The Empire Strikes Back Snowspeeder (1980)
With the X-Wing still doing most of the flying in Empire, the closest there was to a new hero vehicle for toy purposes was the Rebel Snowspeeder, which was only seen in use on Hoth.
Not that this was a bad thing - the result was a better-than-average replica of the vehicle that was more to scale with the figures than most of its counterparts.
The Snowspeeder’s guns were its most breakable features - they attached to the flanges that, on the model, represent the “middle” of the gun, and contained a metal contact that would allow the batteries (housed in a rear engine compartment on the right wing) to power the guns’ lights. But the attachment isn’t terribly solid; this was usually the first part of a heavily-played-with Snowspeeder to break.
In response to the same safety concerns that kept Kenner from issuing the Boba Fett action figure with a spring-loaded rocket firing backpack, the Snowspeeder’s harpoon didn’t actually “fire,” though it was attached to a string; it was up to whoever was playing with it to do the “firing,” and in any case, Kenner didn’t put an AT-AT on the market for anyone to harpoon until the Snowspeeder had been out for a while.
Very special thanks to Andrew Wester and Dave Thomer for making this article possible.
