Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith - SW [SOTDS] - Blu-ray Release Commemorative Figure & Mini-Poster Collection

The Clone Wars rage throughout the galaxy, and Jedi Knights lead the clone army into battle against the droid forces of the Separatists. As the Sith unveil an ancient plot to rule the galaxy, Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker is seduced by the dark side of the Force and becomes the Emperor's Sith apprentice, Darth Vader. Yet as darkness falls across the Republic, Anakin's children are born in secrecy, becoming the only hope to save the galaxy.

In any given group or collection of multipacks, there is guaranteed to be one “filler” set (or a set that just isn't up to snuff). And the Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith Blu-ray Release Commemorative Figure & Mini-Poster Collection is the one that gets this designation! Perhaps we’re hypersensitive to the fact that Hasbro threw four figures that actually remind us what’s wrong with collecting instead of what’s right. All four figures have issues for the umpteenth time (only one of which has been corrected on a different version of the figure to date – Mace Windu – more on that in a moment) and the same issues that plagued the figures when they first released are here again to pour salt into the wounds. OK, maybe we're being a little too dramatic. These are only toys for goodness sake! If you have to get them all, then the purchase of this set is mandatory. After all, in order to get the mini-poster you’ll have to plop down the $24.99. But expect to get irritated to the point of perhaps of feeling you have been scammed because there are so many problems here that the bad terribly outweighs the good. This is a crying shame of course because on paper this could have been one of the greatest sets of all six released. Still, we try to see this set in the light that this has been made to celebrate the release of the Star Wars saga on Blu-ray. So if you can refocus your thoughts and keep that in the forefront of your mind, you should be able to overlook the negative here.... maybe.

Yoda is a straight repack of 2010’s TVC Yoda (VC20) figure. You’d think that with another shot at releasing this otherwise good action figure months after its original availability at retail that Hasbro would have corrected the mismatched skin color. If you recall, his extremities are colored in a bright green color while his head looks more natural in a muted green. Also, Yoda still has that radioactive pea soup hair color that totally distracts the natural aesthetics of the figure. Still, it's hard not to admire the figure because of the good sculpt. But excellent paint jobs can make or break the figure. As a figure with a plethora of articulation for such a tiny sculpt, here would have been a perfect opportunity to fix its issues. Perhaps the most maddening figure in this four-pack is General Grievous which is a repack of 2010’s TVC General Grievous (VC17) figure. Again, a figure that should be perfect on paper from its breathtaking sculpt, gorgeous fabric cape and awesome accessories and features, Hasbro has somehow managed to find an even rubberier plastic to cast him in this time and it’s nearly impossible to stand him up now (at all). If that wasn’t bad enough, General Grievous’ newly articulated wrists don’t stay in their swivel sockets barely at all. As we posed him for this photo shoot they would just fall to the ground without even being touched. And Grievous would fall every other second. So forget about posing him holding lightsabers or the droid blaster (unless you get really clever making him hold them and stand up like we did).

Mace Windu is a straight repack of 2007’s TAC Mace Windu (No. 06) figure. While the figure was exciting back in 2007, it has a lot of wasted and inhibited articulation thanks to the very tough plastic used to mold his skirt. Also, the likeness was fair at best. We don’t mean to unnecessarily cut down this figure, but the 2011 TVC Mace Windu (VC35) has really put things in perspective for collectors as far as what Mace Windu should look like in 3.75” scale. The last aggravating figure in this set is Clone Commander Bly. A superb sculpt that has been steadfast ever since its inception in 2005, Hasbro simply repack the version of Clone Commander Bly that came in 2007’s Betrayal On Felucia Battle Packs set. If you’re knew to collecting, this version of Bly will likely be fine for you, but if you have been collecting for years like us, you’ll recall the extremely rare running change that Hasbro made to the 2005 ROTS figure that added the missing brown highlights on the armor. Fan sites for years have been asking for Hasbro to make this version more plentiful for us. While they have conceded to its eventual rerelease, it has yet to happen and the years are ticking away. So overall, we feel the Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith set is the weakest of the bunch. It may be great to get another shot at Clone Commander Bly, but this isn’t the way it should have been done.