While it didn't make it on to my original Last Jedi huntlist, the Force Link Resistance A-Wing has been calling my name ever since Force Friday II. It's great to see such an OT-inspired vehicle coming out in the 3 3/4" line, let alone one that pays a direct homage to Ralph McQuarrie's original concept art. Unfortunately, the $55.00NZ price tag made it a difficult purchase to justify for my otherwise character-centric collection. Last week, however, I finally bit the bullet when a $10 discount at Toys'R'Us brought it down to a much more reasonable $19.99US ($29.32NZ). And boy am I glad I did.
Put simply, this might be my favourite 3 3/4" vehicle release since Disney took over the Star Wars franchise. There are just so many reasons to love this set - first of which is the size. In an age of horribly under-scaled vehicles, this A-Wing bucks the trend with perfect dimensions. If any tiny tweaks to the sizing have been made, you'll need a side-by-side comparison with some reference photos to spot them. I'm also impressed with how sturdy this vehicle is. If under-scaling is the greatest scourge of Star Wars toys in this era, flimsy warping plastic comes in a close second. Not here, however. Everything about this build reminds me of those wonderfully durable vehicles of the Power of the Force line that filled my childhood. This is a ship that'll be able to take its fair share of play in the hands of children and adult collectors alike. It also features two spring-loaded missile launchers, but - unlike those horrible Nerf-firing monstrosities of 2016 - this playability does not come at the cost of aesthetics. The missiles are discretely placed within the laser cannons, so that the vehicle can still be displayed as a screen-accurate model.
My only real gripe with the A-Wing is its landing gear. There's one fold-down leg under the nose, while the rear of the ship instead sits on the tail fins. The overall look isn't too bad, but it would've been much improved by an extra pair of legs at the back. Sure, this would've added to the production cost - but maybe we could have had these instead of the completely unnecessary Force Link feature.
Every ship needs a pilot, so the A-Wing also comes with an exclusive pack-in figure - Resistance Pilot Tallie. Featuring the usual five-points-of-articulation, Tallie comes with a great sculpt and paint app. She's a little loose in the cockpit, but this can be remedied by some finagling of her pose. Unlike her Resistance Bomber comrade Paige, Tallie's helmet is unremovable. Fortunately, however, it features a transparent visor - not those dreadful banana-visors we saw on early waves of Force Awakens figures.
Given that an ordinary figure retails for $7.99, the inclusion of Tallie means that - with the current Toys'R'Us discount - the A-Wing will only set you back $12.00 more than the figure alone. That's a phenomenally good price for such an outstanding 3 3/4" vehicle. If you've been on the fence about this set, now's the time to go and pick one up!
