Ultimate Gift Set (104th Battalion "Wolf Pack" Clone Troopers) - SW [TPM 3D] - The Clone Wars (Exclusive)

Added: December 10th 2012
Category: Star Wars [The Phantom Menace 3D]
Reviewer: Paul Harrison
Score:

Name: Ultimate Gift Set (104th Battalion "Wolf Pack" Clone Troopers)
Collection: Star Wars [TPM 3D]
Number: N/A (Exclusive)
Source: The Clone Wars(Season 4 Episode 5: Mercy Mission)
Availability: November 2012
License: Hasbro

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The famed 104th "Wolf Pack" Battalion serves under Jedi General Plo Koon and is led by Commander Wolffe. At the Battle of Abregado, the entire battalion was decimated, losing only Wolffe, Sinker and Boost. Only luck, ingenuity and the unyielding determination of Plo Koon kept them alive. The troopers' armor was originally red, but Wolffe changed it to blue-gray to honor the many comrades who were lost in the battle.

(Did anyone else notice that the description above makes absolutely no sense?) You would have to be living under a rock somewhere outside of the USA to not have an inkling what an utter debacle 2012 was for Star Wars collectors. Then again, it’s all a domino effect so we know our friends across the globe have been equally frustrated. While conjecture exists on every topic from poor case assortments to over abundance of repacked merchandise we never wanted in the first place on why 2012 was the failure it was, it does seem that Hasbro aggressively performed damage control, albeit the end of the year, to finally get a few of the long-awaited products out to the collecting community. So stuff started arriving in November 2012 – stuff that should have been out April of that year. They have promised that 2013 will be different, but many are skeptical as the wounds from 2012 haven’t healed entirely and many more aren’t so sure if their nerves can sustain another 365 days of purse collector “you-know-what”. We just want the opportunity to buy the stuff. Is that so much to ask? Hasbro says they want to sell it to us, so we’ll wait with baited breath to see if this hobby can make an upswing before the Sequel Trilogy enters our world in 2015. (We’re sure thing swill be very different at that point.) So this is a great deal of exposition for a four pack of figures. We realize that, but a lot of our stated points directly apply to the 2012 SW [TPM 3D] Ultimate Gift Set (104th Battalion “Wolf Pack” Clone Troopers) exclusive set. An intended Walmart exclusive, those plans were scrapped do to the glut of product that DIDN’T move in their stores so Hasbro quickly revised the plans and made it a quasi online exclusive so it could indeed see the light of day.

Not only did online retailers/etailers sell this, but so did TARGET.com. (That’s a bit coincidental, no?) But because Hasbro dropped a figure (when compared to 2011’s TCW [SOTDS] Ultimate Gift Set Walmart exclusive) and kept the MSRP the same, well, the people at this site weren’t having it. Multipacks need to have more value at the cost per figure level. Otherwise, just pack them as basic carded figures. As a result from waiting, our short-winded boycott reaped wonderful rewards and we were able to secure two sets for that price on Amazon.com. We don’t recommend waiting for things like this, but this set was the straw to break the camel’s back for us as far as 2012 was concerned. Needless to say, we were ecstatic to get these for a song. The set didn’t really impress us at first glance. In fact, many other great Star Wars fan sites grabbed this set right away and added it to their respective photo archives, but not even that enticed us enough to pick it up. But with all of that behind us, we can say now that we have it in hand, we think it’s a pretty decent set of figures. All the figures are new as far as variations are concerned. As contributors to Steve Sansweet’s Star Wars: The Ultimate Action Figure Collection, we can tell you that all four figures in this set would each have an entry in a future book of similar type if that helps you decide. As a sum, this set is rather fun. They’re well accessorized and the paint jobs are very nice. But the clones are sadly clean. The point here however is that Hasbro has taken their good old time getting out the many phase II clones that have appeared in later seasons of The Clone Wars. We’re long overdue for these! At least now you can know knock two off of your wish lists.

