Imperial Shuttle - SW [S - P1] - Vehicles (Exclusive)

The Empire prepares to crush the Rebellion with a second, more powerful Death Star. As the Rebel fleet mounts a massive attack on the dreaded space station, Luke Skywalker confronts his father, Darth Vader, in a climactic duel before the evil Emperor. In the last second, Vader makes a momentous choice: he destroys the Emperor and saves his son. The Empire is finally defeated, the evil Sith are destroyed, and Anakin Skywalker is redeemed. At long last, freedom is restored to the galaxy.

The Imperial Shuttle is a Lambda-class shuttle used by the Imperial fleet to transport cargo and passengers. Many government officials prefer them because of their combat-worthy construction and large interior space. The shuttles are outfitted with weapons, which allow them to travel without the need for military escort, thus preventing Rebels from determining whether a shuttle is transporting mere cargo or important officials. Equipped with hyperdrives, Lambda shuttles are capable of transporting passengers or material between different fleets and star systems.

In 2002, Hasbro finally promised collectors that they would see a modern release of the classic vintage Kenner Imperial Shuttle vehicle. There would of course be differences in the modern version (like all of the electronics gutted out of it), but for all intents and purposes it would be nearly the same toy we had as kids. With some new paint operations and new decals, the Imperial Shuttle became the most sought after item because it was a long-awaited release, but it was also the perfect Christmas gift that year as well. An FAO Schwarz exclusive, the Imperial Shuttle was also the center of multiple controversies. Firstly, the MSRP was a kick in the nuts. Set at $99.99, it was the single most expensive Hasbro item that year and its cost superseded comparable vehicles released that year by more than double. If that wasn’t enough of an issue, the Imperial Shuttle experienced one delay after another and post cards were sent out to collectors explaining this “tragic” turn of events. Eventually, the Imperial Shuttle arrived to homes and once they were received, the opinions of collectors were mixed. Some loved it, while other felt the removal of electronics coupled with a price hike made this a very disappointing release overall.

In our opinion, the Imperial Shuttle has a stunning paint job. The vintage Kenner release was clean as a whistle. Now the vehicle is full of dirt and carbon scoring and other streaks of grease and/or grime and we just love the final effects. The base gray color of the vehicle is very pale. But the dirt and debris the body of the vehicle has picked up looks incredibly realistic and the Imperial Shuttle just somehow manages not to age after all of these years. Keep in mind this is a 1984 sculpt. As far as the vehicle is concerned, it's still a great vehicle and offers a lot of fun to collectors. There is no denying, the loss of electronics is bittersweet. And Hasbro didn’t bring anything new to the table here (aside from the paint operations) to give the collector as sense that something has been added in their place. The toy has aged a bit quite honestly. It’s definitely too small. Scale is such a big deal and it’s hard to not see that this vehicle may not cut the mustard anymore. But we don’t see Hasbro tooling an all-new version of this vehicle. It might be more expensive that any of us would be willing to pay at this point. If a repack of this vehicle minus electronics is $100, what would a larger and cooler version of this vehicle cost? It’s frightening to even think about it!

The Imperial Shuttle’s functionality is really sharp and tight. The wings roll open very nicely and in unison with each other. The landing gear is strong and holds up the vehicle quite well. And the extra features here like the removable side hatch and opening cockpit work just like they did in 1984. Oh, and the ramp still pulls out so you have to have the Emperor walk down it and greet Darth Vader upon his landing. So all of the vehicle’s features are in place here. You would think that since the Imperial Shuttle is an expensive FAO Schwarz exclusive that Hasbro could have worked a deal to include a pack-in figure or two. But there are NO FIGURES included here. That might not sit well with collectors. Would it have blown the budget to include a couple $5 basic figures in with this release? We think that was a really bad call here. This should have been released as a packaged deal, and give collectors no time to pause and consider whether this re-release was worth buying. Perhaps we shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. It is definitely nice to see this vehicle finally get a release in the modern line. But maybe the long delay getting it out made us hope for something “better” and this just didn’t deliver. Whatever the cost, we hope that an all-new version will one day come to us all.