Star Wars: Episode 1 by Galoob

Mike Pigott looks at the diecast range of space vehicles by Galoob based on the first chapter of the Star Wars saga.During the 1990s, the original Star Wars trilogy was re-released in cinemas to a new generation of fans, and the films proved just as popular as they had the first time around. A huge range of merchandise was produced around this time, including a line of diecast vehicles produced by American toy company Galoob in its Star Wars Micro Machines range. When the new chapter in the saga was released in 1999, Galoob again got the franchise and produced a range of eight diecast vehicles that had featured in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.

When the first Star Wars sequel The Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980, the opening credits revealed that is was not part two of the series, but actually part five of a much longer saga. Creator George Lucas envisioned the Star Wars saga as a series of 12 films, including three prequels telling the origins of all the characters introduced in the series. However, after the second sequel Return of the Jedi was released in 1983, Lucas was burnt out. The stress of producing three complex, big-budget blockbusters had taken its toll on him, and he no longer wanted to do any further Star Wars films. So his proposed multi-sequel saga was shelved.

The Star Wars franchise remained extremely popular over the next few years, and attracted a huge legion of fans. While there were no more films, the franchise was kept alive through cartoons, video games, novels and comic books. New, enhanced prints of the original film trilogy were re-released to cinemas in the 1990s, and the success of these inspired Lucas to revive the film series. Advances in CGI technology made it possible to create incredible special effects, which would allow Lucas to bring his story concepts to life more realistically than before. The first of the new trilogy was Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, released in 1999.

THE PHANTOM MENACE

The film opens with the Trade Federation – a ruthless interplanetary trading monopoly controlled by the evil Sith Lords – blockading the peaceful, isolationist planet of Naboo. A pair of Jedi knights – an order of semi-religious warrior priests – Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is sent to mediate between the Federation and the leaders of Naboo. However, the Jedi knights are betrayed by the Federation, who attack the planet and attempt to kill the knights. Joined by a dopey, long-eared amphibian creature called Jar Jar Binks, the knights rescue the teenage Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) and her entourage – which includes the droid R2-D2 –   fleeing Naboo on the Royal Starship.
When the ship is damaged on route, the group stop for repairs on the desert world Tattooine. They meet a young slave boy, Anakin Skywalker, whom Qui-Gonn recognises as possessing ‘the Force’, making him a potential Jedi. Anakin is a boy genius, and has developed his own Podracer, a kind of jet-powered chariot. He enters his vehicle in a dangerous podrace, and Qui-Gonn wagers the outcome with Anakin’s owner, in order to buy the boy’s freedom. Anakin wins the race, is freed, and the group head to the planet Coruscant, the home of the Galactic Senate, to plead for intervention against the Trade Federation.

Queen Amidala fails in her mission for help, as the Senator for Naboo is actually an undercover Sith Lord. Instead she returns to Naboo, where she encourages Jar Jar Binks’ aquatic race, the Gungans, to join the fight against the Trade Federation’s robotic army. Young Anakin steals a Naboo starfighter, and manages to destroy the Federation ship which controls the droid army, deactivating them. Unfortunately, Qui-Gon Jinn is mortally wounded in a duel with the Sith Lord, Darth Maul, who is then killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Before he dies, Qui-Gon makes Obi-Wan promise to take Anakin on as his Jedi apprentice. Amidala is restored as Queen and hosts a ceremony to honour the Gungans.

THE MODELS

After the original Star Wars trilogy was re-released in the 1990s, it created a huge wave of merchandising. One of the many companies to get in on the franchise was Galoob, a small Californian toy company best known for its range of tiny plastic Micro Machines. The Micro Machines range included a wide range of Star Wars vehicles, and the line was later expanded to include a selection of slightly larger diecast vehicles from the trilogy. The diecast vehicles measured 8-9cm long, and most included at least one working feature. They were not made to any particular scale, as the real craft could range from motorcycle-size through to planet-size.

For the 1999 prequel, Galoob was again granted the license. However, around this time the company was taken over by its much larger competitor, Hasbro; although the Episode 1 models were still sold with Galoob Micro Machines markings.

The new models were similar in size and construction to the earlier models, and were mostly diecast metal. All had some sort of action feature, mostly involving retractable landing gear or rotating cannons. There were eight items in the series, covering a wide range of different craft.

