Imperial Forces - SW [S - P2] - Multipacks (Exclusive)

The powerful and ruthless Empire seeks to crush the Rebellion that is gathering strength in the galaxy. Imperial forces attack the heroic rebels with their military forces and through other, more subtle, means. They all contribute, in ways large and small, to the Empire's evil oppression of a galaxy that longs for freedom and lasting peace.

Two Hasbro sub-lines have been amalgamated into a brand-new format. Imagine if you will what a store exclusive would look like that is the product of the Cinema Scenes and the Accessory Sets. If you somehow bred them together you’d probably be left with something that looks a whole lot like the Toys R Us exclusive multipacks. These sets bring you four main characters, large interactive accessories, and a plethora of weapons to accompany those figures. Then they’ve been placed in a large (and heavy) window box which displays all of its contents nicely. What’s more, instead of just adding straight repacks (which they easily could do), Hasbro has tweaked the figures and have added kit-bashed, retooled and repainted figures with some characters available for the very first time in the Star Wars toy line. In short, this is the perfect way to get out some of the more classic action figures that were already released out to the marketplace again. But the newness brought to them makes them collectible all over again. As a result, collectors went nuts for them and couldn’t wait for the next announcement. This is the way to make a Star Wars exclusive. Plus, the price of $19.99 for what’s included here couldn’t be more palatable.

Dubbed Imperial Forces, this exclusive multipack in Star Wars [Saga – Phase II] packaging (the line look with the orange name plates) nicely displays the contents in a window box. Although not focused on any one film or battle from the Star Wars saga, Imperials Forces brings together some of the most popular members of the Galactic Empire into one set for collectors. The Stormtrooper is a kit-bashed figure that utilizes the upper body of 2001’s POTJ Sandtrooper (Imperial Patrol) figure with the legs of 1999’s POTF2 [FB/CT] Stormtrooper CommTech figure. The figure has been accessorized with a blaster rack, two blaster rifles and a standard issue E-11 blaster. The two figures that make up the Stormtrooper fit together nicely. It’s cool to get a new take on these characters in the toy line again. The AT-ST Driver, based on its appearance from Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi, is also a kit-bashed/retooled figure. It utilizes the body of 2001’s POTJ Imperial Officer figure with an all-new head, but we should qualify that the head sculpt is based on the portrait from 2001’s POTJ Rebel Trooper (Tantive IV Defender) figure. The figure has been completely repainted and comes with an E-11 blaster as well. It looks infinitely better than the 1997 POTF2 [FF/TKC] AT-ST Driver figure.

Darth Vader is a pretty cool update as well. Utilizing the sculpt of 2001’s POTJ Darth Vader (Emperor’s Wrath) figure, Hasbro has now recast the mold into solid black plastic which in turn removes the transparent qualities that the base figure was required to have to recreate the effects of Force lightning. It’s a great sculpt and works perfectly with this approach. Darth Vader comes with a removable cape and lightsaber. The last “official” figure in this set is R4-I9. Based on the 2002 POTJ R4-M9 figure, Hasbro retooled some of the figure’s parts and completely repainted it in black to recreate this Imperial R4-series astromech droid. There’s strong debate on whether this character actually made an appearance in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, but whatever the case, this is an awesome addition to the 3.75” action figure line. Other items included in the Imperial Forces set are the Mouse Droid (from 1999’s POTF2 [FF/TKC] Death Star Droid figure), an Imperial Interrogator Droid (from 1999’s POTF2 [FB/CT] Darth Vader (With Interrogation Droid) figure), and the Imperial Tripod Cannon from the 1997 POTF2 [FF/TKC] Snowtrooper Deluxe figure. Imperial Forces is a lot of bang for your buck. We foresee these exclusives being successful for Hasbro.