STAR TOURS Travel Agency - ST - Exclusives

The Star Tours Agency provides daily departures to destinations throughout the galaxy. Climb onboard the new Starspeeder 1000 and let the journey begin!

One of the most pleasantly surprising Star Wars related toy releases in 2011 was without a doubt Disney's Star Tours Starspeeder 1000. Absolutely one of the finest vehicles to accompany a slew of 3.75” basic action figures, it was loaded with so many bells and whistles that it actually wowed Star Wars collectors. Very few had anything jarring to say about this EU vehicle, but it had a “vintage” feel to it (whether because of similar coloring to the Sandcrawler or the same and interior like a Rebel Transport – we don't know). But finding something to complain about with it was a difficult task, so even the naysayers quietly squabbled about it relevance in the toy line. But before that glorious vehicle was released, Disney worked with Hasbro to create an exclusive five-pack of figures that would only be available at their various theme parks. This set was intended to tie in this amazing vehicle with Star Tours specific characters and it’s done just that. It’s come to fruition in the form of the STAR TOURS Travel Agency. This shy of $40 set wonderfully complements the totally awesome Starspeeder 1000 (and vice versa) and brings Star Wars collectors four (4) new characters and one (1) we’ve seen before to the mix through the use of clever repacks, repaints and even all-new figures. This set has coolness and value written all over it and if you like droids and obscure characters then this set is a must-have for your collection. You don’t feel like you’re being sold a bridge and instead are smiling about what Hasbro evidently can do.

New to this set are the Signal Droid and Ace-38. The Signal Droid is a very simply designed action figure with very limited articulation. Signal Droid cannot float like he does in the attraction, so Hasbro designed an all-new translucent stand that holds this droid with a fit like a glove. All of its articulation has been reserved for its arms (and this is perfect since it functions like a ground crew controller that direct ships for takeoff – the droid is even holding the two light sticks ready to direct the Starspeeder 1000). Despite its very simple design and limited articulation, Signal Droid has everything it needs for this set. The other all-new sculpt is Ace-38. Ace-38 immediately reminded us of Twiki from Buck Rogers. They obviously look completely different, but there is some resemblance that we really cannot pinpoint directly. See what you think. Ace-38 is nicely painted and has just enough articulation for your Starspeeder 1000 compatibility. The Star Tours attraction’s colors utilize a lot of blue and oranges and you’ll discover that about 80% of the figures in this set are decorated in this fashion. (It looks fantastic!) We were excited over the announcement of another WA-7 droid in this set, but Aly San San has many more limitations than we remembered and the age of her sculpt is really beginning to show. Interestingly, the same exact translucent stand that comes with the Signal Droid also comes with Aly San San and works for her just as well. (Hasbro definitely put some “forward thinking” into this set and we’re a little impressed by that.

Our favorite figure from the set however is the Luggage Attendant. We’re slightly obsessed with the Utai species, so when we found out a repaint of 2009’s LC Utai (BD41) figure was to be part of this set, we got smiles on our faces instantly. Whether it’s because we’re desperately waiting for that running change Hasbro made to make it into the basic figure line at some point before we leave this Earth, or just because an orange outfit makes this character pop out at us in ways we didn’t notice before, it is just one fine figure. Super-articulated (14 stunning points) and with a beautiful paint job to boot, Luggage Attendant comes with two empty suitcases and actually open up and snap close. (Has anyone else noticed that short Star Wars characters that begin with the letter “U” always seem to be the service/support species? We digress.) But this second Utai in the Star Wars line only makes us want that canceled 2009 Legacy Collection running change Utai all the more. And just as fate would have it, Hasbro once again choose to bring forth a repaint of 2006’s TSC C-3PO with Ewok Throne(SAGA 042) figure into this multipack. There are four other figures to appreciate here that you really won’t have time to get aggravated at seeing this figure yet again, but this iteration of C-3PO is really starting to stick in our craw. STAR TOURS Travel Agency is a very fun and entertaining Disney exclusive. And it’s a must-have if you own the Starspeeder 1000. The same is true symmetrically.