B-wing Fighter - POTJ - Vehicles (Exclusive)

Combining heavy firepower with versatility, the B-wing assault craft played a significant role in the Rebel Alliance's attack on the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi. Diving in from all angles, the B-wings used their power and precision to initiate devastating fire-linked ion cannon and proton torpedo strikes against the Imperial armada. With the B-wing's agility and the collective firepower of the entire Rebel assault fleet, the Alliance prevailed by destroying the Death Star and toppling the evil Empire.

The Power Of The Jedi line offered many “firsts” to Star Wars collectors. Whether it was true “never before offered” action figures and/or vehicles or the first modern update to a classic Kenner vehicle, the line provided so much goodness that it was hard to keep up with it all. The first modern interpretation of the B-wing Fighter, a vehicle exclusive to Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi, was also offered in the Power Of The Jedi line and frankly it will likely remain the best version ever. Not too much new was brought to the table with this release save for some drastic deco differences. Like most modern takes on the classic Kenner vehicles, Hasbro has stripped out all of the electronics. This is fine for many collectors, but others like keeping everything that was offered with the original 1984 classic toy intact. But with age, electronics can fail, batteries can leak, and let’s be honest. The sound effects added to these toys really aren’t accurate. They’re more of a novelty than anything else. Many of the same features of the 1984 Kenner release have been carried forward, but that should make collectors happy, not disappointed. Besides, there are more important things that sets the 2001 POTJ B-wing Fighter apart from its ancestor. Let us count the ways.

First and foremost, the new B-wing Starfighter has obviously been retooled in order to remove the electronics. As a result, the vehicle gets an all-new date stamp. While we imagine that there have been some other changes made to the vehicle’s hull, we cannot itemize them as they’re negligible to the human eye or not obvious enough for us to notate. But most importantly, the B-wing Fighter has received an all-new paint scheme. The guns are more blue than gray this time around, and the body of the B-wing Fighter is more bright white. The updated colors are important because Hasbro also gave the B-wing Fighter tons of scratches, scrapes, blaster marks and smoke accumulation across the entire vehicle (including the pre-applied decals)! The B-wing Fighter has what we feel one of the greatest paint jobs a Star Wars vehicle has ever received. Seriously. The decorative aspect of the B-wing Fighter is plain stunning. You could probably spend hours looking at all of the detail the battle-damage markings bring to the vehicle’s character and overall presence. We are truly wowed by how awesome these details make the B-wing Fighter appear. It just goes to show that carefully planned toy collectibles can impress if done right.

We are also happy about the [Unique] Sullustan Pilot pack-in figure that Hasbro also included with the B-wing Fighter. (They made sure to qualify his as “unique” for this release. And there is good reason for that.) Although just a repaint of the Ten Numb figure from 1999’s POTF2 Rebel Pilots Cinema Scenes multipack, Hasbro has ensured that the figure looks more like the character in the reference stills and/or deleted scenes (as this character did not appear in the final version of Return Of The Jedi). In particular, the Sullustan Pilot (we’re not sure why Hasbro didn’t name him Ten Numb for the B-wing Fighter release) now sports black gloves and has received a tremendous update with the paint operations for the portrait (and other parts as well). While still simply articulated, he can fit inside of the cockpit beautifully and has a thinner frame so he fits in with the rest of the figures from the Power Of The Jedi line just fine. A TARGET exclusive, the B-wing Fighter retails for $34.99. This isn’t a bad price for larger-sized Star Wars vehicle and a unique pack-in figure. Rumor has it that this was made in large quantities, but no one really knows what that means and exactly what the production numbers are. But one thing is certain. You should own this. It’s the best B-wing Fighter you will ever find.