Wednesday, February 18, 2009

ISP-6 (Imperial Shuttle Pod) Vehicle (ROTJ)




The ISP is one of the many Mini-Rigs that Kenner produced both in the ESB (5 ) and ROTJ (4) releases. While none of them ever appeared in the films, they were a way for kids to get a vehicle cheaper than the larger ones, so they could still have a Star Wars vehicle to put a figure in. The ISP was basically a kind of dwarfinated version of the Imperial Shuttle, which was, well, pretty effin’ huge. The ISP had a one-man cockpit, two wing-mounted lasers, landing gear, and wings that could be put up or down. There was also kind of a heads-up display in the cockpit. According to the promotional material it was more of a shuttle between ships that could ferry Imperial troops. Well, it couldn’t ferry a lot of troops being a one-man vehicle.

Why should you own this vehicle? Five reasons:

1. Small, easy to fly (hold), and takes up little space.

2. Mini-rigs are perfect for your office cubicle - small and barely valuable enough to steal.

3. Pretend to have a very Star Trek-like Star Wars episode where the shuttle crashes and something weird happens on the planet. Why was something always happening to those shuttles? And why did they always crash on a planet? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to be trapped in the endless void of space?

4. Have a Rebel take it for a joyride.

5. Like riding my T-16 and shooting wamp rats back home.

Backstory:
While maybe a couple of Mini-rigs were later worked into the Droids cartoons or Star Wars comics, this was not one of them. However, like all the Mini-rigs, it could be argued that this was used off-screen.

Want a very tiny bit more? The Wookieepedia article

82nd in alphabetical order

1 comment:

Tim said...

WOW!!! Thanks!!!
I just found this again in a box i had put away about 15 years ago, thought it was one of those cheap JC penny things my mom used to buy. Great to know i can add it to my collection!
sgtcsgrove