Episode I: The Phantom Menace - SW [SOTDS] - Blu-ray Release Commemorative Figure & Mini-Poster Collection

On the planet Tatooine, two Jedi discover a nine-year-old slave boy who is unusually strong in the Force. After a series of adventures including an exciting Podrace and an encounter with a deadly new foe, they return to the world of Naboo, where they face a massive invasion and the re-emergent forces of darkness known as the Sith.

It’s that time again folks! Lucasfilm, Ltd. is gearing up for the release of the Star Wars saga to debut on Blu-ray discs on September 16, 2011, and what a momentous day it will be indeed. For the first time, collectors will be treated to all the deleted scenes that didn’t make the final cuts of the film (that were really just rumors until now). Besides brand new digital prints of the films, they will be presented on the best digital format available to consumers (we suppose until something better comes along). And as history has dictated, a release (or rerelease) of some new media format of the beloved Star Wars films means a commemorative multipack of action figures from Hasbro also arrives to help celebrate the momentous event. (We will say it again! It is perhaps the most exciting format to date since fans will finally be able to see all of the deleted scenes from the Original Trilogy and in glorious digital Blu-ray no less!) Hasbro joins in on this highly anticipated multimedia event and creates probably what can be considered the classiest companion product the company has ever produced. That doesn't mean that you'll want them however.

The nicest surprises in these sets are the miniature versions of the one sheet movie posters which have been produced and printed on a nice sturdy cardboard material. The mini-posters (as they're called on the packaging) take up the whole surface area of the back of the box, so these are nicely sized and come whole without any folding (or any other distracting “damage”.) In true Hasbro fashion, they’ve created cost-effective, yet quality sets for collectors to enjoy. For the most part and with very few exceptions, they have used the best possible action figure versions of the characters out there and in some rare instances have included for the first time a new figure. The Episode I: The Phantom Menace set includes the "new" cool Battle Droid in tan (with a tame yet nice dirty final wash) whose base sculpt made its debut in the awesome 2009 LC Mace Windu/Battle Droid Commander Geonosis Arena Showdown (3 of 6) set. Unfortunately, the Battle Droid comes without his backpack and just has the antenna attachment instead, but it’s nice to finally see this amazingly sculpted version of the Battle Droid in another color besides the red/maroon we’re so used to seeing ad infinitum. The Battle Droid also comes with its signature blaster that fits flawlessly into its robotic fingers. Oh, and this new Battle Droid sculpt never looked better folded up than it does now in tan.

The other figures in this set are nothing that we haven’t seen before and you may care less about picking the set up because of them. Obi-Wan Kenobi is a straight repack of 2009’s LC Obi-Wan Kenobi (BD06) figure. The same lightsaber and soft-goods cloak come with him and he is super-articulated to successfully perform a healthy array of various poses. Qui-Gon Jinn is a straight repack of the figure that came in both 2009’s LC Qui-Gon Jinn And Eopie mail-away set and then repacked in 2010’s LC Tatooine Desert Ambush Battle Packs set. Both of the figures differ from 2008’s TAC The Jedi Legacy Evolutions figure by having completely different paint jobs. And then finally Darth Maul is a repack of the figure that came in 2005’s ROTS The Sith Evolutions set. Sadly, this version of Darth Maul hasn't aged as well as the other figures due to the inclusion of swivel elbows and it would have been an ideal time for Hasbro to upgrade the figure here. Oh well. Still, the likeness is very good. The Blu-ray Release Commemorative Figure & Mini-Poster Collection sets look awesome packaged and their spines form a stunning mural of select characters from the films and well as the universally familiar Star Wars logo in the center. These are the best commemorative multimedia sets to date, both in character selection, action figure selection and packaging and at $24.99, it’s a steal as far as the cost per figure is concerned. Definitely check them out!