Ambush On Ilum - TAC - Battle Packs (Exclusive)

The frigid ice world of Ilum was one of the most sacred locations of Jedi power in the Republic. Nearly every Jedi made a pilgrimage there at least once during their training to receive visions in the Force-rich caves and construct a first lightsaber. The Jedi temple there was subject to a vicious Separatist attack that might have dealt irreparable damage to the Jedi Order had it not been for the timely intervention of Padmé Amidala.

One piece of trivia that we think is particularly interesting when we think about the Ambush On Ilum Battle Packs set is that the included Padmé Amidala figure was listed on rumor lists for quite some time as an exclusive figure by itself. That obviously never panned out but it really doesn’t matter because Hasbro instead culled together an awesome and very scene-specific collection of figures based on Tartakovsky's Clone Wars episodes. And the bonus is that we ended up getting two new figures instead of one (three if you count the Chameleon droid twice). The Ambush On Ilum TARGET exclusive Battle Packs set isn’t perfect by any means and it could have stood to have some better articulated figures inside of it, but it’s also at the same time been done very well and compiled with some very strong characters that not only appeal to collectors, but to the masses as well. And fans of the first Clone Wars should count themselves lucky. Along with the new Padmé Amidala and Chameleon Droids, purchasers of this set will also be treated to Ilum-specific versions of R2-D2 and C-3PO, although, to refer to C-3PO as "Ilum-specific" would technically be incorrect. C-3PO didn't have his shiny armor at this point in the Star Wars saga. (That happens in Volume 2. But Hasbro gave him the snowy details on the armor so this figure is about 50% wrong and 50% right.

During the Ambush On Ilum, Padmé Amidala fought the Chameleon Droids (with the assistance of R2-D2 and C-3PO) and helped to protect Yoda and the Temple of the Crystal Caves where the Jedi got their crystals for their lightsabers. Their battle in the end is a success and they all learn, not really to their surprise, that Count Dooku is behind the sabotage. The chapters based on these events were humorous and exciting. It was one of the most action packed sequences in Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars micro-series and the image of Padmé in a Snowbunny outfit had fan boys everywhere whimpering for this version of her as an action figure. Perhaps we should have whimpered louder. Padmé is good, but she is severely lacking in articulation and an update is definitely needed before we can consider this version of her definitively completed. Limited in articulation and permanently posed in an action stance severely limits what this action figure can do. And let's not talk about how hard it is to stand her up because we'll start getting angry. But at least she has a gorgeous soft-goods cloak. (Editor’s Note: Hasbro made right and updated this figure in 2008’s The Legacy Collection line as BD 12.)

R2-D2 is a rework of 2004’s SW R2-D2 (Jabba’s Sail Barge) (‘04 #05). This time Hasbro gave R2-D2 a new paint job to represent the snow collection on his extremities from the icy planet of Ilum. The figure is fair, but with the gorgeous VOTC sculpt available, we think Hasbro took a step back. Using an updated R2-D2 would have really amped up the awesomeness factor of this Battle Packs set. C-3PO, who has also been given “snow damage” to his exterior is a rework of 2005’s ROTS C-3PO (III 18), but as we have mentioned, he is not accurate for this set. Still, it’s a great sculpt of our favorite protocol droid. The articulation in the limbs is limited, but they’re also removable. This is good for extra play value. And C-3PO also has a ball-jointed torso which is a very nice finishing touch. The Chameleon Droids are very large and well-designed. Despite having articulation that would make you think they could be posed in an infinite array of positions, the Chameleon Droids really don’t have as much flexibility as you may desire. Does this set have its share of flaws? Yes it does. But overall, it gives collectors a nice group of figures inspired from the beloved Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars micro-series. And we still like it despite its shortcomings.