The Good: Very cool design, Well-detailed, Neat battle function
The Bad: Figure does not stand, Launching missiles don't, Vastly overpriced.
The Basics: A cool toy by design, the Geonosian Starfighter from Attack Of The Clones falls down on the execution.
In the annals of great Star Wars toys, there might have once been a place for the Attack Of The Clones Geonosian Starfighter. But when one looks beyond appearance and actually takes some of these toys out of the box, they end up discovering that some of the ships do not measure up or hold up over the years. The Geonosian Starfighter is one of the toys that conceptually rocks but is executed in such a way that it is too fragile and the play value plummets because the key selling points do not hold up with any real wear.
That said, the Geonosian Starfighter is a starship toy and it offers the villains of the Separatist Alliance a chance to shoot down the Jedi from the comfort of an enclosed ship. This is a surprisingly obscure ship, but the toy looks good enough that one might want to buy it right up. Unfortunately, my experiences show that it does not hold up under real-world conditions. Indeed, after taking mine out of the package for the first time in at least three years, I was mightily disappointed to find that the prime cannon was non-functional. Given that this is one of the toys I played with least when I did have my Star Wars toys out, that it could break so easily is completely disappointing. For those unfamiliar with it, the Geonosian Starfighter appears in the latter portion of Attack Of The Clones (click here for my review!) when the battle between the Republic and Separatists is being waged on Geonosis.
Basics
The Geonosian Starfighter is a contained, spaceworthy ship with an enclosed cockpit which holds a single pilot, the Geonosian Pilot figure (which is included). The ship is a double teardrop design unlike anything else in the Star Wars universe with the cockpit above the lower cannon sections. This toy can only hold a single figure. The Geonosian Starfighter is a copper-colored ship which is teardrop-shaped with the point of the teardrop being the front nose of both the upper and lower portions of the ship. This ship has very smooth lines and looks both very clean and very fast.
The Geonosian Starfighter features an opening cockpit and springloaded wing cannons on the underside of the ship. The vehicle comes unassembled with the top and bottom of the ship disconnected. Because of the central cannon that connects the two pieces, there is only one possible way they will fit on, so it is pretty much idiot proof for assembly. The vehicle, which is 14" long, 3" wide and 4" tall when assembled, is made to appear clean and unhindered by battle damage or weather-wear. A single pilot may sit in the cockpit section of Geonosian Starfighter and it pretty much fits only the Geonosian insect figure.
The detailing on the Geonosian Starfighter is very good. Primarily colored copper, the Geonosian Starfighter features baffle plates and vents that make the ship look functional. Fortunately, there are no decals for this ship.
Assembly of the Geonosian Starfighter is simply a matter of popping the cockpit onto the drive section and the ship snaps together with ease. Even the cockpit hatch does not need to be put on; it is already attached over the cockpit!
Accessories
There is only one real accessory for the Geonosian Starfighter (the three missiles the ship fires not actually being accessories in my book) and that is the Geonosian pilot. The pilot is a 4" tall green and brown Geonosian insect figure with a pilot's helmet on its snout. It seems designed only to fit in the cockpit of this ship. As such, its clawed feet are unable to stand and this Geonosian does not have the trademark wings of the insect people.
The Geonosian Pilot has only five points of articulation, simple swivel joints at the groin socket and shoulders. The head is on a ball and socket joint which gives it great range of motion. The helmet has a breathing hose which actually connects to a hole in the cockpit controls, which is pretty nice. The figure looks good and it has more than enough detail for a figure most people are only going to see the head of.
Playability
This vehicle compliments the four inch toy line and was very much designed for play. Unfortunately, this is also where the Geonosian Starfighter falls down. In addition to having a cockpit that opens and may admit the Geonosian Pilot, the Geonosian Starfighter comes with three missiles. One missile belongs in the central cannon between the two sections and it is launched by pressing a button on the side of the spherical cannon. Unfortunately, this cannon does not seem to work. The springloaded function wears out within twenty loads making the missile an annoyance more than a fun play feature.
Moreover, the side cannons seem like a good idea, but their execution is similarly wonky. The cannons do not have a firm locking mechanism, so when one loads the cannon and then closes the wings, the ship seems primed. However, when one depresses the button at the back which springs open the sidecannons, the missiles frequently launch prematurely. The result is that the cannons do not fully become exposed and the missiles do not actually launch!
Collectibility
Geonosian Starfighter is part of the Attack Of The Clones collection, a series of Star Wars toys that was fairly common at the time, though the Geonosian Starfighter was vastly underproduced. The result is that this has become a huge investment piece and has skyrocketed in value. For those lucky enough to find on, they are likely to pay a premium. Sadly, if they take it out of the box and discover cannon and other springloaded feature issues they are likely to find they have overpaid!
Overview
The Geonosian Starfighter might well be a great concept, but the execution of it is too poorly done for those who want their toys to actually live up to the play potentials they advertise.
For other Star Wars vehicle toys, please check out my reviews of:
Shadows Of The Empire Swoop Vehicle
Attack Of The Clones Hailfire Droid
Shadows Of The Empire Dash Rendar's Outrider
5/10
For other toy reviews, please check out my index page by clicking here!
© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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