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By
Julian H. Betancourt |
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THE LIGHTS ARE ON: OTC's MILLENNIUM FALCON The recognizable iconic figure of the recklessly overconfident Corellian smuggler Han Solo goes hand in hand with another icon of the Star Wars Universe he belongs to; his hamburger shaped dual drive freighter, the Millennium Falcon.
It is hard to imagine the Star Wars Saga without this fantastic spaceship. After all, it was this craft's crucial appearance in the final A New Hope's battle that practically allowed Luke to fire the torpedoes that destroyed the Death Star. Or how about its unforgettable display of extreme maneuverability in The Empire Strikes Back, while being flown through an asteroid belt evading pursuing killer TIE fighters. Sure enough, it is very hard to imagine as well the Star Wars line of toys without the Millennium Falcon. Since its early years, Kenner/Hasbro has always made sure to have the Falcon included, not only once nor twice but actually five times within its offerings. The first appearance of the Falcon as a playset took place a few months before Christmas of 1979, being it the highlight of the year for many kids. Incorporating a good amount of movie like features, the playset became almost an instant hit and its design worked so well and proved so popular that its mold has been sold for four decades with only minor alterations. But as many Sci-fi spacecrafts, the interiors of the vehicle cannot actually physically fit within the exterior sets and it is always been a compromise attempt by the toy maker to try to squeeze the interior sets in to allow for playability, often with detriment to head room and lack of overall space within the cockpit. But have these issues changed with the 2004 version of the craft? Box in hand, let's bring inside the Sandtrooper's laboratory, Hasbro's latest attempt at the newly redesign OTC Falcon and let's place it under our Sandcroscope and see what positive and negative results this updated version of an old mold has to offer. THE FALCON: FIVE RELEASES We couldn't truly give a fair analysis of this new version without going back in history and comparing it to previous releases. Thus, with this mentioned, let's quickly, flashback in time and start up with the cardboard box. Here are the release dates and changes to the Falcon's presentation box throughout the years: 1979 - "STAR WARS" presentation box. Picture on the front of the box shows a young boy playing with the vehicle. 1980 - "The Empire Strikes Back" presentation box (same exact mold as of the '79 version, except for a change on the box's logo going from the previous STAR WARS to THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. The pictures used for the front and back were the same in both instances. 1983 - " Return of the Jedi" presentation box. Same mold as previous two but having completely new pictures added to the box's front and back and the new RETURN OF THE JEDI logo. 1995 - "The Power of the Force" presentation box. A completely redesigned presentation box, reflecting more dynamic pictures of the ship and its features as well as the POTF2 logo. 2004 - "Original Trilogy Collection" presentation box. Completely redesigned box with Vintage feel accents an OTC logo. For a closer look at the Millennium's box throughout the years, click on the thumbnail picture below showing the different designs utilized for its presentation. THE FALCON: FIVE RELEASES, MANY SIMILARITIES Now that we've seen the basic changes made to the presentation box throughout its releases, let's see what features have remained as part of the design of Hasbro's Millennium Falcon ... YEARS: '79, 80, '83, '95, '04
THE FALCON: FIVE RELEASES, SOME CHANGES Although the mold has remain the same, some noticeable changes have taken place as time has passed. Basically, the changes deal with the paint application, light and sounds and a more figure-friendly canopy. Here is what was first changed: 1995 VERSION vs. VINTAGE Same mold as previous 3 versions but with improved laser sound and paint application. COLOR: The overall color of the ship was rendered in a darker tone. SOUNDS: Four battle sounds added. Previous versions had just a laser sound. PARTS COLOR: The blue color of the gunner station chair, chess table and door struts of the vintage versions was changed, reflecting a more accurate black/gray color. STICKERS: The Vintage yellow/brown graphics of the chess table's sticker were improved and made in gray. INTERIOR CARDBOARD BACKGROUND WALL: A more detailed background, showing corridors and chairs were added. A nice improvement over the simple geometrical designs of the Vintage releases. This improvement still can be seen in the new OTC version of the ship. 2004 VERSION vs. PREVIOUS Some significant modifications and added enhancements to the old mold can be appreciated: CANOPY: A retooled cockpit offering slightly bigger room for figures. This was accomplished by removing the two posts that used to support the dash/control console as part of the seating area and, attaching it to the canopy via tabs. When the canopy gets open, now the instrument console is out of the way, making it easier and allowing for more room within the confines of the cockpit to properly place two figures in. Note: It is good to point out that the instrument console can be detached from the canopy in order to affix the corresponding instrument stickers. CANOPY OPERATION: Top hinge rather than the previous side hinging. This means the canopy now raises as in the X-Wing, no longer flipping open to the side. Although the redesigned canopy certainly allows for better access to the cockpit by having the console out of the way, this causes the figures (other than Han and Chewie) to move around quite a bit. And while having the Wookiee and Solo inside, the room becomes an issue; still the figures barely fit in. STRUTS: The space between the pistons on the boarding ramp struts are filled in, making them more solid pieces. REAR LANDING GEAR: Has spring loaded catches, firmly securing the ship's rear end in place. Previous releases of the ship had tabs to push in, being more dependent on the strength of the plastic to snap back to lock into the out position. After a few years of play, this became a problem with worn out gear barely supporting the back of the vehicle and warping. This improved version takes care of that situation. BATTERIES: Although having and increased amount of sounds and lights, the batteries needed are 3 AA, eliminating the previous, bulkier 2 C batteries. SOUNDS: Five digitally sampled sounds, taken straight from the film, have been integrated to the ships electronics via the use of four well hidden bottoms on the ship's left side panel. By pressing each bottom independently, these are the sounds you will hear: A)
Start up engine noise followed by thrusters on sounds (about 15 sec.
