Rey’s Speeder (Jakku) - TFA - Vehicles (Class I) (Desert)

For quick transportation across the junk-strewn dunes of Jakku, Rey relies on her old salvaged speeder.

Despite the chaos of Force Friday and all of the problems surrounding the official launch of The Force Awakens product line, some good products did make their way out. Officially part of the new Class I vehicle assortment, Rey's Speeder (Jakku) may be the most recognizable toy on the market currently because of its prominent appearance in the very first The Force Awakens trailer. Things are different now. The mainline is all about “budget” quality action figures with the minimal amount of articulation possible. That’s fine, but when action figures for collectors are relegated to becoming store exclusives, well, let’s just say it puts a bad taste in our month. Although escalated in price, one area that hasn’t seem to suffer that much is the Class I vehicle assortment. In particular, Rey’s Speeder (Jakku) stands out as one of the best in the line thus far. Immediately billed “the fudgesicle” as soon as the trailer was released, many longtime Star Wars fans didn’t exactly know what to make of it. Subsequently, it obviously was on Hasbro’s radar to produce in the toy line immediately and behold, it was part of the first wave of Class I vehicles. But is it worth the $24.99 MSRP? Actually, we do feel you get your money’s worth here. Let’s find out why.

No matter the shortcuts taken in the basic figure line, Hasbro seemed to have save their tooling pennies for the Class I vehicle assortment. The detail on Rey's Speeder (Jakku) is beautifully executed. It looks like an upright landspeeder in all honesty. On the left side of the vehicle is some sort of cargo net which seems to house various things, whether it be junk or some of Rey’s most prized possessions. But above where the net hangs are clips for her staff. When affixed to these clamps, a new dimension of authenticity is born. Details in the mechanics of her speeder are also wonderfully designed. It’s for sure a simple vehicle, but wherever there was something noteworthy placed on the vehicle, Hasbro copied it onto the toy. Also, when unassisted, Rey's Speeder (Jakku) can stand up perfectly at a right angle which allows the speeder to appear as if its running allow a surface as it does in the film. We’re impressed with all of the sculpted details, but we’re also thoroughly impressed with the paint operations as well. Again, this vehicle has simple color, but it has been executed beautifully as well. We strongly feel that everyone who buys this Class I vehicle set will find favor with it. It’s that good.

The pack-in Rey (Jakku) action figure is surprisingly an all-new sculpt. In an age where every penny matters, we’re extremely surprised that Hasbro just didn’t take the body from 2015’s TFA Rey (Starkiller Base) (Build A Weapon) (Snow) figure and give it an all-new head. But because of the gloves and the need to tailor a Rey (Jakku) figure to be compatible with the Speeder, an all-new sculpt needed to be tooled from the ground up. As a result, the new Rey (Jakku) figure is out of scale with the Build A Weapon release. It may not be the end of the world for a kids’ line, but this sort of thing drives collectors a little bit mad. The figure itself looks a little bit wonky and unbalanced, the figure has a decent center of gravity despite this. Besides, she looks pretty cool situated on the speeder anyhow. We doubt that any collector will be placing her anywhere else besides the Speeder anyway. Oh, we neglected to mention something. One side of the Speeder has screws and the subsequent holes they create. This may disappoint you, but keep in mind this has always been a long-running problem with almost any vehicle Hasbro has made where two halves are secured together with screws. It’s just the nature of the beast.