ARC-170 Fighter - TAC - Vehicles (Exclusive)

The ARC-170 (Aggressive ReConnaisance) fighter blasts into battle! A specially trained clone trooper serves as the pilot for this attack and recon vessel that can carry a crew of clone troopers and has an on-board astromech droid to handle in-flight operations. The well-armed fighter lives up to its name as an aggressive vehicle against the Separatist forces during the Clone Wars.

Whether you’re a fan or not of Tartakovksy’s Clone Wars, you likely are very aware of the famous “space whale” deco from the opening sequence of Volume 2. That ship has become the basis for multiple releases across various scales (many of which are exclusives) by Hasbro. And with its success, Hasbro thought they could transcribe this deco onto other ships…. and that’s exactly what they did. The “space whale” ARC-170 fighter made its debut in the popular Star Wars Transformers line. The “space whale” version of the ARC-170 unfortunately was never seen in the Clone Wars micro-series, but this isn’t the first time Hasbro has pulled a stunt like this. If you recall, the TARGET exclusive Mace Windu’s Attack Battalion Battle Packs set was also claimed to be inspired by Tartakovksy’s Clone Wars (as the evidence on the packaging stated), but it was really a Hasbro concept instead.

TARGET won exclusivity with the ARC-170 Fighter. It started showing up at retail in time for the 2007 holidays. The packaging was spectacular and the ship was even cooler. Aside from a slightly darker shade of blue being used, the ARC-170 mirrors its Republic Gunship cousin perfectly and its another wonderful addition to the line. But you’ll have to accept that it’s an Expanded Universe take on the Clone Wars. (You don’t mind, right?) The ARC-170 Fighter is a repaint (we like to use the word rework when a repaint is intended to be a different vehicle altogether) of 2005’s ROTS ARC-170 Fighter vehicle. No enhancements were made to this vehicle (aside from the new and spectacular paint job) which we find slightly bothersome. The ARC-170 is a simple toy and it could used a few new cool features to make it extra special. It would have been the perfect time to add some things into this exclusive release.

The centers of the wings open up to give it a look reminiscent to an X-wing fighter. The long canopy houses two pilots and the rear “gunner” compartments hold a single action figure. An awesome and fully functional droid socket has been tooled into the vehicle and it fits nearly all the droids we tested very well, although some have felt a little bit loose inside of it. Overall, it’s a great new take on a good vehicle and fans of the Clone Wars have something new to smile about since so few toys get made from that source. Perhaps the best part about this release is the companion to 2007's TAC ARC-170 Elite Squad Battle Packs set (also a TARGET exclusive) which has five members of Razor Squadron including two Clone Trooper Pilots, two ARC-170 Troopers and one astromech droid. (Editor’s Note: After over two year of being unnamed, Hasbro officially revealed through one of their Q&A sessions that Lucasfilm, Ltd. has officially designated this droid as R4-C7.) The ARC-170 Fighter is another fun vehicle from Hasbro. Get one!