Imperial Troop Transport - R - Vehicles

Imperial troop transports deploy Stormtroopers into battle and are equipped with heavy armor and powerful laser cannons to eliminate any Rebel threat.

Who would have thought that it would have taken over 35 years for Hasbro to release a modern update to the awesome Imperial Troop Transport from the original 1979 Kenner Star Wars line? It took a little show called Star Wars: Rebels to make it all happen. Now the “older” collectors have something extra special to look forward to from the show.... or do they? The Imperial Troop Transport (circa 2015) is definitely a bittersweet release. This all-new sculpt captures the appearance, but not so much the spirit (and definitely not the size), of the 1979 original release (or the vehicle in the show). In fact, you’ll find that the 1979 vehicle has a whole lot more “playability” than the new version. It’s no secret anymore that Hasbro is looking to save pennies anywhere possible. But longtime collectors feel strongly that they’re saving them from the wrong places. Simplified sculpts and minimal paint operations are the focus of this savings and collectors are growing weary as time moves forward. In the case of the Rebels Imperial Troop Transport, imagine an essentially hollowed out vessel with just a few interactive play features. This updated vehicle actually looks pretty good, but this is no “play thing” and we imagine that many will find it dull and boring for a toy. We might be wrong, but we’re willing to wager we’re not.

Let’s talk about some of the positives. As sad as this sounds, getting an all-new sculpted vehicle from Hasbro for 3.75” figures almost never happens anymore. As of this vehicle’s release we have four all-new sculpted vehicles from the Rebels line now. That is almost astounding if you put things in perspective of how terrible things have been with the Star Wars brand. Of course, no matter how good four new vehicles sound, this pales in comparison to what kids and collectors received in The Clone Wars lines. Still, it would be egregious to discount what Hasbro has done for the Rebels line thus far (in the case of vehicles). The Imperial Troop Transport does have some nice detailing. The outside of the vehicle is loaded with various textures to recreate the mechanical functions of the vehicle. It comes to you in three separate pieces. It is a very simple assembly and in seconds you have a complete Imperial Troop Transport. The hatch is extraordinarily long. You basically lift the entire “roof” of the vehicle to open up the cockpit and place a figure (or multiple figures) inside of it. The tooling on the interior of the vehicle is awesome actually, but it is the colorful decals that really bring it to life. (The decals are a HUGE pain in the butt to apply to the vehicle. FAIR WARNING!)

For us, the biggest disappointment on the Imperial Troop Transport are the faux wheels. In our opinion Hasbro couldn’t sink lower with this embarrassing tooling. First attempted with 2013’s SW [Y/AOTC] Republic Fighter Tank vehicle, Hasbro just added rounded half circles at the bottom of the vehicle so it could “glide” across most surfaces. It even worked with carpeting. But it looks ridiculous and the toy is of a very cheap and cost-effective method. We’re also disappointed the Imperial Troop Transport doesn’t have any front opening doors. Oh, and the cannon! Although it rotates, it is affixed in a permanent 45-ish degree angle. The Imperials better hope that all of their Rebel enemies fly in at that angle or they’re in big trouble. (Or maybe this is the reason they’re such bad shots.) The two front cannons have minimal articulation as well. They just slide left to right and back again. They too only provide partial coverage from the enemy. All this being said, it is still nice to get a modern update to the Imperial Troop Transport. Is it going to satiate your need fully for a modern update to the classic Kenner vehicles? Probably not. But this is the hand we’re dealt. Pass on it or support it, but be sure to vote on it one way or another.