Rose (First Order Disguise)/BB-8/BB-9E - SW [S] - Two Packs

Yikes! Force Link 2.0 is a HOT MESS. Late April 27, 2018, the update to the Force Link 2.0 app went live. It was this very update needed to make the figures interact with the Force Link 2.0 wristband. It took some collectors hours to update the device to finality. And in the process of this arduous task, many of us lost more of our hair, increased our blood pressure and needed inpatient counseling to regather our mental faculties. Yes, it was that terrible of a thing. We had to get that out there. Before we talk about this Two-Packs set, let’s back up a bit. In the Star Wars [The Last Jedi] line, the Rose (First Order Disguise)/BB-8/BB-9E Two-Packs set was part of the second wave of Two-Packs. It was thrown into a case with unneeded repacks, and many stores never got this case assortment at all. Now it has been re-released in the Star Wars [Solo] line look (in brand new packaging), and we’re not sure why. Old sets like the Rathtar/Bala-Tik and the Resistance A-wing Fighter were re-released in the Star Wars [Solo] line but Hasbro kept their Star Wars [The Last Jedi] graphics on the box. (The Force Link 2.0 call-out was the only change to the packaging.) In fact, sets that never got released in the Star Wars [The Last Jedi] line because of distribution issues like the Wampa/Luke Skywalker (Hoth) set kept the older line look graphics but only became available in the Star Wars [Solo] case assortments. It’s all very confusing.

To further complicate things, Hasbro has reissued the Rose (First Order Disguise)/BB-8/BB-9E Two-Packs set in the Star Wars [Solo] line as well, but they CHANGED the graphic to the new line look. And as expected, the same figures have a new Force Link 2.0 logo color on the bottom of their feet, so it’s easy to tell what Force Link device is required to interact them with each other. Well, things didn’t go so smoothly with that either. Rose (First Order Disguise) now says a mixture of the phrases intended with this version of her, but also the phrases that are exclusive to the 2017 SW [TLJ] Resistance Tech Rose Force Link figure. Again, this causes great confusion. To make matter worse, both BB-8 and BB-9E don’t work and the Force Link 2.0 device spouts “FIRMWARE UPDATE REQUIRED!” when you try to make them “talk.” More ridiculous yet, if you use the original Force Link device to make the Force Link 2.0 versions of BB-8 and BB-9E “talk,” they spout Rose’s lines. It’s complete madness. Things aren’t too organized in whatever department handles this at Hasbro. It’s a shame because it’s such a great gimmick for the Star Wars brand. But it is being squandered and not taken seriously by the folks responsible for it at Hasbro. For now, let’s quickly go over the three action figures included in this set to go over what might be different with them when compared to the original figures. There isn’t much, so this should be short and sweet.

Rose still looks like a second-rate action figure. And it has to do with the lackluster paint operations. As usual, the sculpt appears rather fantastic. But our sample of Rose (First Order Disguise) has uneven eyes, blotchy black paint for her hair, and the details on her uniform just don’t look that great. gave us the basic five points of articulation here. You get a nice amount of movement in the head, and she has great posture and an even better center of gravity. Hasbro gave her a functioning holster which house the gun accessory she has been given. What’s more, the blaster can be held in both of her arms beautifully. Surprisingly, Hasbro has added a First Order megablaster and its stand with Rose. This Two-Packs set (actually a three-packs set) comes with two BB units. Included here are BB-8 and BB-9E. They’re not nearly as good as the ones made by Disney, but they hold up well enough for the 5POA basic figure line. These all-new sculpts are based on the digital files of previous versions of BB-8 (plus or minus some new tooling here and there). The paint applications, while not perfect, look pretty good compared to past versions. We think they’re a large improvement to what we have received in the past. All three figures should have functional Force Link 2.0 technology, but as we’ve outlined earlier, that didn’t come to pass as expected. This set still has some merit despite its multiple issues, however.