Mandalorian Assault Transport - TCW [SOTDS] - Vehicles

Mandalorian assault transports are armed vessels flown by Mandalorian troopers. The wings rotate for flight and landing modes and have missile launchers tucked beneath them. When faced with a threat, the pilot can raise wing panels to reveal launchers, showing the enemy that he's ready to defend the ship with firepower.

What is there to say about the Mandalorian Assault Transport that hasn’t already been said? Or perhaps that is the most rhetorical question you’ve ever read. Maybe you’re even looking at this item for the first time to hear something about it at all because it’s vehicle that just didn’t have widespread availability. Plus, pre-orders were canceled at one of the biggest Star Wars retail vendors on the web, Entertainment Earth. A vehicle whose controversial obscurity terribly overshadows its quality, we’re sure it will affect the way it’s perceived in the many reviews you’ll find of it on the web including ours. We’re personally first and foremost enraged over the handling of the The Clone Wars lines in the last couple of years. And it’s simply unforgivable what happens with all-new product like the Mandalorian Assault Transport. Poor case assortment ratios, horrid distribution and over-shipments of “opening day” line look change have all weighed heavily on the potential success of the modern line, but ultimately rendering it a chronic failure. All-new vehicle sculpts should never be one per case. And what’s sad is that this is a vehicle that would have shared interest between kids and collectors. Mandalorians and anything related to it, like this vehicle, are a big deal for collectors of all ages, so we find it tremendously dissatisfying that it has become the vehicle “that never was.” It remains to be seen where the American samples will end up (if they even exist), but even if it does become more widespread down the road, we’ll already have the battle scars to show for it.

We find it very interesting that Hasbro has dubbed the Mandalorian Assault Transport as they did. It’s actually called the Aka’jor-class shuttle. But what kid (or even adult collector) will be able to pronounce that successfully? It’s a fast ship and it befits the Mandalorian Warriors (and other folks from Mandalore) very nicely. In Wookieepedia, this vehicle is described as the shuttle model designed and built by the Mandalorian starship company, MandalMotors. Features like the efficiency of its engines and its smooth acceleration made it a very popular vehicle. Interestingly, these shuttles were constructed without weapons, but most were eventually modified with additional armament those who purchased them since many intended to use this vehicle as a method of assault. The Aka'jor-class shuttle found most of its use by the New Mandalorian faction including their leader, Duchess Satine Kryze. She utilized this style shuttle to transport herself as well as riding guests around Mandalore and neighboring systems. The Aka'jor-class shuttle made its first appearance in The Clone Wars television series' season 2 episode entitled, The Mandalore Plot and later made appearances in various episodes afterwards. These episodes all featured the New Mandalorians. As a toy, the Mandalorian Assault Transport is relatively simple, but its sleek design is unique and should become a favorite amongst those who are able to secure it for their collections. So let’s talk a bit more about the actual toy.

The vehicle comes with two 360 degree rotating wings which serve as stands in certain positions the vehicle is placed. These wings also have a two-part feature and thanks to tight hinge-joints, you can positioned the “break-away” portion of the wing at various levels. When you lift the second layer away from the main wing you can see the precise detail Hasbro has added in the structures on the wing. They did a really great job here. It adds the expected versatility we’ve come to expect in the mid-size vehicle assortments. The main hull of the vehicle opens via a very large canopy and inside it can six six figures. We stuffed ours with the Mandalorians from 2010’s TCW Mandalorian Warriors Battle Packs set, 2010’s TCW Pre Vizsla (CW08) and 2010’s TCW Mandalorian Warrior (CW29), the single carded generic Mandalorian figure. They all fit in the vessel perfectly. It may take a bit of finagling to get them all in the exact placement you desire, but they all fit and that’s all that really matters as far as we’re concerned. What a shame that they couldn’t have released the Mandalorian Assault Transport at the same time when they were flooding retail shelves with all of the Mandalorian action figures they were making in 2010. The Mandalorian Assault Transport has very subtle action features, something we’re very happy to see. By way of four buttons on the wings (two on each side), a total of four projectiles can be fires from the vehicle. The color of the main vehicle is rather drab and done in a very, very light gray color. But Hasbro has accented the vehicle with blues and darker grays, two of the most popular colors of the Mandalorians from The Clone Wars television show! Perfection! Now, just find one. It’s a vehicle you’re going to want for your collection!