Galactic Empire - Celebrate The Saga

The Galactic Empire ruled for years through fear, intimidation, and tyranny, armed with a mighty military force.

5POA is not OK! That old adage has become synonymous with most of the action figures Hasbro produced for a half a dozen years in the Star Wars ty line. Nearly every year, Hasbro cobbles together some commemorative sets or anniversary sets that celebrate a landmark within the Star Wars brand, or to have a moment to celebrate the saga. Hasbro produced eight five-packs of the Celebrate The Saga collection, and each set focuses on a cast of characters that fit a particular theme, not a Star Wars source per se. The Galactic Empire Celebrate The Saga set comes with newness, some excellent sculpts, and some figures we probably didn’t need to see again. Overall, it presents collectors with a nicely sampling of the evil Empire most of the Original Trilogy timeline. Surprisingly, Hasbro also added a character from Star Wars Rebels. While it’s the most progressive of the bunch concerning its articulation, the static poses prevent it from achieving full utilization in your collection. We believe that Hasbro picked the cream of the crop for most of the Celebrate The Saga. None of them will be perfect, even in 5POA terms, but the Galactic Empire set may be in the lead for running champ when compared to them all. The set offers the ability to army build. The collection includes an incredible new Imperial astromech droid. And the packaging is reminiscent of the Toys R Us exclusive multipacks that went over so well with Star Wars collectors.

The Galactic Empire Celebrate The Saga set comes with a new action figure. They’ve added R2-Q5, an Imperial astromech droid that can barely be seen in Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. This infamous character made its debut appearance as an action figure in 2001’s Power Of The Jedi line as R2-Q5 (Imperial Astromech Droid). It came with one of the most impressive accessories, too, a red hologram of the second Death Star. Throughout the years, Hasbro didn’t produce too many other astromech droids that served under the Galactic Empire, but Disney Parks 2015 Collection Droid Factory lineup included a Build A Droid figure of the character, but without giving it a proper name. But it sure looked like R2-Q5 from top to bottom. Hasbro utilized the R2-D2 figure tooling from 2015’s R R2-D2/Yoda (MS16) Mission Series two-pack set and repainted it in the colors of R2-Q5. To date, this is now the only R2-Q5 figure that comes with a front opening panel with a utility tool. Hasbro did a fantastic job with the figure’s paint job. The paint operations are at the same level as what they do for The Vintage Collection action figures. If nothing at all, Star Wars collectors will purchase this set for an updated R2-Q5 action figure. For us, we feel it’s the entire value of the multipack. Hasbro was wise to include a new droid in all of these sets if you think about it. Collectors are suckers for droids, especially when they haven’t been part of the line previously.

Two other figures in the Galactic Empire Celebrate The Saga set are excellent too and rival their super-articulated counterparts. The TIE Fighter Pilot and the Snowtrooper may offer collectors the best tooling of these Star Wars characters. The TIE Pilot is unique thanks to the deco on its helmet and could represent Lieutenant Oxixo from the Battle of Endor. Or, it could be an entirely different character as well. While severely limited in articulation, we can’t help but sincerely appreciate the accuracy of their sculpts. For us, they remain the definitive modern counterparts of the vintage Kenner figures. And yes, it pains us to say that. This TIE Fighter Pilot action figure is unequivocally superior to the one getting re-released in early 2021. The Scout Trooper isn’t terrible, but it has an awful leaning forward posture that ruins its aesthetics. Also, the inclusion of the Star Wars Rebels Stormtrooper Squad Leader is an interesting choice here. We’d prefer to see Hasbro update the excellent Rebels AT-AT Driver from quite a few years ago. That figure’s sculpting is perfect, but the paint operations were weak. It would have been outstanding if they gave it deco similar to the vintage Kenner figure this time. The Galactic Empire set is exclusive to Best Buy and has its MSRP set at $29.99. Six dollars per figure isn’t the end of the world. But thank goodness they included a “new” figure in the five-pack to make it feel like spending thirty bucks was worthwhile.