Star Wars Slave 1 – Boba Fett’s Ship (05678) 1:88

[Mike]

Slave 1 – Boba Fett’s Ship (05678)

1:88 Revell

 

 

WARNING: If you've been trapped behind a wardrobe since the 1980s, there may be some spoilers ahead.  You have been warned!

 

We were introduced to Boba Fett the bounty hunter and his ride, Slave 1 in Star Wars Empire Strikes Back in 1980, when he was tasked by the Empire to hunt down and capture Han Solo, and to bring Luke Skywalker to an ambush, in order to tempt him to the Dark Side of the Force.  We saw the ship for the first time when the Millennium Falcon detached from a Star Destroyer when they dumped their garbage before their jump to light-speed, although it was only a brief glimpse at that point.  Later we saw it parked at Cloud City on the gas giant Bespin, when a frozen Han was trundled aboard his ship and it took off in a flamboyant style while Princess Leia and Chewbacca fired upon it in a desperate attempt to prevent his departure, setting up the beginning of the final part of the original trilogy.

 

Slave 1 showed its age when it appeared in the Prequel trilogy under the command of Boba’s father, Jango Fett, with a substantially cleaner and better-kept exterior, although the older blue and yellow parts of the scheme was a bit off-putting to my eyes.  It was originally made by Kuat Systems as the Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft, and somehow came into Jango’s possession, then with Boba at the controls after his father’s decapitation during a fight with a young and oddly Scottish Obi-Wan Kenobi.

 

 

The Kit

This is a re-release of Revell’s own Snap-Together kit from the previous decade, but without the crude factory-applied painting and with decals to complete the package.  The kit is a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the release of Star Wars The Empire Strikes back, which to folks of my age is a sobering thought, and comes together with an A3 poster from the movie to celebrate that.  It arrives in an end-opening box, and inside can be found seven sprues and two hull parts in grey styrene, a clear canopy, a vinyl Boba Fett figure to sit within the very visible control tub, which rotates with the craft’s take-off to fly in the “elephant’s head” position, rather than engines downward in “flat iron” mode.  Thanks to the recent nature of the kit, the panel lines are engraved and detail is good right out of the box – only the scale is unusual at 1:88.  This is a gift set edition too, so there’s a bag containing six pots of Revell acrylic paint, a small bottle of Contacta Professional glue, and a #2 brush.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the aforementioned engines, which have a ribbed cylindrical form made up from two halves, with a domed internal structure that looks a little like an umbrella.  The skirt on the lower hull is shown painted in the next step, with the strikingly gross patchwork of colours evidencing very poor maintenance over the years.  The exhausts are clipped into the lower section of this part, which is then put to one side while the “elephant ears” are made up.  The fins are comprised of two halves, and they are linked together with an axle that goes through the body to synchronise their movement when installed.  The diagonal bracing struts are clipped around a pivot-point, and these are slotted into the hull underside detail panel, which is also painted up in the same haphazard style.  Boba gets a detailed coat of paint, with lots of colour call-outs and a pair of decals adding small markings to his helmet.  As the figure is vinyl, you might want to do a little research on how best to paint vinyl figures, so the paint doesn’t fall off later.  I recall something about adding PVA to the paint, but don’t take my word for it.  His control tub is also painted, given a seat and five instrument decals to add a little realism to the area, after which Boba’s large butt-plug is inserted into a matching slot in the floor to hold him in place.  Anyone sniggering at this point should go to the back of the class.  The cockpit is painted up, then receives the tub and Boba, with a choice of positions between flying and landing modes.

 

The two fuselage halves are next, with detailed painting guide shown inline, with the same feature for the underside of the “trunk” area.  The halves are brought together with a crystal-clear hinging canopy, which is most definitely not canon, and the axle that later holds the ship’s main armament, which should be fitted in position without glue to remain mobile.  The cockpit and underside panel are both installed, then the weapons are glued to the tips of the axle so that someone much[/] more childish than you can go “pew pew pew!”.  The two hull sub-assemblies are then brought together, and the detail insert is placed within the skirt of the lower hull, along with a saucer-shaped gun platform under the nose, with two blasters in grooves on opposite sides.

 

 

 

Markings

Slave 1’s paintjob is a mish-mash of colours that implies the craft has had a very demanding life since Boba took over ownership after his dad lost his head, so the painting guide is long, covering five pages in total, but you will still want to check your references to get the correct patina that reflects its grubby screen persona.  There are a number of decals supplied that will ease painting of grilles and vents, plus a number of curved stripes that will save some masking.  From the box you can build Boba Fett’s ship, but there’s nothing stopping you from portraying Jango’s scheme if you’re so minded, using your references and different paints to assist you.

 

 

 

Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

Conclusion

Considering the origins of this kit as a more toylike offering, detail is good and only the strange choice of scale is a head-scratcher. If you’re not glued to a scale however, it will build up to a nice replica that will look great with a sympathetic painting and weathering scheme.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

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

  or