Ambush At Abregado - TCW [R] - Battle Packs (Exclusive)

A mysterious Separatist weapon destroys Plo Koon's command ship. The Jedi Master, along with clone troopers Sinker and Boost and Clone Commander Wolffe, abandon ship in an escape pod just before the vessel is blasted to pieces by cannon fire. Now they must try to stay alive until rescue comes, while General Grievous, who is testing the new weapon, sends out forces to eliminate any survivors.

The fall of every year has become too product heavy the last few years and the fall of 2009 was no different. Why Hasbro can't spread their Star Wars toys goodness across the entire calendar year perplexes us and many collectors are extremely tired of the feast or famine conditions at retail. It seems that right after Comic Con, collectors were inundated with new product and even more exclusives that came at the briskest of paces. One of these exclusives was the Ambush At Abregado Battle Packs set from TARGET. The set is great because it gives fans two never-before-released clone troopers in addition to a repainted Plo Koon (No. 14) and an army-building Rocket Battle Droid (No. 25) . What wasn't good about it was the price increase. It retailed (at the time) for $5 more than the regular Battle Packs and was still one figure short. It was also the first time Battle Packs were released in the slim line look since the 30 (77-07) line. (Hasbro explained during one of their Q&A sessions that Battle Packs would be returning to this format.) The set was quite attractive and it has very good points as well as just a few negative.

Both Clone Trooper Boost and Clone Trooper Sinker are designed from the bodies of Clone Trooper Echo (CW17) and the helmet from Clone Trooper Denal (CW20) . Boost has a repainted Commander Gree (CW09) head while Clone Trooper Sinker has an all-new head specially created for this release. The Clone Wars series has been consistent with giving all the clones individuality and Hasbro has been quite clever to incorporate the uniqueness of the clones very well into their action figures. They did a very good job on the clones in this set and these two figures are the reason to pick up this set. Their "Wolfpack" colors have been expertly applied on their armor and it fits in well with the other clones that are painted in the same color flashes. Plo Koon is alarmingly repainted from the 2008 TCW Plo Koon (No. 14) figure. He looks way too orange in this Battle Packs set and we have to say that the basic figure is the much better figure. Plo Koon still has limited articulation in the legs and it is a very unfortunate design because he has great trouble standing unassisted. His robes are also painted in a very much lighter brown. You may be surprised, but the Rocket Battle Droid is also repainted, from 2008's TCW Rocket Battle Droid (No. 25) figure, and also suffers from being too orange in color.

This Battle Packs set didn't pick up in sales until about the first mark down. But even despite some initial markdowns, the piece really didn't move until it was 75% off. This of course was a steal for most, but it makes us concerned that Hasbro and their respective vendors may not take too many risks to bring us new exclusives if they don't sell through. Hasbro also has a fiduciary responsibility to their collector and kid fan base. The price has to come down some so it is fairer. If Hasbro needs us to vote with out dollars, then they need to make an effort to make the MSRP more palpable for all incomes. We think that the Ambush On Abregado Battle Packs set is a fine exclusive indeed, but they may need to reduce the price or throw in another figure to make it more successful. Discounts are great to pick up an extra set, but we encourage you to pick up the exclusives that you like whenever you can at full price for the continued health of the line. If you want to add more clones to the ranks then this Battle Packs set is a great choice, but there really isn't anything more than that in it. And if you're a The Clone Wars fan, then you're likely going to have to bite the bullet and pick this up. Get it while you can because it will never be available at TARGET again!