Technic Star Wars (part 1)

Way before the buildable figures, which I have very mixed feelings about, came the technic Star Wars figures.  These were released between 2000 and 2002 and I count 9 of them.  The buildable figures sometimes have some arm articulation (turn a cog on the back and the arm moves) but that is strictly it in terms of cleverness.  In contrast, the technic figures almost all do a range of really clever things via internal mechanisms. They also have a range of rare and unique part/colour combinations which is useful to have in the back pocket.

I've purchased them all over the years and as part of the Grand Deconstruct, am now taking them apart.  I did the C-3PO, R2-D2 and Jango Fett straight off and forgot to take photos.  However, a few thoughts are:

  • The 3PO model (8007) looks really good with all the metallic gold parts and stickers.  To date, I believe that this remains the only non-minifig version of C-3PO ever released.  The "clever thing" that this model does is fall apart.  Actually, it's all controlled by the stomach disk which if you push it in (or fire a rubber bullet at it from the storm trooper), the arms and head all detach.  It's pretty cook until you try to put it all back together again and realise how fiddly it is.  Nevertheless, I really like this one.
  • The R2-D2 model (8009) is a perfect companion to C-3PO with the head rendered quite nicely using hoses and tubes.  It's not quite as good looking as the C-3PO model but I like the mechanism better - the central leg snaps in and out as you tilt the body.
  • Jango Fett (8011) is possibly my least favourite of the series. The legs look really odd and I'm sure they could have done better.  The mechanism for this one is a rubber bullet that fires upwards if you bend Jango's body forwards.  It releases just about perfectly to hit you in the face if you start with the figure facing you.  Clever.

By the fourth set I took apart I was back on blogging form and took a photo: it's the pit droid (8000) which appears to be the very first one that was released. I like the design of this one - by its nature, it lends itself well to a technic model - and there are a couple of nice details such as the technic disk used as an eye.  In theory this one collapsed down onto itself but I think I must have built it wrong as I could never get it to fold down.  I'll have to try again one day, though I'll need new elastic bands as they've all fallen apart on this set.

The last set I'll talk about this time is the stormtrooper (8008) which is another of my less favourite models in the series.  This one really feels like a precursor to the buildable figures, with its arm motion and firing bullet (triggered by a lever on the shoulder).  The head is rendered surprisingly well for mostly technic parts but I still don't love it.

I'll talk about the other four sets in my next post...





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