Scramble to Get Your Yavin Battle Pack!

I can't tell you how excited I was to get the Star Wars "Scramble on Yavin" Battle Pack. From the moment I saw the first promotional picture, I knew it was going to be one of my all-time favorites.

Most of the credit goes to R5-K6, the astromech droid who flies and is destroyed with Red Leader during the attack on Death Star I in the Battle of Yavin. Until the Battle Pack was announced, I knew nothing of R5-K6. I don't remember ever seeing him in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, mostly because I was always concentrating on Red Leader's face and dialogue, not trying to see what his astromech droid looked like.

Anyway, R5-K6 is attractively painted in red, white, black and gray, with such unique and extraordinary detail, that he easily bests any other R5 unit I've seen (even Jabba the Hutt's R5-X2 in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, which has a similar red, white and gray deco, but nowhere near as much detailing).

Of course, where there's R5-K6, there's Red Leader himself, Garven ("Almost there!") Dreis. Although his body is the same one that's been used for many other X-Wing pilot figures, he has an all-new head and a cool-looking helmet. It's great to finally have him as an action figure.

Finally, the pack comes with one member of the Rebel Ground Crew, plus the Transport vehicle he drives around the Yavin hangar deck. Although he's painted almost entirely gray, with a white helmet, brown belt and dark brown boots, he's still inexplicably appealing in his relative … plainness. He's an all-new figure, which is certainly a point in his favor.

Maybe it has to do with the Transport vehicle he drives. I'm not a collector of Star Wars vehicles, but this thing is just … an extraordinary, "bonus" type of pack-in. Hasbro could've "cheaped out" and attached the Rebel Ground Crew member to a cardboard cutout of a Transport vehicle, but it didn't. This thing is practically a figure unto itself, and is also an all-new Hasbro creation. It's mostly tan, but has some nice yellow, red and dark brown highlights. It's a really cute vehicle with which kids will probably have a lot of fun.

Me? Mr. Collector? I'm content to just admire it, R5, Dreis and the Rebel Ground Crew member inside the box.