We thought it would be a cold day on Tatooine before we ever saw an update of the vintage open belly Tauntaun, but Hasbro takes a creative approach to reusing previously released designs. The Battle of Hoth 4-pack not only includes the aforementioned Tauntaun, but also a kit bashed Leia figure, a Chewbacca repaint, a new astromech droid and a Luke Skywalker to stuff into the inside of the Tauntaun.

THE BATTLE OF HOTH 4-PACK
Toys R' Us Exclusive
Film: The Empire Strikes Back
Figures: Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, R3-A2, Open Belly Tauntaun
Includes: Tauntaun guts, lightsaber, bowcaster, rifle, pistol, 4 stands
Retail: $19.99
Availability: September ‘03

Princess Leia is an amalgamation of the previously released POTJ Leia Bespin Escape with a POTF2 Leia Hoth head and vest. It also appears that Hasbro has added some weathering effects to the Bespin Escape torso for that fresh-from-a-cave-in look.

Hoth Luke Skywalker appears to be the exact same figure that was released with the POTF2 Beast Set in 1997. So if you got him, then bought the single carded version, or later the Wampa Beast Set, this latest addition from the 4-pack will be nothing new. 

The astromech droid included in this set, designated R3-A2, is a repaint of the Attack of the Clones R3-T7 preview figure, sans the energy effect. This figure is proof positive that Hasbro has the ability to release droids en mass until they run out of color schemes or droid names---whichever comes first. Let's hope we find out which one does come first.

The Chewbacca figure is simply a repaint of the recently released SAGA Chewbacca Cloud City Capture with a little dandruff...uhmm... snow paint deco added. If you got him, then this will be a rerun. If not, this is one of the better Chewbacca sculpts to have in your arsenal.

The real gem of this set has to be the inclusion of an open belly Tauntaun, complete with Acklay guts. Galactichunter.com is trying to secure an interview with a xenobiologist so we can get an answer to the question of why a Tauntaun and an Acklay share the same biology. More on this as it develops. Purists will undoubtedly point out the fact that this is the wrong Tauntaun. In The Empire Strikes Back, it is Luke's Tauntaun that has the cracked tusk, not the one that was sliced open by Han Solo. But such is the nature of quality control at the Big H. Those same purists should note that this is the last vintage creature that had not been remade, so another piece to the "remake every vintage figure" has fallen into place.

This set comes nicely packed in the same window box style that the previous two 4-packs---the Imperial Forces and Ultimate Bounty sets---were shipped. You can view more detailed photos of The Battle of Hoth 4-Pack by visiting our Image Bank!