Republic Swamp Speeder - TCW [SOTDS] - Vehicles

Swamp speeders are used by clone troopers to travel over soft, marshy terrain found on worlds such as Kashyyyk and Felucia. Propelled by a rear turbofan, the vehicles hover above the ground, skimming over land that would hamper the movement of wheeled vehicles and walkers. These two-person repulsorlift speeders have front-mounted twin laser cannons and provide infantry support to the Republic's clone army.

Why does Hasbro insist on releasing movie-specific vehicles in the animated The Clone Wars line? We wouldn’t necessarily be as upset if these vehicles appeared somewhere within The Clone Wars framework, but the Republic Swamp Speeder is specific to Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith only (not counting some random Expanded Universe sources). Since this vehicle only came out at the beginning of Season 3, it is quite possible that this vehicle will see its place somewhere in the series. If it does we’ll be sure to place an Editor’s Note here reflecting that. But with so few vehicles coming from any of the six films, it would be a pleasant gesture by Hasbro to release these rare vehicle exceptions in the standard line look. (Hey, we would have loved to see this Republic Swamp Speeder in The Vintage Collection just as much!) So how does this Republic vehicle measure up to the many others we have already received in our collections thus far? Well, we love it and we don’t know how to feel about it equally. It is certainly movie accurate but there is something about it that seems out of place. Perhaps it's because it can barely be seen in Episode III. We bet that many of your out there may feel similarly when we describe why this vehicle didn't wow us like others. But the quick and easy answer is we think it’s pretty neat.

The Republic Swamp Speeder is very well designed. There is a lot of detail carved into this thing and the paint job isn’t half bad. It has two seats for any clone trooper and the areas have been designed well to hold with seatbelts and all. What we don’t get is how tiny this thing is. And we could be off on our interpretation of the scale, but it just seems like this vehicle is a tad to small to be relegated to the $24.99 mid-size vehicle price point. We should however point out though that this will make it look so much better next to your AT-TE in your collection since there is a huge size disparity between these two vehicles in the film. The vehicle looks exactly like what a space version of an air boat (fan boat) would be. Just like the earthly version, the Republic Swamp Speeder has some propelling device that makes it move. It has been painted with gray, silver and red details and the seated areas have some green as well. In the front of the vehicle are two cannons that fire two missiles each. It is a fairly complex vehicle for such a small size and we suspect that the tooling for this vehicle wasn’t cheap. With all of its curves and angles, it has a much more graceful appearance that many other Republic vehicles that have been released. And in all honesty, the vehicles had a very passive role in Episode III. It will be interesting to see if they some how creep into The Clone Wars.

This vehicle can be seen in two spots in Episode III during two different scenes: the attack on Kashyyyk and Order 66 on Felucia. Below you will find reference photos of each. The vehicles blow by the viewer quickly in both, so don't think you're insane if you miss it while watching Episode III. The Kashyyyk battle in particular is a little bit of sensory overload and there is a lot to catch with your eye with all of the quick camera movements, so don't blink during these scenes. The Kashyyyk Troopers are navigating the one on Kashyyyk. However, you can see these vehicles much easier in the opening sequence of when Aayla Secura is killed on Felucia during Order 66. Two are moving in between two AT-TE vehicles. Again, if you blink too long, you’ll be sure to miss these as well! (And the great thing is that that the colors of the vehicles in the film match the toy made by Hasbro, so this is definitely and Episode III specific vehicle. Unfortunately, we would love to know which clone troopers are driving it in the Felucia scene, but they are so tiny in the film that we can’t make them out. Are they more of the 327th Star Corps Clone Troopers or are they the all-white Clone Troopers seen on the box art? We’re not entirely sure, but we assume that the answer is out there somewhere! While we try to distill it, be sure to check out this cool vehicle. We think it’s a pretty neat vehicle despite being smaller than the rest in the mid-size vehicle assortment.