Invasion Of Utapau - SW [SOTDS] - Battle Packs

Obi-Wan battles Grievous while Clone Commander Cody and airborne troopers take on the droid army. Obi-Wan and Grievous both handle a lightsaber with ferocious skill, and are equally determined to win the duel. Cody leads clone troopers into combat to crush the battle droid ranks, with airborne troopers descending from above to attack the enemy.

Fasten your seatbelts because we are flooring this review to the intersection of “fury street” and “whiner drive”. You know, there really comes a time in every toy company’s life where they must reevaluate when an action figure sculpt should be retired and NEVER be released again. With all the parts Hasbro has in their catalogue as of 2010, there is simply no excuse to release antiquated figures at this point in the game. Hasbro seems to not be very adept in this area. Let us be clear, we are huge proponents of repacked figures. We see the need for them in the basic figure lines as well as more aggressive sub-lines like Battle Packs and other multipacks. But the figures that get chosen to be repackaged now MUST be of the quality that we have come to expect and are used to getting. Take for instance the absolutely terrible Invasion Of Utapau Battle Packs set. This had great (amazing) potential and has tragically been rendered an instant piece of garbage thanks to bad choices of figures as well as the fact that 50% of the product inside should never see the light of day again. If you don’t like the Invasion Of Utapau Battle Packs set (heck, we don’t), perhaps you can blame Jedi Temple Archives specifically for this disaster because we believe we may have put the buzz in Hasbro’s ear to create a Battle Packs set based on the Battle of Utapau. But the Invasion Of Utapau set is absolutely NOT what we were trying to convey in our correspondence with them. And this set is anything but worth the $24.99 it’s going to cost you for two [good] figures (and ones that you already have no less). This was the opportunity to release another set of all clone troopers, but Hasbro passed on this in favor of releasing ANOTHER old Grievous and an Obi-Wan Kenobi we have 100 times already. Read our Q&A session on this very topic HERE.

Hasbro is definitely hung up on the included Battle Game pack-in premium here. Not only do we get new playing cards, they've also included a new Battle Mat to create more an an environment of Star Wars play. Click HERE to see the Battle Mat. Also, does Hasbro think we’re not alert? Why in the world would they release the same Obi-Wan Kenobi figure that has now received a coveted The Vintage Collection Obi-Wan Kenobi (VC16) slot in the basic figure line? Hasbro often talks with both sides of their mouths. First they claim that they're moving away from the collector focus and making Battle Packs a kids targeted line. Then they include the SAME action figure that’s supposed to be a collector focused figure in a kid focused line? Oh man how this bothers us. With a few rare exceptions nowadays, old and decrepit action figures are being resurrected from the dead and forced down our throats in Battle Packs (we’re not talking about The Clone Wars sets here – those are actually impressing us). So should we be happy that a "premium" version of Obi-Wan Kenobi was included here or should we be aggravated that they couldn’t have included better [and different] action figure choices here to make this Battle Packs set a dream come true with lots of (or all) army builders? Is this really too much to ask for, Hasbro? We know about the new Clone Trooper (212th Battalion) (VC38) in The Vintage Collection, but why couldn’t Hasbro have given us two Utapau Clone Troopers from either the 2010 LC Clone Trooper Lieutenant/Clone Trooper (10) Comic Packs set or the basic figure from 2006’s The Saga Collection, the Clone Trooper (SAGA 026) figure? The Airborne Trooper (with a slight deco change from 2007’s Airborne Trooper (30 07) figure) and Obi-Wan Kenobi are the only good action figures in this set and we would bet our collections that none of us needed another rerelease of this Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure (at least now).

And don’t get us started on the included General Grievous. Hasbro could have easily given us the 2008 TLC General Grievous (BD25) without the enhanced articulation and cape. We would have been fine with that. (Hey, maybe they could have even attempted to cast him in a strong plastic and give us one that stands unassisted because it's stable. But we suppose that would have been too much for us, right? We digress.) But no, they gave us some deviant derivation of the 2005 ROTS Sneak Preview, the 2006 TSC General Grievous (SAGA 030) figure instead. And would you believe Hasbro dug out the 2006 TSC Clone Commander Cody figure and not use the 2009 LC Clone Commander Cody (BD44) or the new 2010 TVC Clone Commander Cody (VC19) figures? The Battle of Utapau is one of the most favorite scenes for fans of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith and we all have been waiting for a Battle Packs set on this scene for quite some time now. Hasbro has already created the beautiful 2007 TAC Betrayal On Felucia, 2007 TAC Treachery On Saleucami and 2008 TAC Battle On Mygeeto sets. These sets were stunning. Does Hasbro look back on their history and take note of their previous accomplishments? Isn’t Hasbro embarrassed by the final version of Invasion Of Utapau after those brilliant 30 (77-07) sets? With one less figure than years past and a significant increase in price, Hasbro needs to step up the Battle Packs stat or this line is destined to suffer the same fate as other sub-lines they’ve done that should have had much longer shelf lives than they did! Collectors can clearly see the writing on the wall, yet Hasbro doesn’t seem to yet. Collectors are supporting these lines. We have the funds to do so. Please pull it back into high gear Hasbro! We’re not sure how much interest you’ll be able to sustain with sets like these.