rare, we will make best with what we have. We would love to see more Endor-themed Battle Packs sets that include more Biker Scout, Stormtrooper and Ewok figures. It is a very rich battle in the Original Trilogy and it seems that Ewoks especially are becoming very popular amongst collectors. So, we welcome the opportunity to add more into our collections! While these four characters didn't necessarily appear on screen at the same exact time in Episode VI, they all were part of the pivotal and suspenseful scene when we weren't sure if the Rebels were going to slip from the grasp of the Imperial army. Thankfully the little "furballs" in the film had something up their sleeves. Hasbro scores high marks with us for this set and we hope that they will continue to remember collectors in this same fashion for future releases. The Battle Packs format is great and it is a quick way to get four figures and if they can keep providing us one of two new ones per set, it will remain a successful line. And it is always a bonus if they update even further action figures that are already considered definitive by collectors. So, we highly recommend this set. We think most of you have it by now, but if you don't, try to find some way to get it into your collections. It probably ranks second or third as our favorite Battle Packs set in the blue phase of The Legacy Collection. You will likely be of the same opinion too.