The Geonosian Starfighter had one major scene in Attack of the Clones, and that was enough to warrant a toy from Hasbro.  These days a vehicle has to have achieved iconic status and be recognizable by 9 out of 10 humans in order to even have a shot at non-Haslab production, unless it’s a straight repaint of an existing mold and it’s the subject of a major fan petition.  But in 2002, as soon as AOTC hit theaters, it was a foregone conclusion that this was going to be made at some point soon.  Hasbro teased fans for a year, until they decided to put this out under the packaging of the Clone Wars sub line, which was more or less intended to bring us figures and toys inspired by the Genndy Tartakovskly micro series, as well as some characters and vehicles that didn’t make it out in time for the AOTC Saga push in 2002.  Such is the case for the Geonosian Starfighter.

The vehicle is simple and didn’t do a ton on screen other than fire a few blasts from a laser cannon, although this was enough for it to down a mighty republic gunship, so it is not to be underestimated.  The toy is pretty much loyal and accurate to the screen rendition.  It has the signature organic design that denotes its Geonosian aesthetic.  There is a spring-loaded central missile, along with a feature that deploys 2 hidden missiles on either side of the ship.  There is no retractable landing gear, but 3 strategically placed nubbins on the underside of the ship allow it to balance perfectly on your shelf.

The starfighter includes a translucent yellowish (by design, not due to aging) canopy that opens to reveal a (too) spacious cockpit allowing for the included pilot figure to be seated.  In an example of a well thought out interactivity feature, the dashboard has a small hole that allows you to plug in the hose from the pilot’s face mask.

On the downside, Hasbro opted to make soft rubbery tips for the double-decker nose cones on the leading edges of the ship.  Over time, as you can see by the photos, they tend to droop a bit.  This must have been a safety consideration, but I resent Hasbro trying to force me to be safe.  I’m a responsible adult, and don’t need to be told what to do.  [Editor’s Note:  He’s still mad we took away his nunchucks.]

As for the pilot, it looks kinda cool, but it’s a terrible figure by today’s standards.  It is a unique sculpt, and an upgrade from the original 2002 release of the standard warrior figure.  This one sports a sculpted pilot mask with the aforementioned hose that plugs into the vehicle dashboard, but otherwise hangs down on it’s own.  The pilot has 6 POA, as it added a ball jointed torso to the the then-standard 5POA figure.  There were a ton of Geonosians released from 2002 through 2013, and each one got a little better until we ended up with an excellent super-articulated version, although it still couldn’t be fully hunched over when walking, as in the films - a similar problem exists with all Grievous figures, but that’s a separate discussion.  This one serves just fine sitting in the cockpit, as intended, or standing in the background of a hive diorama.

It’s a shame this vehicle will likely never again see market.  It’s probably not in high demand, but Ebay prices often put it in the $50-$60 range.  It would be neat if it could see limited re-release in a mini-rig price-range, if Hasbro were to ever do such a thing again.  As Chris (apparently) discussed during one of his guest podcast appearances recently, the line is sorely lacking in low-to-mid priced vehicles.  It seems the floor is $100 for an X-Wing.  Hopefully that changes sometime before I die.  As it stands, I would need 2 starfighters to satisfy a proper setup of Dooku’s escape, and I only have this one.  My life feels somewhat incomplete.