General Grievous’ Starfighter - TCW [R] - Vehicles

After the fall of the Galactic Republic, V-wing starfighters are redecorated to be come some of the first Imperial vehicles of the new Galactic Empire. The V-wing has the speed, blasters and maneuverability to make it a formidable weapon in the capable hands of Imperial pilots.

The 2005 Revenge Of The Sith line was loaded with some amazing products, but Hasbro could really only produce and get out what we could call the tip of the iceberg as far as what products were made and released. 2005 was an extremely busy year but not all of the reference materials were accessible to make all of the characters and vehicles that might have been made otherwise. Thankfully, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith marked the end of an era really, and that allowed Hasbro to dedicate 2006 and the years onward to the entire Star Wars saga. Plus, they were able to go back into recent history and finish making products that they never got to in the Revenge Of The Sith line. One good example was General Grievous' Starfighter, a long-awaited release that many collectors were eager to see realized for the mid size vehicle assortment since it made its appearance in Episode III. Hasbro made it a priority for the 30 (77-07) line, a perfect time to celebrate everything Star Wars from A New Hope to Revenge Of The Sith and everything in between. With beautiful packaging and a well made product to accompany it, General Grievous' Starfighter was a highlight of 2007, and perhaps the Star Wars line in general.

Because of its popularity and awesome design and its inclusion in The Clone Wars television show, Hasbro decided repackaging this vehicle into The Clone Wars [Blue] line in addition to The Clone Wars [Red] line would be wise. Seen in the Lair Of Grievous episode in The Clone Wars television show, General Grievous' Starfighter was a vehicle that came with a sleek design, a beautiful paint job and enough features to make kids and collectors equally happy. The standard opening cockpit was designed in an extra roomy manner to allow for various 3.75” General Grievous action figures to fit inside of it. So far we've had very little trouble getting most figures inside of it. For example, 2005’s ROTS General Grievous (1 of 4) Sneak Preview as well as and 2006’s TSC General Grievous (SAGA 030) (which it a repaint of the original ROTS Sneak Preview figure) fit inside of it beautifully. And 2008's TLC General Grievous (BD 25) looks fantastic inside of the canopy as well. Hasbro thought ahead of the game here and made sure that the existing General Grievous action figures would interact well with the character’s vehicle. It seems like a simple thing, but often pilots do not fit inside of their respective cockpits. It can be a very frustrating thing. What’s more, the console inside of the cockpit is removable to allow you even more room to situate the figure perfectly. It's all good here!

General Grievous' Starfighter has other features too. The vehicle has a removable underside cannon and well as two hidden launchers on the side of the vehicle that fire projectiles. When you pull out the sides of its wings you'll see a cannon on each side which house a projectile missile. Additionally, the rear vector fin rotates and offers the vehicle balance and different angles. General Grievous' Starfighter has multiple positions and looks great situated at each level. These are small features and maybe they’re not so significant. But they do offer play value and help the vehicle look great in a landed position. The ship looks a tad small in scale, but it nonetheless looks great next to the 3.75” action figures you pose with it. So we’re not going to go on a tirade about the vehicle being too small. We don’t see it as such. Many collectors will probably choose an Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure to place inside of this vehicle’s cockpit anyway. Although not blatantly seen in the fiulm, Obi-Wan piloted it to leave Utapau after his battle with Grievous transpired. Overall, we’re quite pleased with General Grievous’ Starfighter, the Belbullab-22 starfighter. Now you have a second stab at it, even if it looks just like the one in Episode III and maybe not exactly like the one in the TV show.