The Vintage Collection HasLab LAAT/i Gunship Lands At Red Five Toys

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What a day. What an event. What...a...GUNSHIP!

First, I have to say the absolute best part about the Red Five stop on the Gunship tour was the community. It was great getting to meet Mister Skeezler, Red Thirteen, and RumSleg, Ben M., as well as Chris (whose Disqus name I've forgotten), and others. Apologies if I've forgotten to list your name here. I'm old and am frequently sleep deprived. I'm just citing the Bantha Skull readers so far, but there were obviously many other fans in attendance, and everyone was super friendly and cool. Despite how acerbic the online commentary can become at times, it always seems like the fans who actually dare to leave their darkened hovels are the sweetest and friendliest people. Again, the best part was spending the day with so many people with whom we share this Star Wars bond.

We've heard many arguments from the detractors of this campaign, one of which is "this is not a dream project." Obviously that is a subjective statement, so it's the one con for which there is no counter-argument. All I can say is that after seeing the HasLab Gunship in person, this is absolutely, positively a lifelong dream project for me. Now, as you're reading that, you're probably thinking to yourself:

You're old as fudge. When the Gunship first appeared on-screen, you were already on the lookout for gray chest hairs. How on Earth could the Gunship be a "lifelong" dream project?

Let me explain. The Gunship might not be my dream product. I've been quite clear on what that is, and it's no moon. But as executed, this Gunship is my dream concept. Even as I kid, I've been bothered by the inaccuracy of the toys. I think it was the old MPC model kits that hipped me to this. I had the Darth Vader's TIE Fighter kit (if memory serves, my father had to put it together for me). I would stare at it and wish my toy looked that good and detailed. I've basically always wanted to have a studio model with which my figures could interact for as long as I've been collecting Star Wars (which is almost as long as I can remember).

With this LAAT/i Gunship (and the upcoming Darth Vader's TIE), I feel Hasbro has truly delivered on that promise. We've been getting close, and now it's finally here. This IS a dream come true for me. And here's another neat thing. The second best part of the day was watching how happy Mr. Stevie was as fans set up their dioramas around the Gunship. Just because these TVC vehicles are no longer toys in the true sense, does not mean that play is dead. It's just evolved into setting up scenes, and this LAAT offers that opportunity in spades. We were all kids again as we brought our "guys" or "men" to Red Five. Speaking of which, you have to check out these amazing customs that Customs for the Kid posed with the Gunship in THIS IG Post. Those Satines (especially the blue dress one) are chef's kiss.

I won't weep for my personal collection if this doesn't fund. I definitely want it, but my life will go on without it. I'm an OT collector first and foremost, and the gap to my second favorite source is wider than the gap between E.T. and Rocky III for the top grossing movies released in 1982. I won't be happy, but I'll eventually shrug it off. I will, however, weep for the community that such a beautiful piece never makes it to production. I will weep for the fact that Chris Reiff and team went all out for us, and in appreciation, we turned our collective backs. I will weep for the fact that some true craftsmanship has gone unrewarded. I'm nothing if not for overwrought analogies. It's a scaled down version of one of the great Renaissance artists never getting a patron. Artistry to the degree of the HasLab LAAT/i deserves to become a reality. It will be a shame if it does not.

My biggest fear is that photos can't express how incredible this Gunship is. Looking at the images below, I feel like I failed capturing the awe we all felt in the room. It was honestly reminiscent of the first time I got to experience the BMF. That first night I had the new Falcon, I would marvel at every new feature or detail I would discover. It was just like that seeing this LAAT/i for the first time.

Every few seconds, one of us would say something like, "oh my God, did you see this" or "check this out" whenever we'd come across something like the insanely detailed cockpit. Again, I worry that I didn't capture that. Most of the figures in the photos belong to Tyler and he did much of the set up. He put together THIS AMAZING REEL that does a better job of channeling the mood of excitement from the event (volume up for full effect). He also shows figure load outs from sources other than Attack of the Clones. I had grown tired of the DSLR around my neck at that point, and retired it to my car.

You will notice that none of the photos below are watermarked. Anyone is free to repost them without need for attribution. Take whatever you want from the gallery below. Also, in case you missed it, 100% newly tooled figures of Padmé and Shaak Ti were pipelined as we posted HERE. These aren't "what ifs". They are coming to the line, as is a non-removable helmet Phase I Clone Trooper. Finally, I was already a member of the choir prior to attending Red Five this past Saturday as you all know, but RumSleg attended as a "fence sitter" to help him decide on this Gunship. I don't mean to put him on the spot, but perhaps he can let us know his takeaway in the comments.

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