New Upcoming Wolfpack Ultimate Gift Set

I'm back with the blog posts! And I can think of no better way then to start by talking about the recently revealed gift set involving the Wolfpack, my favourite Clone legion!

Safe to say, this is easily much better than last year's pack, which was five straight out re-packs, and crappy ones too. Alright, I won't deny it, this pack is riddled with flaws as well, no denying that. But it's certainly much better than last year's set, as this time we have two re-packs, but now also with two new figures, albeit re-paints. And I have to simply say, THIS is how they should have sold Clones to begin with, in packs like this, so that the basic line could have unique figures, and you could buy all the Clones in one pack. The Plo Koon is very weak, Hasbro... why bother re-pack the 2008 one when you have a super-articulated version in a mini-rig? Crazy... in fact, you can also see the Plo Koon card is of his cold weather gear. The P2 Wolffe is the same as his single card release, only difference is the DC-15 blaster swapped for the huge rocket launcher. And then we come to the two new figures, Sinker & Boost in their P2 armour. Very surprised they made Sinker & Boost, to be honest. I would have predicted we would get every other re-paint of the generic trooper build before Sinker & Boost, such as 501st especially, so really surprised yet very happy they did these two, so I can display them with the P2 Wolffe I already have. They both are re-paints of the CW2 Clone Trooper sculpt, so they do have knees, which is great to see, though kinda awkward how the troops have more articulation than the Commander. Really hope to be able to get Sinker & Boost, don't have any needing for Plo & Wolffe in those figures, so hopefully I can get Sinker & Boost online...

What's up with the Scuba Clone Trooper Paint-Applications?

I've been hearing some stuff over on Rebelscum forums about issues with the paint-scheme of the Scuba Clone Trooper figure. I can definitely say that my figure does not have any paint-errors, and it is a perfect figure from my view (one of the best in the line, to be honest). Here are several pictures to show that my figure does not have any paint-errors.

As you can see, I have no paint-application problems with my Scuba Clone figure! So this is very surprising to hear of other collectors with this figure with paint-errors, and it makes me sad, because without these errors, this is a great figure. Love the articulation on it (yes, he has good articulation, even ankles).

New Upcoming Darth Maul Returns Battle Pack

Here are my early thoughts so far on the exclusive battle pack we learned about yesterday, "Darth Maul Returns". No release date is known yet.

My thoughts on the figures in this set:
Savage Opress "Armoured"- I can speak for pretty much everyone when I say us fans are happy to see this figure re-released. It will probably be the most wanted figure from this amazing battle pack. It's the same exact figure as the basic figure release, but a straight re-pack. My one complaint about this is the fact that he doesn't come with his double-bladed lightsaber, but instead that crappy firing-staff for the kids. I'd have even taken the axe from "Monster" over this.

Cyborg Darth Maul- We get our first animated Darth Maul figure with this release. The detail looks amazing on this figure. It looks like he walked right off the screen into action figure form. It looks to me at least that he does have knees. If you look at the packaged shot compared to the loose shot, you can tell the stances of Maul's legs are different in both pictures. It looks as if he doesn't have elbows though. The lightsaber accessory thing looks like garbage, to be honest. The detail is astonishingly good though.

Nightsister- This is easily the most unique figure out of this pack, but it is weird how we have a realistic figure here with two animated figures. The addition of a lightsaber is indeed quite weird, but maybe they wanted to reference the Jedi Alliance game which had Nightsisters in it with lightsabers. It is not Talzin, but could easily be used as her as Talzin and the Nightsister here are quite similar looking. The articulation looks like the articulation on most non-animated figures, most likely hardly any in the legs but mostly in the arms, waist etc.

Overall verdict: This is easily the best battle pack in terms of unique figures. We get the hardest to find The Clone Wars figure re-packed, first Clone Wars Maul and what I believe is the first ever Nightsister figure. There are some silly details messed up here, such as Savage not having a lightsaber, and the Nightsister having one and Maul's weird lightsaber, but I still think it is easily one of the best, if not the best battle packs of all time. I look forward to picking this up!

Who We The Fans Want To See In The Clone Wars Line?

I had this idea based on how Hasbro are treating The Clone Wars line this year. With all the opportunities for awesome figures from cool and unique looking figures on the show, especially in season 4. And yet all we're getting in reality is Clones and core characters. So this blog series will be mainly focused on everything else, and why we the fans want these released. There won't be many Clones on this list, and even less core characters.

