(Photo Credits: Jedi Temple Archives, Google Images)General Thoughts: The Empire Strikes Back offers a lot of material as far as vehicles are concerned, but none of these is more iconic than the Rebel Snowspeeder. The ship that saves Han and Luke from Hoth’s freezing cold, takes down several walkers and ultimately buys the Rebels enough time to escape, can only be described as heroic. Even though it’s smaller and less versatile than the rest of the ships in the Alliance’s armada, it still commands attention as a powerful force in its own right. It has had several incarnations over the course of time, but this is the most accurate one to date.
Detail: 10/10
This wonderfully detailed ship has just about everything you could ask for out of a $25 vehicle. It has all the markings from the movie props, even down to the little dots and shapes that are so small you’d have to screenshot the movie to see them. Its size has been reduced slightly from the most recent release, effectively retiring the Vintage mold, and this is a great step in the right direction. No black marks here.
Accuracy: 10/10
There isn’t a thing about the ship that isn’t spot on to the movie appearance. The only way this could be better is if they were to have a set of decals that could turn this into the red striped version that is seen being flown by other members of Rogue Squadron, but that can wait for the inevitable repaint in the next few years. A work of art as far as toys go.
Playability: 10/10
The only thing that this ship does right that I don’t really like is the inclusion of three missile-firing cannons. Don’t get me wrong; the idea is a great one, as it gives kids something to play with as they don’t necessarily care about accuracy, but for someone like me who primarily displays my toys, I don’t view it as entirely necessary. There are two sets of laser cannons, the accurate non-firing ones that look great, and the missile-firing cannons, which are not accurate and are somewhat bulky in my opinion. The same goes for the harpoon gun, except in this case I’m a little more lenient, because the missile-firing one comes with a harpoon cable of reasonable length, which can attach to the back of the speeder and be used to recreate the Battle of Hoth scenes. The gun itself is rather bulky and makes the ship look back-heavy, but the play value helps this to be overlooked somewhat. I prefer the smaller, screen-accurate version.
Overall Design: 10/10
I don’t think that there is anything that they could really do to make this ship any better than they already have. I can’t wait for the eventual repaint in the other color scheme, just so I can buy another one of these, so that speaks more than anything I could ever say about it, in my opinion. With so many included features, it’s a wonder why more vehicles don’t follow in this one’s footsteps, as ships that could be just as cool, like the Swamp Speeder, suffer from lack of any real features and diminish their perceived value. This is a great ship to use in Vintage style packaging, and I hope that more follow in its path.
Final Thoughts: This is a great toy, plain and simple, and you’d be foolish to not pick one up. As is stated pretty much everywhere, there are no differences between this one and the Shadows of the Dark Side one, just the boxes they come in, so get whichever one you can find cheaper, unless you hang onto the boxes like me, then I would suggest this version as the packaging is simply ten times cooler. The extra play features make this an incredible purchase, and the attention to detail makes you wonder how Hasbro can keep the costs down. I was in need of a new version of this ship to fill out my armada, and I’m definitely glad that I chose this version to do so.
Grade: 40/40 A+
Verdict: Definitely Get This
SW Collector
(Photo Credits: Google Images)General Thoughts: As a child that grew up during the time of the Special Edition releases, I never knew the abundance that was the Kenner Vintage toys. As a result, I missed out on a lot of great things, namely the Cloud Car. This vehicle was only made once, during the original 1980 run of toys, and since then there has not been a modern update to it. For years Hasbro has claimed that it just doesn’t have enough screen time and aggressive features, and the original molds were lost or broken, despite the large volume of fans clamoring for it’s release. Finally, in 2010, as part of the new Vintage Collection ironically enough, we get to see this curious vehicle released again, this time with all new tooling, new features, and even a new pilot to purchase and drive our ship.
Detail: 11/10
I try to not give too many scores over 10 in reviews, as it seems somewhat tacky to me, but in this instance, like others, I can’t help but do so. My reasoning is that there are just so many things crammed into this toy that it definitely makes up for Habro saying no for so many years. The engines are given a “glowing” paintjob, the many missile launchers are seamlessly integrated into the design, and the paint applications on the entire ship are just wonderful.
Accuracy: 11/10
Again, I’m only giving this an 11 because I don’t feel a 10 gives it justice. This ship has all of the features of a Cloud Car seen in the movie, but it goes the extra mile and shows us not one, but two new features that would not be apparent from viewing the film. The two cockpits can split apart to become two separate vehicles, increasing play value, and the cars themselves can slide together and reveal hidden missile launchers, giving this fighter some more oomph to police the skies of Bespin with.
Playability: 10/10
As I stated above, this toy has quite a lot of features that make it worthwhile. Both cockpits open and can fit the new 2010 Cloud Car Pilot figure, as well as a slew of others if you’re so inclined. There are new landing gear posts on the bottom of the ship, with sculpted laser cannons on them, as well as opening engine compartments on the front of each car. The package lists them as storage compartments, but I’m not entirely sure what people would want to store near the engine of a starfighter. The cars can separate, creating two individual vehicles, and they can be pushed together to reveal their hidden missile launchers, which are in addition to the two on the middle section of the craft, all of which can be fired. Basically, there’s a lot for kids to do with this thing.
Overall Design: 10/10
For something that they said couldn’t be done, due to whatever reasons they were citing at the time, Hasbro sure did a bang-up job of making one of the coolest vehicles of 2010. They crammed a bunch of features into the ship, all while keeping it screen accurate and making hundreds of collectors happy, and that doesn’t happen all the time.
Final Thoughts:
I had my doubts about this thing at first, but after having purchased it and holding it in my hands, I have to say that I am very satisfied with my decision. My only real surprise with this ship was the size, as it is downright puny compared to most of my other craft, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it can be stored in a much smaller space than the rest of them. Looking at the Starfighter assortment, I’d say things are off to a good start, and the choices just seem to keep getting better. With things like the Cloud Car, Swamp Speeder, and Droid Gunship all being released in consecutive waves, vehicles are definitely putting a strain on my wallet. I picked this up for less than retail, which I thought was a bonus, and I would highly encourage anyone who is on the fence to pick it up, as you’ll be sorry if you don’t, and you may just have to wait another 30 years for them to re-release this one.
Grade: 42/40 A++
Verdict: Definitely Get This
SW Collector
