Y-wing Scout Bomber - RO - Vehicles

Armed with proton bombs and laser cannons, this prototype Y-wing Scout Bomber uses its rotating engines to provide enhanced maneuverability during flight.

We all have to admit that sometimes Hasbro can impressively rework some of their vehicles into multiple Star Wars properties. Originally a “Hasbro Concept” for The Clone Wars [Shadow Of The Dark Side] line, the popular Y-wing Bomber (With Clone Trooper Pilot) was re-imagined to support the Star Wars: Rebels television show. It was originally released in The Force Awakens line has now been carried forward into the Rogue One line look. Dare we say it seems to work well reinvented for the Star Wars: Rebels toy line? Its ancestor was a very hard to find at retail Class I vehicle in 2011, so it was worth consideration to bring it out again in some fashion. Hasbro has completely retooled the vehicle’s central portion to make it a little more fitting for the Rebels characters it is meant to interact with but also sports a completely new color scheme as well. And this makes us question how we identify sculpt. At what point is it fair to denote something as an all-new sculpt when 75%-90% of it is completely new? Oh well, we will still bill this as a retool, but you should know that it’s mostly new save for a few recycled parts. In 2011, The Clone Wars [Shadow Of The Dark Side] Y-wing Bomber (With Clone Trooper Pilot) had an MSRP of $18.99. Now, that nearly same product with simply-articulated basic figure will run you $24.99. Yes, the vehicle is retooled, but should it retail for that much more? The retooled “pilot version” of Kanan Jarrus has also been thrown into this mix, so that helps a little too.

As we’ve explained, the entire cockpit and cargo section of the Y-wing Scout Bomber is new. If you compare this version to The Clone Wars [Shadow Of The Dark Side] version, you’ll see that even the texture of the cockpit seat is different. There are of course many similarities, but those with an eye for detail will see just how many differences exist between the two releases. Of special interest, the droid socket area has also seen significant tweaking. To allow for a better fit for Chopper (not included), Hasbro made the floor higher than they did in The Clone Wars [Shadow Of The Dark Side] release. A retooling like this allows Chopper’s dome to be seen similarly to that of a standard astromech droid. The only limitation to this is that regular astromech droids will have greater difficulties interacting with the 2015 version of this vehicle. As you know, the Y-wing Bomber has two rotating “wings” or “jet propulsions” that each store a snap-in bomb. And then an action feature on the top allows the bombs to be dropped at your request. It’s a simple but cool feature and adds plenty of extra play value to an already excellent miniature style vehicle. Not many vehicles in the Class I line come with all of these bells and whistles, so we count ourselves very fortunate here. In many ways, the Y-wing Scout Bomber has the spirit and inspiration of The Phantom Attack Shuttle released in 2014’s Rebels line. And between the light gray and yellow colorings, it makes the connection even stronger.

The pack-in Kanan Jarrus action figure looks great, although his legs, on our sample, came bowed and his lightsaber curved. He comes with the standard five points of articulation so that kids won’t break off the wrists which in turn will prevent parents from calling Hasbro complaining that they make crappy toys. But for five points of articulation, the sculpt is pretty great, and the paint operations are a far cry from where there were just a year ago. The details in the costume are wonderful. And although we find it frustrating to see a spectacularly sculpted blaster in his holster that will stay there as it’s all one mold, we admit that the detailing is impressive and certainly exceeds our expectations. The sad thing is that no one (kids and collectors) will be able to achieve the dynamic poses this character displays in the Rebels television show. With only five points of swivel articulation, there aren’t that many ways to display this action figure without giving him a very robotic stature. But as a display piece, Kanan Jarrus meets all of our expectations. Well sculpted, well painted and properly outfitted with a lightsaber accessory, there is honestly very little to complain about outside of the obvious desire to see more articulation. For this release Kanan Jarrus received an all-new head sculpt. He is wearing a headset this time around to that he can pilot the Y-wing Bomber effectively. The Y-wing Scout Bomber is a good value and has wonderful interactivity with Rebels action figures.