30AC Sith Infiltrator

[Artoo]

I'm still un-decided, it'll probably be the only one ever. I'll have to see in person.

[Greg]

I'm kind of excited about this ship. Not as much as the V-Wing, but I'm still excited. It's like a Sith equivalent to the Jedi Starfighter, a decent size ship, a fun looking toy, and inexpensive. I just hope that Hasbro doesn't repaint this for Count Dooku, Darth Sidious, Emperor Palpatine, Yaerael Poof, Assajj Ventress, Darth Tyrannus, Chewbacca, and/or Darth Vader. 

[Jeff]

Yeah, it's small and under scaled, but I still plan to buy it.  Of course, I plan to display it with this Darth Maul:



Yeah, it's still out of scale even for the GH line, but at least it's closer than the 3.75" figures.   

[Quazar]

For a ship that is on screen for a grand total of 10 seconds, the SI doesn't DESERVE a larger vehicle.

I am extremely happy with this ship.  yeah, it's small.  Is the scale any worse than the Falcon or Slave 1, though?  Awesome vehicles, both.

I am delighted we are getting this at all.  People may bitch that it's not technically a "starfighter", but it's still a one person ship.

Do we need this the size of the Queen's ship?  Hell no.  A mid-size would have been okay, but, again, it's just not nearly important enough in the scheme of things to warrant the expense and risk.

An excellet compromise by Hasbro and a very fine looking vehicle.  Can't wait!!

[Jesse James]

For a ship that is on screen for a grand total of 10 seconds, the SI doesn't DESERVE a larger vehicle.

I'd file this under the same type of response as "That figure didn't do anything so he doesn't deserve more than 6 points of articulation" kind of answer.   I know it's a ship you like Lance, I get that, but for me and others I think it's easily just a pass due to the scale... 

To be honest though, I don't like Slave I or the Falcon either...  Not that I ever expect either to be made to-scale, of course not, but neither one is an appealing vehicle to me either as far as Hasbro's done them...  Slave 1's a better toy though (the AOTC one that is).  The Falcon...  I dunno, most people I run into these days all agree that unless you're a die-hard vintage fan, that ship was sorely in need of a resculpting update in 1995 and in 2007 it still hasn't gotten it.   I don't know too many people that think the modern Falcon's are ideal...  Definitely a ship that DESERVES a larger scale for a toy...  not to-scale, at 6 foot diameter about (yikes, it'd make a great coffee table though), but definitely a bigger toy...  It's THE ship of the original trilogy afterall.  It should be, to me, the largest toy of the line then.

The mini unleashed might look nice with the new Infiltrator too if you're not displaying GH Maul with it?   Maybe a 2" Maul will surface at some point for it?  It looks like it might make a good miniatures gaming centerpiece too.  The sandcrawler and AT-AT had both fit that bill too.  Definitely not my cup of tea though, but that's why I got out of ship completism.  I'm just thankful there's no pack-in is all.

[Quazar]

For a ship that is on screen for a grand total of 10 seconds, the SI doesn't DESERVE a larger vehicle.

I'd file this under the same type of response as "That figure didn't do anything so he doesn't deserve more than 6 points of articulation" kind of answer.  

But that's a fair argument, I think.....Hell, I love it when ANY figure is given extra articulation, but I far prefer my Luke's, Obi Wan's, clones and stormies to have the extra goods rather than a Cantina alien.

By the same token, I'm thrilled we got "large" toys in the form of the Gunship and ARC-170 (even though those ships aren't really much more important than the Infiltrator.)

I certainly don't fault you for your opinions... , but I think getting the SI is terrific and I never would have expected ANY toy for a ship this insignificant (yet cool-looking), so I'm pleased as punch to get it.  And that's not just because it exists at all - had they done a crappy job, I would pass.  But they didn't.  Scale aside, this looks neat and I can't wait.

As to the Falcon - do we need a resculpt?  Well, that's a fair question.  But the original Falcon was a thing of beauty back in 1978 and it still is to this day.  Are the proportions wonky?  Sure, a bit.  But it's a great TOY - not a model.  It has scads of lovely features that are great for kids......back in the day, I was amazed at how much play value this thing had and I still marvel at it.  It does literally everything the Falcon in the movie did (albeit in a silly, "kiddie" kind of way.)

Would I like to see another Falcon....?  Sure, why not?  Hasbro has come a long way, I'm sure they'd dazzle us with a modern version.  And yet, I could go my entire life without getting one and never give it a second thought.  Don't really see the urgency, despite the importance and iconic nature of the toy.  The original still holds up.

Perhaps your thinking more like an adult about these kinds of things (not a criticism, mind you, just an observation.)  As toys, though, the Falcon, Slave I (both versions), and even the Sith Infiltrator (to name just a few) more than bring the goods.  Bravo, team!

[Nicklab]

For a ship that is on screen for a grand total of 10 seconds, the SI doesn't DESERVE a larger vehicle.

In a world where sometimes we have to make compromises, I agree.  The Sith Infiltrator is shown in a total of what, two scenes, and only one of those is in flight.  That flight scene is a transitional scene with no dialogue and no ship to ship combat.  Had the Sith Infiltrator been involved in some kind of direct pursuit scene of the Queen's starship, or combat with the Naboo starfighters it probably would have been manufactured back in 1999 or 2000.  There had been rumors that one had been designed and shelved for years, and looking at it's role in The Phantom Menace objectively you can see that the ship isn't really inherently important to the story.

