Sebulba’s Pod Racer - EI - Vehicles

It is said that in all of Mos Espa, there is no better pod racer than Sebulba. A member of the Dug species, Sebulba is feared by his competitors for his aggressive racing tactics and nerves of plastisteel. Sebulba's success is due much to the fact that he will do whatever necessary to win, even if it means resorting to dirty tricks. His high performance pod racer is packed with certain "illegal" modifications used to eliminate fellow racers. On Boonta Eve race day however, a young competitor named Anakin Skywalker will give the infamous Sebulba a run for his money.

The Episode I line provided collectors of the line with only two Podracer vehicles: Anakin Skywalker’s Pod Racer and Sebulba’s Pod Racer. Despite so many other podracers and pilots featured in the Boonta Eve Classic, Hasbro didn’t want to go beyond the two featured ones to keep the vehicle assortment as clean as possible. While Anakin Skywalker’s Pod Racer is colorful, Sebulba’s Pod Racer might be a little more interesting. With boxy-shaped thrusters and a comprehensive orange colored palette, Sebulba's Pod Racer follows in similar footprints to Anakin Skywalker’s Pod Racer, but of course, has a unique design of its own as well. Sebulba’s Pod Racer comes with an exclusive Sebulba pack-in figure. Hasbro designed him to pilot the vehicle perfectly. They couldn’t have designed him better. He steers the podracer with his feet, while his arms lean backward and prop him up inside of the cockpit. Featured wearing goggles and without any accessories, Sebulba is a nicely designed and wonderfully painted action figure for the Episode I toy line. And perhaps most importantly, the pack-in figure with Sebulba's Pod Racer is completely different than the one found with the Mos Espa Encounter Cinema Scenes three-pack.

Sebulba’s Pod Racer looks fantastic. And there is likely no other way to state it. From the orange-colored plastic used to design most of the vehicle, to the silvery battle-damaged to give it a lived-in appearance, what Hasbro’s done to make this vehicle looks good will go over well with collectors. The decal sheet added to the box makes the paint operation son the vehicle look better. There are decals that are contoured in a way to follow the deco already on the parts. But they create sharp lines and enhance what’s already there. They provide an anchoring point for where to place the insignia decals too. It’s quite impressive the effect the black and white linearly-shaped decals do to the eye. Sebulba’s cockpit seats the figure perfectly. Hasbro loaded the cockpit with an incredible amount of details too. Nothing was held back by Hasbro. We’re happy to see them apply so much effort to make the vehicle looks as realistic as possible. The details etched into the engines of the Pod Racer, to the functionality of the play features, Sebulba’s Pod Racer offers a great deal of quality to all Star Wars collectors. We’re especially impressed with the spring-out roto-blade feature. As you recall, Sebulba used this tool to take down Anakin Skywalker to no avail. It’s fantastic to have it added to this vehicle.

Sebulba’s Pod Racer is truly an excellent addition to the Episode I lineup. And judging collectors’ reactions to it, it seemed to go over well within those of the Star Wars collecting community. There is enough screen-accuracy for collectors and enough play value for kids that will interest everyone who buys it. While previously existing tooled vehicles are a primary reason for Hasbro to reissue them into a toy line, we hope that instead they’ll be brave and produce some of the other pilots’ podracers instead. They seem to go over well with collectors, so we welcome any opportunity for more. What’s more, Sebulba’s Pod Racer interacts wonderfully with Anakin Skywalker’s Pod Racer. They look amazing displayed together on a shelf, and if you have a friend to play with, they look even better flying around. The Boonta Eve Classic is a sequence of film revered by fans of Episode I, so we’re happy to see these excellent mid-size vehicles produced for the Episode I line. Sebulba’s Pod Racer is a significant vehicle release. We hope more are on the way, and we hope Hasbro maintains the high bar they achieved with these for future vehicles. Oh, and the $22.99 MSRP is a perfectly chosen price to sell these vehicles. A pack-in figure makes it all the sweeter to accept.