Rebel Snowspeeder (Electronic) - POTF2 [R/G] - Vehicles

Model: Rebel Alliance Combat Snowspeeder
Affiliation: Rebel Alliance
Crew: 1 Pilot, 1 Gunner
Length: 5.5 Meters
Maximum Speed: 570 kph
Weapons: Double Laser Cannon, Power Harpoon With Tow Cable

As the battle for freedom took to the frozen planet of Hoth, Rebel Alliance forces transformed the Incom T-47 airspeeder to a snowspeeder. They achieved this by equipping it with coated, angled, heavy armor plating, placing dust covers over intake and exhaust ports and adding insulation to handle the extreme temperatures.

Manned by a crew of two, a forward-facing pilot and rear-facing gunner, the snowspeeder's firepower consists of twin laser cannons mounted on the front fuselage and a rear-mounted harpoon cannon with tow cable.

The snowspeeder's harpoon was the only weapon that was successful in the fight against the fearsome Imperial AT-AT vehicles. The harpoon was fired at the legs of the walker, entangling them and toppling the vehicle, rendering it useless.

1995 was quite the year for Star Wars collectors. Kenner/Hasbro reissued the Star Wars basic figure line under The Power Of The Force “2” [Red] banner, and then the released multiple vehicles to interact with the new action figures. While the basic figure line focused on characters from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the vehicle line wasn’t as constricting, and they produced vehicles across the entire Star Wars saga. Perhaps one of them most eagerly-anticipated ships of the newly reissued Star Wars line was the Rebel Snowspeeder (Electronic) vehicle. Kenner/Hasbro didn’t simply reissue the Rebel Armored Snowspeeder from The Empire Strikes Back line. They created an all-new vehicle, based on the tooling of the vintage Kenner release and added some modern elements to it to make it relevant in the modern era of collecting. With a newly tooled “battle-damaged” panel section, a new decal sheet, a new paint job, and all-new movie sound effects and lights, collectors of the modern The Power Of The Force “2” [Red] Star Wars line have reason to rejoice, and the release of the Rebel Snowspeeder (Electronic) item is one of the line’s highlights. The vehicle has never looked better. And the extras added to this release will provide kids and collectors hours or enjoyment.

Very similar to the vintage Kenner Rebel Armored Snowspeeder, Kenner/Hasbro added electronics to the Rebel Snowspeeder release for The Power Of The Force “2” [Red] line. Between the flashing electronic laser cannons and authentic movie sounds, collectors are treated to a faithful recreation of the iconic vehicle that battled the Galactic Empire during the Battle of Hoth. Sure, the Rebel Snowspeeder (Electronic) vehicle is out of scale. It’s too large and should be about one-third smaller than it currently is. But if you’re able to overlook the vehicle’s size issue, you should enjoy all the updates Kenner/Hasbro made to this release to make it fit well within the constraints of the modern Star Wars line. Kenner/Hasbro added exhaust collection on the back of the vehicle, but you’ll also find the streaking of dirt and debris from the laser blasts of Imperial vehicles attacking it. The all-new decal sheet does wonders for the Rebel Snowspeeder (Electronic) vehicle. Colorful, geometric, and framing, the decals add incredible detail to the vehicle and gives it a wonderful personality. They also included decals with Aurebesh, warning signs and other defining insignias that show it’s a vessel utilized by the Rebel Alliance. Simply put, both the paint job and the decals work together to color this vehicle beautifully.

One of the back panels serves as a battery cover for the electronics of this vehicle. But if you’re not interested in the electronics, it will double as storage quite well. And underneath, you can easily activate the landing gear with a sliding lever. It’s a simple action feature, but it works fairly well. One feature we’re not entirely happy with here is the rear gun. It snaps into place easily, but it doesn’t want to stay in an upright position unassisted. It continually falls. If you point the barrel up in the air, it stays in place better, but it doesn’t look screen-accurate in this position. It’s a bittersweet feature of this vehicle. The cockpit is nearly identical to the vintage Kenner release. It seats two pilots facing in opposite directions, and there is too much room for them. The cockpit area should be reduced to accommodate the pilots better. We’re disappointed that Hasbro didn’t retool the cockpit. You encounter problems when you “fly” the vehicle and turn it in any other angle than the horizontal 180 degrees. It feels like this release would have been the perfect opportunity to update this feature (as well as a few others). The only figure we have to pilot this figure in The Power Of The Force “2” [Red] line is Luke Skywalker (In X-wing Fighter Pilot Gear) (which, in actuality, is his snowspeeder pilot gear). Hopefully, we’ll get more Episode V figures to interact with this in the future.