Osi Sobeck:

Why: Simply put, we need more Separatist commanders released as figures. We've gotten a bunch of droids, including several different droid types. But we've been given almost no one to lead them. We've had Whorm Loathsom, and that's it. And he honestly wasn't a popular character, so if Hasbro are judging not releasing Separatist characters chances of selling based on Loathsom, then it's completely unfair. Especially as Osi Sobeck was a very liked character, and would look awesome as a figure. And if Hasbro can give us Clones who appear for one minute and die, then they can give us a main villain of an arc.

Umbaran Warrior:

Why: Based around the same reason as Osi Sobeck, but slightly different. We keep getting droids and more droids in this line, but the fans are tired of that and were ages ago. What the fans really want is organic warriors to pit against the Clones on display, diorama's etc. Enough with the droids, it's living species that would sell. It would make no sense for Hasbro not to release an Umbaran, as they had as much screen-time as the Geonosians, and we saw four different Geonosians released in this line. Give us non-droid enemy's for the Clone's to fight Hasbro!

Sugi:

Why: Hasbro, forget this character is a female for a moment, and I know how you oppose releasing many female figures. But seriously, she is the leader of a band of bounty hunter's. You've released two of the lesser members of the band (Embo & Seripas), but what use are they without their leader? Sugi needs to be made to go along with Embo & Seripas. And this wouldn't even be a crazy figure to release, seen as Hasbro have released several Zabrak characters in the line already.

Adi Gallia:

Why: Simply put, Adi Gallia is a Jedi. That right there, is enough reason to be made. But whenever Hasbro think of Jedi, it for some reason means Obi-Wan Kenobi or Anakin Skywalker! But I know everyone would rather buy a figure of Adi Gallia then another of either of those two. And besides Hasbro, she's the only Jedi Council member on the show who hasn't been made into a figure yet (asides from Oppo Rancisis, and he needs a figure when he eventually shows up). It puzzles me greatly why she hasn't been made yet.

Dengar:

Why: Fans love bounty hunter figures, and they love it even more when it's an animated version of a OT bounty hunter, Bossk & Boba Fett being two examples. So why shouldn't Hasbro add Dengar to The Clone Wars line? The simple answer is, they have to. What use are Boba & Bossk with Dengar to join the party as well. And his look in the animated show is different enough to warrant a purchase from plenty of fans. 

New Upcoming Hasbro Republic Attack Dropship

Thanks to Sandtroopers for sharing, we now know 3 of the 4 scheduled mini-rigs for 2012. Just one left...

My opinion: Not surprised to see this released, but I don't like it that much. The Clone Pilot looks nice, and I'd been hoping we would see a Phase II Clone Pilot released quickly, and here we have it. The backpack is downright awful though, perhaps as bad as the dreaded propulsion pack. The dropship, meh. I don't like it when they tend to take the cockpit of a big vehicle, load it up with too many guns and try to pretend to us that it's a new vehicle. Just something I don't agree with, as I consider it lazy. I am interested in getting the pilot, but the rest of the pack, the backpack and vehicle, probably not. We'll see...

New Upcoming Figures 21st January 2012

Check out my early thoughts on some new upcoming Hasbro product!

1. Aayla Secura

Aayla Secura is a straight re-pack from the previous release, with all the same accessories. Realistically, the only difference with this release is Aayla now come with all the stupid pack-ins (dice/card/stand). The 2010 release had a paint-job that wasn't entirely accurate, so some fans hoped this release would be different. The paint-job is the exact same, as these images show. Acccessories included are a jetpack, googles and a breathing thing. Same from the previous release. I already have the Aayla Secura from before, so I don't need this, and will definitely be passing on this version. Happy for those who didn't get her first time, but I didn't need to see these re-packed.
2. Obi-Wan Kenobi

Like Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan is also getting a slightly altered version this year. This figure is even more pointless than the re-done Anakin. The only real difference in the figure is a fabric skirt. This figure also has a new face-sculpt, but it's not screen-accurate any more, and is much worse than the 2011 release. Hasbro have pointlessly released a worse version of a pretty good figure from 2011, and messed it up, just like the new Anakin. Both of those waste two of only a small number of slots in the line next year. Accessories included are his lightsaber and the climbing backpack included with Even Piell. Definitely passing on this pointless junk.
3. Captain Rex -Phase II-

