Anakin Skywalker & R2-D2 - TCW [B] - Two-Packs

Why is Hasbro intent on re-releasing the same half-dozen figures until it kills their exclusive program? For reasons unknown, Hasbro didn’t reach far beyond the first wave of The Clone Wars [Blue] line to choose characters to make for the Toys R us an exclusive Two-Packs line. What’s more, the Two-Packs line doesn’t offer that much of a reduction in price-per-figure as the Walmart exclusive Commemorative DVD Collection sets do. Because of this, it’s hard to consider the Anakin Skywalker & R2-D2 Two-Packs set worthy of hard-earned money. Besides, the figures are redundant to your collection as well. Hasbro decided that straight repacks are the best option for the Two-Packs assortment. But they could not be more incorrect about this. When Hasbro releases these figures previously available in other formats, collectors lose interest, and the store exclusives sit on shelves in anticipation of clearance. If you own the basic figure releases of Anakin Skywalker and R2-D2, there is almost no reason at all to purchase this Toys R Us exclusive Two-Packs set. However, if you’re into the exclusive packaging of them, then perhaps you’ll make an exception. Just remember that you’re not necessarily getting a deal here nor any new figures here. What’s worse, there is no army-building character in this particular set, so what’s the point. Add some newness or please refrain from making exclusives like this, Hasbro. Let’s take a bit of a closer look at the figures that make up the Anakin Skywalker & R2-D2 Two-Packs set from Toys R Us.

Anakin Skywalker is a straight repack of 2008’s TCW [B] Anakin Skywalker (No. 1) figure. Hasbro gave the figure a great paint job, and the details look fantastic. Back when The Clone Wars action figure line was first announced and shown, collectors were initially disappointed to find out that Hasbro decided on a hybrid animated/realistic approach for the action figures. But once they released the figures, collectors quickly embraced them. Anakin Skywalker comes with a limited ten points of articulation. As a powerful Jedi Knight, Anakin would have benefitted from super-articulation. We feel our opinion is a fair representation of the voice of most collectors too. Hasbro sculpted Anakin Skywalker brilliantly and hid the figure's joints very well. Since he is a character that is anything but sedentary, we thought for sure he would have received the ultimate articulated treatment. He didn't receive that, but we still can say that the figure looks great despite this. He is colored perfectly, and his chest plate has all the right weathering you would expect a battle-damaged piece of armor to collect. And the rest of his Jedi gear/accessories are flawlessly replicated from The Clone Wars film and television series. As an extra footnote here, collectors may want to pay close attention to the strand of hair that falls down his forehead and separates from the rest on his head. It has been the subject of inferior paint applications, and we had to pass on quite a few samples before we found one that met our very particular standards.

R2-D2 comes with action features that Hasbro cleverly worked into a natural aesthetic of the character. Because of this, the action figure excels at every level. Sure, Hasbro loaded R2-D2 with a bunch of gimmicky bells and whistles, but thankfully most function like a natural extension of the character, and not as some forced play feature or action feature. The front panels on his body open up to reveal two extension arms housed within his frame. Additionally, there is a back panel that opens up and has a grappling hook and rope (with significant length may we add). You can choose to extend the cable or wind it up inside of R2-D2’s body. You acomplish this action through the rotation of his dome. Again, this is partly silly, but it’s also pretty dang cool. All of the panels can close at once without looking as if something is trying to poke through because everything fits well inside of the figure's interior. We’re thankful to see such a fantastic bonus feature included here. R2-D2 looks great and exactly as he does in The Clone Wars television show and feature film. The blues are beautiful and weathered. And he has an amazing finishing wash which captures some of the dirt and damage he sustained during his many adventures in space. He also is accented with bright colors to recreate the various lights on his dome. This plucky astromech droid is a good action figure. But do we need to see him in so many different types of exclusives? This answer may vary depending on who you are, but we’d prefer to see new or revised figures instead.