Rebel Snowspeeder

from "Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" (1980)

Scale: 1:35
Initial Release: 1980
Medium: Styrene
Kit Rarity: 3

About the Design

The “speeder” concept had been part of the “Star Wars” universe ever since Luke Skywalker went zipping across the deserts of Tatootine in the original film, and in 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back," audiences got to see an advanced version – in this case, a T-47 airspeeder -- adapted to fight in the frigid cold of the ice planet of Hoth. Unlike Luke’s open-cockpit ‘speeder, this was a closed-cockpit, two-seater design equipped with two powerful blasters and a harpoon gun. “Harpoon gun?” It was a case of form-following-function as the “Empire” screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan called for the Rebels to bring down one of the Empire's AT-AT’s by entangling its legs with a tow cable. What other function this weapon could possibly serve in conventional combat remains extremely unclear.

About the Kit

The Rebel Snowspeeder was one of the first model kits issued by MPC in conjunction with the 1980 release of “Star Wars – Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back.”  (Airfix had rights in the U.K.) The large, well-engineered kit featured a hinged cockpit canopy and a detailed interior; however, the figures within were weirdly out of scale, giving them an almost Cabbage Patch Doll-like appearance.

The kit was re-issued several times, including 2005 with new box art bearing the AMT/Ertl brand.

This model was built from an original 1980 issue.