Regular readers will know that I have a real soft spot for Galoob's old Micro Machines Action Fleet line. Sure, there's the sentimental attraction of these being the very toys I played with as kid. But I also believe that these were - and still are - the best line of Star Wars toys ever made available. Nowhere else have we ever seen a line that provides us with such a phenomenally diverse line of articulated figures and feature-packed vehicles and displayable environments and playsets. I was heartbroken when the line came to an end in 2002, and have spent the intervening years filling the many gaps in my childhood collection. One of the most glaring of these omissions was the Millennium Falcon. While two iterations of this vehicle were released (one single-packed, and one packed in a Toys'R'Us "Classic Duels" two-pack with a TIE-Interceptor) I'd never come across either in a brick-and-mortar store. My soon-to-be brother-in-law recently discovered this, and surprised me last weekend with a Falcon he had going spare!
Pulled from the Toys'R'Us two-pack, this version of the Falcon comes with Lando Calrissian and an Endor Rebel Commando instead of the usual pairing of Han and Chewie. I'm particularly rapt with this, as - while I already have a surplus of Han and Chewies in my Action Fleet collection - I can never have too many troopers. This particular trooper also happens to be the notorious bearded fellow who dons Scout Trooper armour during the Rebels' assault on the Endor bunker - and who also makes a perfect stand-in for a particular clone trooper captain from a certain animated Star Wars series.
A quick perusal of the images above should give you a clear indication of why I place this line of toys on such a pedestal. As well as the included display stand and two minifigures (both of which have articulated arms and legs), the Falcon itself comes with no less than eight action features: a firing missile between the forward mandibles, retractable landing gear, rotating laser cannons, a rotating and tilting communication dish, an opening cockpit that seats one minifigure, a retractable gunwell that seats another minifigure, an opening rear cargo bay, and an opening floor concealing a hidden 'smuggler's compartment'. All of this in a toy that, at its time of release, retailed for a mere $29.99NZ (or about twice the price of a Hasbro action figure). It might be a tired cliché to say "they don't make toys like they used to" - but in truth, they really don't...
