Height: 1.8 Meters average
Status: Imperial Scout Stormtrooper
Classification: Human
Affiliation: Galactic empire
Weapon of Choice: Imperial Issue Blaster Pistol
Vehicle of Choice: Aratech 74-Z Military Speeder Bike
Vehicle Length: 3 meters
Speed: 500+ km per hour
Hold vehicle at the back, behind the wheel. Insert "T" handle Rip Stick into slot on either side of wheel until it stops... pull stick out quickly to rev up wheel. CAUTION: NEVER TOUCH THE REVVED-UP WHEEL WITH YOUR HANDS OR HOLD THE REVVED-UP VEHICLE DOWN ON THE FLOOR.
Immediately set the vehicle down with a slight push forward on a smooth, flat surface. Watch your vehicle accelerate! Race in areas clear of furniture and other objects. The faster you pull the "T" handle Rip Stick, the faster it will go. Race against your friends or run over ramps.
Did you ever wonder why Kenner/Hasbro goes all out creating an all-new sculpt of vehicle collectors desperately want to see an update, but only to have them create a gimmicky toy instead? That’s about where the Star Wars collecting community is at when it comes to The Power Of The Force “2” [Green/Freeze Frame] Speeder Bike (Power Racing) vehicle release. Aesthetically, the all-new Speeder Bike (Power Racing) tooling brings slightly better proportions to the iconic vehicle seen in Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi, but then immediately falls flat because of the screen-inaccurate tooling required to add the play feature and make it functional as a toy. The Speeder Bike (Power Racing) vehicle is out of line with most of the other vehicles Kenner/Hasbro produced within the line already. Admittedly, many aspects of the Speeder Bike (Power Racing) looks beautiful. The crouched Biker Scout, which is sadly a permanent fixture on this toy, looks brilliant and this vehicle flies when you activate the ripcord. Let’s look at this more closely.
Kenner/Hasbro has taken advantage of the trademarked “Rip Stick” technology and applies it to the Speeder Bike (Power Racing) release. Many of us grew up with something similar to various wind-up toys and racing cars as kids. Now they’ve taken it a step further and applied it to a Star Wars vehicle. The play feature is simple, but it works well. You insert the Rip Stick into either side of the wheel (which is obnoxiously centered underneath of the Speeder Bike) and then pull out the Rip Stick quickly to rev up the wheel. Once released, the Speeder Bike (Power Racing) vehicle flies onto any flat surface and recreates the incredibly exciting “chase” during the beginnings of the Battle of Endor. Again, the Speeder Bike (Power Racing) vehicle has some remarkable screen-accurate features, but then has many other aspects that will make you cringe to look at them. The chin gun is devastatingly terrible. It’s used as a kickstand of sorts and is terribly out of scale. And the lack of detail on the hood leaves a lot to be desired. We understand why Hasbro took shortcuts, but it affects its appearance.
When you look at the Biker Scout on the Speeder Bike (Power Racing) vehicle, you understand why Kenner/Hasbro is reluctant to add some much articulation to an action figure. The Biker Scout has no cuts in its frame for movement, and it perfectly seamless and realistic even though it is a solid chunk of plastic. Kenner/Hasbro did mention to include a swivel head, which is the perfect inclusion here. Turning the Biker Scout’s head back and forth recreates the movement of the stop-motion puppets utilized in the film. The figure lacks some important deco details, but we understand why they didn’t go “all out” for this release. For only $9.99, it feels like the Speeder Bike (Power Racing) vehicle should be a deal for collectors. But play features are never something the adult collecting community wants to see added to the toy line, unless it’s screen-accurate, like light-up lightsabers, or battery-operated laser lights and sounds. Kenner/Hasbro should save all of their tooling budgets on updating the vehicles of the past to create definitive releases. The Rip Stick might be a trend, but it will fade quickly.
