Battle Of Christophsis, The - TCW [B] - Battle Packs (Exclusive)

Clone troopers and battle droids clash on the streets of Crystal City. Anakin Skywalker leads a squad of clone troopers against Separatist forces on the remote planet of Christophsis. Weapons fire blasts the roadways and shatters the crystalline buildings, as each side looks for a weakness in his opponent's line of defense. AATs rumble through the smoke-filled city under fire from Republic heavy artillery, and clone troopers mounted on mobile AT-APs stride forward to meet them head on. Explosions erupt throughout the city, an all-too-familiar sound of battle being echoed on planets throughout the war-torn galaxy.

Hasbro had tremendous success with 2007’s TAC The Battle Of Hoth and The Battle Of Endor Ultimate Battle Packs sets. These sets were released as TARGET exclusives for the year’s holiday season. Most collectors were extremely eager to pick these ups because included in them were rereleases of much sought after vehicles like the AT-ST (in both Hoth and Endor flavors mind you) and repainted figures intended to be all-new characters available for the very first time. Additionally, some core main character action figures were also included in the mix and have exclusive repaints only available in these sets as well. These Ultimate Battle Packs initially sat on end caps before Thanksgiving, but as soon as the holiday passed, they disappeared overnight. Barely meeting demand, they started commanding premiums on eBay and the like almost immediately. In fact, the demand was so high that we’re confident that Hasbro could have released a second run of them that would have sold out just as quickly. Filled to the brim with action figures, vehicles and other accessories, the Ultimate Battle Packs line took the Battle Packs concept to the nth degree. These large exclusives were pretty much sensory overload to collectors, but it was sensory overload in which we wanted to immerse ourselves. And with a retail price of $49.99 each (which was a steal based on the content inside), Hasbro could do very little wrong in our eyes with them, even if some older sculpts were used. We were very happy collectors as a whole then. Hasbro really excelled at making the old “new” again while adding all-new extras and it was truly a very special time to be a collector. Hasbro knew they struck gold because collectors ate them up like there was no tomorrow. So they tried to replicate that magic a year later. Attempting to follow in similar footsteps, they brought back the “big box” concept, but as with any sophomore effort, something usually lacks the second time around doesn’t it?

This doesn’t mean it should have lacked, but we think the creative team at Hasbro may have tried to ride the coattails of their previous success and got a little too lazy for 2008. Whether Hasbro’s creative team lost some steam a year later or not, 2008’s The Legacy Collection Battle Above The Sarlacc and The Clone Wars Battle Of Christophsis just do not have the magic of the Ultimate Battle Packs released the year before them. The previous year’s sets were visually stunning and actually excited collectors. But sets like The Battle Of Christophsis is really just providing kids and collectors with nearly all of the same stuff that they’ve purchased separately earlier in the year. In fact, Hasbro doesn’t even call them “ultimate” anymore. (Maybe they were even embarrassed a little by them?) Packaged in approximately the same sized box and coming with roughly the same amount of parts (give or take a few), the 2008 versions show us that Hasbro was more interested in cost-saving measures first and getting out something to kids and collectors out of obligation rather than planning something special for them. Perhaps it’s a sign of the times, but we hope that Hasbro can go back to their roots a bit more and really knock out some amazing concepts. Imagine an “ultimate” Battle of Mygeeto or Battle of Utapau themed set. There are a lot of options here that Hasbro just isn’t utilizing. We know they wanted to produce a set based on something in The Clone Wars and it should take precedence here, but even a more enthralling set based on something else in The Clone Wars universe could have been a little bit more exciting to the buying public. The Battle Of Christophsis is definitely the better of the two “ultimate” sets for 2008, but they both lack in so many ways that we find it more disappointing than exciting. We suppose it isn’t a “bad” set, but we’d say it isn’t engaging in the least. It certainly didn’t grab our attention when we first saw it on TARGET’s shelves. (And that’s not a really good sign, especially since the MSRP has sustained a 28% increase from 2007.)

The Battle Of Christophsis should be considered one big giant repaint. The Clone Troopers are repaints of 2008’s TCW Clone Trooper (No. 5) figure and now sport new Republic insignias on their left shoulders. The Battle Droids are rather inferior repaints of 2008’s TCW Battle Droid (No. 7) figure. This time they have some sand/dirt accumulation on their feet. Super Battle Droid is repaint of 2008’s TCW Super Battle Droid (No. 12) figure and Anakin Skywalker is a repaint of 2008’s TCW Anakin Skywalker (No. 1) figure. Some of the figures come with more accessories than they originally did, but most come with less, including the Super Battle Droid which comes in this set a little too "naked" in our opinion. The AAT is a repaint of 2008’s TCW Trade Federation Armored Assault Tank (AAT) vehicle. While they are similar in colors to each other, they are actually quite different in application. The same features have been carried over from the 1999 vehicle. The AT-AP is a bit of a head scratcher. Don’t get us wrong because we actually love this vehicle, but it has never appeared in the Battle of Christophsis (or the rest of The Clone Wars film for that matter) or in any of the television episodes. It’s made an appearance in Episode III during the Battle of Kashyyyk and some video games as well as some other Expanded Universe sources). So the AT-AP is a misplaced vehicle in The Battle Of Christophsis Battle Packs set. That being said, it is a repaint of 2007’s TAC AT-AP Walker and have been painted to fit right in with the rest of this multipack. The Battle Of Christophsis Battle Packs set isn’t really a value and it really isn’t the most exciting set. Hasbro could have easily spruced it up by including some exclusively painted clones or even an exclusive character, but it was meant to be easy on Hasbro’s budget. Everything inside of it can be considered “newish”, but that may not be enough for you to pluck down 28% more than the 2007 sets costed you.