Then getting into the business aspect of things, the costs of producing a larger vehicle go up.  Especially if there's no previous tool available for the ship.  And then, how to make it profitable?  Well, consider the fact that there is probably no room in WalMart's planogram for a vehicle like this that *might* sell for $39.99 in a less scaled down form.  A version of the Infiltrator at that price point would still be scaled down, but might satisfy more collectors.  But since it's a non-movie year and WalMart is Hasbro's biggest account, WalMart wins that argument. The largest vehicle that they're likely to accept that is not an exclusive is in the Assault Vehicle line and that retails for $19.99 - $24.99.

So can I live with this particular compromise?  Sure.  Because we're not likely to see a project come along from Lucasfilm where Darth Maul plays a prominant part as does his Sith Infiltrator.  We're not likely to see Hasbro say we made a mistake and it's way off scale, let's make it right.  And having seen it in person now, I think it looks alright.  The paint apps look dead-on.  The landing gear looked right.  It doesn't look outwardly deformed by being scaled down.  And having loved the vehicle line as I have since 1978, I'll be adding this one to my collection along with all of my out of scale X-Wing's, TIE Fighters, Falcons, Republic Gunships, ARC-170's, Y-Wings and Snowspeeders.

[Dressel Rebel]

Kenner/Hasbro: ******* up it's Star Wars vehicles since 1977

What a grossly undercaled piece of garbage this vehicle is.

What we're getting (what I'll be leaving on the shelf):



What it is supposed to look like:



Maul's supposed to be scaled against this ship like you would be scaled boarding a 747 jet.  He should not appear to be able to ride the Infiltrator horseback.

Hasbro is so bad at this it's not even humorous anymore.

[Matt]

[MetalJedi]

Hasbro is so bad at this it's not even humorous anymore.

And complaining about it constantly will change everything. 

[Jesse James]

I thought this was just sort of funny since it's just food for thought on this topic...

The same day Hasbro's ad gets shown showing off their new vehicles, 21st Century Toys announces:


1:18 scale B-25 Mitchell Bomber

45" Wingspan, 36" long...  

For those unfamiliar with the plane, it was made popular from the famed "Doolittle Raid" on Japan shortly after Pearl Harbor...  

I just found it funny that Hasbro's showing off the Infiltrator the same day as a 1:18 scale bomber is announced by another toy company...  It gave me a chuckle.  It's of course going to be substantially more costly than a $20 Sith Infiltrator though, a ship that barely was noticed in a film that's easily forgotten by LFL/Hasbro it seems.  Still, there's a certain ammount of humor there to me.

[Darth_Anton]

Hasbro is so bad at this it's not even humorous anymore.

And complaining about it constantly will change everything. 

Seriously.  Relax Dressel, you'll live longer. What would I do without you to harass me?

[Dressel Rebel]

I'm completely relaxed.

I just don't see the point of Hasbro going to the well and making an all new mold, and creating one that's grossly and humorously out of whack, to the point that the Infiltrator looks completely absurd with the intended figure next to it, Maul. 

I think the problem is that a lot of you don't care about detail or quality.  Or if it isn't that you don't care, it's just that you don't see it.  Maybe you don't have that kind of spacial relations or scale perception kind of analytical ability.  Jesse does.  I do.  But I just don't see how a lot of you are giving this thing a grade of anything other than an "F".  At least in the 3 3/4" figure scale it is.  You know those tiny little 1/4" figures that come with the Star Wars Transformers?  Those are the correct scale for this ship.

But I'm just saying, from where I'm sitting, that Infiltrator is a complete miserable failure.

I'm so relaxed I've even got my feet up as I write this.  I just think that if you're going to do something, especially if you're starting from scratch, do it right or don't do it at all.  Because this thing is a laughable joke and it looks flat out silly.

I guess it's just annoying to finally get this ship 7 years after the movie, and the long anticipated product to be such a colossal **** up.

Now it's time to play psychiatrist.  I think Matt, MetalJedi and Anton basically telling me to relax here actually equates to them saying "I agree, but I'm so disappointed in this ship too that I can't stand to be reminded anymore."  I know you guys hate to agree with me, but sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet blaster bolt.

 

[Dressel Rebel]

Seriously.  Relax Dressel, you'll live longer. What would I do without you to harass me?

I'll get started on some videos and letters to be released after I'm gone.  I'll make sure you have a steady stream of irritating (yet well thought out) ideas, philosophies and propaganda to raise your blood pressure on a regular basis.  It'll be like I never left.

 

[Brian]

I'll likely be passing on this one as well.  I don't have much room for ships/etc. as it is, and tend to lean more towards the OT offerings - so the fact that it is so grossly out of scale kind of seals the deal to me.  I'm not someone that is quite as concerned with scale as others here, but its nice if it is somewhere in the neighborhood.  It kind of bothers me that new tooling costs were dedicated to the Infiltrator, instead of something like - for example - the Cloud Car, which they could probably make to scale at that pricepoint.  Sure, I understand a "sith fighter" is probably a better seller with the kiddos - and that's what Hasbro is thinking, but it would have been nice to see.  Hopefully that will happen eventually, although I'm guessing not this year anymore.  I think the V-Wing and Sith Infiltrator will be it for truly "new" vehicles this year.  Anyways, a likely pass here too, but it might make a cool toy - and kids might like it (probably more so back in 99/2000 though - I don't know how much interest there is in TPM stuff in general anymore.