'Star Wars' Collectibles & Toys Review: Hasbro 'Star Wars Saga/Micro-Machines Action Fleet: Republic Assault Ship'

-
Photo Credit: www.rebelscum.com (C) 2003 Hasbro, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)
In 2003, Hasbro, Inc. produced and released a series of die-cast metal-and-plastic replicas of some of the most famous space-faring vessels and land vehicles featured in the first two trilogies of George Lucas's Star Wars saga. Sold as part of Hasbro's Micro-Machines product line and with the Star Wars Saga livery, the 2003 Action Fleet collection consisted of 15 space vessels or multi-vehicle and creatures sets. 

 The Republic Assault Ship (aka the Acclamator-class transport) is one of the six space vessels and land vehicles that represent the Prequel Trilogy. It is an N-scale metal-and-plastic replica of a Republic military transport vessel that was tasked to carry 16,000 clone troopers and their equipment to trouble spots all over the galaxy during the Clone Wars.

 Like the Venator-class Republic attack cruiser/Star Destroyer, the Acclamator-class is wedge-shaped, heavily armed, and designed to participate in large-scale naval operations to preserve the Republic and take the battle to the Separatists that are threatening the peace and security of the Galactic Empire. But while the Venators are designed for space control and ship-to-ship combat, the Acclamators are tasked with landing ground-pounders to take enemy-held real estate from the Separatists and hold it.

 Though the Acclamator assault ship does not carry its own wing of starfighters, it is not a mere defenseless people-mover. It is heavily shielded and armored, and has weapons for both self-defense and fire support for its complement of Grand Army of the Republic clone troopers. 

 Per the Action  Fleet Republic Assault Ship's Technical Specifications file (found on the product packaging): 
  • Size: 762 Meters Long; 460 Meters Wide (Including Wingspan), 200 Meters Deep (With Landing Gear)
  • Speed: 3500 G (Maximum Acceleration in Open Space)
  • Capacity: 700 Crew, 16,000 Clone Troopers and Support Personnel, 320 Speeder Bikes, 80 Republic Gunships, 48 AT-TEs, 36 Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Pieces
  • Weapons: 12 Quad Turbolaser Turrets, 24 Laser Cannons, 4 Missile/Torpedo Launch Tubes
My Take

Photo Credit: Don Mero, Star Wars Action Fleet.Fr. (C) 2003 Hasbro, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)


Although I have striven to focus my Star Wars collecting purchases on either the original 3.75-inch scale action figures and other Kenner/Hasbro toys made for them or the newer Black Series 6-inch scale action figures, sometimes I get items that don't fit this criterion. Sometimes it's by choice; I love Darth Vader's Super Star Destroyer Executor, so when I saw that there was a miniature model of it with a nice display stand at a now-closed Miami Toys R Us, I bought it.  

Most of the time, though, friends and loved ones give me Star Wars-derived toys and collectibles as birthday and Christmas presents; that's how I acquired my Action Fleet Republic Assault Ship. 

I have many replicas of Star Wars space vessels and starfighters, but most of them are derived from the Classic Trilogy (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. I only have a handful of Prequel era vehicles in my collection; Republic Assault Ship is one of those. 

Considering that it's a relatively small vehicle - they don't call these toys Micro-Machines for no reason - the Republic Assault Ship is a reasonably well-designed replica. It resembles an Empire-era Star Destroyer with the pointy end of the bow snipped off, although the conning tower at the rear of the ship is smaller and more compact than its linear descendant's. Also, due to the small size of the replica, you can't see any of the fine details of the Acclamator's defensive/offensive armament. 

The Republic Assault Ship replica comes with a display stand that you can set the ship on if you choose to take it out of its packaging. I haven't done so yet; my Star Wars room is still a work in progress, so I'm going to wait until all the shelves are up before opening the Action Fleet packaging - which takes up more space than I would like - and displaying it like in the photo above.

All in all, this isn't my favorite collectible, but it's not a bad rendition of a ship that was featured in Attack of the Clones and several episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How many movies have been made based on Stephen King's 'It'?

-
Image
How many movies have been made based on Stephen King's It ? It  has been adapted twice for filmed audio-visual media. The first filmed version of  It was a TV limited series; the second was a duology of theatrically-released movies.  The first adaptation of Stephen King’s 1986 doorstop of a novel was a 1990 adaptation made as a two-part ABC miniseries for television. Among the cast members: Tim Reid, Harry Anderson, Annette O’Toole, John Ritter, and Richard Thomas. The miniseries also featured Tim Curry as the evil Pennywise the Clown. Adapted for television by director Tommy Lee Wallace and Lawrence D. Cohen (who also adapted King’s  Carrie  for director Brian De Palma in 1976),  It  was okay but a watered-down take on the scary novel about a group of friends who must face off against a monstrous entity known as “It” twice. Once as kids in 1960, then again as adults in 1990. (Like  11,22.63,  the TV version of It avoids the year 1958, which is where parts of  11/22/63 
Read more

Talking About Tom Clancy's 'Ryanverse': Was Jack Ryan a Republican or a Democrat?

-
Image
Harrison Ford starred in two Jack Ryan films. © 1992 Paramount Pictures On Quora, member Maya Lachman asks: Was Jack Ryan a Republican or a Democrat? My reply: If you’re talking about Tom Clancy’s iconic character John Patrick Ryan, Sr., he is depicted in the novels as being Republican, especially in most of the books that follow 1991’s  The Sum of All Fears. In the early Jack Ryan novels ( The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, The Cardinal of the Cardinal, Clear and Present Danger,  and  The Sum of All Fears ), Ryan works his way up the ranks in the Central Intelligence Agency, starting out as a recently-recruited analyst and rising all the way to Deputy Director (Intelligence), or DDI. During his time at CIA, Ryan doesn’t have much to say about politics (except in the context of U.S.-Soviet relations, in which case he is obviously a Cold War Republican), but his pre-CIA resume includes a stint as a Marine Corps lieutenant, a successful stockbroker who, despite
Read more

Movie Review: 'PT-109'

-
Image
In June of 1963, five months before the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Warner Bros. released director Leslie Martinson’s  PT-109 , an adaptation of Robert J. Donovan’s non-fiction book  PT-109: John F. Kennedy in World War II.   Starring Cliff Robertson ( Charly, Spider-Man ) as Navy Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy and co-starring Ty Hardin, James Gregory, Robert Culp, Robert Blake, Norman Fell and even an uncredited George Takei (Hikaru Sulu of  Star Trek: The Original Series ), the film is a fairly accurate depiction of JFK’s naval service in the South Pacific as the commander of a motor torpedo boat given the Navy pennant number PT-109 (the PT standing for the Navy ship designator “Patrol Torpedo”).  Although Hollywood had made movies in which former Presidents (either living or dead) were depicted, producer Bryan Foy, under the direct guidance of Warner Bros.' head of production Jack Warner (who, in turn, was influenced by Joseph P. Kennedy, a f
Read more