Hasbro Star Wars - Episode I: Sebulba's Pod Racer Review

It is said that in all of Mos Espa, there is no better pod racer than Sebulba. A member of the Dug species, Sebulba is feared by his competitors for his aggressive racing tactics and nerves of plastisteel. Sebulba's success is due much to the fact that he will do whatever necessary to win, even if it means resorting to dirty tricks. His high performance pod racer is packed with certain "illegal" modifications used to eliminate fellow racers. On Boonta Eve race day however, a young competitor named Anakin Skywalker will give the infamous Sebulba a run for his money. - From the package blurb

  I've been collecting Star Wars action figures and their various accessories for over 30 years, and like most fans of George Lucas' space-fantasy tale set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away," I have to say that the space and ground vehicles used throughout the saga make for the most interesting collectibles.

Although I prefer the space-crossing vehicles, I also have a veritable motor pool of land vehicles which play pivotal roles in Star Wars.

In the Prequel Trilogy, perhaps there aren't two more pivotal land vehicles than the Pod Racers used by Anakin Skywalker and his evil opponent, the Dug racer Sebulba, during the famous Boonta Eve Classic on Tatooine.

Sebulba's Pod Racer; Because I bought this as a "displayable" collectible and I am, at my age, a bit too old to actually play with Sebulba's Pod Racer, I can't vouch for its playability factor, though I'm sure that 8-11-year-old Jedi younglings would enjoy its bad-boy -- er, bad-Dug -- lines and hidden "illegal modifications."

Pros: Its distinctive head-on view gives the Pod Racer a look that reflects pure evil and a will to win at all costs reminiscent of Darth Vader's TIE fighter; viewed from the front, the two engine pods resemble a split-X lying on its side. The color scheme is orange and black, although Hasbro's factory has "weathered" the engines to give the vehicle the traditional "used" look George Lucas prefers in the movies. Sebulba's personal logo figures prominently on the engine pods.

To serve as both handheld support and stand, Hasbro's Sebulba's Pod Racer has a sturdy horizontal bar between the left and right engine pods. This support bar not only holds the two engines together and allows one to pick the Pod Racer without parts flying wildly in complete disorder, but it also has a spring-loaded button that activates a spring-out spinning blade, one of several weapons utilized by Sebulba in the course of the destiny-changing Pod race sequence. Press the button once, and the roto blade springs out. Press and release the button and the blade spins.

Weapons and Accessories :

•  Exclusive Sebulba figure
•  Roto Blade Springs out

Another nice feature that clinched my decision about buying this is the "exclusive" 3.75-inch Sebulba action figure.

When I started collecting Star Wars action figures in 1978, all of Kenner's vehicles came without any figures. Now, with rare exceptions (the Naboo fighter from Episode I comes to mind), most of Hasbro's Star Wars vehicles (including the 2003 TIE Bomber and revised TIE Fighter) come with at least one figure.

The weird-looking alien, like its Anakin Skywalker counterpart, is molded and posed exclusively to fit inside the vehicle. The good thing is that one doesn't have to go out and buy a $5.99 figure. The bad thing -- and I am writing this for moms and dads thinking about buying this Star Wars toy for play-minded kids -- is that the "driving" pose is permanent, so Sebulba looks pretty weird outside his cockpit cubbyhole.

Cons:: Because Anakin's Pod Racer came already decorated and didn't require more than the necessary assembly did, I wasn't ready for the sheer amount of labels that one must affix to Sebulba's Pod Racer. All the pinstripes and insignia, even a very tiny cockpit mirror, need a sticker. The process requires patience and nerves of steel, two attributes I sorely lack.

I had to ask someone else to do the decoration chore for me, and even though 99.9% of the labels are properly affixed, the cockpit mirror decal was so small that we lost it. (Note to Hasbro: Paint the detailing at the factory in China and ditch the labels, okay? The decals will eventually come off in about 15 years or so, depending on the weather or how much sunlight hits the toys, and they are a pain in the butt to affix.)

Another feature of concern for parents considering this as a gift for a young Star Wars fan is the pair of metal cables that connects the cockpit to the engine pods. They are metal, and if Sebulba's Pod Racer is played with too roughly, the pod parts might separate and the cables may also go "sproing!" Care must be taken not to hold the toy too closely to one's face; Hasbro has made sure the cables are not pointy, but metal is still metal and it can be potentially hazardous.

The vehicle also has small parts, which Hasbro warns may be choking hazards. This toy is not recommended for children under three (Hasbro's suggestion), and I'd strongly up that limit to maybe age eight