Revell Star Wars Solo – Imperial Patrol Speeder

[Mike]

Star Wars Solo – Imperial Patrol Speeder

1:28 Revell

 

 

Star Wars: Solo is the latest SW universe film tracing the younger years of smuggler Han Solo, and his hi-jinks before he hooked up with Ben Kenobi and Luke on Tatooine, which changed everyone's lives immensely.  I've not seen this episode, but at some point Han gets chased by Imperial troops on Speeder bikes, who don't have the benefit of knowing how that turned out for them on Endor, but I can bet it doesn't end well for them.  These Patrol Speeders are more of a sit-in than sit-on vehicle, although the controls seem broadly similar to those used by the Scout Troopers in Jedi.  Their riders wear a blend of armour that includes accents from the Shore Troopers of Rogue One, and the familiar Stormtroopers from the original trilogy.

 

 

The Kit

Revell have the license for Star Wars model kits in Europe and the West, and it's good to see them back in action after recent problems resulted in a new management as well as ownership of the company.  Solo's raft of new ship and vehicle designs have been committed to plastic in the Build & Play range, which my Son is very fond of and he can still be found playing with the originals a couple of years later, with their original batteries still going strong.  His eyes lit up when he saw these, so there's little doubt where they'll be going the minute I've finished with them.  All three of the kits in the initial launch have standard-sized boxes, with plenty of card inserts packing out the parts to prevent scuffs from rattling around, and parts bagged in small numbers where appropriate.  This one has 40 parts split equally between two identical bikes, both of which have sound effect modules with two sounds at their heart.  The figures are made from a flexible vinyl, and sit in a notch in the back of the speeder, with feet on open pedals, and hands on control grips, which they don't quite line up with.  That probably won't bother the intended audience however, and they're close enough inboard not to notice.

 

 

Construction is very simple, as the majority of the hull is already assembled around the electronics, with a small button disguised on the top.  Two kick-stands are twisted into place, front & rear detail panels are pushed into their slots, and the seat is installed, leaving a small gap behind it, which is filled by the two rear cowling parts that are added next.  Each side has two detail panels that allow some of the moulding underneath to show through, and are moulded in a slightly contrasting grey to accent the detail.  The foot pedals and controls fit into holes in the sides, and a probe is fixed to the left of the hull in a large hole, which completes the bike.  The rider has separate arms that are moulded with the chest and shoulder armour, which pushes into the front of the body, and is topped off by a head part, which makes it ready to play.  Repeat that process for the other one, and then pull the little tabs out of the bottom to complete the circuit and set the 3 x LR44 batteries live and able to make sounds when you tap the button – which happens a lot during construction, just so you don't freak out the first time it happens.  They're quite loud!  The two sounds are startup and drive-away of the bike, plus a fusillade of blaster fire.

 

 

 

Conclusion

Marvellous!  Two bikes to play with, or to chase poor old (mostly) innocent Han in his "Lego speeder" as I've taken to calling it.  More on that shortly.

 

Very highly recommended, and lots of fun!

 

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

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[Sgt.Squarehead]

That actually looks like it might turn out quite nicely with some repainting and a lot of weathering, the sound effects are an added bonus too.....I'm almost  tempted. 

 

[Pilgrim_UK]

The amount of detail on those is pretty damn good even though it's a terrible vehicle design.