We like to refer to this set as Ambush At Abregado 2.0. In fact, we like the title Ambush At Abregado (Phase II) a little bit better. You might be surprised, but this is definitely not the first time we are seeing Clone Trooper Sinker and Clone Trooper Boost in the basic figure line, but it is however the first time you’re seeing them in the blue-gray phase II armor. (The 2009 TCW Ambush At Abregado Battle Packs set from TARGET contained both in their maroon colored phase I armor. Now we have them in the phase II look.) Obviously we have received both Plo Koon and Clone Commander Wolffe previously, but they’re different enough to be considered needed for your own collection. Clone Trooper Sinker and Clone Trooper Boost are reworked versions of 2012’s SW [TPM 3D] Clone Trooper (Phase II Armor) (CW2) figure. They are decorated in the color flashes of the 104th Battalion “Wolf Pack”. Accessories have been reduced and changed for both figures for this release. Clone Commander Wolffe is a clean repaint of 2012’s SW [TPM 3D] Clone Commander Wolffe (CW17) figure. We’re happy to see a different paint job on him because if they absolutely had to repack this figure, this is the way to do it so it gives collectors some versatility for this character. Surprisingly, Plo Koon is also a clean repaint of 2008’s TCW Plo Koon (No. 14) figure and he really hasn’t looked better. Yes, we even surprise ourselves with that assessment. We have also noticed that the legs have been incidentally repositioned in a very positive way which gives the figure a significantly better center of gravity. He stands without any issues now. All in all, get this set for any amount under retail and it’s a deal no matter how you slice it.

Collector Notes

Ultimate Gift Set (104th Battalion "Wolf Pack" Clone Troopers)

Assortment Number: A0793

UPC: 653569808282

Retail: $29.99 USD

Market Value: Click here to check the latest prices based on Click here to check the market value on eBay! listings.

Clone Trooper Sinker

Status: Clone Trooper Sinker is a rework of 2012's SW [TPM 3D] Clone Trooper (Phase II Armor) (CW2) figure.

Articulation Count: 12

Articulation Details: ball-socket head, 2 ball-jointed shoulders, 2 ball-jointed elbows, 2 swivel wrists, swivel waist, 2 swivel hips, 2 ball-jointed knees

Accessory Count: 3

Accessory Details: DC-15 blaster rifle, jetpack, rocket projectile

Date Stamp: 2011

Clone Trooper Boost

Status: Clone Trooper Boost is a rework of 2012's SW [TPM 3D] Clone Trooper (Phase II Armor) (CW2) figure.

Articulation Count: 12

Articulation Details: ball-socket head, 2 ball-jointed shoulders, 2 ball-jointed elbows, 2 swivel wrists, swivel waist, 2 swivel hips, 2 ball-jointed knees

Accessory Count: 3

Accessory Details: DC-15 blaster, jetpack, rocket projectile

Date Stamp: 2011

Clone Commander Wolffe

Status: Clone Commander Wolffe is a clean repaint of 2012's SW [TPM 3D] Clone Commander Wolffe (CW17) figure.

Articulation Count: 8 points

Articulation Details: ball socket head, 2 ball-jointed shoulders, 2 ball-jointed elbows, swivel waist, 2 swivel hips

Accessory Count: 4

Accessory Details: 2 DC-17 blaster pistols, DC-15 blaster, DC-15 blaster rifle

Date Stamp: 2011

Plo Koon

Status: Plo Koon is a clean repaint of 2008's TCW Plo Koon (No. 14) figure. (The legs have been repositioned as the figure has no problem standing up now.)

Articulation Count: 10 points

Articulation Details: ball-socket head, 2 ball-jointed shoulders, 2 ball-jointed elbows, 2 swivel wrists, swivel waist, 2 swivel hips

Accessory Count: 2

Accessory Details: lightsaber gauntlet, removable hood (down)

Date Stamp: 2008

 



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