Between its two iterations, the Vintage Collection has been going on for so long that we’re now on our second release of the iconic Landspeeder. The first one came out in 2011 as a Target exclusive.  Some have said that release was all new, but I swear I can see aspects of that tooling that feel like it stretches back all the way to the vintage Kenner Landspeeder.  This 2025 release is all new tooling.  But is it necessary?  Let’s dive in.

Landspeeder:

The Kenner Landspeeder was the first vehicle I acquired when I was a kid.  I still remember paying for it with my own money.  Even though I was five, going on six, I had managed to get my hands on a fiver.  I don’t remember the event that awarded me those five bucks.  I assume it was gift for my first communion, a good report card, or because my uncles paid me to say curse words to my grandmother (they really did this, and I would get my mouth washed out with soap just like in A Christmas Story).  The price written on the Kenner box in grease pen was four dollars and change, but when I handed that five dollar bill to the cashier, I didn’t get any change.  That was the day I learned about sales tax.  It traumatized me so badly that I now live in sales-tax-free New Hampshire. 

One thing I liked about my first Landspeeder was the pegs on the back of the seats that could be used to keep C-3PO and R2-D2 firmly in place as you zoomed the speeder across the floor.  Side note:  that peg eventually broke off in the foot of my C-3PO figure.  I swear this also happened to most of my friends.  [Editor’s Note: It’s an unimaginable tragedy when pegs break off in so many of your friends’ feet.]  I wonder how many vintage 3PO’s are out there with Landspeeder pegs in the feet.  When you’re an idiot kid, you don’t realize that the passenger configuration is inaccurate (especially since there was no home viewing of Star Wars at the time).  3PO wasn’t seated with his legs straight out, and R2’s dome was facing forward, not backward.  Fast forward nearly 50 years, and Hasbro, at the behest of the community, has been striving for more and more on-screen accuracy with every updated release.  Enter the 2025 Landspeeder.

If there was one thing that makes upgrading the 2011 release worthwhile it’s that 3PO can finally sit accurately with his legs tucked behind Luke’s seat.  I’ve always displayed my 2011 Landspeeder parked outside the Cantina unoccupied with Wioslea giving it a once over.  This 2025 release will now take its place outside the Mos Eisley watering hole.  However, I was so thrilled as I set up the fully occupied speeder for the “roadblock” photo above, that I’m definitely going to get a second to display with all four passengers.  I do have to admit that I was initially a little disappointed with the way 3PO has to sit on the back of this speeder.  The well where his legs go is “tubbed” out with sloping sides.  This means there is no room for his feet to dangle straight down, and he has to sit slightly side-saddled.  I should learn not to question the design team in 2025.  As I watched the roadblock scene for reference, I was shocked to see that C-3PO is sitting, you guessed it, slightly side-saddled.  His legs are twisting to his left (our right) with his knees almost in the middle of the vehicle.  I suspect this tubbed well is accurate to the actual prop (to which Hasbro presumably had access).  Again, I feel that this feature alone makes this a worthwhile upgrade.

I had actually been interested in an updated Landspeeder for another reason.  Like the original Skiff, I hated how badly the figures were crammed into the cockpit of all prior releases.  For a second time, I was initially disappointed because there is no more room in the 2025 release than its predecessor (they’re roughly the same dimensions).  Once again, watching A New Hope for reference proved the version of the Landspeeder in my head doesn’t match reality.  The actors are likewise crammed into the passenger compartment.  When they get to the Cantina, they are shoulder to shoulder.  Alec Guinness actually has to lean over to his left so that Mark Hamill can jump out.  It’s a tight squeeze in reality:

In a refreshing reversal of a recent trend, the paint detailing on this new release blows away the earlier version.  All of it.  The grime on the hood, the damage, the detail in the cockpit, and the detail on the exposed thruster are light years ahead of the 2011 version.  The additional paint applications and sculpt details on the center console really stand out to me.  2011 feels close to a toy, and this feels closer to a replica.  Another upgrade over the TVC 1.0 Landspeeder is the working hood (or bonnet if you use extra “u’s” in certain words).  I really love that it’s a shaker hood with a cut out to expose part of the engine.  Another thing to note is that the steering wheel actually turns.  This is really cool because as Luke approaches the roadblock, he yanks the wheel to the left, and it can be recreated here. The problem is that my lobster-cracking man-hands can’t possibly get the figure’s right hand onto the controls.  It would have been nice if the windshield were removable to make it easier to pose Luke in the driver’s seat.  Maybe it is, but I wasn’t going to risk breaking it to find out.

Finally you will notice that the 2011 release is much more orange.  This may or may not be accurate based on your perspective.  This 2025 update seems to faithfully recreate the color scheme of the “driving” prop that was seen on-screen when Landspeeder was in motion.  But there was another non-driving speeder prop used in a lot of the closeups that does appear to have a more orange appearance (as do the CGI inserts in the Special Edition).  So it’s really up to your own personal tastes as far as the color pallet goes.  Overall, I am very happy with this upgrade to the Landspeeder.  It’s easy for me to call it a 10 out of 10 and definitive.

VC344A - Luke Skywalker (Tatooine)

This is a slight retool and repaint of VC344 - Luke Skywalker which is one of my favorite figures of the year.  It also comes with a lot more accessories, hence the “deluxe” card back.  It’s packed with the same droid caller, saber, and unlit hilt that VC344 includes, but adds the macrobinoculars, poncho, floppy hat, and additional pouch to the accessory count.  The load out of Luke’s utility belt changes throughout the first act of A New Hope.  VC344 basically matches Luke after his journey is set in motion when he attempts to track down the runaway R2-D2. The additional accessories with VC344A allow you to recreate the earlier scenes on the Lars homestead.

To facilitate sitting in the Landspeeder, this Luke employs a softgoods lower tunic.  It’s not as aesthetically pleasing as the vinyl tunic on VC344, but it makes fully extending the legs straight forward a breeze.  Because the belt and lower tunic were one piece on VC344, a new utility belt had to be tooled for this release with an additional peg hole for the included long pouch which Luke wears around the homestead. I think this separate belt looks more realistic than on VC344, so that buys back a few aesthetic points lost with the softgoods.  A big upgrade comes with the sand wash over the wraps off the lower legs.  This brings out the details of the sculpt a lot more than the all white paint apps on the main line release.  There is also a dark wash over the hair.  This helps break the “LEGO hair” illusion that was present on the original release, but I’m not sure slightly darkening the hair is a step in the right direction for accuracy.  Finally, the photo real paint application around the eyes is slightly different.  I don’t know what it is exactly, but the eyes seem less “vacant” now.

I’m sticking with the 9 out of 10 score that I originally gave to VC344.  Please consult that review for the reasoning.  I (along with many others) had been campaigning for a new ANH Luke for a while.  One of the arguments I made is that Hasbro could get a second “deluxe” release out of it by including all the accessories, so I’m happy this has arrived, but I’m disappointed that it’s firewalled behind a $60 vehicle.  I would like to be able to buy a few more of these more economically.