duration) LIGHTS: Definitely a fantastic improvement. They are basically what make you want to grab this toy again. The lights work in conjunction with the sounds. In other words, once a sound button is pressed it will activate as well a light to go with it. Lights are found: A)
Light up back engine thrusters (strip on back of ship) Lights turn
on in a beautiful and vivid main blue color as well as white. The
white lights turn on during the hyperdrive sound, shutting off once
such sound has stopped and leaving the blue lights on. Best way to
appreciate this is by "flying" your ship in a dark room. Note: Very noticeable is the plastic on the back of the ship, where the engines thrusters are located. Such area has become a corrugated strip of clear plastic, surrounded by a gray compartment that perfectly blends in with the rest of the design and houses the engine's lights. This area used to be a recess space where stickers were applied simulating lights. REAR TOP PANEL: Panel that comes off revealing the interior of the Falcon has been better secured by adding a couple of extra tabs to attach it to the ship and sort of allowing the piece to snap into place. In turn, the vehicle can be turned upside down without the top coming off. In the Vintage version such part basically slid in, easily coming apart. RADAR: The peg that fit into the ship's hull was made of a stronger, thicker plastic and the dish itself was secured onto the radar's tower portion with a screw. MISSILE: A 3" clear red plastic missile has been added where the front cargo dock is located. Its firing mechanism is found on the middle strip of plastic between the cockpit and the radar dish. When activated, it triggers a torpedo sound, even when the launch tube is empty. Since the missile isn't recessed into the cargo loader, it sticks out over an inch and retracts from the authentic design of the ship, making it look too "toyish" But you can always store the missile in the cargo area without any negative effect on the aesthetics of the toy when having the Falcon on display. PAINT: Although not as dramatically "weathered" as the prototype pictures will lead us to believe, the overall paint application is crisp and looks much better this time around. The overall paint scheme could be better described as a medium gray, including the cockpit. There are highlights of darker and lighter grays, maroon and black accents here and there. There is noticeable carbon scoring in certain areas and some soot from the rear top vents. DEJERIK TABLE: It is held in place using a center screw which gets covered with the appropriate table top sticker. Thus if your planning on using Dejerik Chewie and his table, I wouldn't recommend applying the sticker on, as it will cover the access to screw. WHAT'S MISSING? The
3 Vintage releases of the ship remained unchanged as previously
explained. And although improvements to the mold started to take
place with the 1995 POTF2 version, a very significant accessory was
then taken out and has never been offered again; The Jedi Training
Remote.
Two versions of the "remote force ball" appear to have been made. It is hard to say which version belongs to what year as it could had been a running change somewhere along the line from its Star Wars release to its Return of the Jedi release. But as recorded, a European version has it as just a simple plain, smooth surface black bead while the most common American version presents the "remote force ball" as a polyhedral, resembling a disco ball or a series of small square shapes forming a sphere. Again, take a look at the pictures describing the variation. It would had been a nice feature to have been given an updated version of the Jedi Training Remote with the OTC version, but unfortunately it wasn't the case. Perhaps Hasbro's idea is to have it offered with an upcoming figure? IMAGES
FINAL THOUGHT Overall, this is a great detailed toy replica of the speedy space vehicle, as well as a great playset incorporating heaps of playability and movie features. The new lights and updated parts definitely are very much welcoming additions and truly enhanced and give more of a real feel to the 27 year old mold. The OTC package with its front panel showing the Millennium being chased by TIE fighters in front of the Death Star is simply fantastic and the black starfield double bar surrounding the box gives the whole presentation lots of character. As it stands right now, this version of the Falcon is the best ever offered by the manufacturer. Just imagine it all started with a half eaten hamburger held by George Lucas ... Enjoy!
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