Republic Fighter Tank - TCW [R] - Vehicles

For ground combat vehicles, the TX-130S Republic fighter tank has few equals. Though generally manned by a clone pilot and gunner, the vehicle's speed and maneuverability respond well to the Force-enhanced skills of a Jedi commander. The tank is armed with a turret mounted laser cannon and dual heavy cannons that can fire concussion missiles.

The Republic Fighter Tank (officially called a TX-130 Saber-class fighter tank or IFT-X) is a quick moving attack tank that was utilized by the Jedi and their respective clone troopers during the events in the Clone Wars. As of this Research Droids Reviews entry, this vehicle has only been seen in The Clone Wars video game and many other Expanded Universe sources like Star Wars: Battlefront. But many vehicles, and likely the Republic Fighter Tank, will never be seen in the television show. This multimedia event is the right time for Hasbro to get out vehicles that they normally wouldn't without a big push behind them. Hasbro remains steadfast in their philosophy that only the vehicles that have a long-standing role in the television series are likely to be visited in toy form. But this isn't always the case. In fact, they released a Tartakovsky vehicle in the first phase of The Clone Wars line. So we're not sure if we will believe Hasbro with regards to this vehicle. But who knows. Maybe we will be surprised and it will have "many" appearances in the episodes. Interestingly, this vehicle has been hailed as the Jedi starfighter of the ground. And when you look at this vehicle, the description fits very well. Outfitted with tons of concussion missiles that fire from the twin laser cannons, the Republic Fighter Tank’s name illustrates its purpose distinctly well. While likely not able to defeat the most imposing Separatist enemies, it certainly can do its part to assist in the smaller conflicts of battle.

The Republic Fighter Tank is a great vehicle for your The Clone Wars action figures and realistically styled action figures as well. Although quite simple in design and decoration, it feels like it has already been seen in the television show. It has quite a believable aura to it and it's quickly become one of our most favorite vehicles in the toy line thus far. It would have been great if it had a more mainstream appearance in the Star Wars universe. Basically cast in a light gray plastic, the Republic Fighter Tank has been lightly painted with a maroon outline (that is completely striking) and green detailed accents that look a lot like arrows down the front sides of the vehicle. They are other smaller accents of color as well. There are two compartments on each back side that house non-removable torpedoes and this extra play feature is awesome. The great news is that you can store other items in there if you’d like as Hasbro has given extra space in there for your play needs. The top cockpit/gunner station opens and can house a figure of your choice inside of it and while this is an expected part of any vehicle, the familiar design of this particular vehicle makes it feel right at home with any other Star Wars vehicle. It has an extraordinary special presence about it. The Republic Fighter Tank is also labeled with the Republic symbols to denote which side of the battle it belongs. Overall, the ship is a very cool (albeit simplistic) little ship that seems to be a graduated mini-rig more than anything else. We don’t say that as a “put down” but rather an indirect compliment. A vehicle like this adds great diversity to an already well-established toy line.

The mid-size vehicle line is very rich in The Clone Wars collection. But while they have The Clone Wars logo stamped all over the boxes, many aren't making appearances in the TV series. While the Legacy Collection vehicles have been on the backburner for awhile now, The Clone Wars is filling a void felt by collectors for quite some time now and we will take all-new vehicles anyway they come from Hasbro. It's a really nice thing that many of the vehicles in the toy line have appeared in the films, even though there are packaged with The Clone Wars branding. That may annoy collectors but in the end it doesn't really matter. At least we're getting them. And in the midst of The Clone Wars animated series, it's nice to see Hasbro be well-rounded in its vehicle approach. Sales are solid with these ships and we believe that the line will be very fruitful and prosperous. We bet you will find the Republic Fighter Tank a very special vehicle. It hasn't lost any of its charm and we hope it remains a constant in the toy line. For good reason, The Clone Wars has made an incredible impact at retail. There are awesome action figures with fantastic play value and incredible vehicles that intertwine with the figures together to show toy support for an absolutely marvelous multimedia event! We just hope that Hasbro doesn’t neglect their heritage too much longer because we are firm believers that when The Clone Wars is all said and done, the main line fans will still be hanging around and wanting their movie/expanded universe based action figures.