V-19 Torrent Starfighter - TCW [R] - Vehicles

After making its debut at the Battle of Geonosis, the Republic's V-19 Torrent assault fighter is used with effectiveness at the Battle of Muunilinst. Anakin Skywalker commands the space battle above the planet, leading clone-piloted V-19 Torrents against the Separatists’ droid fighters.

Introduced to us in Tartakovsky’s very first chapter of the animated Clone Wars series, the V-19 Torrent Starfighter is a midsize vehicle that fans and collectorswill be able to thoroughly enjoy in their collections, because Hasbro is releasing it in every collection since its original release. Thankfully, the V-19 Torrent Starfighter is making a much bigger splash in Filoni’s The Clone Wars television series and Hasbro is making sure that it remains a centerpiece in their The Clone Wars toy line collection. First released as 2008’s TCW [B] V-19 Torrent Starfighter, it has been carried forward into the "red phase" of The Clone Wars toy line due to its popularity. The vehicle truly impressed collectors of all ages with its functionality and design. It articulates just like it does in the television show and comes with a functioning cockpit and fires missiles. All of these features will provide some sort of fun for everyone who buys it. Whether in flight or landing mode, the V-19 Torrent Starfighter and can be posed in a variety of ways thanks to the articulated wings. Utilized by Clone Pilots, the V-19 Torrent Starfighter is an assault vehicle that is known for its incredible speed and agility. It fought many battles during the Clone Wars and quickly became a staple amongst the many fleets and Clone Trooper battalions. The vehicle has a unique design via its two pairs of folding airfoils. This aids the vehicle by allowing for quick take-offs as well as simple landings. The vehicle defends itself with blaster cannons as well as two concussion missile launchers. And Hasbro did a great job translating off all of these details and characteristics into the toy.

We’d call Hasbro’s interpretation of the V-19 Torrent Starfighter a complete success. It’s visually stunning as well as being equally functional. The vehicle will provide ours of play, and since it fits within the Mid Size vehicle assortment, it won’t be too much for a young fan to handle when playing with it. Of course collectors will enjoy a well-made vehicle at any size. In all honesty, Hasbro fit quite a bit into the $21.99 price point (even though this vehicle started out with a $19.99 MSRP just last year in the The Clone Wars [Blue] lineup). The only complaint we have is that the V-19 Torrent Starfighter looks much too clean for our own personal tastes. This has become a major issue for most action figures and vehicles that should be looking dirty. Instead, Hasbro makes them pristinely clean as they can and it frustrates us quite a bit. A final wash finishing touch does wonders for a vehicle that battles in space. It’s a shame this final deco isn’t a priority for Hasbro anymore. Thankfully the rest of the deco (giving the vehicle color and whatnot) has been done cleanly and beautifully. You’ll find geometric shapes of maroon and small details of lime green and gold. All of these look gorgeous. The deco inside of the cockpit also looks fantastic. The V-19 Torrent Starfighter is a very elegant vehicle. In spirit it is reminiscent of the Imperial Shuttle from the Original Trilogy (but obviously at a much smaller scale). It could almost be a "Mini Rig" version of it. The color scheme is definitely very simple, but the body of the vehicle is eggshell (or off-white if you prefer) with the various colored accents along its edges as mentioned briefly.

Although there is significant movement in the wings, the joints are tight and they will hold their angle and position very well. And if you outstretch the wings, the V-19 Torrent Starfighter changes shape almost to the point of being unrecognizable. In this mode the vehicle appears extremely thin. All of these different appearances of the same vehicle is a very cool option to have for a midsize vehicle. It’s not too often we get these options in this scale. It’s very cool. In the center of the vehicle you will find the cockpit. It’s rather streamlined and is able to accommodate a Clone Pilot or any other Clone Trooper you see fit. Hasbro ensured us that every Clone Trooper from The Clone Wars line will/should fit inside the cockpit without any issue. From our experiences we can confirm this to be true. Quickly becoming one of our favorite new vehicles (but this probably has a lot to do with our love for the Tartakovsky series), the V-19 Torrent Starfighter is destined to become a favorite with collectors of The Clone Wars line. The Clone Wars [Red] line is extremely heavy in repacks unfortunately, but at least Hasbro is picking the cream of the crop. We just hope they realize how important new sculpts are to the health of the line. They are banging a generous amount of the Mid Size vehicles to accompany the many action figures they're making too. The V-19 Torrent Starfighter has everything in place to make it a great toy: an opening cockpit canopy, rotating airfoils (center and side), retractable landing gear and firing blaster cannons. All of this just makes this vehicle a pure joy for us.