TIE Striker - RO - Vehicles (Exclusive)

A streamlined variant of the classic TIE fighter design, the TIE Striker is designed for atmospheric patrols over important Imperial ground-based installations. The versatile design can also soar in space, where it can accompany traditional TIE fighters in chasing down enemy starships.

What does one do when you get a decent action figure with a potentially great vehicle only ruined with a NERF feature? Well, you’ll have a collection of the latest vehicles from the Star Wars line courtesy of Hasbro’s Rogue One toy line. Hellbent on adding a NERF gun to every last one of their vehicles now, collectors may have to kiss any thought of getting a collector focused vehicle goodbye for now. The line is wholly geared for children, and Hasbro doesn’t seem to care that they’re carving out the loyal base of collectors who have kept their line afloat for over two decades now. So much for loyalty. Somehow the contrarians twist that into entitlement. But collectors just desire to see better quality products. But what about the argument for just expecting higher quality products? It’s not that the TIE Striker is without merit. It’s certainly a finely tooled vehicle, albeit improperly scaled, that looks pretty great despite only coming with the most basic of features. It's still a nice vehicle, and we understand why they've made an exclusive version for Toys R Us. This time it comes with battle-damage markings. The vehicle has some fun features. A lever allows you to lower the wings for landing mode. And an opening cockpit allows you to place the wide-legged included Imperial TIE Fighter Pilot at the controls. So, there isn’t much more we should expect, right?

What has us off of our rockers is the price. The Toys R Us exclusive TIE Striker is a whopping $39.99. It certainly isn’t worth this price by a landslide, but apparently, Hasbro thinks that a vehicle bigger than a Mini Rig type size vehicle is worthy of double its price. In our heyday, this is a $19.99 vehicle. Maybe Hasbro would have been able to squeeze another $5 out of us for this vehicle, but in no way is this thing worth $40 of your hard-earned money. Perhaps we’ve reached a point where Hasbro should just stop making 3.75” vehicles. Because when you look back at their rich history of vehicles, what we got for $49.99 or even $79.99 far exceeds what little you get for $39.99. If it isn’t cost-feasible to produce affordable vehicles, then let’s just stop making them altogether. As you can see, we’re completely offended at the price and quality (as well as the inclusion of a NERF gun). Maybe it’s obsessive, but it’s time for this garbage to stop. So now that we’ve said our piece, allow us focus on the good here. Admittedly, the TIE Striker looks nice. Yes, it’s much too small, but the proportions look great. There are plenty of details on the hull of the vehicle. No sacrifices were made as far as the detail is concerned. The TIE Striker comes with minimal deco, but even that has been applied beautifully. The textured wings are also a nice touch, but they look especially nice here. This vehicle reminds us of a TIE Bomber meeting a TIE Interceptor. We think that’s pretty cool.

Perhaps the best part of the TIE Striker is the inclusion of an Imperial TIE Fighter Pilot. It has a little bit of a wonky pose (he leans to his left a little too much for our tastes) but the sculpt is pretty nice, and we hope to see something like this reflected in 6” scale or 3.75” super-articulated scale. This version comes with silver markings on its helmet. The figure has been approached in the standard 5POA way. He comes with a ball-socket head and then swivel shoulders and swivel hips. He has a wide stance, but that is deliberate. It’s his wide legs that press against the sides of where he sits in the cockpit to provide resistance and not flop around when kids are playing with him. From this perspective, he is a very clever design. And in all honesty, he looks fantastic for a cheap action figure. The Imperial TIE Fighter Pilot also has very nice paint applications. We tried to find fault with our sample but was pleasantly surprised all around. Besides, it’s really hard to fault a figure that interacts so wonderfully with its vehicle, so even if it did have issues, we’d probably let it slide. In summary, the TIE Striker has huge issues which are a shame. Hasbro needs to figure out a way to make the NERF guns an optional/removable thing. They’re destroying the aesthetics of these toys. Kids didn’t need them during the vintage Kenner era; they certainly don’t need them now. We hope Toys R Us doesn't just sit on these.