THE MANDALORIAN | GROGU New Kids Line
Epic Hero Series The Mandalorian's N-1 Starfighter
Item No.: No. F9950
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: 2 figures, 1 vehicle, cape, 2 projectiles
Action Feature: Launching projectiles, rotating engines
Retail: $34.99
Availability: July 2024
Appearances: The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian Season 3 Bio: The Mandalorian is a formidable bounty hunter in an increasingly dangerous galaxy. Grogu has chosen to follow the path of his protector, the Mandalorian, and continues to share adventures at his side. (Taken from the single figure packaging. Box has no bio.)
Image: Adam's photo lab.
Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!
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Commentary: Since this vehicle comes with two old figures and one new accessory, I'm lumping it all together - if you're an accessory completist, you'll need to buy all versions of these.
The Mandalorian is almost identical to
his single card release [FOTD #3,118] except the single card has a Darksaber and blaster, whereas the vehicle version trades them for a jetpack.
Grogu includes none of the accessories from his single carded release, effectively rendering him as an accessory. You can read those reviews for details, because Mando's got 5 joints, Grogu's got 3, and they're pretty good. The new jet pack is huge, and Mando can't wear it while in his vehicle - it's also incredibly oversized. I would have loved to see any minor change to either figure that might make me say "hey it's different!" beyond the accessories, but alas, it was not to be. They're both very nice figures and for what you get in the box, arguably a very good deal.
When Hasbro introduced Mission Fleet, I was agitated because I didn't want a new scale. If those were 3 3/4-inch vehicles I'd have gleefully bought them all, because I had no interest in a scale where Hasbro would lose interest within a few years. And they did. Now we have Epic Hero Series, and the
N-1 Starfighter is its first vehicle. Yes, first vehicle. It's not as big as
The Vintage Collection ship, but it's about $100 cheaper and the same size figures can fit inside. Just chew on that for a bit. It doesn't have the high level of paint detail, or the display stand, or removable engine parts, or on-board accessory storage either... but it's $100 cheaper. As collectors I really do feel we've lost our minds when it comes to accepting and demanding figures have a level of quality that demands that much of a price increase, but that's what we do. So instead, Hasbro made one for kids and wouldn't you know it, it's sturdy and a lot of fun. The details are not exact, as the spires coming off the back are a lighter gray, and nothing seems particularly metallic like that previous release. But that's OK, you get plenty of exposed mechanical bits and the size is such that you can cram
The Vintage Collection or
The Retro Collection figures inside without much fuss.
Functionally, it's about as good as a 1990s Kenner ship design with two firing rockets, seating for Mando and his son, and some nifty opening "boost mode" engines. The rockets fire nicely, and being bright green you can find them in the carpet. This toy reminds me a bit of Kenner's 1997 redesign of Darth Vader's TIE Fighter - which I believe was the first all-new Original Trilogy-specific vehicle we had at that point in the line. (There were other new vehicles for
Shadows of the Empire, everything else was derived from 1970s and 1980s toys.)
While the ship is more advanced than anything made by Kenner in the 1980s, it does work well with The Retro Collection figures. That Grogu is bigger than The Vintage Collection one but a tiny bit smaller than Epic Hero Series, so he has a little extra room. The same is true about Mando - you can get his Retro figure in the pilot's seat even with his jet pack molded to the back. If it were a true 1970s vehicle parts would probably come off. Fans of Retro, give this a look because five years in I doubt Hasbro is ever going to make vehicles for that segment.
Actual play features, on a nicely sized toy, at a price that would be expensive 20 years ago but dirt cheap by modern standards. If you value the figures at $10-$15, and consider the ship adjusted for inflation, this might be one of the best vehicle values we've ever had. There are no stickers, there's very little paint, but it looks right and it does stuff. I wish it came out to time with the show, but with any luck Hasbro can get a few years out of selling this one with new series and a movie. That might be hoping for too much. I wouldn't
necessarily recommend this package for the figures alone, but if you missed the figures I would strongly recommend it for the ship
with the figures. The last time we got a new "kid" vehicle was 2018 for
Solo: A Star Wars Story, and I think Hasbro should really consider making more ships at this price point because they're affordable and, in most cases, arguably as satisfying as the deluxe models for the average fan. It may not look like a tiny prop replica, but also, it's not priced like a tiny prop replica.
Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 3,160: August 6, 2024
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