Admiral Ackbar/First Order Officer - TBS [P3] - Six Inch Figures (Exclusive)

Admiral Ackbar: Ackbar became a Grand Admiral in the New Republic, winning many victories, including the pivotal Battle of Jakku. He retired to Mon Cala, but was coaxed back into service with the Resistance by Leia Organa.

First Order Officer: The officers of the First Order military forces show unwavering allegiance to Supreme Leader Snoke, leading his massive armies and fleet in a relentless drive to dominate the galaxy.

If we understand anything about The Black Series [Phase III] exclusive program it’s that the grouping of figures really doesn’t mean that they have any interactions in their respective films. This has been a growing trend. Many of the exclusive figures are single-packed, but the ones that do contain more than one figure may or may not contain action figures that have any interaction with each other. This, of course, makes us wonder a bit about the Toys R Us exclusive Admiral Ackbar/First Order Officer two-pack. It’s a visually appealing set and Hasbro has already made use of a new existing sculpt to bring us another character, but we wonder if our longtime favorite Mon Calamari Admiral Ackbar will have any engagement with the First Order. Time will certainly tell. The Black Series [Phase III] Admiral Ackbar/First Order Officer two-pack was a secret Hasbro was able to maintain up until a few days prior to Force Friday II. In this social media age that’s nearly impossible to do, so we commend them for their efforts. Out of left field really, we now officially learn that Admiral Ackbar revises his Episode VII outfit a bit and that the First Order Officers really resemble the Imperial Officers seen so clearly in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. It will be interesting to see what comes of this in Episode VIII. (Editor's Note: This figure is clearly intended to be Captain Tritt Opan.) The Admiral Ackbar/First Order Officer two-pack beings enough newness to be worthwhile to you, but we wonder how well it will do because there is definitely repetition here.

Obviously Admiral Ackbar is the shining star of the set. He is an all-new figure and this represents the first time he has been captured in the 6” scale. This has immediately frustrated collectors of this line who have been clamoring for an Episode VI version of his for years now. Still, Hasbro did a fine job at capturing his Episode VIII presence well and aside from a gimmick we feel that should have been left in the 5POA range, we’d say he is a topnotch release in The Black Series [Phase III] line look. If you recall, The Force Awakens line brought us a detailed and beautifully sculpted Admiral Ackbar in 3.75” scale. In addition to the Build A Weapon gimmick, Hasbro also added an articulated jaw. It was appreciated by collectors, but it also wasn’t required. Collectors of the line embraced it and pretty much everyone conceded what a cool feature it was on the figure. But Hasbro has carried forward this gimmick into the 6” scale. And it seems to work as much as it doesn’t seem to work. We know that’s a noncommittal explanation, but ultimately we would side with the idea that maybe it would have been better left in the 5POA. The reason is that you have no left or right head movement…. at all. Sure, both of his jaws articulate and it certainly gives him multiple expressions, but the sacrifice of ball-socket head movement is a deal breaker here for us. It’s really the only negative to this figure as far as we’re concerned. Admiral Ackbar is still beautiful and has an amazing sculpt and diligent paint operations. He also comes with a blaster rifle.

The generic First Order Officer shouldn’t surprise any collectors. Hasbro amortized the sculpt of Finn (First Order Disguise) (51), added a new portrait and cap, repainted the figure a bit and gave us an easy all-new character. Aside from too pale skin and some sloppy paint operations, the First Order Officer looks pretty nice. He certainly isn’t anything to rejoice over, but he is a nice background character for your Episode 8 displays. Hasbro tooled a pliable “lower skirt” on this figure so posing him isn’t too much of an issue at all. Aside from the aforementioned cap, he also comes with a blaster pistol. It can be housed in a holster on the right side of his belt when not in use. Together, Admiral Ackbar and the First Order Officer make an odd couple, but a great exclusive. Sometimes Toys R Us has gotten the shaft when it comes to Hasbro’s exclusive program. But at least for the 6” line, they’re getting some fabulously painted figures and/or all-new sculpts. The Admiral Ackbar/First Order Officer two-pack is a perfect mix of old and new and will certainly be of interest to collectors of the 6” line. Many The Black Series [Phase III] 6” exclusive contained straight repacks of figures which were detrimental to the line. Look how many Rogue One three-packs are rotting on shelves even on clearance. But when Hasbro makes the effort to include this much newness, it really interests the people who they’re trying to entice with these great figures. Admiral Ackbar/First Order Officer retails for $39.99 and for us they’re worth every penny.