Here’s another vehicle from Hasbro for the TFA line.  It was released on Force Friday 2015, complete with a Finn pack-in figure.  It was casemates with the First Order Snowspeeder.  So how does it compare?

It turns out, after some input from 80sRobot, that the Snowspeeder did actually make the cut and can be seen in the final film; a few frames leftover from a deleted chase scene.  So that vehicle qualifies as “real.”  In the case of the Desert Landspeeder, there is a Wookieepedia entry for “Jakku Raider Speeder”.  This vehicle may have been present in a few frames in the background as Rey and BB-8 enter Niima Outpost.* Interestingly, the box art shows two characters, which resemble some of Unkar Plutt’s thugs, lending creedence to this being that same raider speeder in the film.  For some reason, Hasbro opted to include a jacket-less Finn figure, instead of one of the raiders depicted on the box. 

The toy itself is actually pretty neat.  It has kind of a Mad Max-ian feel to it.  A heavily modified dune buggy-esque landspeeder, complete with a front cannon and a rotating turret. The toy is actually fairly well executed.  It’s more “fun” than the Snowspeeder, because of the rotating turret, which works nicely.  The Finn figure can fit in the driver’s seat, and grip the steering wheel, or he can stand in the turret, grip the weapon, and spin 360 degrees with no problem.  The seats aren’t that roomy, so when I tried to fit in Unkar’s Thug or Sarco Plank, I had a hard time.  The detailing and paint are very good as a base, but I wish there was a lot more (any, actually) weathering and damage.  For a vehicle “built from scavenged parts that was then customized to survive harsh desert terrains, it seems awfully clean and well maintained.  Some grease, carbon scoring, or a missing panel or two would have done wonders for the aesthetic.

The figure is about as simple as you can get, but does its (boring) job as a 5POA figure.  You’re certainly not going to buy this for the pack-in figure.  As said, it’s the wrong figure according to the box art, but it does serve a purpose as Finn was in this outfit briefly in the film.  It would have been better if he came with a removable coat that he could carry, but that would seem to be something better suited for a premium figure.

The vehicle is over-priced.  For a small speeder that isn’t recognizable from the film to most people, $30 is a bit much to pay for a glorified mini-rig.  At least it has some value as a decent background display piece, like as part of Randy’s awesome Niima Outpost diorama.  The rotating turret feature is decent.  This is really a $20 toy, max.  It would have been more appealing if it was weathered, and came with one of the Jakku aliens.  I could have given it a 6, like the snowspeeder, but it gets a 5 for missed opportunities.  Still worth a look if you can find it at a reduced price.

*EDIT:  80sRobot comes through with this screenshot of the speeder in the background, as described.