Bio: A lean, needle-nosed fighter-craft with a distinct alien heritage, the starfighters of the Geonosians are small, compact vessels of great speed and superior agility. A single Geonosian pilot sits within the cramped cockpit and peers out of a bubble canopy that allows a 360-degree field of vision. Cradled within the forward needles of the ship is a turret-mounted laser cannon. During the Clone Wars, the fighters were modified to increase their firepower, by adding two proton torpedos in the side launchers. (Taken from the toy's box.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy room.

Commentary: As pack-ins go, the Geonosian Pilot is notable in that there's no other figure like it. Sure, there's other Geonosians, but pilots? This is the only game in town. It's not a very good figure, as his spindly legs don't help him stand much, and the pose makes it difficult for him to sit-- which is unfortunate given he's a pilot packaged with a vehicle. With six points of articulation, he's delightfully average. You can pop off his head or torso at various ball joints, and the limbs can swivel as you might expect. The sculpt detail is pretty good, and the design is certainly solid. This figure would be greatly improved by thicker, less bendy limbs or perhaps a design that allows the figure to stand on his own two feet. As one of few figures/characters packaged only with a vehicle, it's a neat curiosity and worth tracking down with the vehicle. By itself, it's not particularly remarkable or even really all that good, so you can probably skip this one if you were so inclined.

Collector's Notes: Most vehicles, over time, saw a gradual increase in their secondary market asking price. Anakin's Jedi Starfighter from the same era as this ship really shot up, as did the greenish Jedi Starfighter and the Clone Wars Federation Tank. The Geonosian ship goes for about $20, and as of yet there haven't been too many rumblings about a reissue. As a card-carrying vehicle fiend I can say I spent very little time with this one as it really isn't any fun to play with, but the good news is that if you want one you can score one off the eBay for the original price.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 770: June 14, 2008