Zam Wesell Speeder - SW [S - P1] - Vehicles

Ten years after the fight to save Naboo from invasion, the galaxy is on the brink of civil war. Under the leadership of a renegade Jedi, thousands of solar systems threaten to secede from the Galactic Republic. A courageous Jedi Knight, his impulsive and headstrong apprentice, and a queen-turned-senator are drawn into the heart of the conflict... and the beginning of war.

Fleeing her pursuers, Zam Wesell pushes her speeder to its limit on a harrowing, high speed chase through the streets and buildings of Coruscant. barely keeping the fast, highly maneuverable vehicle ahead of Obi-Wan Kenobi and AnakinSkywalker, Zam's flight ends in an explosive crash.

The action-packed sequence in Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones that involved Zam Wesell fleeing Anakin Skywalker (and eventually Obi-Wan Kenobi) in their respective speeders high above Coruscant was one of the more energetic scenes of the film. If you break Attack Of The Clones down in parts, you’ll discover that the love story between Anakin and Padme really took center stage and greatly affected the pace of the film. As a result, Hasbro wasn’t left with an endless supply of toy ideas involving vehicles, so it makes relative sense why both the Anakin Skywalker Speeder and the Zam Wesell Speeder were made for the Star Wars “Saga” line. The Zam Wesell Speeder is the fancier of the two, but we don’t think it translated into a toy as well as the Anakin Skywalker Speeder did. It’s not a bad toy by any means. In fact, it utilizes the similar battle-damaged technology of the latter. Although, when it regular mode, the vehicle lacks smoothness and it’s evident where this vehicle is solid plastic and rubber in order to recreate that battle-damage action feature. The Zam Wesell Speeder is sleeker and sexier than Anakin’s, but we don’t believe that Hasbro gave much thought about how action figures would interact with them. So, while neat, these smaller sized vehicles could have used a little more engineering before going into the final production phases.

The Zam Wesell Speeder is actually a Koro-2 Exodrive airspeeder. It’s is similar in size, but ultimately large than Anakin Skywalker’s Speeder, at least in the film. In the toy line however, it’s comparable in size. In Attack Of The Clones, if you look carefully enough you’ll discover that it looks as if the Zam Wesell Speeder is big enough to accommodate two front seat passengers, but the toy cockpit is really only designed for one. Neither 2002’s POTJ Zam Wesell (Sneak Preview) or 2002’s SW [S - P1] Zam Wesell (Bounty Hunter) (’02 #18) fit inside of the vehicle that well at all. However, should you decide to display them outside of the vehicle, it serves as a great backdrop for them. As mentioned earlier, a similar battle-damage feature has been applied to the Zam Wesell Speeder as well. You can “crush in” the front parts of the vehicle to simulate her crash on Vos Gesal Street in the Uscru Districts outside of the Outlander Club. Again, the Zam Wesell Speeder is a nice-looking vehicle, but not completely in scale with the figure, nor the Anakin Skywalker Speeder. It’s design from side view looks like a dragon’s head. It’s ominous appearance seems perfect for a bounty hunter. And because she is a Clawdite changeling, the reptilian characteristics of her vehicle seem more relevant.

Just like the Anakin Skywalker Speeder, the Zam Wesell Speeder has rubber portions that cover up a locking mechanism. When activated, this in turn gives the crumpled up battle-damaged look. It seems like such a simple way of creating realistic vehicle body damage, but the result looks extremely complex and makes you wonder “How’d they do that?” As you can see, we’re thoroughly impressed with the interactivity of the Zam Wesell Speeder. It looks beautiful and it looks this way in the two stages it can be configured. The paint job is impressive. It is mostly shades of green, but is accented in yellow and orange. The canopy flips up and you will find a steering column and a pilot’s seat. It’s not too action figure friendly, but that shouldn’t prevent you from posing the multiple Zam Wesell action figures already released thus far. The Zam Wesell Speeder really looks pretty good. We have stated before that there really weren’t too many action packed sequences throughout the film until the end, but the speeder chase above Coruscant was entertaining, and it was entertaining enough for Hasbro to recreate the two airspeeders from the scene. The Zam Wesell Speeder is fleeting when compared to other more aggressive vehicles in the film, but it is still one that you should consider.