There is a lot to unpack in this figure 4-pack.  Some of it is good, but much of it is not so good.  Let’s start with the reveal, because that is as much a part of the story of this set as are the figures within. 

First of all, the reveal occurred on June 16, 2021 at 11:00am.  For our part, Banthaskull was super excited because we got to be one of the handful of fan sites that got to participate in the reveal.  But for the wider community, things were immediately less than rosy.  The item was online only, exclusive to Amazon.  Amazon, Walmart, Target…whatever…that previous sentence will elicit collector reactions that generally range from slight nausea to whatever results from getting kicked in the crotch by an NFL placekicker.  The MSRP was listed as $59.99, which amounted to $15 each for repainted figures using a decade-old sculpt.  And there was only 2 hours notice before the inevitably Lilliputian window of opportunity to place one’s order, so if you weren’t actually refreshing Banthaskull’s main page (and some other sites) around the time of the announcement, it was likely that you’d miss the pre-order without even knowing it existed in the first place.

Fast forward 2 hours, and you pretty much were greeted with the now standard online pre-order experience, of a blink-and-you-missed it chance.  Supposedly there was no limit to the order quantity, and it otherwise appeared that there just wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy demand.  Throw a little fuel on the fire once you realized that Amazon had upped the ante just a bit to make the set $62.99, and some folks were ready to throw in the towel.  It took 2 weeks, but Banthaskull did receive confirmation directly from Hasbro that there would be additional quantities made available at Amazon in early 2022 (which hasn’t yet happened as of this publishing on 2/28/22).  And that leads to today’s review, in which the figures were finally shipping a solid 8 months after the announcement.

One more note before we get into the quick and dirty about the figures themselves.  There was one significant gripe about this set aside from the price, pre-order experience, and perceived lack of value.  This set consisted of the very first TVC figures to represent The Bad Batch television show.  It premiered on May 4, 2021, and this set was revealed 6 weeks later.  There was no sign whatsoever of the main characters, and while logic might dictate that the crew themselves would soon follow this set of “easy to produce” repaints, there was no explicit promise from Hasbro that Clone Force 99 was even in the works.  It’s kind of neat if you think of this set as a modern version of the old Early Bird set, or even in the same vein as the handful of “preview” figures that precluded each of the Prequel films.  Nevertheless, here we are, nearly reaching Spring of 2022, and still nary a peep about Hunter, Echo, Tech, Wrecker, or Crosshair for TVC. 

So here are my thoughts on these figures.  They’re not bad, just very underwhelming. The paint, accessories, Photo Real, and character choices are all very nice, but it’s hard to get past the fact that this uses the controversial VC45 Clone Trooper mold.  I myself have waffled wildly over how I feel about the sculpt.  At first I disliked the proportions, but after several years, began to appreciate the posability of the articulation.  Then after warming up a bit to it, probably resigning myself to the fact that this was going to the be final definite clone sculpt, I have again pivoted and now I generally dislike it.  I will still maintain that VC54 ARC Trooper Commander is an all time great figure, but I just think I was able to overlook the pathetically anorexic look of the sculpt since “Not Fordo” came with a great soft goods Kama and enough accessories to allow you make two complete phases of armor for one of the coolest characters in one of the coolest bits of Star Wars lore.  But given the revelation of the new sculpt that debuted with the 501st Legion Arc Troopers Special Set, I can no longer support this silly sculpt.  I get that it is possibly more screen accurate to the relatively poorly proportioned CGI characters from AOTC and the stylized silhouette of their animated counterparts in The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch, I’m just not enamored with the set.

Rex is frustrating.  Following on the heels of the VC182 “pack refresh” of the pretty terrible 2014 Black Series figure, this promised to be better.  However, it falls fairly flat.  It is meant to be specific to Rex’s Bad Batch appearance, but the helmet with the (permanent?) visor and the pauldron-less shoulder piece gives away the fact that this is based on early concept art, and not his actual appearance in the show.  The shawl is a fine shmata, made of a nice material and dyed/painted very well.  It’s also stitched and tailored in a way that it hugs the figure nicely, although it’s not so easy to remove and put back on.  The head sculpt is missing something “Rex”, probably because he has too bushy of a haircut, rather than the tight buzz cut he sports in the show.  And while this is the most articulated Rex to date, the wonky hip articulation makes this (and all figures in the set and elsewhere that use the sculpt) a bit difficult to stand upright and pose properly.  Sadly, I think Hasbro is going to have to take another stab at Rex for TVC, before fans of the characters are satisfied.

Captain Ballast was unfortunately mis-named.  He actually was named Captain Howzer in the aired episodes, so obviously this figure will be worth millions down the line.  Ballast/Howzer was an interesting character, who had his own arc across the two-episode Ryloth storyline.  His inhibitor chip seemed to have malfunctioned, and he did not blindly slip into obedience to the Empire.  Ultimately, he defied orders to capture his former allies, the Syndulla family.  He then took things much further when he incited several of his former comrades to do the same.  The act of defiance led to his immediate arrest, and a fate unknown, but likely unpleasant. Ballast/Howzer had distinctive teal markings, while the clones under his command were simply generic white.  His Wookieepedia page seems to explain that he was too busy to change to the Imperial white standard in the aftermath of Order 66.

Captain Grey played an interesting part in one of the best episodes of the series, which happened to be the premiere.  Turns out that Grey was the commanding officer under Depa Billaba and her Padawan, Freddie Prinze, Jr.  Like Howzer, Grey had unique color flashes on his armor, and while we see him in battle prior to Order 66, his troops are also all white.  Grey’s pauldron, for what it’s worth, is on the opposite shoulder as Howzer, and is also an interesting squared-off shape. 

Finally we have the Elite Squad Trooper, which is another in a long line of Elite/Black/Shadow troopers from across the saga.  I took a picture of as many of these variants as I could scrounge from my collection, and it’s kind of embarrassing how many exist.  It’s a lazy and overused concept, but whatever for that.  The figure is kind of neat, and is the only one of the bunch that comes with the long blaster rifle.  This was the crew that worked directly with Crosshair after he aligned with the Empire.  Unlike the other figures, the helmet is technically not removable, but in a rare move, I decided to pry out the head, to reveal a strangely unpainted clone portrait.  While the other 3 figures are based on named characters, this one is technically and army-builder, but at $63 a pop, probably not an attainable goal for most collectors.  Since I support an updated clone mold with better proportions and more modern articulation, I think this figure might be a good candidate for a repack somewhere so collectors can troop-build.

Overall, it’s a nice set, but the price, dated sculpt, underwhelming Rex, misnamed Howzer, and other gripes make this a ho-hum release.  I give it a 7.