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This is a Toys R Us exclusive and retails for $19.99. Sporting an all-new sculpt, this landspeeder is far more accurate than the vintage or POTF2 version and still retains the same hovering feature. The inclusion of Luke Skywalker was also a great choice! Read on for the review and 10 photos!
Luke Skywalker and Landspeeder
with mobile "hovering" effect!
"Accompanied by C-3PO, Luke pilots his landspeeder into the rocky canyons of Tatooine. He is searching for R2-D2, who has left the Lars moisture farm without permission in order to deliver an important message to Obi-Wan Kenobi. As Luke parks the landspeeder and searches on foot, he and C-3PO are attacked by savage Tusken Raiders and are rescued just in time by the old hermit Ben Kenobi." --Excerpt from the package back
| Sculpt--4.5/5 Wow. What else is there to say? This is a vast improvement over the vintage and POTF2 versions of the landspeeder. Everything is just so much more accurate and detailed. The body of the landspeeder is much sleeker than the previous versions, and all the little details from the movie are intact. All the correct damage is here as well, with a dent at the front of the hood and the long dent by the right engine nacelle. The cockpit is also a huge improvement. The dashboard is accurately sculpted as are the seats. There's even a steering wheel! The cockpit is a tight squeeze though, so only figures with a narrow leg stance will fit in. The steering wheel also makes it very hard to get the driver in; it would have been nice if you could adjust it or remove it to fit figures in better. The windshield is much better this time around but could have been a tad bigger, I think it's still a little too "flat". The back of the landspeeder is finally movie-accurate with the two bits of machinery sticking out. The left engine nacelle is wonderfully detailed and is extremely accurate to the actual movie landspeeder. All the wires and parts are pretty much exactly how it looks in the movie. Features--5/5 The landspeeder features the hovering effect and it is exactly the same as it was in previous versions. A control lever in the cockpit raises and lowers the landspeeder off the ground. The springs seem stronger this time, so your figures won't weigh down the landspeeder. Also of note are the wheels--they're made of clear plastic to help make them less noticeable. There's no pop-up hood on this version which is a good thing, in my opinion. Not sure what else they could have put in short of adding electronic sounds so I think the features are perfect. Accessories--4.5/5 You can't have a landspeeder without a driver, so including a Luke figure was a good idea. The choice of using the Flashback Luke was perfect, since he features bendable elbows and a ball-jointed neck. The Luke looks great in the drivers seat, and thanks to his ball-jointed neck, he can look straight ahead instead of up to the sky. Now if they can only make a good Old Ben Kenobi to fit in the landspeeder, then everything would be peachy. You also get Luke's rifle which conveniently snaps onto the side of the landspeeder just like in the movie. Paint--4/5 The paint job is great with all the correct lines and dents. However, I'm not sure if the colors used are totally correct. The trim lines are bit too brown and should be more red, I think. I've been looking at a bunch of photos from my Behind the Magic CD-ROM and that's one of the few things that don't quite match up with the actual movie landspeeder. It's a good paint job overall though; they even painted the bottom of the landspeeder! Packaging--4.5/5 This is an excellent window box, with windows on four sides of the box. You can get an excellent view of the landspeeders from many angles without even taking it out of the box. The box is also pretty sturdy for the most part. Overall--4.5/5 This is an almost perfect rendition of the X-34 landspeeder and should not be missed by fans of the original Star Wars movie. The detailing is great, the included figure is perfect for the vehicle and if you're like me, you'll love recreating scenes from the movie with it. On a side note, if you want C-3PO to drive the landspeeder (like he does in one scene) then I suggest using the pull apart C-3PO and taking off his legs. It's still a bit of a tight fit because of his arms, but he looks pretty good behind the wheel. |
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All original website content and photos © Copyright 2002-2006 Garett Yoshimura. All Rights Reserved. Not affiliated with Lucasfilm Ltd. or Hasbro.