Would it have blown the budget to include a couple $5 basic figures in with this release? We think that was a really bad call here. You would think that since the Imperial Shuttle is an expensive FAO Schwarz exclusive that Hasbro could have worked a deal to include a pack-in figure or two. So all of the vehicle’s features are in place here. Oh, and the ramp still pulls out so you have to have the Emperor walk down it and greet Darth Vader upon his landing. And the extra features here like the removable side hatch and opening cockpit work just like they did in 1984. The landing gear is strong and holds up the vehicle quite well. The wings roll open very nicely and in unison with each other. The Imperial Shuttle’s functionality is really sharp and tight. If a repack of this vehicle minus electronics is $100, what would a larger and cooler version of this vehicle cost? It’s frightening to even think about it! It might be more expensive that any of us would be willing to pay at this point. But we don’t see Hasbro tooling an all-new version of this vehicle. Scale is such a big deal and it’s hard to not see that this vehicle may not cut the mustard anymore. And Hasbro didn’t bring anything new to the table here (aside from the paint operations) to give the collector as sense that something has been added in their place. There is no denying, the loss of electronics is bittersweet. As far as the vehicle is concerned, it's still a great vehicle and offers a lot of fun to collectors. But the dirt and debris the body of the vehicle has picked up looks incredibly realistic and the Imperial Shuttle just somehow manages not to age after all of these years. The base gray color of the vehicle is very pale.
#IMPERIAL SHUTTLE FULL#
Now the vehicle is full of dirt and carbon scoring and other streaks of grease and/or grime and we just love the final effects. The vintage Kenner release was clean as a whistle. In our opinion, the Imperial Shuttle has a stunning paint job. Some loved it, while other felt the removal of electronics coupled with a price hike made this a very disappointing release overall.
Eventually, the Imperial Shuttle arrived to homes and once they were received, the opinions of collectors were mixed.
If that wasn’t enough of an issue, the Imperial Shuttle experienced one delay after another and post cards were sent out to collectors explaining this “tragic” turn of events. Set at $99.99, it was the single most expensive Hasbro item that year and its cost superseded comparable vehicles released that year by more than double. Firstly, the MSRP was a kick in the nuts. An FAO Schwarz exclusive, the Imperial Shuttle was also the center of multiple controversies. With some new paint operations and new decals, the Imperial Shuttle became the most sought after item because it was a long-awaited release, but it was also the perfect Christmas gift that year as well. There would of course be differences in the modern version (like all of the electronics gutted out of it), but for all intents and purposes it would be nearly the same toy we had as kids. In 2002, Hasbro finally promised collectors that they would see a modern release of the classic vintage Kenner Imperial Shuttle vehicle.
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