When I was a kid, the Biker Scout was my favorite figure.  I thought the trooper was the coolest looking design in all of Star Wars, and I loved the Kenner figure.  It was more realistic than the stormtrooper or snowtrooper, with a major reason probably because the head could turn.  But I also thought it was awesome that the trooper had his own ride.  The speeder chase on Endor was one of the most thrilling scenes at the time, and I couldn’t wait to get the Kenner version.  The only problem was, the toy was the first time that my parents made me buy it with my own money.  Now, at the age of 10, “my own money” was a very advanced financial concept.  Of course, I collected money via an allowance which was some small weekly stipend gifted to me for no real reason.  It was something like a dollar a week.  And the Kenner toy was like $5.99, an incredibly exorbitant sum that was going to take a lifetime to save.  So I negotiated with my parents so I could do extra tasks around the house, like wash the dishes or fold the laundry for an extra 25 cents per occurrence.  With my parent’s assistance in navigating the wizardry of high finance, I would constantly calculate and re-calculate the amount of work I would have to do and the exact day on which I would earn the necessary amount to make the purchase.  I had my “Stare Book” in my pocket at all times.  Said book was the little booklet that came inside the packaging of other Star Wars toys advertising newly released items, and I would practically drool over the picture of the speeder bike.  This was the 70’s version of Hasbro’s Livestream events.  It was the only way to learn about the latest awesomeness that I would soon be able to find in the “Wall of Toys” at Toys R Us or Child World.  The day finally came, and my parents drove me to the store, where I made my first ever purchase with my own money.  And it was one of my prized possessions for a few months until I forgot about Star Wars for 15 years.  But it was a lesson that stuck with me, as even today, I continue to buy Star Wars toys with my own money.

In 2012, during the waning days of TVC 1.0, Hasbro began systemically annihilating the 3.75” line by repeatedly and mercilessly confusing the crap out of fans and casual collectors with constant packaging changes and reduction in articulation and realism in the toys.  This bleak period is widely known now as The Dark Times.  There were a few bright spots, nevertheless.  Despite the confounding packaging and name of the “Movie Heroes” line, which was either a concurrent line, a sub-line, or the successor to the poorly conceived TPM 3D line, we did get an outstanding Speeder Bike and Scout Trooper.  The bike itself was the best one to date, and included a supercool clear, adjustable “flight” stand, as well as a partially re-tooled biker scout that surpassed previous versions.  The bike was very well sculpted and contained some great details, while the figure, while not perfect, had some elements that were ahead of it’s time, most notably the barbell neck, and the not too common at the time ball jointed hips.  Along with a nicely hidden ball jointed chest (due to the unique nature of the biker scout torso armor), these details allowed the figure to sit perfectly hunched forward on the bike.  The bike also had adjustable handlebars, and foot pegs on the pedals, so the figure and biker were a perfect fit.  In 2012, there was really nothing to complain about, other than maybe some collectors having difficulty finding one. 

So in 2023, I just purchased (with my own money) the TVC Speeder Bike & Scout Trooper.  And it’s a disappointment.  It’s certainly not terrible, and has it’s good points, but it should have been executed very differently.  The main issue, as we’ve all discussed over the past few months, is that Hasbro dedicated new tooling to the bike, and only made a few changes to the existing Scout Trooper figure.  The short answer is that Hasbro should have swapped the effort.  They should have kept the bike, and gave us an all new figure.  My guess, based on zero actual knowledge, is that they had to re-do the bike because they don’t have the original tooling.  And this was a must for the 40th of ROTJ, and necessary to complement the other Endor-themed items like the Shield Bunker and AT-ST. Again, I don’t actually know this to be true, but I can’t think of another logical reason why funds would go to replacing a perfectly good 2012 bike, instead of the now inadequate figure.

The new bike is nice, although some things I’m sad to see gone.  The handlebars are no longer adjustable.  And perhaps most importantly, the foot pegs are gone from the pedals.  Along with a few minor updates, the biggest change addressed the most common complaint about the original bike.  The flight stand, which was a great innovation, was definitely too tall.  This one is a completely updated design, giving you 3 different heights to choose from, and the ball joint that attaches to the bottom of the bike allows for nearly unlimited amounts of tilt or angles, to give a lot of display options.  This alone almost makes up for the aforementioned handlebar and pedal changes.  ALMOST.

The figure is retooled, to include 2 important upgrades.  The helmet is much better proportioned.  Gone is the pinhead helmet, replaced with a realistically scaled version that looks fantastic.  Also new are rocker ankles, which at this point, should be a requirement on almost every figure these days.  Those were two important design choices that Hasbro gets credit for.  However, aside from the neck, torso, and ankles, the rest of the articulation is outdated - to include the previously mentioned hips which were a cut above back in 2012.  The wrists swivel at the top of the glove and the elbows and knees barely reach 90 degrees.  The hands are also oddly shaped, and aren’t great and convincingly gripping the handlebars.

The figure is a little wonky and off-center.  Maybe it was just me being me, but I had a tough time posing the figure the way I wanted for the photographs, so I was frustrated to the point where I didn’t want to make the effort to do any detailed diorama shots.  I think a little is due to laziness, I admit, because I don’t feel like setting up the same scenery for the eventual bunker and AT-ST.  So maybe when I have all 3, I’ll make the effort.

The good news is that this is a nice looking set, with some improvements over the 2012 version.  The bad news is that the shortcomings are strange and upsetting.  The $45 price tag isn’t particularly endearing either, but this is the world we live in now.  So it’s nice that Hasbro is giving us multiple products to celebrate ROTJ40.  Sadly, I think the lack of new tooling budget is going to be a recurring theme that throws a bit of a wet towel over that celebration.  I don’t hate this set, but I don’t love it either.  I give it a 7.  It should have been better.