TIE Bomber - POTJ - Vehicles (Exclusive)

TIE Bombers are the prime assault bombers of the Empire. In traditional attacks, TIE Fighters first soften up the target, and then the TIE Bombers come in to finish the job. Their sophisticated targeting sensors enable them to hit specific targets without damaging surrounding areas. This allows them to disable vital areas so the Imperial forces can take control of the crippled vessel or space station. TIE Bombers carry a heavy and diverse payload that allows them to not only attack ships and stations but also perform ground bombing and deploy orbital mines. In The Empire Strikes Back, TIE Bombers are deployed to locate the Millennium Falcon when it hides in an asteroid field.

Perhaps the most anticipated release from Hasbro in 2002 was the Power Of The Jedi TIE Bomber. A first time ever offering in the 3.75” scaled line, this obscure vehicle finally gets its day in the sun as a Walmart exclusive. The TIE Bomber is honestly an exquisite release. Hasbro’s sculptors paid careful attention to all of the vehicle’s unique features and crafted something that should thrill Star Wars fans across the globe. From the ingress-egress hatch to the rear thrusters, the design on this vehicle is jaw-dropping. It will no doubt be one of Hasbro’s crowning achievements as well as be one of the most sought after exclusives of the year, if not in Hasbro’s entire run of Star Wars toys. This vehicle’s debut marks a bold move on Hasbro’s part. Sure, it’s an Original Trilogy vehicle from The Empire Strikes Back, but it’s not prominently featured in the film. Hasbro has stated time and again that they want to produce vehicles that have more than a few moments of screen time. The TIE Bomber blows this theory out of the water, and we’re happy it does. The release exceeds expectations and aside from a boring pack-in figure, we have very little to complain about here at all. The Power Of The Jedi TIE Bomber has been executed so perfectly well that it will remain a staple in the basic figure line for years to come. We suppose there is always room for caution when Hasbro produces a new item of this magnitude, but your fears should be alleviated. This one is a home run.

The TIE Bomber is impressive. That word often gets overused, but it’s quite a sight to behold. Just a cursory glance will reveal detail after detail to you. This vehicle is loaded with an inordinate amount of nooks and crannies. Just the very design of this vehicle is a mechanical wonder in and of itself. The double body of the TIE Bomber is exquisitely recreated. The vehicle’s left side is where the cockpit and pilot sit and the right portion, properly defined as the ordnance pod, is strictly reserved for the vehicle’s bombing functionality. It includes a bomb port as well as two sections, although you have to use your imagination as you can't open it up. The TIE Bomber comes with three separate clear-with-orange-centers missiles. They are loaded in a special compartment in the ordnance pod and you can fire/release them with a simple press of a ‘large’ button on the top of the . We would have loved to have seen inside of the ordnance pod to see the design of this complex hull of this vehicle, but maybe it is this specific mystery that makes this vehicle so appealing. Interestingly, the ordnance pod actually looks like a reverse of the cockpit hull, but when you study the vehicle from behind, you’ll see that they have identical twin ion engine thrusters on the back. What is equally as nice as the sculpt of this vehicle is the paint job. Hasbro generously decorated this vehicle by enhancing the paint scheme with grays and blacks to give it a contour full of texture and levels.

Even the cockpit to the TIE Bomber is nicely done. It even gets a fancy name: the ingress/egress hatch. Hasbro created an all-new sitting area for the driver. It looks as if the included Imperial Pilot will be sitting is a lush cockpit chair. And the cockpit isn’t too big where the Imperial Pilot will be flipping and flopping all over the place should you decide to fly the vehicle in an aggressive manner. Also, Hasbro added controls and levers to the armrests. This is much appreciated and we’re thrilled to see this level of detail go into an area of the vehicle that won’t even be seen most of the time. Hasbro has clearly produced a wonderful toy here. The included Imperial Pilot is the only downside to this release. Based on 1996’s POTF2 TIE Fighter Pilot figure, it now comes with two new legs that have been updated with hinge-jointed articulation. Also of note, it has the loosest head joint of any figure we have encountered to date. Seriously, something went wrong at the factory here. Anyway, the pilot fits like a glove in the cockpit and although it is far from a definitive action figure, it’s nice to pull a figure that drives the vehicle from the same box. Despite the pack-in figure, the TIE Bomber is a severely long overdue vehicle in the 3.75” line. We’re thankful that the collector-focused Power Of The Jedi line was the line to introduce it to us. This awesome vehicle will not lose its luster. Hasbro got this nearly perfect, right from the very start.