Vulture Droid

Sometimes I forget that it’s not about the price, it’s about the fun! The Vulture Droid from Star Wars: Clone Wars is undoubtedly a fun toy. These guys are somewhat less ubiquitous as Tie Fighters, but their design has always struck a chord with me.

The Vulture Droid in starfighter mode is quite large. Easily around a foot long. It is very solid and well built, easily a match for any five year old. The toy comes equipped with two missile launchers and six missiles. The missiles are fired via two buttons on the top side of the toy and spare missiles can be stored in the ends of the “wings.” The paint job is crisp and features some light simulated chipping to suggest that this droid has seen some battle.

From the rear, we can see the Trade Federation insignia.

The Vulture Droid is a pleasingly minimalistic design. It doesn’t even have landing gear! You’d think that would be a problem, but the Vulture has a trick up its sleeve.

After a simple transformation, the Vulture Droid converts to walker mode. In this mode, it stands atop four ball-jointed legs. The legs also feature a double-joint for added flexibility. The toy is light, but sturdy and stands with no problems.

The head can be rotated around and moved forward a few ticks. It makes the toy very expressive. The red eyes are quite vibrant.

The sheer size and flexibility of this toy is its strongest selling point. The gimmicks are clean and simple and in no way impede the articulation or stability. Even if you don’t like Star Wars, pick up one of these guys and let him terrorize your other toys.