REPUBLIC CRUISERThis spacecraft appearing in the opening scenes of the first prequel, making it chronologically the first vehicle to appear in the Star Wars Saga. Also known as a Consular-class cruiser, it is used for diplomatic missions, and was the craft used to transport the ambassadors and Jedi in their unsuccessful mission to negotiate with the Trade Federation. The ship is roughly Y-shaped and is powered by a trio of radial atomizer engines.

The Galoob model captures the unusual lines of the Republic Cruiser well. It is painted the correct terracotta-red colour with beige highlights. It has three working features; the first two being a retractable landing leg and a rotating radar array. The third is much more interesting and is described on the packaging as ‘glowing engines’. The three rear engines have circular openings on them, and when a sliding switch on the underside is pushed, fluorescent red imitation exhausts pop out, giving the impression of afterburners being activated.

TRADE FEDERATION BATTLESHIPAlthough it looks like a space station, this is actually a massive, mobile battleship used by the Trade Federation Trade Defence Force. The craft is basically doughnut-shaped, but with a gap in the front of the ring, and a spherical command bridge in the centre. At three kilometres in diameter, it is an enormous ship and is powered by three proton engines. The gap area in the front contains a large docking port. One of these battleships was used as the location for the ill-fated peace mission with the Jedi.

Again the Galoob model is very accurate to the real thing, and is satisfyingly heavy. The broken outer ring, central bridge and triple engines are all well replicated. It is painted light grey with some panels in cream. There are two retractable landing legs, although it seems unlikely that a ship of this size would be able to touch down on a planet. The other play feature, which can be seen in the photo, is a tiny Republic Cruiser which flies into the docking port when a switch on the underside is moved.

TRADE FEDERATION TANKAlso known as an AAT (Armoured Assault Tank) this was a weird hover-tank used by the Trade Federation in the invasion of Naboo. It was armed with powerful laser cannons and carried a crew of four robot Battle Droids.

The only ground vehicle in the series, this rolls on three concealed wheels. The main body and base of the model are all diecast, including the semi-circular front hovercraft section. It is painted beige, with tan, brown and black trim. There are four working features: the main turret rotates and has an opening hatch, while the secondary side cannons can swivel up and down. The main laser cannon has a soft plastic barrel, which has a tendency to droop.

GIAN SPEEDERThe Gian Speeder, also known as the V-19 Landspeeder, is a light, open-top hover-car used by the Royal Naboo Security Forces. The craft is roughly oval-shaped, with a pair of engine pods at the rear. Gian Speeders are lightly armoured, and have a pair side mounted blasters and a laser cannon mounted over the front windscreen. They have space for four security officers.

The Galoob model has a diecast body and base, and is painted an aluminium-silver colour. The interior is light grey with dark grey seats, and the front and rear windscreens are in clear plastic. It has three working features: the side blasters swivel up and down, while the central cannon rotates. The Speeder rolls along on three concealed wheels, which are eccentric, making the vehicle rock as it moves along.

ROYAL STARSHIPThe Naboo Royal Starship was the private transport of Queen Amidala, and was the Nabooan equivalent of the Royal Yacht Brittania. It is an extremely well-appointed, luxurious ship, with a hand-polished chrome exterior. It is an incredibly beautiful starship, and while there were no spacecraft in the Art Deco era… if there were, they would have looked like this. Like most Nabooan ships, it used an Astromech Droid as a co-pilot, and the little dustbin-shaped R2-D2 was located in a hatch at the rear.

While the model captured the attractive lines of the ‘real’ ship, the finials behind the engines were a little short and stubby, and the paint finish was in an aluminium colour rather than being the correct mirror-finish chrome. It had three working features; three retractable landing legs, a set of boarding stairs that dropped down from the ship’s underside, and a small rear hatch that opened to reveal R2-D2 in his co-pilot position.

SEBULBA’S PODRACERPodracing is a dangerous motorsport played in the Star Wars universe. It involves piloting a small capsule towed behind a pair of huge turbine engines, like a space-age version of an ancient Roman chariot race. The cockpit pod is attached to the engines by a pair of heavy cables, while the engines are linked together by a glowing pink ion beam to ensure they don’t head off in different directions. Many of the podracers seen in the film are very different in appearance; some look professionally made, while others look to be cobbled together from spare parts. The reigning podracing champion is a creature called Sebulba, a notorious cheat who has outfitted his craft with flamethrowers to attack competitors. However, his cheating backfired on him when he tried to cut off the more skilful Anakin Skywalker, resulting in his craft smashing and the boy winning his freedom.

