I may be yelling a lot by the time this review is over, so just be ready.  The Jawa Sandcrawler was certainly an iconic piece of Star Wars lore.  It was really the first thing we see on screen that immersed us into that famous “lived in” look.  Unlike the Tantive IV, which had a gleaming white interior, the Sandcrawler was a large and oddly shaped block of rust, dirt, and grease, along with everything inside it.  The vehicles were leftover from mining days on Tatooine long ago, and were eventually occupied by various Jawa clans and used for safety and mobility.  The Jawas themselves would probably telly you that just like Volvos, sandcrawlers are boxy, but good.  We see Sandcrawlers twice in the films.  Once, of course, in ANH, and then as a bit of an easter egg, a couple appeared in a quick shot in AOTC, when Anakin is looking for his captured mother.  There you could see them lit up from the inside, which was pretty neat, as well as a bit of the interior levels of the massive vehicle.

Kenner made a remote controlled sandcrawler back in the vintage line.  This was a toy that I don’t recall ever even being aware of when I was a kid.  Maybe the price point put it out of reach, or maybe they sold through before I was even able to see one in a store.  Whatever the case, in my early days of collecting, I had tried to nab one for a decent price on ebay, but before I could, Hasbro announced one for the Original Trilogy Collection in 2004.  It was a Diamond Comics Previews exclusive, and ran you $60.  It was a pretty steep price for a toy at the time, especially one that was a stripped down version of the Kenner model.  This one had the electronics removed.  Most collectors probably are okay with that, but I wouldn’t have minded if they kept that feature.  Unlike the original Kenner release, this model came with some action figures, and it was presented in a neat OTC window box, which at the time, was pretty a cool look that was similar to that of the original line artwork.

The vehicle looks decent, especially for a mold that was 25 years old in 2004.  Hasbro did a nice job in painting the outside to look appropriately rusty and dirty, whereas the Kenner version had no paint detailing like this.  It was a huge upgrade.  The interior, while roomy, wasn’t particularly impressive.  There is a hidden compartment, which is actually where the batteries went in the old version. There’s an elevator that lowers to the ground, and can lift a figure into the body of the vehicle.  Presumably, this takes the place of the giant suction tube that was seen on screen.  There are stairs that lead to the control room, which can be accessed by lifting the lid on top.  The big side door (instead of the front door, as shown in AOTC) snaps shut, and opens to double as a loading ramp.  A removable ladder can be stowed on the inside of the door, although mine is a bit loose.  That’s about it.  Other than the nice exterior paint job, there’s not much here to rave about, other than the fact that it’s a sandcrawler.  It is very undersized, and lacks any kind of premium feature, such as working treads. 

The figures includes are two POTF2 era jawas, one tall and one short.  They are the ones that are basically 3POA, including the uni-leg, and include the light port in the hood to help the eyes glow.  As I wrote recently in another review, the POTF2 sculpts aren’t terrible, and if you have a few of these, you can sprinkle them into the background of your various Tatooine displays, so long as you are featuring the several modern versions that are much better.  Neither jawa comes with any accessories.  Also included is the droid RA-7.  It doesn’t have a specific name, but the “death star droid” that is seen inside the sandcrawler cabin was named 3B6-RA-7, and had a gold/bronze sheen to the plating.  This is not to be confused with the silver MB-RA-7, which was modeled after the Kenner figure, but has since been placed as being an art instructor during the final years of the Old Republic.  No, seriously, that’s for real, or at least it was so in the old EU.  Also, there’s the more well known 5D6-RA-7, which is the black droid found on the Death Star, and is why we tend to call this model the “Death Star Droid”.  RA-7 is the generic name given to this figure.  It is painted in a bronze tone, with some weathering.  It’s not bad looking, but the sculpt has since been surpassed.  That sculpt, however, has not been painted to represent this particular character, so in reality, this is currently the best version of 3B6-RA-7.  Therefore, you are a terrible collector if you don’t have it.

Anyway, it’s a nice throwback set, but pretty much from the moment it was released, everyone realized we wanted an all new mold, and a much larger vehicle.  Until that day comes, you’re stuck with this one.  What’s that you say?  There’s a bigger and better one that just came out from Disney?  Is there really?  I suppose I could knead a meatloaf into the shape of a Sandcrawler and call it a better Sandcrawler.  That crap is the devil.  THE DEVIL!  This is the only Sandcrawler you should have on display, although I’ll allow an exception for you wackos that prefer the Kenner version.  But if you actually have the Bootleg Fakecrawler, (you know, the one that comes with a Shmawa and Gronk droid) then you are just the worst.  THE WORST!

This set gets a 5.  The Sandcrawler is OK, the Jawas still might have minor value, and the RA-7 is your only one for this scene.  It’s not going to wow you, but it’s worth having until Hasbro…I SAID HASBRO…comes up with a better one.