Endor Attack - POTF2 [R/G] - Playsets

On the forest moon of Endor, the Imperial generator shield protects the Empire's second Death Star. Can the Rebels infiltrate the bunker and turn off the shield in time or will the Imperial forces defeat them?

In 1983, Kenner produced the Ewok Village playset. It became one of the most popular releases of the year. But as far as the Battle of Endor, we didn’t get too much else from them at the time. But almost a decade and a half later, however, Kenner/Hasbro produced the Endor Attack playset for The Power Of The Force “2” line, and one can consider it an extrapolation of the 1983 Ewok Village. Although too small, the Endor Attack playset gives Star Wars collectors, for the first time, a toy replica of the bunker not too distant from Bright Tree Village during the Battle of Endor. With double doors, a wooded hiding spot, and a rock launcher courtesy of the Ewoks, the Endor Attack playset is a fairly decent addition to the modern Star Wars toy line, even if it’s not to scale, nor completely screen-accurate. And it pairs nicely with the vintage Kenner toys too. It’s worth noting that at the time of the Endor Attack’s release to retail in 1997, Kenner/Hasbro hadn’t released too many action figures based on the Battle of Endor. We didn’t have any Endor Rebel Soldiers, any Ewoks, or any versions of Biker Scouts, Luke Skywalker (In Endor Gear), Princess Leia (In Endor Gear) figures that weren’t explicitly tooled for piloting Speeder Bikes at the time of this release. We only had the vintage Kenner stuff. Kenner/Hasbro knew more than collectors did, however, and they released an excellent distribution of these types of character in 1998’s POTF2 Freeze Frame Action Slide line.

The Endor Attack playset has merit. Although the bunker is severely scaled-down from the prop/set in Return Of The Jedi, it’s a nice-looking piece. Kenner/Hasbro added an incredible amount of detail to the tooling, and we believe it will interest collectors of 3.75” action figures much. The bunker has a nook where you can place Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa as they work to open the double doors. It’s cramped if you decide to add C-3PO and R2-D2, but it works. The first layer of doors is decorative, and when pulled back, reveals a set of more armored-like blast doors. But you can open up the second set of doors and enter the “inside” of the bunker. Unfortunately, Kenner/Hasbro didn’t do much with the interior of the bunker. And it doesn’t have a backing, so it’s open and unprotected if you use it for additional play value. However, if you’re creative, you can make the most of this free space and create an exciting play scene for your action figure’s needs. The sides and front of the Endor bunker have louvered texture, and the paint operations are lovely throughout. You’ll find shading by way of black paint to give the bunker additional depth and texture. To make the bunker a little more interesting, Kenner/Hasbro needed to add some extra girth to it. They did this with a hollow tree. They managed to add an action feature to it as well to keep it interesting for the kids. The tree is an interesting addition and makes it feel like the Ewok Village is near.

Also included with the Endor Attack playset are a rock launcher and boulder, which was originally released with the Dragonheart Hewe action figure. A weapon of the Ewoks, it is a nicely designed accessory that fits right at home with the other objects in this playset. But we still find it extremely odd that Kenner/Hasbro hadn’t one single Ewok in the 3.75” basic figure line at the time of the Endor Attack’s release. (Ewoks: Wicket & Logray released February 1998 while this playset was released in 1997.) Because of the lack of action figures we had to pair with this set, we found it to work the best with the figures from the vintage Kenner RETURN OF THE JEDI and THE POWER OF THE FORCE lines. These collections gave us eight Ewoks and a ton of Rebel Alliance characters that were directly connected to the Battle of Endor. Once you set up action figures in and around the Endor Attack playset, you’ll begin to appreciate what it offers fully. The playset comes to life when you add any action figures to it, and you can see how much effort they put into creating the playset because the spaces they designed for action figures are fitting and appropriate. We will tell you that the bunker is a pain in the butt to set up, and you’ll probably lose your cool when trying to put the pieces together. Overall, the Endor Attack playset has an MSRP set at $14.99. That price is an incredible deal of all the plastic you get inside of the box. We wonder if they raised the price and included a unique pack-in figure if it would have performed better at retail than it did.