Sebulba’s Podracer is painted orange with black trim, and this is authentically copied on the Galoob version. The model accurately captures the shape of the craft, although the pod is connected to the engines by a triangular clear plastic part with the cables highlighted in black. It is not an ideal solution, but anything else would probably have been too fragile. The ion beam connecting the two engines is represented by a translucent pink part. The model, which is pictured from the rear, rolls along on four concealed wheels. The working feature is a rotating panel on each engine, which can be turned around to reveal the hidden flamethrower.

TRADE FEDERATION DROID STARFIGHTERAlso known as a Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droid or a Vulture-Class Droid Starfighter, this was a robotic attack craft that functioned without a human pilot. There were huge numbers of them carried on the Trade Federation battleships, and they were used for the invasion of Naboo. The ‘Variable Geometry’ designation referred to the fact that the ships had transformable bodies. After being launched, the ships’ wings opened up like the claws of a lobster, revealing the blaster cannons. If the ship landed on a planet, the wings could rotate 90 degrees and become legs, allowing it to walk along the ground. When Anakin Skywalker destroyed the command craft, all of the Vulture Droids were disabled.

Quite impressively, the Galoob model is all metal. It is painted beige, with tan and grey highlights. The action feature involves the opening wings, which can be clipped apart to show the ship in battle mode. Our pictured model, which is shown from behind, has the wings in the open position.

SITH INFILTRATORThe Sith Lords were the opposites of the Jedi Knights, an evil mysterious cult that embraced the Dark Side of the Force. They were devoted to the corruption of society and the destruction of the noble Jedi. In Episode 1, the Sith Lords were Darth Sidious – who posed as the Nabooan Senator – and Darth Maul, his red-and-black-faced apprentice. The most famous Sith Lord would be Anakin Skywalker, who – after becoming a successful Jedi – was corrupted by the Dark Side and became the evil Darth Vader.

The Sith Infiltrator, which was also known as the Scimitar, was a unique craft and the personal transport of Darth Maul. It was a wedge-shaped ship, with a domed cockpit section and four folding rear wings. It was a heavily-armed ship that had a cloaking device to make it appear invisible. It may also have had supernatural powers, as some Jedi could feel the evil Dark Force emanating from the ship.

Galoob’s model replicates the wedge shape of the Scimitar. It is painted grey with tan trim, and the narrow cockpit windows are painted red, giving it a sinister look. It has three working landing legs; the front ones extend down and then swivel outwards. The four vertical wings can open up; these are made of grey plastic. The third action feature is so small you might miss it; a pair of semi-circular airlock doors at rear can slide open.

PACKAGINGAll models were packaged in large blister packs, with a blue backing card showing a picture of Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Except for the Trade Federation Tank, all models came with a blue plastic stand embossed with a Star Wars logo.

Surprisingly, there were two important omissions from the range. One was Anakin’s Podracer; it would have made more sense to have the winning vehicle in the range than the loser. The other was the Naboo Starfighter, a streamlined yellow ship which Anakin used to destroy the Trade Federation control ship. A diecast construction kit of this ship was made by Ertl, but in a much larger size than the Micro Machines. However both vehicles, plus a few others omitted from the range, would later be included in Hasbro’s Titanium Collection.

Star Wars Episode 1 performed extremely well at the box office, well enough for the other two prequels to follow. However, many fans seemed unimpressed; some felt the film was more concerned with charting the characters’ back stories rather than providing an entertaining movie. The comedy-relief character of Jar Jar Binks was widely disliked.

TITANIUM SERIES

 There were no Micro Machines diecast series to tie in with Episodes 2 and 3. But in 2005, new owners Hasbro revived the diecast Micro Machines as the ‘Titanium Series’, which included models from the original trilogy and Episode 1, together with quite a large number of new vehicles from all six films, plus other which appeared in TV cartoons, video games and comic books. The Titanium Series was produced until 2009, and also included other licensed lines such as Indiana Jones, Transformers, and Battlestar Galactica. The range was re-launched in 201 as the ‘Black Series’ with a number of new models based on the sequel film Star Wars: The Force Awakens.