Antoc Merrick’s X-Wing Fighter - TVC - Vehicles (Exclusive)

Hey everybody! Hasbro produced Antoc Merrick's X-Wing Fighter. "Whoopity doo!" There's a tiny facet of collectors looking for the latest additions of characters and vehicles from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and now those people have the opportunity to purchase Antoc Merrick's X-Wing Fighter, a Target exclusive, for the outrageous price of $104.99. Oh, and let us not forget that we get a new carded Star Wars figure, Antoc Merrick, to pilot it. We don't have the astromech droid, and Hasbro better release this character into The Vintage Collection soon, or what was the point of producing this set in the first place. Back in 2009, during the Legacy Collection, Hasbro would give collectors an updated X-Wing fighter, a pilot, and an astromech droid (with some additional accessories) for about $49.99. Now, the American dollar doesn't go far. And the average X-Wing fighter vehicle sets collectors back at least $100, if not more. If you're into Rogue One, you may have been waiting for Hasbro to produce this pilot and vehicle set. But if you're more focused on the Original Trilogy, or the George Lucas era of Star Wars, something like this may confuse you more than anything else.

In 2019, Hasbro released The Vintage Collection's Luke Skywalker's X-Wing Fighter vehicle through the Fan Channel. Based on tooling first released in 2011 during the Star Wars [Shadow Of The Dark Side] line, Hasbro made that vehicle specific to the Death Star Trench Run from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Taking the exact vehicle, Hasbro now repaints it as the blue X-Wing Fighter that Antoc Merrick used in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. They've also included an exclusive pack-in figure but carded in luxurious The Vintage Collection packaging with a VC204 sequence number and gave it to Target to release for their Fall 2021 exclusive program. In all honesty, the paint operations on Antoc Merrick's X-Wing Fighter are gorgeous. We're impressed with what the factories accomplished here. From the highly-detailed emblems and symbols throughout the vehicle's hull to the beautiful color-blocked pattern on the s-foils, Hasbro went above and beyond to decorate this overused tooling to make it feel new again. And we're more than satisfied with the final product. The working parts still function well, and none of the toolings appears dull or unsharp. Overall, Antoc Merrick's X-Wing Fighter is a gorgeous release.

Hasbro took 2019's TVC Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) (VC158), gave it a new head, and repainted it in the colors of Antoc Merrick's blue/green pilot uniform. The figure has an excellent head sculpt. We're not sure if it matches the likeness of the onscreen character all that much, but there are some similarities. The Photo Real applications on the figure are excellent. Sadly, the helmet is much too large for the figure's head. It's about three sizes too big. You'll need to find some putty in your home to lock it into place. With all of the helmets produced throughout the years, it's a shame that Hasbro didn't take the time to find a better-fitting helmet for this action figure. Most notable with Antoc Merrick, however, is the figure's packaging. Hasbro used a card stock that's about ten times thicker than the standard The Vintage Collection figure. It makes you wonder why they're able to give a thicker card stock for an exclusive release, but then they give us paper-thin cardstock for the general lineup. Yes, the denser packaging likely helps protect it during transit, but all figures should have this high-quality cardstock so all of our figures would last longer over time.

While we're not crazy about the packaging, the Rogue One logo doesn't look right on this style of packaging), it's nice to see another "new" vehicle available for purchase. For many of us, it's part of The Vintage Collection experience. Antoc Merrick's X-Wing Fighter doesn't bring any newness to the line (it's nothing more than a repaint), but it's a standard vehicle that the toy line should never forsake. A Target exclusive, the supply chain issues of 2021 made the vehicle nearly impossible to find at its release date. It wasn't until a month later that most collectors began trickling out to the sales floor and online for those who don't have brick and mortar locations near them. While we never personally clamored for this vehicle's release, it's good for the line to keep larger-sized vehicles in the lineup, even if that means through exclusive channels. Antoc Merrick's X-Wing Fighter looks spectacular. There is no way anyone can complain about the paint job. The pack-in figure is better than average. So, there are many positives here. That said, it still feels like many other X-Wing fighters from the Original Trilogy need to be either updated or released for the first time in The Vintage Collection. We know many collectors would rather see the vehicles from the Battle Of Yavin instead of ones based on Rogue One. Your mileage may vary. In the meantime, please enjoy this release. You may not want it, but you'll appreciate it.

2021's TVC Antoc Merrick's X-Wing Fighter shares significant tooling with the following Hasbro Star Wars releases:

• 1998's POTF2 [G/FF] Luke Skywalker's Red Five X-wing Fighter (A New Hope)
• 2002's SW [S - P1] Luke Skywalker's X-wing Fighter (The Empire Strikes Back)
• 2004's SW [S - P3] Red Leader's X-wing Fighter (Death Star Trench Run) (A New Hope)
• 2006's TSC Luke Skywalker's X-wing (The Empire Strikes Back)
• 2009's LC Wedge Antilles' X-wing Starfighter (Expanded Universe/Legends)
• 2011's SW [SOTDS] Death Star Trench Run (A New Hope)
• 2013's TVC X-Wing Fighter (A New Hope)
• 2019's TVC Luke Skywalker's X-Wing Fighter (A New Hope)