Hasbro definitely doesn’t make enough vehicles for TVC.  If you check out our TVC Vehicle Menu, you’ll see that in TVC 2.0, we have a total of 18 vehicles that have been released or have been pipelined.  Of these 18, 3 are HasLabs.  Of the remaining 15, we have 2 repaints each of the OT X-Wing, AT-ST, and Slave I, along with 1 repaint each of the Millennium Falcon and TIE Fighter.  Of the remaining 7, 2 are speeder bikes which represent a barely noticeable change from the previous best release.  That leaves a total of 5 completely brand new vehicles available at retail since TVC 2.0 launched five and a half years ago.  Doing some rough maths, it looks like we barely get 1 new vehicle a year in TVC - the scale that became the greatest ever due to it’s ability to support world-building.  What’s even more frustrating is that these 5 vehicles are all works of art.  The Imperial Combat Assault Tank, Tatooine Skiff, Poe Dameron’s X-Wing Fighter, Imperial Troop Transport, and this N-1 Starfighter are all amazing.  So we know what is possible.  We just can’t seem to get MORE.

This release is pretty awesome.  Clearly a lot of care and thought went into this vehicle.  The first thing to notice is the general sculpt.  Hasbro went to great pains to match all the details and missing panels that you see on screen.  There’s a removable engine panel which can go on either engine.  Every nook and cranny is faithfully recreated.  There’s a blue ring inside the engine exhaust to help indicate the blue ignition flames.  The cockpit gets a tremendous amount of attention.  Just like the previous iteration of the Naboo Starfighter from 2012, the main canopy slides forward screen-accurately, but since it’s a bit tight, the entire cockpit flips open old-school style, to give open access.  The interior detailing is what you’d expect for both the controls and the seat.  As part of the cover, the separate droid socket is attached, so when you swing it open you get access to a neat little storage area.  Within this area, you can put most of the Din’s included weaponry, such as the Darksaber (which is ignited), the beskar spear, and the dagger.  There is also a slot to put Din’s Amban phase-pulse blaster (which is not included).  Once all the weaponry is stowed, you can lay in Din’s jetpack.  The only weapon that doesn’t have a slot is the blaster, which is okay because it fits in Din’s holster. 

The droid socket is also well-designed.  There are two different “adapter” buckets.  One has a peg hole so you can attach the included Grogu figure.  Then the clear plastic canopy fits into place to cover him and keep him safe from the vacuum of space.  Alternatively, the other bucket is shaped to accommodate a “build-a-droid” head.  While we wait for the pipelined TVC R5-D4, you could use any droid dome.  For the gallery above, I used the one from Jen Porkins’ astromech, R5-D8. 

In an interesting effort, this set also includes the Cryogenic Density Combustion Booster, which is the metal tube (kind of looks like the thing that Han and Leia used in the trash compactor) necessary for the straighter to operate.  In the restoration scene, Peli enlisted the help of a pair of Jawas to find one, which they did and then presented it to Din himself.  An interesting part to include here, but a nice little “Easter egg.”  The piece slides into the tail of the ship, and can be seen through some of the superstructure which is missing a panel.  Neat!

There are two different stands. One is all clear and is meant to balance the ship as it rests on the ground.  The other is a large The Mandalorian-branded base (similar to the one that came with The Razor Crest) allowing you to display in flight mode.  Unlike that permanently positioned stand, this one has a faceted ball shape, which allows you to pose the ship in various action flight angles.

Included is a carded and unpunched VC292 - The Mandalorian.  This is a minor kit-bash.  The base figure is the one from The Rescue set, with the difference being that it comes with the forearms of some other version, probably the one from the Razor Crest (which doesn’t have the slots for the whistling birds and flame thrower effects).  The figure isn’t 100% up to the most modern standards, as it still has the older style hips, and the rocker ankles aren’t executed perfectly.  But everything that makes the original figure(s) great is here.  The soft goods cape was a necessary inclusion in order for Din to fit inside the cockpit.  The accessories interact well with the hands.  It’s another opportunity to get a beskar spear, which you could give to the upcoming Morgan Elsbeth, even though that figure’s outfit is not sourced to The Mandalorian.  Strangely, there’s no Amban rifle, but as mentioned above, you there is a storage slot on the ship, should you choose to use one from a separate figure.  The included knife is a neat addition, but sadly there is no place on the figure to store it.  Fortunately you can keep it in the storage area on the ship itself.

A Grogu figurę is also included.  It’s barely a figure, but it does have a ball jointed head with very limited range of motion.  The arms are permanently reaching up and forward.  In his left hand is a sculpted shift knob from the wreckage of the Razor Crest.  Grogu has a peg hole on his foot, which plugs into the peg on the appropriate droid socket adapter.  When you put him together with the clear bubble canopy, he looks as intended:  banging the glass with the shift knob to get Din’s attention and demand that he uses the turbo boost engine again.  He’s cute, but super specific to this moment.

The ship is close to the same dimensions as the 2012 Naboo fighter, so it would seem that it’s the appropriate scale, or Hasbro would have taken the opportunity to update it here.  The paint applications are really nice.  There is a flat steel paint for the exposed structure, while the exterior panels have a shinier finish - although not quite to the level of the chrome that was present on the film version of the TPM-era Naboo Starfighters.

One of my favorite scenes in The Book of Boba Fett is when Peli Motto and Din Djarin restored the N-1 on the landing pad.  We have most of what we need to do a close approximation of the characters in the garage.  We’ve got Jawas, R5-D4 (with a new one coming), Gonk droids, treadwell droids, pit droids, and a BD unit (specifically, BD-1 from Cal Kestis).  The only thing we’re missing here is Peli Motto, which is a shame because she’s an important secondary character.  I feel the only shot at ever getting Peli at this point would be if Hasbro went nuts and decided to release the rickshaw that she rode into town during the Skorpanek attack. Yeah, not gonna happen.

This is a great release.  The ship is nearly flawless.  The Din figure is outstanding.  The included accessories and attention to detail are what we should be expecting from Hasbro.  The only real miss here was that it might have been the only opportunity to include a Peli Motto, but that would have raised the price another 20-25 bucks, most likely.  Perhaps they could have included, a few scurriers and a nest (those little rodents) that were crawling over the ship in the garage, but I’m not losing any sleep over that.  It’s great.  Get it.  10/10.