For me, the most exciting part of collecting in 2015 wasn't the release of the Force Awakens range. It was the return of Star Wars Micro Machines. This is the line that (along with the scaled-up Action Fleet) began my collecting obsession back in the '90s. Given this, it was fitting that my final purchase for the year was the Rebellion Rising Deluxe Pack.
This pack comes as part of the second wave of Star Wars Micro Machines sets. Most of this wave is dedicated to rereleases of Original Trilogy vehicles, but this pack (along with the Clone Fighter Strike 3-Pack) sees the introduction of a number of new prequel-era vehicles to the line. Two of the ships in this set - the Ghost and the Phantom - are repacks from the Inquisitor's Hunt 3-Pack, but everything else is completely new. The Wookiee Gunship is a great little craft with an excellent paintjob, and the the Imperial Troop Transport is a fantastically-detailed rendition of the vehicle based on the '70s vintage toy. The real star of this set, however, is the AT-DP.
A long time ago, I raved about the AT-DP design and it's role as a direct homage to an unused walker design produced by Joe Johnston for The Empire Strikes Back. I never got my hands on the 3 3/4" sculpt of this vehicle, so I'm rapt to finally have another version in my collection. The real surprise with the AT-DP is that the head actually swivels. Articulation is super-rare at this scale (the only other example I can think of is in the neck-joint of the '90s Micro Machine AT-AT), so it's a great extra feature - and one that adds an extra bit of playability / poseability to an already fantastic piece.
The pack also include minifigures of both Kanan Jarrus and the Imperial Inquisitor - making it a great little set for $24.99.
