Review – Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire Swoop with Swoop Trooper

From the 1996 Kenner Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire subline (Amazon.com search*) comes the Swoop vehicle with a Swoop Trooper action figure. I had thought maybe Kenner or Hasbro had used this mold a second time, but searches on the web cannot locate any use beyond this 1996 first release . . . which strikes me as very strange, since the vehicle itself is just fine and feels like it would have been perfect for a reuse at some point in the seventeen years since it was first in stores.

Vaguely Like the Source Material?

Not quite of the same level as the classic Kenner Star Wars Mini-Rigs, the 1996 Swoop vehicle* doesn’t quite match any of the reference material I’ve found for the swoop vehicles of the Star Wars universe. It’s as if the Kenner designers looked at some of the concept art created for the game of the time . . . but then they went off and did their own thing.

And I am completely fine with that! Earlier this year I spent some time going on and on about how awesome the Kenner Mini-Rigs were (see “The Genius of Kenner’s “Star Wars Collection” Mini-Rigs”), and every opportunity that the Kenner (now Hasbro) toy designers take to design a toy that is almost out of existing Star Wars material I am happy.

Why? Because the toy designers — in my experience — make some pretty sweet stuff. As a modern example I point you to my review of the Star Wars Republic Attack Dropship. It’s a Mini-Rig in all but name!

And so is this Swoop.

Swoop

Roughly 8-inches long, the 1996 Swoop vehicle* is a Speeder Bike-like hefty chunk of plastic that is all set for kids to blast around and race with each other. The sculpt — as you can see in the pics — is fairly chunky for what’s essentially a flying motorcycle, but I think that’s because the idea behind this was to create a bulky machine that’s not too similar to the 1983 Speeder Bike toy (which also made an appearance in the nineties Kenner Star Wars line).

The side “wings” on the Swoop vehicle* are on hinges and can either lay flat against the sides of the bike or extend outward while the landing gear swivels back to act as the thrusters. A spring-loaded missile hanging from the right wing gives the toy some fun play possibilities and a cool asymmetrical look while the paint apps and stickers give it that “lived in” look that helps make the Star Wars universe look real.

Swoop Trooper

One nice addition to the Kenner Star Wars: Power of the Force toys of the nineties was that some vehicles came with action figures — the original Kenner line of the seventies and eighties had all of the vehicles sold with “action figures each sold separately” — and the Swoop vehicle* comes with a Swoop Trooper to pilot it. The figure doesn’t match any art I know of, so from what I can figure out the Kenner designers created this character design pretty much from scratch.

The Swoop Trooper works as a character in the Star Wars underworld, but I would have much rather seen the Swoop vehicle* come with Big Gizz (see Wookiepedia) or Jix (see Wookiepedia). That would have been sweet!

Anyway, the Swoop Trooper has seven points of articulation — t-hips, swivel shoulders, hinge knees, and a hinged neck that allows the figure to look up and down (but not to the side) — and works better on the toy than standing on its own. No accessories (the figure itself is an accessory to the Swoop vehicle*) and really not of any value if it’s not partnered with the vehicle. An okay figure . . . a much better vehicle.

Closing Thoughts

Even though the Swoop Trooper is merely okay, the Swoop vehicle* itself strikes me as silly and stupid fun because it’s so damned bulky and because the wings/missile launcher really add some style to the toy and help make it look nothing like a Speeder Bike.

When I wrote about this toy earlier this week I thought the figure looked far neater, but holding it again in my hands reveals just how much more an actual character from the source material would have rocked over a generic “trooper.” But please don’t see that as a downcheck; if you can find this for $8 or less it’s worth grabbing just because the toy looks fun next to other Star Wars toys.

And I’m betting a customizer could make an awesome ride for Boba Fett out of this . . .