Now we're talking. When Hasbro announced the Builder Packs line, collectors seemed ecstatic. But then Hasbro took the easy path and started with sets that only did a little for the collecting community. The line had some "hits" and "misses" thus far in the new "boxed set" format. But now, they're upping their game and producing sets that we wanted to see for years. Take, for instance, the Imperial Officers set. It gifts us with a revised version of Admiral Piett, a TVC-quality update to Admiral Motti, and then two new Imperial Officers, likely Hasbro concepts, that seem as if they're of Asian descent, that help to round out the line nicely. While they missed a massive opportunity adding Wullf Yularen into this four-pack, we're hopeful that Hasbro will soon add this character to the basic figure lineup, compete with beautiful character photo and STAR WARS entertainment logo. We digress. The Imperial Officers Builder Pack gives us four stunning super-articulated leaders from the Galactic Empire, and we doubt anyone will take exception to what Hasbro's given us here.
All four figures are parts from Admiral Piett (VC270), Moff Jerjerrod (VC284), and Grand Admiral Thrawn (VC296). Admiral Piett may be a surprise. We have both "Admiral" versions of the character from The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. However, we're missing the long-awaited "Captain" Piett from The Empire Strikes Back. We were hopeful that we would have received that version in this multipack. In The Empire Strikes Back, Captain Piett starts with three red and three blue squares on the rank badge. Then, when promoted to Admiral by Darth Vader, the character's ranking badge changes to six red squares and six blue squares on the rank badge. However, in Return Of The Jedi, Piett is already an Admiral, and the rank badge shows three red squares and three blue squares (just like the Captain badge in The Empire Strikes Back). We technically only have both Admiral versions of Piett now, as evidenced by the description of this product on Hasbro Pulse. We'd need a three-red and three-blue rank badge on Captain Piett packaged on a card featuring The Empire Strikes Back entertainment logo before we have this character done.
Admiral Motti is an admirable addition to the line, but would we be out of line if we claimed that the likeness of 2000's The Power Of The Force "2" [CommTech/FlashBack]" Admiral Motti is better and perhaps more accurate than this figure? Refrain from misinterpreting our question, please. We're happy to see a super-articulated Admiral Motti in The Vintage Collection, but we feel Hasbro could have done better nailing the character's likeness. The other two Imperial Officers in this set are Hasbro concepts. We have a generic Asian Imperial Officer and an Asian from the Imperial Security Bureau. Both action figures are well made and fit beautifully in the line and this boxed set. We're happy to see Hasbro branch out and produce a world of different characters in these uniforms. But most importantly, we hope that a set like this spells success for Hasbro because there are so many other Imperial Officers they need to get to before we consider them complete. And we hope they're brave enough to try a modernized version of the Death Star Briefing set that they did a decade and a half ago in The Saga Collection. There is so much untapped potential.
Collector Notes
Imperial Officers
Assortment Number: F8302
UPC: 5010996174734
Retail: $59.99 USD
Market Value: Click here to check the latest prices based on listings.
Imperial Officer [Admiral Piett]
Status: Imperial Officer [Admiral Piett] is a kit-bashed figure that utilizes the portrait of 2023's TVC Admiral Piett (VC270) figure with the body of 2023's TVC Moff Jerjerrod (VC284) figure. The figure has also been repainted.
Articulation Count: 27 points (17 areas of articulation)
Articulation Details: ball-socket head (1), reverse ball-socket neck (1), ball-jointed left shoulder (2), ball-jointed right shoulder (2), ball-jointed left elbow (2), ball-jointed right elbow (2), ball-jointed left wrist (2), ball-jointed right wrist (2), ball-socket torso (1), ball-socket left hip (1), ball-socket right hip (1), swivel left thigh (1), swivel right thigh (1), ball-jointed left knee (2), ball-jointed right knee (2), ball-jointed/"rocker" left ankle (2), ball-jointed/"rocker" right ankle (2)
Accessory Count: 2
Accessory Details: removable cap, blaster pistol
Date Stamp: N/A
Imperial Officer [Admiral Motti]
Status: Imperial Officer is a retool of 2023's TVC Admiral Piett (VC270) figure. This time the figure has an all-new portrait, a revised torso, and new hands. The figure has also been repainted.
Articulation Count: 27 points (17 areas of articulation)
Articulation Details: ball-socket head (1), reverse ball-socket neck (1), ball-jointed left shoulder (2), ball-jointed right shoulder (2), ball-jointed left elbow (2), ball-jointed right elbow (2), ball-jointed left wrist (2), ball-jointed right wrist (2), ball-socket torso (1), ball-socket left hip (1), ball-socket right hip (1), swivel left thigh (1), swivel right thigh (1), ball-jointed left knee (2), ball-jointed right knee (2), ball-jointed/"rocker" left ankle (2), ball-jointed/"rocker" right ankle (2)
Accessory Count: 3
Accessory Details: blaster pistol
Date Stamp: N/A
Imperial Officer [Unidentified]
Status: Imperial Officer [Unidentified] is a kit-bashed figure that utilizes the body of 2023's TVC Moff Jerjerrod (VC284) figure and the skirt of 2023's TVC Grand Admiral Thrawn (VC296) with an all-new portrait. The figure has also been repainted.
Articulation Count: 27 points (17 areas of articulation)
Articulation Details: ball-socket head (1), reverse ball-socket neck (1), ball-jointed left shoulder (2), ball-jointed right shoulder (2), ball-jointed left elbow (2), ball-jointed right elbow (2), ball-jointed left wrist (2), ball-jointed right wrist (2), ball-socket torso (1), ball-socket left hip (1), ball-socket right hip (1), swivel left thigh (1), swivel right thigh (1), ball-jointed left knee (2), ball-jointed right knee (2), ball-jointed/"rocker" left ankle (2), ball-jointed/"rocker" right ankle (2)
Accessory Count: 3
Accessory Details: removable cap, blaster pistol, E-11 blaster
Date Stamp: N/A
Imperial Officer [Imperial Security Bureau]
Status: Imperial Officer is a retool of 2023's TVC Admiral Piett (VC270) figure. This time the figure has an all-new portrait and a new torso. The figure has also been repainted.
Articulation Count: 27 points (17 areas of articulation)
Articulation Details: ball-socket head (1), reverse ball-socket neck (1), ball-jointed left shoulder (2), ball-jointed right shoulder (2), ball-jointed left elbow (2), ball-jointed right elbow (2), ball-jointed left wrist (2), ball-jointed right wrist (2), ball-socket torso (1), ball-socket left hip (1), ball-socket right hip (1), swivel left thigh (1), swivel right thigh (1), ball-jointed left knee (2), ball-jointed right knee (2), ball-jointed/"rocker" left ankle (2), ball-jointed/"rocker" right ankle (2)
Accessory Count: 3
Accessory Details: removable cap, blaster pistol, E-11 blaster
Date Stamp: N/A