Skirmish In The Senate - TSC - Battle Packs (Exclusive)

Added: June 28th 2011
Category: Saga Collection, The
Reviewer: Paul Harrison
Score:

Name: Skirmish In The Senate
Collection: The Saga Collection
Number: N/A
Source: Revenge Of The Sith
Availability: April 2006
License: Hasbro

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The ultimate one on one battle of good versus evil has spawned a blistering eruption of Force mastery! Palpatine squares off against Jedi Master Yoda in a winner-take-all battle for galactic supremacy, right in the heart of the Galactic Senate!

There weren’t really too many Battle Packs sets released during the longevity of The Saga Collection. (There were six total to be exact but 50% of them were exclusives.) The ones that did get released overall were very well done, were based on some pivotal Star Wars lore and remarkably welcome additions to fans. The impressive concepts made them a popular sub-line and it made the cost per figure average very reasonable. It seems that some of the most impressive Battle Packs get released as exclusives. This is slightly sad because they could have had excellent general release success and perhaps Hasbro could have sold more units if they saw mainstream release. One such example is the Skirmish In The Senate which will rank one of the best Battle Packs Hasbro ever made for us of all time. Although Hasbro included two quick repacks in this set (Yoda and Emperor Palpatine), it brought us a duo of the first super-articulated Shock Trooper. The included Shock Troopers have a wonderful paint jobs and are clean (as they should be) since they were in the Senate and not outside. Each has their unique weapon so you can easily tell them apart. We waited a long time for a Shock Trooper designed from the favorite 2005 ROTS Clone Trooper (III 41) mold, so it is quite a gesture to get two at once in this Battle Packs set.

Perhaps the true “shocker” of this set is not the Shock Troopers themselves but the brand new repulsorpod instead. It comes without a name on the packaging, but you can read all about this Senate device on Wookieepedia. It’s out of scale (too small), but it’s beautifully crafted and has a very special Easter egg for hardcore collectors. There is Aurebesh on its screen and when translated into English reads “SW Fans Rule”. How cool is that? Hasbro is totally paying homage to the people who have made this line so successful. Despite it being under-scaled, it look fantastic and sets a precedent for the Battle Packs line that they can incorporate some truly wonderful “background environments” into this format. There are two foot pegs inside so you can secure whatever figures you choose to display in it and has a most excellent paint job that helps bring out its many details and textures. The only thing we would have asked for was either less curved edges (so it could have been easier to stand Emperor Palpatine or Yoda on it) or an additional foot peg on the top edge for a few other options for creating your diorama. This comment is anything but a complaint. It’s just something we feel would have made it essentially flawless. But it’s quite amazing to have a repulsorpod in our collection.

The Skirmish In The Senate Battle Packs set also comes with one really weak figure and another mediocre figure. The weakest figure is undoubtedly Emperor Palpatine. For one, it’s a figure that has an action feature and you know how much we despise these. Also, Emperor Palpatine is in the wrong outfit. (Editor’s Note: Darth Sidious in the outfit from the duel with Yoda in Revenge Of The Sith didn’t get released until September 2010 in The Vintage Collection (VC12).) Maybe it would have been a slightly better move has Hasbro utilized (or changed up a bit) the Evolutions Palpatine figure instead. (It still wouldn’t have been correct, but better we suppose.) He comes with the same accessories as he did in the Revenge Of The Sith line. Yoda is what we’d consider the mediocre figure here. While Yoda has a fair likeness, he come with a plastic molded cape that really inhibits his movement. A soft-goods cloak would have been a nice update here. (Interestingly, this same Yoda figure was released as an Attack Of The Clones version Yoda as SAGA 019 in The Saga Collection.) Skirmish In The Senate is so cool. Get it because you’ll find many things to really enjoy in it for sure! (Editor’s Note: Many collectors aren’t aware of this, but Hasbro tweaked the paint job on the Shock Trooper for the 2007 Saga Legends line. The most noticeable enhancement are the equidistant "horizontal” vertical lines on the helmet. These lines were applied with greater space in between each other on the 2007 Shock Trooper Saga Legends figure.)

Collector Notes

Skirmish In The Senate

Assortment Number: 87068

UPC: 653569137436

Retail: $19.99 USD

Market Value: Click here to check the latest prices based on Click here to check the market value on eBay! listings.

Yoda

Focused, wise and determined, Yoda realizes that he must confront the Emperor and put an end to his reign before it is too late!

Status: Yoda is a straight repack of 2005's ROTS Yoda (III 3) figure.

Articulation Count: 9 points

Articulation Details: ball-socket head, 2 ball-jointed shoulders, 2 swivel wrists, 2 swivel hips, 2 ball-jointed ankles

Accessory Count: 2

Accessory Details: removable plactic robe, lightsaber

Date Stamp: 2004

Emperor Palpatine

Evil incarnate, the newly self-appointed Emperor and Sith Lord must destroy any foe that threatens his reign!

Status: Emperor Palpatine straight repack of 2005's ROTS Emperor Palpatine (III 12) figure.

Articulation Count: 8 points

Articulation Details: ball-jointed head, 2 ball-jointed shoulders, 2 swivel wrists, swivel waist, 2 swivel ankles

Accessory Count: 5

Accessory Details: Force lightning projectile, Force push projectile, removable plastic cloak, removable hood, lightsaber

Date Stamp: 2004

"Repulsorpod"

Status: "Repulsorpod" officially has no name on the packaging of the Skirmish In The Senate Battle Packs set, but it is an all-new accessory!

Articulation Count: None

Articulation Details: None

Accessory Count: None

Accessory Details: None

Date Stamp: 2006

Shock Trooper [A]

Palpatine's Shock Troopers are ordered to search the senate in hopes of finding and destroying Jedi Master Yoda.

Status: Shock Trooper [A] is a rework of 2005's ROTS Clone Trooper (III 41) figure.

Articulation Count: 14 points

Articulation Details: ball-socket head, 2 ball-jointed shoulders, 2 ball-jointed elbows, 2 swivel wrists, ball-jointed torso, 2 swivel hips, 2 ball-jointed knees, 2 ball-jointed ankles

Accessory Count: 2

Accessory Details: DC-15 blaster, antenna

Date Stamp: 2005

Shock Trooper [B]

Palpatine's Shock Troopers are ordered to search the senate in hopes of finding and destroying Jedi Master Yoda.

Status: Shock Trooper [B] is a rework of 2005's ROTS Clone Trooper (III 41) figure.

Articulation Count: 14 points

Articulation Details: ball-socket head, 2 ball-jointed shoulders, 2 ball-jointed elbows, 2 swivel wrists, ball-jointed torso, 2 swivel hips, 2 ball-jointed knees, 2 ball-jointed ankles

Accessory Count: 2

Accessory Details: DC-15 rifle, antenna

Date Stamp: 2005

 





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