Slave I/Boba Fett

Not since someone got chocolate in their peanut butter (and, conversely, someone else got peanut butter on their choclate) have two great tastes tasted so good together. In retrospect, it's an obvious idea - Hasbro makes Star Wars, Hasbro makes Transformers - so why, then, has it taken more than two decades for anyone to think of combining the two? Slave I was, according to the Expanded Universe backstory, a Firespray-class ship designed by Kuat Systems Engineering to serve as transport for the asteroid prison Oovo IV. While trying to retrieve a prisoner from the maximum security rock, Fett's ship was destroyed, so he hijacked one of the Firesprays and destroyed the rest before leaving. Outside the kayfabe of the Star Wars Universe, Slave I was actually based on a street lamp. The detailing on the ship is really intricate. The Star Wars Transformers are more concerned with looking like the vehicles than the characters, so this mode is great. The ship is only 6" long, but it looks just like the one you'd see in the films. The wings and guns rotate, so they can be in the proper position whether Slave I is lying down or flying upright. The ship is painted several shades of green, with rusty red around the bottom. The engines in the back are golden. To go along with the ship, the set includes a wee little Boba Fett figure that stands only 1 1/4" tall. Despite his small size, he's sculpted well and painted appropriately. He moves at the head, shoulders and hips, making him exactly as mobile as the original Boba Fett figure, which was 300% the size. Now, technically he only has three joints - the legs both moves as one, as do the arms. The figure's feet are molded to a small flat stand for balance, but the arms are just connected through the torso. The head can pull off easily, if you want to pretend this is Jango. The transformation is complex, but not terribly hard to master. Flip the head out of the cockpit, fold the front of the ship's skirt into the same space and flip the engines up to become Fett's rocket pack. Twist the wings up and fold them out to become arms. Fold the remainder of the ship's skirt up, then back down (it makes sense when you do it), pull out the ship's tail and spin it around to make legs, then flip down the feet and you're done. In robot form, this doesn't really look much like Boba Fett. Sure, there's a passing resemblance, but that's it. Then again, that's the point: this isn't supposed to be both Boba Fett and Slave I; that's why it includes a Boba Fett figure. This is supposed to be a permutation of the Star Wars Universe in which Transformer technology was developed, allowing the pilots' actual ships to turn into large combat mechs. Hell, Boba can still ride inside the cockpit when the ship's transformed, piloting the beast, so a passing resemblance is all that's really needed. Robo Fett is nearly 7" tall, and moves at the neck, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips and knees. The ship's guns become the robot's blasters, and the rocket in his backpack actually fires. There are several small details in the sculpt to suggest the look of Fett's costume: pockets and tools on his legs, half-circles on the backs of his hands, little spikes on the tips of his feet and a perfect helmet. The robot is decent from the front, but viewed from the side, he looks tubbier than Porkins. The Star Wars Transformers come in really cool packaging. It's dark, with red and orange highlights, and has a unique angular design that is similar to the shape of the blisters on the newest 3 3/4" figures. The front of the bubble is curved slightly, and there's an indentation at the top for the Star Wars logo. Near the lower left is a free-spinning pog that shows the toy in both robot and ship modes. The packaging is pretty large, but it looks good and presents the figure well. The biggest flaw with the Star Wars Transformers line is that the robot versions look goofy, and have too much kibble. If that's going to bug you, then skip the line, but if you can live with it, then jump right in. Hasbro did a good job on these, and it'll be interesting to see what ships they come up with in the future. Pick a character you really like (or whose ship you really like) and give the line a try. So. Star Wars Transformers. Good idea or stupid? Tell us on our message board, The Loafing Lounge.

Tweet