Back in the 2008 Legacy Collection, Hasbro introduced a pair of giant sets called “Ultimate Battle Packs”, which were exclusive to Target.  One of them, “Battle of Christophsis”, was part of the concurrent Clone Wars line, where the figures were of animated styling.  This was the other set.  At the time of release, I found the format pretty exciting.  A large pack, including vehicles and/or set pieces, and a bunch of figures and accessories to go with it.  The appeal here, again, was the world-building concept.  Some of the items were recycled, and some were new, but it was an opportunity to build out key scenes in your display.  As a concept, this was great.  But in the case of this particular set, the execution was questionable. 

The skiff, at the time, was a decent offering.  Of course Bantha Skull has been beating the drum for a new skiff for a while, and with a new one on the way shortly, this mold is set to be retired.  It’s not terrible, just not definitive.  It remains essentially unchanged since 1984.  The stand/legs are wonky.  The retractable plank is way too short and the “drop” action feature is pretty terrible.  There’s an unnecessary and weakly designed spring loaded deck panel, and the railings give way too easily.  The ship is undersized.  All of this put together makes it a bit difficult to get all of the necessary figures on board, but it can be done.  And if you’re messing with it, it looks pretty good when all set up.  But the instability and small deck do make it frustrating.  The paint applications are simple, but fairly lame.  The previous release, in 2000’s Target Exclusive Tatooine Skiff, had better weathering.  This one looks like a kid got some silver paint on it with their grubby fingers.  All of these complaints should be remedied shortly.  Now this doesn’t mean this skiff is worthless, just outdated.  It will still look okay in a display, but the new ones should blow it away.

The Pit of Carkoon / Mighty Sarlacc is really the highlight of the set, especially since we’re getting a modern skiff upgrade.  The sarlacc was something many fans and collector had been wanting for a long time.  It’s a decent effort.  The sarlacc itself is sculpted fairly convincingly, with some depth to the layers of the maw.  There are several small tentacles which do not appear to be removable.  One large tentacle is removable, flexible, and somewhat posable.  The beak is two separate pieces and can be removed from the sarlacc.  This was seemingly done in an attempt to satisfy fans of either the original cut, or the special edition.  The beast is a pretty solid rubbery material.  It is meant to be placed inside the hard plastic Pit of Carkoon.  There are a couple of tabs to hold everything in place.  In my sample, the sarlacc seems to be slightly warped so that the tabs don’t catch properly, but it has little to no effect on the aesthetics.  On top of the hard plastic pit, there is also a larger piece of thin and flexible plastic that expands the pit into a surrounding dune.  I remember at the time of release that some collectors insisted this was just part of the packaging, with others sure that it was part of the set.  I kept it as part of the set, but depending on how you display it, the thin plastic shell may or may not be useful.  Overall, it’s the best part of this set, especially today.  It’s the only release of this or any other sarlacc in the line.  There is room for improvement. It could be bigger.  The tentacles could be more pliable, allowing you to shape them more easily to grab its prey.  And the landform could be more convincing.

The figures are terrible, with one slightly worthwhile exception.  The Han Solo figure is a “repaint” of previous releases based on The Saga Collection #004 Han Solo (Carbonite).  I used quotation marks because it’s actually just missing a paint app, the schmutz from the front of the shirt.  This is a minor, but important, distinction.  The figure is definitely inferior in almost every way from TBS #19 Han Solo.  [Editor’s Note:  TBS #19 was re-released (with a magnetic carbonate block) in the awesome TVC Jabba’s Palace Adventure Set - again under the wrong film banner.]  But just like the C-3PO with restraining bolt that we recently reviewed from the POTF2 Purchase of the Droids cinema scene, the small distinction is enough to maintain value for this old figure.  First of all, TBS #19 is specific to The Empire Strikes Back despite being released in the same wave as Boushh.  The reason we know this is because Han’s shirt is untucked, which was accurate to the moments that Han was lowered into the carbon freezing chamber on Bespin.  (The reason I know this is because Chris told me.)  When Leia releases Han from the carbonite in Jabba’s palace, Han has magically tucked his shirt back into his pants, which is almost as amazing as the fact that he escaped from the binders while in perfect hibernation.  You can see Han’s belt now.  So this figure represents the best available sculpt for Return of the Jedi.  And what about the schmutz?  That’s another important distinction.  When Han falls out of the carbonite block, he hits the floor, and gets a bunch of sandy crap all over his shirt.  Yes, he also gets sandy crap all over his pants, but we’re already splitting hairs here, so now you’re just splitting atoms, you loser!  Han is immediately led away and thrown in Chewbacca’s cell, where we see Han pull off another miracle.  He has somehow cleaned his shirt while in custody by Jabba’s henchmen.  Did he have a Clorox Bleach Pen hidden in his pocket or something?  So by the time he hits the dunes with everyone else on board the skiff, his shirt is tucked AND clean.  This figure is the best Han for that exact reason, and can only be found in this set.  But go ahead and set up your Sarlaac display with your dirty TSC Han, or your better-articulated TBS Han with the tucked shirt.  You’re perfectly within you’re rights to do so, but you’d be wrong.

Oh yeah, the rest of the figures in this set are garbage.  They were pretty much garbage in 2008, being only slight repaints of generally crappy figures that were already released several times prior.  And as a bonus, you get weapons made of wet pasta.  Besides being released in single carded versions prior, every one of these figures was included in TSC’s 5-figure Battle above the Sarlaac battle pack.  They were pretty terrible then, they’re even more terrible now.

This set gives you a serviceable, but soon to be outdone skiff, your only shot at a sarlacc, and a barely acceptable (but in a VERY specific way) Han Solo.  For these reasons, the set manages to achieve a 4/10.  The rest is a complete insult.  For $65 back in 2008, this was a tough sell.  As a completist I never had the luxury on passing on anything, and I was never willing to wait for any kind of sale or clearance on the chance that I would miss something.  In this case,  I actually passed on the set the first few times I saw it in a Target.  And by that, I mean I walked through the toy aisle a couple of times without picking it up, but finally grabbed it before I left the store.  That’s about the extent of how I would normally express my frustration with a product.  It would have been as if a normal person laughed and just walking away from the set forever.  Besides an extremely negligible priority on resculpting this Han Solo, Hasbro should also consider re-releasing the Sarlacc.  This set can go for well over $100 on eBay, but the only worthwhile item at this point is the sarlacc itself.  Hasbro should add this to the list of items that could be re-released, and they could use the chance to throw in one of the missing skiff guards in some kind of environment pack. It could be redone better, but it may not be worth it.