Our community is probably fractured on how to feel about this set.  Some might hate the MSRP itself of almost $75, or the overall perceived lack of value since that $75 only gets you 3 figures and a Grogu.  Others might dislike the source material, as we’re still in the midst of the long break between seasons of The Mandalorian, while we have so few offerings from recent, current, or imminent media such us Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Bad Batch, or even Jedi: Surivior.  And others might be annoyed that these are simply repaints/retools of existing figures.  All of those are fair assessments, at least at first glance.  I also rolled my eyes at the $75 price tag for figures that seemingly presented very little newness based on characters from a series that wasn’t in the spotlight at the moment.

Recently, the $75 price tag seems to have normalized a bit.  By no means is that a good thing, but with basic figures coming in at $17 now, the MSRP is still high for 4 figures (assuming you consider Grogu a valid figure), but a lot of money went into the packaging.  Personally, I’m not interested in packaging, but it tends to go hand in hand with a premium set like this.  At $17 a pop, the $68 price for 4 figures is a few dollars shy of the MSRP for the fancy packaged set.

Whether or not it’s worth the hit on your wallet to make this purchase, we’ll take a look at the details of set.  I’m not going to say that $75 is a good deal, but after opening it up, there is a lot more to like than I anticipated back when I preordered it.

The packaging is nice.  Again, I’m typically not that interested in the packaging, especially if it means a price hike.  Give me 4 figures in a white box, and I’m probably going to be happy to save a few bucks.  But the packaging can be used for decent diorama settings.  There are graphics on the back of the box that represent the interior hallways of Gideon’s light cruiser, The FlooptyDoo.  There are also two mini dioramas inside the box, one which looks down a hallway towards a blast door, and the other which serves as Grogu’s prison cell.  They’re not great, but they can work decently for some shelf setups or photography.  Worth a few extra bucks?  Not really, but it’s something.

As the for the figures, we’ve seen them all before - to a degree.  Grogu is the least exciting.  It appears nearly identical to the one that came with the Ahsoka Tano and Grogu deluxe set.  If I trust my eyes, the hands are a bit different this time around, but it doesn’t seem to be a meaningful change.  It may be that these hands allow for the handcuff accessory to slip on and off more easily, but I could be making that up.  Otherwise, that’s it for Grogu.  He was already the least exciting part of the set, and a closer look doesn’t do much to change that.  Hasbro did release “The Child” on his own card for VC184, but one could argue the star of the set was the pram, and that The Child was the accessory.  Hasbro has included the character as a pack in numerous times with other figures and sets, so it tends to support his perceived lack of value as a full-fledged figure.

Moff Gideon is included, and the figure itself is pretty much a straight repack of the one that was first released as VC180.  He comes with the same blaster and Darksaber (again, no unlit hilt).  However, there is a significant change here as Hasbro crafted a soft goods cape to replace the plastic one that came with the basic figure.  Hopefully Hasbro has caught on that plastic capes are death to dynamic action figures. This cape has a pair of elastic bands that go over the shoulders, a style that I don’t believe we’ve seen before in the line.  It works well, looks great, and allows you to pose Gideon on the floor of the hallway after he is defeated by Din, as well as the floor of the bridge after he’s pistol whipped by Cara Dune - you can even seat him in the cockpit of his modified TIE which we don’t have. But it’s a nice, and necessary, upgrade.

“The Mandalorian” is a significant repaint/retool the figure that was part of the Maldo Kreis deluxe set.  That’s the best figure to date, as it includes rocker ankles.  Besides the very different paint job, Hasbro included a tattered soft goods cape, which seems to be the one that came with The Razor Crest.  Mando is loaded with accessories.  In addition to the new cape, he comes with the standard blaster, which fits into the holster, and his removable jet pack.  He also comes with a flamethrower effect that shoots out of the right gauntlet.  It’s cast in nicely colored plastic.  The “stem” is a bluish grey (maybe?), and it then transitions to the fiery orange/yellow flame at the business end.  Very importantly, the figure balances well even with the flame accessory fully extended.  For the left gauntlet, Mando can shoot off the whistling birds.  The accessory is a swirly smoke and fire effect, with a pair of “birds” at the ends.  Hasbro opted to go with a removable piece on the gauntlet to expose the hole to which the accessory can attach.  There is a removable piece that otherwise conceals this hole, and is sculpted to serve as the little triangular launcher for the full compliment of whistling birds.  It’s a nice detail, but be prepared for this to be one of the tiniest pieces in the history of line.  Apparently Hasbro likes to shave time off my lifespan due to the stress induced by such small items.  This is right in the same category as the 3 tiny thermal detonators that came with The Razor Crest, or the TK-421 comm link that comes with the Imperial Scanning Crew set.  Finally, Din includes the Beskar spear that he was gifted by Ahsoka.  The spear interacts perfectly with the Dark Trooper, as you will read in the next paragraph.

The Dark Trooper is a resculpt/repaint of the “standard” non-battle damaged deluxe version that just released.  I can’t say this is too boring because the original just came out, whereas the other figures are a some degree of “old.”  The head is completely resculpted, to include some loose wiring at the neck, and a well-executed hole that allows you to pose the aforementioned Beskar spear so that Din can jam it straight through.  Besides the large blaster that can be held in a Two Handed Weapon Grip (THWG), it also plugs into a socket on the right hip.  Finally, the Dark Trooper has a flame accessory that wraps around the figure.  When posed in conjunction with Din firing his flame-thrower, you get the full effect.  It’s pretty well executed. The only thing I might have liked in addition, would be some kind of spark/blast effect to go around the neck to compliment the Beskar spear death throe.

Along with the recently released Obi-Wan 3-pack and the Echo Base Trooper 4-pack, this is another example of some high quality repaints/retools/repacks.  The upgrades are all welcome, and represent significant changes to the figures (with the exception of Grogu).  The soft goods capes, newly sculpted Dark Trooper head, and the outstanding and numerous accessories really pack a lot of punch.  Does it all add up to being worth $75?  Maybe not.  But I do believe this is an excellent set if you can get over the price.  These are the types of repaints and repacks that I would like to see Hasbro continue to do.