This time it's not a definite pass, but I might pass on this figure. I do want to buy a phase II Rex figure. If the rumours are true that Rex has a non-removable helmet, then I will pass. I also want all the amazing detail, weld markings and all, on this figure. The helmet looks good, but I'm not sure on the body yet. This figure of course uses the Jetpack Rex sculpt, just like Cody & phase II Clone. The worst sculpt of the line. Basically all that's new is the helmet. Accessories included are 2 DC-17 blaster pistols and a Z-6 rotary cannon, been a while since we've seen one of those. As I said, I might pick this up, I'll wait for reviews to officially decide. I'm also surprised we aren't seeing the propulsion pack with this figure, as this figure uses the sculpt designed to fit that stupid pack.
4. Republic Commando Boss

This is the only figure I definitely will get from this 4-figure wave. Boss is looking really good, and I've always wanted to see a animated Republic Commando figure. Hopefully the sculpt will be used to release Sev, Fixer & Scorch in a battle pack later. Accessories included are 2 DC-17 blaster pistol, Republic Commando blaster, mini rope & body thing. The last one is quite dark, because Hasbro don't like to release dark accessories, and this could be described as dark. I can't wait to get this figure, purchasing Boss like a boss :P


Out of these 4 figure, here is my rating so far:
Aayla Secura: 9/10
Obi-Wan Kenobi 7/10
Captain Rex -Phase II- 6/10 (could change)
Republic Commando Boss 8/10


Another basic figure was revealed, from the Fall wave:
Ahsoka Tano -Scuba Gear-

This is definitely a figure I interested in picking up. The sculpting so far is looking great, especially on the body. The face-sculpt is off though, much like the 2008/2009 versions. I hope this is temporary, I'd hoped they would just re-use the CW44 face-sculpt of Ahsoka's, that's the only good one so far. The face-sculpt is my one flaw with the actual figure so far. Accessories included are scuba helmet, something that looks like binoculars, and a re-paint of the lightsaber launcher included with Anakin, which is absolute junk. I really look forward to the release of this figure, much better than having a Scuba Anakin.


Ahsoka Tano -Scuba Gear): 8/10 (could change)


And lastly, two mini-rig's:
1. Attack Recon Fighter with Anakin Skywalker

First thing I have to say. Why are we getting this crap when the carded Anakin is going to pegwarm like mad, so this is completely uneccessary. This pack would have been a great way to release a new Jedi like Adi Gallia. The fighter, I'm not to bothered about it. The idea/design behind it is pretty lame in my opinion, as it's really the Republic Attack Shuttle cockpit with weapons. I don't plan to pick this up. If the Anakin was new, like scuba or slaver, I might have tried to get the Anakin loose, but no. What a waste of a mini-rig slot.
2. Republic Assault Submarine with Scuba Clone Trooper

This mini-rig on the other hand, is BEAST! I must have this mini-rig pack. The submarine looks really cool, and I like these pack's much more when both figure and vehicle are both from the actual episode, and not made up junk. The Scuba Clone looks really cool. What's weird though, is that out of 3 designs in the episodes (Green/Plain/ Monnk) they went with none of those and Hasbro invented their own markings for him. Interesting, but I would have preferred if it was the green one. I must admit, I had a fanboy moment when I saw the 2 Scuba guns over at the left side. The inclusion of the breathing mask as an accessory is cool. I definitely will buy this.


Recon Fighter/Anakin: 5/10
Republic Submarine/Scuba Clone: 9/10 

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Hasbro Line Podcast

Episode 1:
In the first episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Hasbro line podcast, collectors and co-hosts Ruari Williamson (admin) and Chris Seekell discuss how they became collectors, what was revealed at NYCC, information on 19 basic figures for 2012 and more on the first podcast for this page!
http://kiwi6.com/file/21xlgb3x8s

Episode 2:
In the second episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Hasbro line podcast, co-hosts Ruari Williamson and Chris Seekell are joined by special guest Dominic Jones in a discussion about the new Maul packaging, what they would like to see as the attack of the clones packaging character, new Anakin, phase II Clone & phase II Cody figures, figure count, situation over releasing Ziro the Hutt and the cancelling of the Boba Fett & Obi-Wan Kenobi mini-rigs!
http://kiwi6.com/file/k1cwt40oad

Episode 3:
In the third episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Hasbro line podcast, co-hosts Ruari Williamson and Chris Seekell are joined by special guests Daniel Georgiev & Jenn Schaffer (DanGrievousReturns & WookieLover1138) on Youtube respectively, in a discussion about re-packs, accessories, Clone sculpts, the Buzz & ARF Trooper Wal-Mart mini-rigs, lack of Separatist villains, Hasbro saying Chewbacca will be the only season 3 figure made and Hasbro confirming General Krell as a figure!
http://kiwi6.com/file/a09jr11f3z

