Imperial Set (Imperial Commander/Dengar (Bounty Hunter)/AT-AT Driver) - TVC - Special Action Figure Sets

This fearsome group's goal is to seek and destroy all the Rebel forces in the galaxy.

The next batch of The Vintage Collection’s Special Action Figure Sets has hit Target! After this group, Hasbro promised they’d include some newness in these sets, but we’ll have to tolerate the incessant repacking a bit longer. At least they contain quality figures, albeit ones we don’t necessarily need. The interestingly titled “Imperial Set” is a bit of a misnomer. Dengar (Bounty Hunter) is not an Imperial, and Hasbro should have switched the Snowtrooper figure in the Imperial Forces Special Action Figure Set with this Corellian bounty hunter instead. If they did that, we would have gotten one whole set of members of the Galactic Empire and one complete set based on the scummy bounty hunters. But that would have only happened in a perfect world. So, for now, Dengar (Bounty Hunter) will be an incognito Imperial. The Imperial Set is a solid three-pack, but if you have these figures, there isn’t enough here to get excited about because it’s one rehash after another. Besides, you’re buying this set for their nostalgia, as modern updates to the classic Kenner multipacks. One thing we must address, however, is that Dengar (Bounty Hunter) has a slightly revised paint job as far as the “dirt” on the outfit is concerned. The 2010 TVC Dengar (VC01) figure has dirt that appears very splattered on the gear, whereas the Special Action Figure Set version has the same colored dirt applied but much more smoothly. You’ll only see these differences with a side-by-side comparison, and it may (likely) be something you couldn’t care less about because it isn’t a variation.

Imperial Commander is just a renamed version of 2009’s TLC Captain Needa (BD 40) figure. This decent action figure (with an origin to 2007’s TAC Death Star Trooper (30 13) figure) is beginning to show its age, and we find it unbelievable that Hasbro re-released it without any upgrades or changes. It would have suited collectors much better if they gave this figure a generic head sculpt or, even better, General Veers’ portrait. We must be patient because Hasbro promised that “newer” figures are coming to these sets. But we digress. We have noticed slight differences in how Hasbro painted the eyes, but nothing noteworthy. The figure’s cap and uniform color are still gray with that barely subtle tint of green, and it looks nice and screen-accurate. The variances we noted are not intended to drive you insane. 90% of these changes result from producing the exact figure during two different periods. The paint recipe may get slightly altered, only rendering these noticeable differences to type A personality collectors like ourselves. However, there is no denying they are there. Is the Imperial Officer different from the Captain Needa (BD 40) figure? No, it isn’t. Are there some minor differences that exist between them? Yes, there are. Hasbro included some figures like the AT-AT Driver action figure from the original Hoth Rebels (Han Solo/Hoth Rebel Trooper/FX-7)/Bespin Alliance (Bespin Wing Guard/Lando Calrissian/Luke Skywalker (Bespin Fatigues)/Imperial Set (4-LOM/AT-AT Driver/Imperial TIE Fighter Pilot) 9-pack.

Hasbro did something to improve the overall aesthetics of the AT-AT Driver. And last, do you remember that awkward lean the Legacy Collection version had? Hasbro appears to have tightened the waist joint because the AT-AT Drivers stand more erect this time. AT-AT Driver is a straight repack of 2009’s LC AT-AT Driver (BD49) figure. But this time, we immediately noticed the figure had a sterling, even white, paint job on the helmet. The helmet was relatively muddy looking on the Legacy Collection figure. But Hasbro tightened up the paint operations quite a bit, and there is now an unmatched evenness (especially on the helmet), and we think this makes the figure look better than ever. We have seemingly pointed out many differences here, but we want to pull this review back and clarify that the contents here are just straight repacks. At the same time, the slight differences we’re documenting update the figures positively, in our opinion. However, you won’t miss anything that big if you decide not to repurchase them. These current-era replicas of the vintage Kenner three-packs from long ago are excellent additions to modern collecting. We’re thankful they chose to revisit them decades later. They need to produce a few more to complete the collection, but that may take time as Hasbro needs new tooling to make these happen. We should have much to look forward to, so we’ll wait until Hasbro announces the successive waves. Until they do, we hope you enjoy them in your collection.