Hasbro Star Wars - The Power of the Force Gunner Station: TIE Fighter with Darth Vader Review

Hasbro Star Wars - The Power of the Force Gunner Station: TIE Fighter with Darth Vader — 

Produced in the interim period between the 1997 Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition re-release and the premiere of Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the Gunner Station series of toys was comprised of three sets featuring a 3.75-inch action figure and a partial recreation of a spacecraft's "business end," namely the two quad-laser mounts of the Millennium Falcon with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, and part of the cockpit of the  TIE Advanced x1 with Darth Vader.

Model: Custom Built "Bent Wing" Space Superiority Starfighter
Affiliation: Galactic Empire
Crew: 1 Pilot
Lenght: 9.2 Meters
Weapons: 2 Laser Cannons - from the package of Gunner Station: TIE Fighter with Darth Vader

The Gunner Station: Essentially, the Gunner Station: TIE Fighter with Darth Vader is merely a cutaway section of the TIE Advanced x1's cockpit; the "ball" has been removed from the rest of the fighter and the top has been removed, so all we have is the lower half of the cockpit with its pilot's seat, a moveable control stick, a rendition of Vader's targeting computer readout and instrument panel, plus the "spider web" front panel of the "nose" sans transparent plastic viewports.

On the bottom of the "cockpit ball" there's a single retractable "landing gear strut" that, when not being used to "re-enact famous Star Wars battle scenes from Darth Vader's TIE Fighter cockpit", serves as support for the toy to stand when on display mode.

The "ball" (or, more accurately, "half-ball") cockpit is attached to a grey-and-black handle-like gizmo with a gimbal device that allows one to mimic the wild maneuvers of a starfighter in combat. It resembles, more or less, a pistol grip and mates with the half-sphere just behind the triggers for the "laser cannon," which are green-tipped plastic missiles that can be launched by activating the spring-loaded mechanism.

Most of the detailing is molded/sculpted, including the Empire's iconic "spoked wheel" insignia, on the gray plastic, but some of it is rendered in decals or printed cardboard.

Weapons and Accessories:

Two Laser Cannon Missiles
Retractable Landing Gear

Visually, the Gunner Station: TIE Fighter with Darth Vader accessory is not bad-looking at all, considering it's not the entire vehicle, but it does have some irritating weak points.

Weak Point 1: The missiles. Whoever came up with this idea should have his or head examined. While I understand that this is, after all, a toy and not a model kit or a static display item, I really don't think it's a great idea to add spring-activated missiles to a child's toy. Not only does it make the toy less valuable as a collectible if one or both of the "laser cannon missiles" is lost or broken, but, even more important, it is a very dangerous feature. Remember the famous warning that adults utter to Ralphie in A Christmas Story when he says he wants a Red Ryder BB Gun for the holidays? Well, with this toy, if your Jedi Youngling wannabe says that he or she wants one of these, it might be a good idea for you to recite "You'll shoot your eye out!" when explaining to your child why he or she won't be getting one till he or she is 18 years old.

Weak Point 2: The "viewport" panel. To give the Gunner Station its distinctive TIE Fighter look, the folks at Hasbro include an attachable "spiderweb" front panel that simulates the transparisteel viewport from which TIE Fighter pilots, including the Dark Lord of the Sith, can get a restricted forward view of space and stuff while engaged in dogfights and strafing runs on Rebel targets. A nice touch this would be, as Yoda might say, if attached to the rest of the Gunner Station it would stay, but even when one follows the right pop-it-in-till-it-stays-put-in-its-recess procedure, the front panel has a tendency to fall off if even the slightest pressure is applied in the wrong spot. Worse still, the pegs that are supposed to mate with the rather shallow sockets on the front of the Gunner Station usually don't stay mated and can damage the label that simulates the TIE Fighter's nose panel cover.

Weak Point 3: The landing gear/gimbal features. Maybe if I were looking at this toy from a kid's perspective, this would be more of a Pro rather than a Con. I mean, the landing gear does retract, and the gimbal feature allows one to simulate twisting banks and other high-G flight maneuvers common in flight, and if the blasted cockpit front panel would stay put even adult collectors would enjoy actively playing with their Gunner Station. However, there's no "lock" mechanism to stabilize the gimbal so the cockpit doesn't move during casual handling or dusting, so placing the toy on a shelf, desktop, or other display surface is often tricky, especially when (a) Vader falls out of the cockpit and/or (b) the front "viewport" comes off.

The Figure: Although many figures based on Darth Vader have been issued since Kenner introduced the action figures in 1978, very few have the proper articulation points to pose the Dark Lord in a realistic position. Only two, as far as I am aware, have the requisite knee joints to "sit" Vader without making him look like he slipped on a banana peel and fell on his behind unexpectedly, and both figures - this one and the one with a removable helmet that comes with the Hasbro Complete Galaxy: Death Star with Darth Vader set.

The figure's sculpt and paint job are adequate enough; the detailing is better than that of the first Kenner figure from '78, but not quite as nicely done as figures made in later batches. The buttons and dials on his life support panel and belt look nice but not outstanding, and Vader's eye shields lack the subtle red tint added in subsequent figures, such as the one in 2002's Final Duel two-pack with Obi-Wan Kenobi. The only nifty details are that his hands are molded in such a way that they can grip the twin joysticks in the cockpit, and the cloth cape, which looks nice but requires careful handling so its not inadvertently detached from Vader's body.

Is this worth getting? Because Darth Vader is the central character of the six-film Star Wars saga, and because he's so popular, Vader collectibles are always, as the saying goes, in fashion. So, yes, if one is looking for a vintage Power of the Force: Gunner Station: TIE Fighter with Darth Vader in mint or near condition, it's a good idea to get this even though it has more than its share of flaws.