Following the success of the awesome 2009 TLC Geonosis Arena Showdown 2-packs, Target followed up by working with Hasbro for another round in 2010.  By then, the TLC line was gone, replaced by The Vintage Collection.  I believe that Target specifically requested from Hasbro that these figures be created with the original red Legacy Collection packaging so that they would be more compatible with the first set of 6 two-packs, but I can’t find anything supporting this.  The second wave came out less than year after the first, so it was obviously already in the works, with release pending on the results of the first wave.

Set 1 of 6 contains Obi-Wan Kenobi and a Super Battle Droid.  On the surface, this seems like a fairly weak combination, and that turned out to be pretty accurate, except for one important point.

Obi-Wan is a re-release of the excellent TLC BD44 figure, with the exception of a new head sculpt.  That head sculpt is definitely odd.  It shows Obi-Wan, mouth agape, in a surprised look.  It’s likely inspired by the moment he turns to see the Acklay towering over him in the midst of battle.  You know the figure otherwise.  It’s a good one, but is accessorized only with a lightsaber.

The surprise star of the set is the Super Battle Droid.  Why?  BECAUSE IT HAS ANKLES!  Oh yes!  This is the ONLY Super Battle Droid to sport ball jointed ankles.  But there is a caveat.  The figure is painted very weakly.  Just comparing it to the one that came out in the 2009 set shows exactly how weak.  Sadly, Hasbro opted to skip this upgraded mold when they released VC37, which should have been the definitive SBD figure.  The TVC release has a vastly superior paint job, but for whatever reason, reverts back to the ankle-less sculpt.  Hasbro is maddening sometimes!

Good Obi-Wan with a weird face, and a great SBD with lame paint applications.  It’s a bittersweet set, which is further marred by the generally uninspired pairing of characters.  Still, Hasbro has done far worse.  You can snag this set fairly inexpensively on Ebay.