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.

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82nd in alphabetical order

INT-4 Interceptor (ESB)

You’ve got to love the mini-rigs. Even if you’ve seen every movie 30 times, you can still get a mini-rig and know you haven’t seen it in action. Besides the cheap cost, that was probably the best thing about the mini-rigs: you weren’t told or shown how to play with them ahead of time (i.e. the movies). It was all up to you. Now – down to the particulars of this vehicle.

The INT-4 (4 because, you know, they had to put a number in there) is short for “Interceptor.” What this is supposed to intercept is never made clear, but from the box you can guess it was to intercept Rebels on Hoth. Or Imperial Snowtroopers. Or AT-AT Drivers? And when you intercept them, what can you do with them? Only one guy can fit in the thing! Oh, who the hell knows. The INT-4 had a front swiveling laser cannon, an opening top-loading cockpit, and retractable wings. It also resembled the bastard offspring of a union between an AT-ST and a Cylon. The wings were “remote operated” because you pressed a button on it instead of moving each wing yourself. “Remote operated” – you gotta love it.

Why should you own this vehicle? Five reasons:

1. You’re not bound by rules of this vehicle does “this” or “that.” Do whatever the hell you want.

2. Cheap, and something for Snowtroopers to do.

3. Kind of looks like a Cylon Raider from Battlestar Galactica, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

4. Gun, moving wings. What’s not to like?

5. Doubles as a head for any one of a number of large robots in other toy lines.

Backstory:

The INT-4, according to Kenner, was for scouting out the Rebel base on Hoth. This seems unlikely given that the Probe Droid pretty much did this, but, whatever. Its only appearance in the SW Universe may be in the book, Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka, but this may be another type of INT vehicle.

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81st in alphabetical order

Imperial Troop Transport (SW)

The Imperial Troop Transport was the first vehicle to be introduced that was *kind of* not seen in the films. I say *kind of* (love those asterisks!) because the Rebels did use a similar vehicle on both Yavin and Hoth that was briefly seen in SW and ESB. Granted, it's completely plausible that it was a generic vehicle in the Star Wars universe and both sides could have been using these, but Imperial use is never shown in the film.

The Imperial Troop Transport was first released during the first movie. It featured 6 "slots" for figures on the sides, two cockpit spaces that opened out like any car door, and space for two figures in the back prisoner area. It also came with two restraints that inexplicably covered the face and shoulders of the prisoners. Binders may have been a better choice, but considering the variation of figure sizes this might not have been practical.

The niftiest features were the rotating turret cannons on the top, and the six buttons that had more or less authentic sound effects from the film. The six included 2 different gun sounds, a vehicle, R2, C-3PO, and a Stormtrooper.

The vehicle was released again during ESB, but it was renamed Imperial Cruiser, it was a Sears exclusive, some decals were altered, and it lacked the sound effect buttons.

Despite its iffy official canon status, I always liked this vehicle because of the sheer number of figures you could fit in it, the moving guns, the fact you could wheel it instead of having to fly it all over (I was a lazy kid), and the sounds. It was hard to get your little brother to stop playing with the sounds though.

Why should you own this vehicle? Five reasons:

1. Finally, lock some Rebels up. Just a bunch of hippies anyway.

2. A vehicle you could really get going across the linoleum. Granted, you could do this with the Landspeeder, but that only fit 2 people, and had no guns. Daddy likes guns. And it scared your cat.

3. The sound effects were cool, even if it lead me to believe you were only suppose to act out capturing the droids. Wow. What a fight they would have put up.

4. The front is reminiscent of Boba Fett's helmet, who was only a glimmer in George Lucas's eye at the time, so it looks vaguely menacing.

5. It was kind of the figure case before there were figure cases you could play with. Heck, it held 10 figures despite it seeming relatively small.

Backstory:

The Reconnaissance Troop Transporter, as it was officially called, was built by Santhe/Sienar Technologies for the Empire. It used repulsorlifts for levitation and presumably some variation for propulsion. It appeared in several Marvel and Dark Horse Star Wars comics, and is now presumably an official vehicle in the Star Wars universe. When pictured in the comics, the Transport was actually almost exactly identical to the toy.

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80th in alphabetical order

Imperial TIE Fighter Pilot (ESB 1980-82)

Poor TIE Pilot. This character was featured in the first Star Wars, usually right before getting blown up. Yet, he didn’t get a figure until ESB. Maybe this was a boon, since no TIE Pilot was actually shown during ESB. Yet, those glory-hog Snowtroopers got a lot of face time! Bastards.

The TIE Pilot came on an ESB, then ROTJ card, and came with a blaster pistol that looks a lot like a phaser from the old Star Trek series. His head did not turn, like most of the helmeted Imperial figures, but he still managed to look cool. Like other pilots, he did not get a figure shot but a vehicle shot on the background picture. When will they learn to look at the man and not the machine!?

Now this was a figure that came out a film later then the actual vehicle he was supposed to pilot. This happens again with the AT-ST driver. The least Kenner could have done was made a TIE Bomber (featured in ESB) to come out at the same time. But ooooh, no. They don’t come out with one until 2003, and then they make it a Wal-Mart exclusive. What? I can’t be bothered to get all dressed up to go to a Wal-Mart – who are they kidding? Then again in 2007: a Target exclusive. Well, I really can’t afford clothes to go in there.

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. You’ve had the TIE Fighter since it came out – finally get a pilot! Then crash it.

2. Helmet. Imperial. Automatically cool.

3. The man in black, who takes no flack. Oh, yeaaaaaah.

4. Show that frickin’ upstart from Tatooine who’s boss. Oh, wait, his X-Wing has shields. My bad.

5. It’s really hard for one person to hold both the Falcon and a TIE Fighter at the same time to have a dog fight. Why not just fly the figures around instead. It’s like the same thing! Right?

Backstory:
Only ten percent of recruits that joined the TIE pilot program actually made it into the TIE fighter corp. Others were dispersed to do other military functions. TIE pilots had a full life-support system uniform, because TIE fighters didn’t actually have life-support. Unlike a ship such as an X-Wing, TIEs were ferried to their location by a supporting ship, like a Star Destroyer, so their actual flying time tended to be short. However, if they were shot down, their survival tended to be minimal, thus they were normally not given personal weapons or rations.

In the subsequent novels, there were a couple of TIE pilots that got a few pages, Baron Soontir Fel, and a TIE pilot that crashed during the original Battle of Yavin. He was discovered years later by Han and Leia’s kids when Luke founded a Jedi Academy on Yavin.

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79th in alphabetical order