Hot Wheels Commemorative Series Return of the Jedi Speeder Bike

Last Christmas, my wife surprised me with the entire first wave of the highly sought-after Hot Wheels Commemorative Series starships. The second wave is yet to turn up in brick-and-mortar stores here in Australia, but thanks to a recent Amazon order from the US I was able to get my hands on the first vehicle from that wave: a Return of the Jedi Speeder Bike.

Although he looks great straight out of the box, I gave him the same Citadel Nuln Oil treatment I gave to the first wave. It's a simple customisation, but one that makes all of the tiny little details stand out even more.

Also included is another piece of the die-cast Death Star. This time around, its the superlaser - now making my battle station fully armed and operational!

It's gratifying to have rounded out the first two trilogies in this line. Now it's time to hunt own the final three vehicles! 

Hot Wheels Commemorative Series Wave 1 Vehicles

My completionist nature means I'm loath to start collecting entirely new lines of Star Wars collectibles. That's why - despite my obsession with miniature Star Wars vehicles - I've largely avoided delving into the new Hot Wheels starship line. My wife knows my strange collecting idiosyncrasies better than anyone, however, so surprised me this Christmas with the first wave of the Hot Wheels Commemorative Series - a limited line that's very satisfyingly capped at only nine vehicles.

The Commemorative Series features one iconic vehicle from each of the films in the Skywalker Saga. This first wave covers episodes I through V, and includes a Naboo Starfighter from The Phantom Menace, a Republic Attack Gunship from Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan Kenobi's ETA-2 Jedi Starfighter from Revenge of the Sith, Darth Vader's TIE Fighter from A New Hope, and Boba Fett's Slave I from The Empire Strikes Back. Each vehicle is painted in a gorgeous uniform silver, and comes atop a sturdy transparent display stand that bears the symbol of the ship's main affiliation.

While I loved the metallic finish, I couldn't help but think that a quick wash (a la Micro Machine's Collectors Edition line from the 90s) would really help the details pop. With that in mind, I went ahead and hit each vehicle with some Citadel Nuln Oil. You can compare the before and after below:

To unify the series, each vehicles also comes with a single piece of the Death Star that - when combined with the rest of the vehicles in this line - allows you to build a surprisingly hefty model of this technological terror. With the first wave in hand, my battle station is now 5/9ths of the way complete.

The inclusion of this bonus Death Star provides additional impetus to collect the full line of these vehicles - and that's what I'll be trying to do over the coming weeks (and months). Wave 1 was really only available via limited online retailers here in Australia, and Wave 2 (covering episodes VI through IX) is proving even scarcer. I do love the challenge of the hunt however, so stay tuned for updates!