Republic Attack Dropship With Clone Pilot - SW [TPM 3D] - Deluxe

Republic attack dropships swoop into battle to deploy troopers. These compact fighters are armed with cannons and chin guns to drill deep into battle zones. The pilot briefly lands with the ship's cockpit rotated into deploy position to drop up to two troopers onto the field before flying back into the air and providing close ground support.

Oh what a year 2012 has been! It brought us some of the greatest products yet from Hasbro, and also made them nearly impossible to find. But the reason they were hard to find however had a lot to do with the garbage that Hasbro recycled before getting out all-new product. As a result, gems like the Republic Attack Dropship With Clone Pilot are all but a myth as far as collectors are concerned. Luck has rounded the corner and by the end of 2012 more and more product that should have been out much earlier in the year found its way out finally. A Class I set like the Republic Attack Dropship With Clone Pilot should have been released in multiple units per case assortment. This is the type of thing both kids and collectors want to see produced for The Clone Wars line. True. It’s a Hasbro concept and nothing more, but the sculpt of the vehicle is all new and the figure is almost all-new. This in and of itself is of great value to collectors when we live in an era of collecting where the bulk of the line consists of straight repacks. We certainly don’t want to harbor the ill will we felt all year, but we can’t help but comment what a shame that this Class I set did not reach the masses like it should have. Hasbro has expressed that positive changes are planned so debacles like this won’t happen in the future, but only time will tell.

It’s obvious that the Republic Attack Dropship is inspired by both the Republic Gunship as perhaps moreover, the Low Altitude Assault Transport/carrier (LAAT/c) that were both seen in Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. Obviously the proportions and scale for the Republic Attack Dropship are completely reinvented here for this release, but the spirit of those two larger vehicles is felt strongly nonetheless. The vehicle has multiple distinct configurations, but two major ones. One is “fighter” mode while the other is “trooper deploy” mode. Both positions look pretty darn cool and both are needed to make the most out of your play interaction with this toy. Features include an opening cockpit (which fits the Clone Pilot perfectly), “troop deployment”, “missile-firing” launchers, adjustable chin guns and a few others. Hasbro packed a great deal of play value here and it’s clear that kids came to their minds first, while still cleverly finding ways to engage the loyal adult collectors like us. The paint job is fairly gorgeous for a Class 1 vehicle. You’ll “feel” the Republic Gunship vibe with the paint job alone and Hasbro was sure to keep the Republic themes alive and well in this set. It’s a sharp (and very believable) miniature vehicle for your collection. You’ll definitely want to secure one for your collection.

The Clone Pilot is an interesting action figure. It looks cool we suppose, but it’s not screen accurate to any clone pilots shown in The Clone Wars television show yet to date. What’s interesting however is that it looks just like what Clone Pilot Odd Ball would look like if he were wearing a phase II helmet (only). Obviously the phase II Clone Pilots seen in Revenge Of The Sith wear completely different outfits than the Clone Pilot in Attack Of The Clones, yet this isn’t true in The Clone Wars TV series. So we now have an “Odd Ball looking” clone pilot with a phase II helmet. The figure is kit-bashed and is essentially all-new except that his arms and legs have been recycled from 2012’s SW [TPM 3D] Clone Trooper (Phase II Armor) (CW2) figure. The figure does look all-new however. The chest has been retooled to allow for a chest box attachment (which is attached via breathing tubes to a removable oxygen mask that plugs into the “mouth” of his helmet). He also comes with a DC-15 blaster and can be posed in a number of ways independent of the Republic Attack Dropship vehicle. Hasbro definitely dropped the ball on this vehicle. They MUST get out the new stuff before the repacks from here on out. New stuff we’ll buy. Repacks we won’t buy. It’s not actuarial science. It’s simple practicality.