Sandcrawler - OTC - Vehicles (Exclusive)

The timid and greedy Jawas make a sparse living by scavenging scrap metal and lost droids on the planet Tatooine. They travel the desert landscape in huge sandcrawlers that are both their homes and bases of operations. One day, they capture C-3PO and R2-D2, who have come to the planet to give Obi-Wan Kenobi an important message from the Rebel leader Princess Leia. Eventually, they sell the two droids to Owen Lars, whose nephew, Luke Skywalker, discovers the hidden message in R2-D2 and becomes embroiled in the fate of the galaxy.

When we cry, Hasbro sometimes listens. Such is true for the Sandcrawler, a vehicle that Star Wars collectors have desperately wanted to acquire for their collections ever since the first remote controlled version was released in 1979. Not true to scale in the slightest, Hasbro took that mold and reworked it to make a fitting release for The Original Trilogy Collection. With all of the motorization and electronics removed, the gutted shell of the Sandcrawler has been re-imagined for a Previews exclusive and the results aren’t half as bad as you might think. If you can get over the reduced scale, you will be able to see how beautifully the vehicle’s deco is and why this staple hasn’t been released more often in the modern era. But the quasi vintage inspired The Original Trilogy Collection was indeed the best collection to release this vehicle in because of its strong ties to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and its relationship to the many droids it houses from across the Star Wars galaxy. With three exclusive pack-in figures and a couple of accessories, we’re happy to say that this long-awaited modern released is a welcomed addition to the Star Wars toy line and it’s the perfect holdover until Hasbro can do this vehicle justice, if and when that will ever happen.

So what makes the 2004 OTC Sandcrawler so spectacular? Simply put? It’s the paint job. It has received world-class attention in the art department. Not only is the base color absolutely perfect, there are so many secondary and tertiary decorative colors utilized here to give the Sandcrawler its multi-textured and complicated structure some depth and perspective. On top of the brown base coat you will find smatterings of orange, panels of black and gray, speckled tan and white for sand spatter and whitish gray for exhaust streaks on the lower portions of the vehicle. Again, the paint job is absolutely and completely gorgeous. If this could have just been blown up a bit bigger we would have the consummate Jawa Sandcrawler in our collections. Plus, the hard trapezoidal shape of the Sandcrawler is dependent on the multiple use of colors to accent its unique design, shape and structure. Sadly, the treads/wheels don’t move and you just have to slide it across surfaces. This is quite a disappointment in the grand scheme of things, but it certainly isn’t a deal breaker for us. This is a much needed release and it’s wonderful to see it in such vintage inspired packaging like The Original Trilogy Collection line look is.

The interior of the Sandcrawler doesn’t fare as well as the outside but it's all good. You can see from the innards that the vehicle has been cast in a orange/light brown colored plastic and Hasbro didn’t take any time to paint the interior to match the exterior. That’s OK because how often are you planning to drive this vehicle around with the panels opened? When you lower the opening side door, you can attach a removable ladder for the ease of transporting droids to the outside of the Sandcrawler for potential sales, and then there is an opening cockpit at the top which is nicely detailed sculpt wise despite lacking a colorful paint job. Lastly, the “droid elevator” has been included here so you can send up Jawas and/or droids up into the belly of the vehicle for some extra play value. Hasbro has included three pack-in figures. First up is an RA-7 Droid which is a repaint of 1999’s POTF2 Death Star Droid figure. And then there are two Jawas which are repaints of 1996’s POTF2 Jawas two-pack. The RA-7 Droid is nice to have and it’s the first time we have received this color Death Star Droid in the modern lineup. Expect this figure to be a big reason for this vehicle’s purchase. The Sandcrawler, despite its faults, still gets high scores from us. We love OT stuff and so do most collectors. That gives this piece a running head start.