For as long as I can remember, and since its first appearance in The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, Boba Fett's ship has been called Slave-1 - although this name has never been used in the movies. The Kenner release was called Slave-1 as have all subsequent variations of the toys through Kenner to Hasbro.
In 2021 however, Disney appears to be uncomfortable with the name of Boba's ship and instructed lego and other companies to refer to it now as Boba Fett's Starship - although they have not gone as far as renaming the ship on StarWars.com's databanks.
And this is the name that Shop Disney has put on their first piece of collectible merchandise fo The Book of Boba Fett, listing the new diecast version of the ship on both the packaging and on the online listings as 'Boba Fett's Starship'.
The ship is exclusive to Shop Disney and sold globally with the UK price point sitting at a very reasonable £12. The ship is boxed in black packaging that carries within it some intricate Star Wars artwork with outlines of many other Star Wars ships and characters. The large window shows the full ship strapped to a grey starfield cardback.
Once open the ship is strapped into a plastic tray on the cardback itself with clear elasticated ties - which are quite difficult to release and are very tight to the ship so care is needed if you intend to cut these.
The ship in hand measures 14cm long (about 5.5 inches) which makes it roughly 1:150 scale. It is cast predominantly in Diecast with plastic utilised on the two stabiliser fins, and on the translucent cockpit. It is the same ship as was originally released in 2014 as part of the Star Wars diecast range - so an easy repurpose and repack for The Book of Boba Fett.
The ship has been painted in a base matt grey colour over which has been added the green and red details with a beat-up and worn look executed on the paintwork. This does make the plastic stabilisers look a little too clean as they are left in the base grey plastic.
Further detailing is added in gold on the underside of the ship, and around the stabiliser housings.
The cockpit opens to show quite a detailed interior. While not painted, the plastic inserted section includes the three main crew seats with a control console of sorts, and under them some passenger seating.
The rear guns are also articulated so can be turned. And the same applies to the stabilisers although they do not fully rotate as the upper arms are fixed. This means that when the ship is rotated into a flight position the stabilisers will not rotate fully to match that flight mode. Considering Disney has also failed to give us any kind of stand or display option other than having it in the landing position - it is a shame that collectors will have to find or fashion a display method for flight displays. The one you see below is very rudimentary for photos and see;'s the ship propped precariously on an action figure flight stand.
The Shop Disney Diecast release of Boba Fett's Starship is the first or what is likely to be an avalanche of Book of Boba Fett merchandise, possibly even eclipsing what we saw for The Mandalorian. At a £12 price point (plus delivery with no actual Disney Stores left in the UK other than London) it's good value for money and looks good on display - it is just missing a flight stand or something similar to really bring it to life.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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