Battle Over Endor (1 of 2) - SW [SOTDS] - Exclusives

Bravery. Skill. Loyalty. These are defining characteristics of the starfighter pilots on both sides of the conflict at the Battle of Endor. Whether they are Rebels or Imperials, these elite pilots are all focused on the same goal: victory. They are deeply aware that they are deciding the future of the galaxy, and will do everything they can to complete their mission.

We would like to ask Hasbro when they make fantastic exclusives like the Battle Over Endor sets at Toys R Us, do they reflect back and consider why lines like Evolutions and Comic Packs flop? Because if they did, they should be able to figure out why they can’t make certain sub-lines as successful as they’d like to see them. We “whine and complain” about the exuberant prices for little product and they say they can’t afford to do it any other way. But then these great sets are released for an extremely fair price and we wonder why the same couldn’t have been done for a line like Evolutions. The Battle Over Endor sets each give us four never-before-released (i.e. all-new) figures with super-articulation (or optimal articulation in the case of the included droids) for less than $25 in compact packaging. This is the way to do multipacks and we hope that Hasbro just bites the bullet and continues to give us the most value for our dollar. Four figures for $25 is a steal in today’s economy and the burden is on Hasbro to ensure this continues as a trend and not the exception. Both sets are incredibly worthy purchases and we would love to see them create a few more from this climactic battle from Return Of The Jedi. These sets are that good. And it proves that Hasbro can indeed afford to create multipacks like this even though we hear them constantly say they can’t “cost it out”. Obviously, if you’re all “piloted” out, you probably won’t find a need to add these sets to your collection, but in our opinion that would be a mistake. Hasbro worked hard to bring a mix of movie-specific characters and those just “off screen” and as a package deal, there is a lot to enjoy here for sure!

In the Battle Over Endor (1 of 2) set there is really only one filler figure. Lt. Oxixo (TIE Fighter Pilot), but there may be a large group of Star Wars fans who feel otherwise about this. It is the same Imperial TIE Fighter sculpt we have seen 100 times before, but the figure has an all-new helmet design that has not been released before. Lt. Oxixo can be seen in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in the brief dogfight when the Millennium Falcon escaped the Death Star. He is also famous for having "Star Wars '76" inscribed on the brow of his helmet. The figure is a repaint of the Imperial Pilot (TIE Fighter) from 2009's LC Imperial Pilot Legacy (Series II) Walmart exclusive Evolutions set. This time around Hasbro has painted a silver “Mohawk” on his helmet. We still wish that Hasbro would make a super-articulated version of the Imperial TIE Fighter Pilot because we are long overdue to receive one. This figure needs better sculpted legs that aren’t so close together and articulated ankles. Hopefully we are not too far away from one. Sila Kott (Red Two) (A-wing Pilot) is another wonderful addition to the basic figure line. To be quite frank, the sex of this pilot has been a great debate. Hopefully this action figure resolves this issue. We see the shadow of facial hair on close-up movie stills from Episode VI, yet the facial structure of the “actor” and especially the action figure look extremely feminine. (Not that this truly matters of course, but it does cause some confusion.) The body looks to be a closer match to Jake Farrell (from the Rebel Pilot Legacy) (Series III) or Arvel Crynyd from 2008's TLC Green Leader’s A-wing Fighter (also a Walmart exclusive). These figures slightly vary from 2007's TAC Tycho Celchu (A-wing Pilot) (30 44) figure a little bit (but not much). The paint job is beautiful and the details on the figure’s helmet are wonderfully executed.

The last two figures in the Battle Over Endor (1 of 2) set are intended to interact with each other. Lt. Ekelarc Yong (Gray Three) (Y-wing Pilot) is worthy of basic figure release thanks to a wonderful sculpt, likeness and stunning paint job. Hasbro captured every single detail of his detailed helmet and it fits and locks on his head perfectly. While the body isn’t anything new and have seen it many times before, it seems almost as if Hasbro had Ekelarc in mind down the road because it seems it was destined for him. Clearly our most favorite figure in the set, it’s a shame that Ekelarc Yong died during this battle because he shines as a hero not only in the film but in the action figure line as well. Hasbro ensured that all the figures has accurate and well done paint operations in these sets, but Ekelarc’s reigns as the winning champion as far as we’re concerned. His accompanying astromech is R5-P9. We’re being upfront here, but R5-P9 might as well be considered an Expanded Universe figure because it’s impossible to see this droid in Return Of The Jedi. But according to reference materials, the action figure is an accurate portrayal of the astromech and Hasbro did a phenomenal job on this figure. R5-P9 is a rework of 2006’s TSC R5-D4 (SAGA 032) figure and this time done in the colors of R5-P9 which includes a gray dome and legs with forest green detail and a white body with gray detail. It also has a realistic dirty wash. The Battle Over Endor (1 of 2) is a must-have for us and we bet you’ll be able to enjoy many figures in it as well. At $31.99, it’s not the greatest value we have seen, but you have to remember you're getting high quality figures here (and an overall high quality set). And it is our prayer that more continue because this is the way to treat collectors after years of loyalty. Thank you Hasbro!