Episode 4:
In the fourth episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Hasbro line podcast, co-hosts Ruari Williamson and Chris Seekell are joined by special guest Lawron Pinson in a discussion about the Yoda packaging rumour for 2013, situation over not releasing Adi Gallia in 2012, and Captain Ackbar & Captain Tarkin for the line, Mother Talzin, Mortis arc potential figures, confirmations of an Ahsoka Tano in scuba gear basic figure, as well as Scuba Clone with Republic Sub & Anakin with Republic Recon Fighter mini-rigs, favourite Clone/Clone Wars figure, Jetpack Rex sculpt for phase II clones, price increase & newly designed stand, dice and card!
http://kiwi6.com/file/256sajml22

Episode 5: In the fifth episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Hasbro line podcast, co-hosts Ruari Williamson and Chris Seekell are joined by special guests Dominic Jones and Charley Pope in a discussion about the January figures and re-packs, Hasbro saying they might make Darth Revan & Darth Bane, Hasbro saying no to another Republic gunship, Astromech droids, phase I Clones they would still like to see, Clone pilots, Bounty hunters, variations, collector-based figures & the battle pack line.
http://kiwi6.com/file/3sb46iwd63

Episode 6: In the sixth episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Hasbro line podcast, co-hosts  Ruari Williamson and Daniel Georgiev are joined by special guest flyguydotnet to talk about the Phase II Wolffe and Super Battle Droid revealed at Toy Fair, Upcoming basic figures, new mini-rigs, Cyborg Darth Maul & Phase II Fox in the Fall, Q&A possibly ending, Hasbro not releasing a Satine figure, Hasbro confirming Armoured Savage Opress will be re-released and how vital articulation is!
http://kiwi6.com/file/7895wx50hn

Episode 7: In the seventh episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Hasbro line podcast, co-hosts Ruari Williamson, Chris Seekell and Daniel Georgiev are joined by special guest Kolton Skeldon in a discussion about the Yoda packaging reveal for 2013, realistic-styled figures of Clone Wars characters, Pong Krell perhaps being a convention exclusive, the plight of The Clone Wars line, Republic Attack Dropship mini-rig, cut-back on The Clone Wars line and scaling back on articulation!
http://kiwi6.com/file/3oby8fq8hy

Episode 8: In the eighth episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Hasbro line podcast, co-hosts Ruari Williamson and Chris Seekell are joined by special guest Josh Helbling (aka AdennMandalorianJedi) in a discussion about rumours of Trident Drill & Trandoshan Skiff vehicles, no-repacks of season 3 Ahsoka & Darth Sidious, Mother Talzin possibly coming, Phase II sculpt compared to Stone sculpt, This line compared to Vintage Collection and more secondary/tertiary characters needed!
http://kiwi6.com/file/y2boyyz8zo

Episode 9: In the ninth episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Hasbro line podcast, co-hosts Ruari Williamson, Chris Seekell and Daniel Georgiev are joined by special guestd Savanna Kiefer and JessicaBane501 in a discussion about wave 3 of 2012, that new figure rumour, Scuba Ahsoka & Scuba Clone potentially being the only figures from the season 4 premiere, Cad Bane figures, Phase II Clone re-paints, lack of figures from the Citadel arc, scrapping of mail-away figures & what they think will most likely doom the line!
http://kiwi6.com/file/z1x0ystk46

Episode 10: In the tenth episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Hasbro line podcast, co-hosts Ruari Williamson and Daniel Georgiev are joined by special guest Graham Walsh in a discussion about the Darth Maul Returns battle pack, rumours that Captain Rex will be the fourth realistic figure of Clone Wars characters, distribution issues and San-Diego Comic-Con!
http://kiwi6.com/file/ry9k8jp89h

Episode 11: In the eleventh episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Hasbro line podcast, co-hosts Ruari Williamson and Daniel Georgiev are joined my special guest Steve aka SithLord229 in a discussion about the Phase II Fox figure, potential Spider Darth Maul exclusive, B-A-D TC-70 & R8-B7, realistic versions of Captain Rex & Mace Windu & 20+ TCW basic figure slots for 2013.
http://kiwi6.com/file/9w6wjmyzkl

If you would like to be on a podcast, e-mail ruariwilliamson@hotmail.com for details, titled "Star Wars: The Clone Wars Hasbro Podcast" or contact me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000681530256