TIE Advanced/Darth Vader - Mission Fleet (Vehicles)

Love it or hate it, the Mission Fleet line is filling gaps in the Hasbro Star Wars line not being served by things for the adult collecting community. And for better or for worse, the items produced for the Mission Fleet line feel familiar, look great and provide the nostalgic collecting atmosphere that’s been mostly absent since the Disney Star Wars takeover. We get it. Mission Fleet is probably not for you. But we’ve recently discovered the charm of the line, and are enjoying the many things Hasbro is producing for the Mission Fleet lineup. In addition to the 2” basic figure line, Hasbro also worked in multiple vehicles into the line. We’re looking at the TIE Advanced with Darth Vader set. It’s a remarkably exciting vehicle and figure set and comes with an action feature that is as bizarre as it is interesting. The TIE Advanced vehicle comes with two removable wings, an articulated cockpit, and excellent design. It has some hollowness to it, but most of the vehicle is excellently designed and tooled and looks like an animated miniaturized version of the vehicle we see during the Battle of Yavin. The TIE Advanced comes with an E-Web Tripod accessory. When you break it down to the cannon, it can be attached to four distinct places on the TIE Advanced. This functionality provides the play value for this toy. And remarkably, it works well. The cannon can then be assembled as the E-Web Tripod accessory, and you can allow the included Darth Vader figure to fire it as needed. So, the TIE Advanced vehicle is based on its appearance from Episode IV. But Darth Vader is based on the character’s appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. This is not the first time Hasbro made this error. In The Power Of The Force “2” line, you’d find an Episode V Darth Vader in a Death Star playset, for example. The Darth Vader figure is realistically animated. It has exaggerated features, and it represents the on-screen character well. The Darth Vader figure comes with a lightsaber and a removable cape. For $19.99, we feel this set has value. But if you’re not into this style of Star Wars toy, then it might be best to move along.