Picked this one up on TRU.com for $27.99
Finally after waiting forever for some new product, I got this in the mail yesterday and man is it sweet!
As a kid, I really enjoyed the original release of the snowspeeder and have a potj version still and was skeptical as to how this newer sculpt could improve on the old one. In the past I have mentioned how Hasbro has really been giving us some solid vehicle releases in the last couple of years and this one is no exception.
Detail is exquisite inside and out and the scale is more spot on than the original although their size isn't all that much different. The newer speeder is a bit shorter and although the cockpit doesn't appear that much different from the outside, the configuration of the seats on the inside give alot more room to the tailgunner's position in the rear of the cab. Interior details and controls shine here with a much more intricate sculpt of the cockpit's panels and both pilot and tailgunner can be made to grip their controls fairly easily. Something that we didn't know about is that on the pilots left arm side, there is a recess molded into the interior that provides a storage slot that fits the barrel of the grappling gun that came with the Legacy Snowspeeder Luke figure which is a nice detail to add.
As before, there is the obligatory landing gear that retracts into the belly of the speeder. On one side, an engine pod and panel can be removed to show some underskin detail for simulated battle damage or service in the rebel hangar. Both upper hull airbrake flaps are hinged and quite positionable this time.
Hasbro seen fit to provide us with not only photocorrect looking front cannons and a tow cable launcher but also provided us with alternate versions of all three guns which are interchangeable and can fire missiles. Both the firing front cannons and the rear tow cable cannon are slightly larger and a bit clunky looking but provide an additional play feature for the trigger happy collectors out there. The missile for the towcable gun has a loop that is attached to a length of string which feeds through and is stopped at the end of its length by a block that snaps into the lower back end of the fuselage. on the underside of the hull in this area, there is a small hatch which opens to reveal the backside of this block and what extra length of cable you don't want dangling about when you are not shooting the missile. When it comes time to deploy your cable, just pull the extra length of the string from this storage area, through the block, and fire away.
This vehicle comes with a sheet of 12 decals all of which, are for inside the cockpit.
Exterior markings look great and although it could use a bit of weathering, this showroom floor snowspeeder certainly is a jewel to my eyes.
Very nicely done, Hasbro. Kudos to you for catering to both the kid and the realist of your collectors.
I do have a video review of this release up on youtube. You can find it here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHn63WndC1E
