Anakin Skywalker Speeder - SW [S - P1] - Vehicles

Ten years after the fight to save Naboo from invasion, the galaxy is on the brink of civil war. Under the leadership of a renegade Jedi, thousands of solar systems threaten to secede from the Galactic Republic. A courageous Jedi Knight, his impulsive and headstrong apprentice, and a queen-turned-senator are drawn into the heart of the conflict... and the beginning of war.

Pursuing the mysterious bounty hunter Zam Wesell, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi "borrow" a civilian airspeeder to chase the assassin throughout the busy byways of the Coruscant skyline. The frantic chase ends with the crash of a speeder and a surprising confrontation between the Jedi and their quarry.

Who could forget the scene from Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones where Anakin Skywalker was in hot pursuit of bounty hunter/assassin Zam Wesell from the first half of the film? Quite honestly, it bordered on being ridiculous, but to deny it wasn’t action packed or entertaining would be egregious at best. Hasbro saw potential in the vehicles from these exhilarating moments in Episode II that they developed them for release right at the beginning of the Star Wars “Saga” line. With a neatly orchestrated and convincing action feature and an elegantly sporty design, Anakin Skywalker’s Speeder may not be the first vehicle choice of yours, but it may be one that interests you to the point of buying one for your collection. Hasbro doesn’t seem to be swayed by a vehicle’s popularity in the Star Wars “Saga” line. They’re banking on the big movie support these toys have so they’ve become a little less discriminating in their choices. And they’ve become a little lax on how they’re naming the vehicles too. Didn’t Anakin effectively “steal” this speeder? It’s not his in the sense of ownership, but rather possession in the scene.

Anakin Skywalker’s Speeder, which is actually an XJ-6 airspeeder, was based on George Lucas’ love of classic racing cars. In fact, parts of both the Anakin Skywalker Speeder and the Zam Wesell Speeder have elements of these classic cars prominently in their design. First featured on a billboard advertising the 2001 Star Wars: Obi-Wan video game, the vehicle made its first major appearance in Episode II. Hasbro developed a very nice-looking toy for the Star Wars “Saga” line, but the passenger space is quite stingy and it’s very difficult to place action figures inside of it without them looking like they don’t really belong there. This is quite sad because the Anakin Skywalker Speeder looks completely to scale. A little more room and the vehicle would be perfect. Don’t misunderstand us. It’s possible to position action figures in the passenger spaces but it’s much more difficult to do than you might expect. If you’re fortunate enough to effortlessly squeeze Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi into the vehicle’s passenger seats, consider yourselves lucky because we had great difficulty recreating a believable arrangement/interaction of the figures and vehicle.

The Anakin Skywalker Speeder has a pretty simple, yet effective, action feature. The front exposed engines are not what they seem. They’re actually rubber and cover up a spring-loaded action feature so that you can create very realistic battle-damage to the airspeeder. If you press in the front bumper (where the engines sit), the posts inside will lock into place. This is turn “crumples” the rubber to recreate a very believable front end damage. What’s more, separately sculpted panels fly off as well to help accentuate the result of the accident you replicated from the film. (A button on the rear will release the lock and instantly repair the damage.) The paint job of the Anakin Skywalker Speeder is incredible. The vehicle is cast in bright yellow and has accents of green and orange to give it a sporty look. If we had to complain, we’d express that we wish Hasbro used a stronger plastic for the antennas. They bow out of shape when you assemble them to the vehicle, right out of the package almost. Still, we’re digging these smaller sized vehicles in the Star Wars “Saga” line. For almost the price of a Deluxe figure collectors are getting some quantity with the quality here.