Jedi Force Pack - CW [A] - Clone Wars Commemorative DVD Collection

Through the creative vision of Lucasfilm Ltd. and the Cartoon Network, the Clone Wars are brought to life in a series of short animated chapters. A unique animation style captures the drama of this epic period in galactic history along with its outstanding heroes and adversaries. Noble Jedi warriors lead clone troopers into battle against the evil Separatist forces and their droid armies. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda and their comrades struggle against the rising power of the dark side and confront personal challenges against a backdrop of war-torn planets.

An evergreen in Walmart’s exclusive program with Hasbro, the Commemorative DVD Collection multipacks are about a staple product as Hasbro’s basic figure line is to collectors. Some are better than others. And sadly, when it comes to the Clone Wars Commemorative DVD Collection Jedi Force Pack, this one is a disappointment. It’s not that the action figures inside of the set aren’t nice. They are. It’s just that this multipack presented Hasbro with the chance to include some newness here and they didn’t seize that opportunity at all. Two sets were produced for the Clone Wars Volume 1 DVD release. One is based on Sith Lords, the Sith Attack Pack, while this set is based on the Jedi Knights and their respective clone commanders from Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars. The figures included in this set are straight repacks of the basic figure releases. The redundancy here is painful. But for new collectors joining in the fun for the first time, multipacks like this may be the perfect tool to create a new fan base. The figures are nice, but the Clone Wars [Animated] line needs to include lower body articulation. Sadly, that’s not part of this line’s approach. The sets retail for $9.99 each which means we’re only paying a little more than $3 per figure. That’s a steal no matter how you slice.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is a figure with very simple articulation. He’s been sculpted in a way where both of his hands can hold onto the hilt of the included lightsaber. This is a feature that most collectors wish the more articulation action figures could attain more frequently. With the animated version of Obi-Wan Kenobi, it couldn’t be easier. Besides, he looks fantastic holding the lightsaber in this fashion anyway. Although Obi-Wan Kenobi has his left leg outstretched and his right leg at an angle, he stands very well and has a flawless center of gravity. As with most of the figures in the Clone Wars [Animated] line, Obi-Wan Kenobi has a very nice paint job. There are few spots of unevenness and perhaps a few imperfections, but Hasbro figured out very well how to translate the animation into excellent paint operations. Overall we’re quite impressed with how Obi-Wan Kenobi (and the other figures in this multipack) turned out in this style. Not even the realistically styled action figures look this good (in our opinion). Maybe it’s simpler to decorate bolder colors with less transition, but these paint jobs come across as more vibrant and stand out as among some of Hasbro’s finest works to date.

The Clone Wars [Animated] Anakin Skywalker figure is pretty good too. Aside from the “much-too-red” hair color, we think that Hasbro did a very admirable job at recreating this animated likeness of the young Jedi hero very, very well. Anakin Skywalker is posed in an action stance, but it’s not too exaggerated where he doesn’t look normal resting on a shelf somewhere. He has very little articulation (just like most of the figures in this basic figure line), but whatever articulation Hasbro did work in functions quite well actually. The paint operations are also exquisitely painted. The best figure in this set, however, is the ARC Trooper. Who could forget how he stole the show in the earliest chapters of Volume 1 of the Clone Wars micro-series. The character, who is officially known as Captain Fordo (ARC-77). ARC Trooper comes with four points of articulation. The figure has a ball-socket head, two swivel shoulders, and a swivel waist. He has also been positioned in an action pose which looks great, but collectors will quickly tire of the same state ARC Trooper stays in because you really can’t get too many unique positions out of him. Included with ARC Trooper are the two blasters, and all of the figures included here come with an action figure display stand. The set is nice. But it’s just that most of us have these figures already.