On a grocery/toy run today in hopes of finding the new PhotoReal Vintage Collection and/or The Empire Strikes Back Retro Collection waves, I stumbled upon an unexpected discovery, Star Wars Battle Bobblers.
Now after having been teased with them last year during New York Comic Con, there has been no noise about them since then beyond a cameo at New York Toy Fair this past February.
Target had what appeared to be two of each of the three sets which were present on the shelf. There was no sign of a Vader/Luke set which is featured on the back of the packaging.
For those who are not aware of the…uniqueness of these…bobblers, they are essentially mini cartoon styled bobbleheads mounted to a small spring-loaded clip.
Now just as the package states, these “figures” can CLIP, BOBBLE and BATTLE. And while this is true, I am incredibly curious about who at Hasbro decided that Chewie should do battle with the roasted carcass of his enemy?
While these toys are cute, we fail to see much versatility in their play. The slated position of their stance due to the angle of the clip makes them all not the most displayable like a Funko Bobblehead figure is famous for.
There are no movable parts or points of articulation beyond their spring-attached upper half. They are simple in design, a two-part body attached to a clip. There is no insert or catalog and checklist inside the packaging to tell you anything more than packaging.
We typically enjoy kid-centered sub-lines that Hasbro typically experiments with outside of their traditional action figure lines but this series leaves something to be desired. It is somewhat reminiscent of their Attacktix line they released in 2005 which included figures mounted on bases who battled each other with spring-loaded actions. But even the Attacktix line felt a little more thought out and had elements that made it collectible.
Nevertheless, this line is not geared for adult collectors and so most reviews of these, this one included, should be read with bias as most toy reviewers online are not children. These just might be popular with certain groups just due to their cute-factor. After all, I did indeed pick the cutest one of the bunch in the fear that if we wanted it later it might be hard to find because who doesn’t think Porgs are adorable. Heavens knows my 9-year-old did when I brought it home.