A-WING STARFIGHTER Blue/ McQuarrie Concept
Titanium Series Basic Vehicles
Item No.: Asst. 34558 No. 34594
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Display stand
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $4.99
Availability: 2006
Appearances: n/a

Bio: The quickest starfighter deployed by any organization during the galactic civil war, the engines of the A-Wing were so powerful that only the most skilled Rebel pilots were able to take full advantage of the speed they geenrated. Faster and more maneuverable than even the TIE Interceptor, this vehicle was a deciding influence on many of the later battles in the war, including the Battle of Endor. (Taken from the ship's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: It's a repaint of a repack! How often does that happen? In Titanium Series, frequently. This A-Wing Starfighter is the first significant redeco of the toy. A die-cast A-Wing was first sold by Galoob in the late 1990s, and Hasbro eventually bought the company and in 2005, they reissued a number of these die-cast ships in new packages. In 2006, Hasbro redecorated many of these older molds, including this nifty redeco. The ship is actually a very strong mold, and it's good to see it in rotation once more. It has three parts to its collection of retractable landing gear, articulated laser cannons, and an opening canopy.

The ship is mostly die-cast metal with some plastic pieces, all repainted to look like a preproduction painting from Ralph McQuarrie. Legend has it that the vehicle's design was changed due to limitations in special effects composite technology of the day-- you see, with blue screens, you can't have a blue ship, hence the change to a more rusty color. The deco Hasbro gave it is very close to that original painting, although for some reason Hasbro's toy seems almost unfinished. The off-white used on most of the ship really absorbs all of the light so you can't see any detail, and the battle damage is fairly weak. I do dig what they were trying to do, and I hope that they some day make this version of the ship for the action figure line. Just as long as they use a different kind of off-white, of course.

Collector's Notes: Despite having been used a number of times over the past decade and change, this is a pretty slick vehicle. The same mold was used by Galoob around 1997, and Hasbro used it in 2005 (red ship), 2006 (blue ship), and in 2007 (green ship). So if you want to collect all the versions of just this one mold, you've already got your work cut out for you.

Day 613: January 9, 2008