A-Wing Pilot (POTF 1985)

The A-Wing pilot came in a stylish dark green jumpsuit, with non-removable (like most figure in the vintage line) helmet. He came with a blaster pistol that was common to many of the other “pilots” and “drivers” in the POTF and ROTJ releases. Pictures of an actual pilot in the movie are pretty hard to come by, since they are really only seen in the cockpit. This might explain why the card shows a picture of the ship and not the pilot. This, however, is fairly common in the Kenner pilot and driver figures.

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. Cooler than the Droids release based on the cardback alone.

2. There weren’t too many POTF-only releases, so why not get them all?

3. For the love of the green.

4. Practice your hellish screaming as you ram your A-Wing into the control tower of a super star destroyer.

5. Holds out hope that you’ll actually get an A-Wing.

Backstory:

A-Wing pilots had to be very skilled due to the vehicle’s high speed, feather-touch maneuverability, and weapons systems without the aid of an astromech droid. Because of the initial hand-built nature of the A-Wings, many pilots even added personal touches such as wooden interiors. Some pilots (or their mechanics) also modified the guns to swivel 360 degrees, increasing their surprise against trailing enemy fighters. One of the more prominent A-Wing pilots was Tycho Celchu, an Alderaanian and member of Rogue Squadron.

Want more? His Wookieepedia article

2nd in alphabetical order

A-Wing Fighter Vehicle (Droids 1985)

The A-Wing – sleek and fast looking. Streamlined. The best vehicle from the Droids line…mainly because it was in Return of the Jedi. And it was never produced until now. Hey, but now we have it!

The A-Wing only comes in a Droids box, and when you produce a very popular toy in a waning line, it instantly becomes rare and valuable. I hope you got this one while you could. It featured a cockpit for one figure, retractable landing gear, swiveling side-mounted laser cannons, and electronic sound. The color scheme was also painted on and not decals like an X-Wing or TIE Fighter. Overall, a pretty cool ship – just very hard to get a hold of.

Why should you get this vehicle? Five reasons:

1. This was the fastest ship in the fleet – not the Millennium Falcon.

2. Look at this thing – it just sweats cool.

3. You got the A-Wing pilot – now get the real deal.

4. Your only real reason to get something from the Droids line.

5. The coolest ship to play with – and probably easiest to hold.

Backstory:

The RZ-1 A-Wing Interceptor was a fast ship – engines with a cockpit. It was a descendant of the Jedi starfighters seen in the prequel movies. However, not having an astromech port made the fighter hard to control at high speeds (unless you’re a Jedi) and control the weapons which could often fire 360 degrees. It also had 2 concussion missile launchers, which held 6 each. They were originally developed by the Alliance and made through Allaicne Underground Engineering, so each was more handbuilt, resulting in a higher maintenance schedule. However, enough of them were made by the Battle of Endor to make a difference and turn the tide of that battle. Later models were made by Incom Corporation.

Early designs of the A-Wing had blue stripes, but these were changed to red for blue screen filming. Also, while the fighter had an “A” shape, the original A-Wing fighter name may have come from the production staff calling the two new ships “ship A” and “ship B” (the B-Wing fighter).

Want the full story? Its Wookieepedia article.

1st in alphabetical order

Zuckuss (ESB 1980-82)

Zuckuss’s actual name is 4-LOM, since he is the droid and Zuckuss is the alien bounty hunter. This was mixed up in the original Kenner line (as stated in my last post) but corrected in subsequent lines and literature. The figure has a gun-metal gray finish, but the actual character is more of a navy blue with orange rusty highlights.

Zuckuss came with a rather large blaster rifle, and his body was very similar to C-3PO’s, aside from his insectoid head. He came on ESB and ROTJ cardbacks.

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. As stated before, you must have all the bounty hunters. This is a coolness imperative.

2. He just looks like a badass with those glaring bug eyes.

3. Droids with guns are cool. Death Star Droid? Not so much.

4. Create your own scene where you finally figure who is the better droid bounty hunter: Zuckuss or IG-88?

5. All your non-geek friends will wonder who in the hell this is. All your geek friends will simply appreciate you for it.

Backstory:

4-LOM (as I will now correctly call him) was built by Industrial Automaton, who ripped off many of its design elements from Cybot Galactica’s 3PO series. 4-LOM’s earliest posting was on a luxury liner working as a cabin steward. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that the best way to protect passenger’s valuables was to take them himself. After modifying his own programming, he made crime more enjoyable, and after falling into the employ of Jabba the Hutt, started work as a bounty hunter.

He partnered with Zuckuss many time on bounties, the two becoming friends. After the Battle of Hoth, the two became Rebels for awhile, but eventually went back to bounty hunting after being almost destroyed by Boba Fett.

Want more? His Wookieepedia entry

181st in alphabetical order

Y-Wing Fighter Vehicle (ROTJ)

"And the last shall be first..."

The Y-Wing was one of the first vehicles introduced (in the battle against the first Death Star), but a toy didn't come out until Return of the Jedi. Because of that, you've got Admiral Ackbar in the cockpit, and Lando dinkin' around looking at the back of the thing on the box. Okay, while Kenner didn't always know how to set up a good photo for their toys, the vehicle itself is still pretty cool.

How cool? Five reasons cool:

1. Top-mounted-swivel guns. While in the Star Wars universe these were actually electronic-neutralizing ion cannons, you could just pretend they were destructive blasters.

2. You still had two front-mounted cannons!

3. The cockpit can fit your Luke in X-Wing outfit nicely (because the original line didn't have anyone else in the orange jumpsuits). The X-Wing pilots and Y-Wing pilots wore the same uniform.

4. It fits an astromech droid, unlike the X-Wing toy. You are still limited to only R2-D2 or R5-D4, but still, that's pretty cool.

5. The bottom-mounted proton torpedo could be dropped on your younger brother, or actually used for real purposes.

Backstory:

The Y-Wing (technical name: BTL Y-Wing Starfighter) was a good bomber, and a good partner to the X-Wing fighter. A Y-Wing has two laser cannons, two ion cannons, and two proton torpedo bays. Unlike the X-Wing, the Y-Wing could immobilize ships with its ion cannons. They were in use for quite awhile, fighting in both battles on the Death Stars. Y-Wings were largely replaced by the newer B-Wing fighter that were faster and had many of the same functions.

Want more? Its Wookieepedia entry

180th in alphabetical order