AMT/ERTL Star Wars Slave I Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

In the first episode of Star Wars (which was actually Episode IV), we catch a glimpse of a bounty hunter's ship flown by Boba Fett. In the next installment (Episode V) we see Han Solo's carbonite-frozen body loaded up in this same vessel. By Episode VI, Boba Fett gets his just desserts (actually the giant worm has the dessert) and we never see the ship again - until the fifth episode (Episode II). Here we're introduced the Jango Fett, the "father" of Boba Fett and previous owner of this ship. By now, Boba has learned to fly the ship which is just as well since his father loses his head during the first big battle in the colliseum.

Nothing is revealed about this mystery ship other than it being owned by a father/son bounty hunter family. How it received the name 'Slave I' is beyond me.

AMT/ERTL has re-released a number of Star War kits in conjunction with "Revenge of the Sith", the final installment in prequel trilogy. I am quite pleased to see that these molds have withstood the test of time! We first saw the Slave I released during the first trilogy of Star Wars movies.

The kit is presented in a light gray styrene and presented on six parts trees. One additional parts tree molded in clear is also included for the cockpit dome, engine lenses, and one frozen hero.

Assembly begins at the rear/underside of the craft mounting engines, sensor dish, and winglet mounts/pivots. Next comes the cockpit which features a pivoting pilot's station which rotates from ground operating position to flight position.

A transport frame and clear part make up the frozen Han Solo which can be loaded into the craft's cargo compartment. A movable ramp provides access into the cargo bay.

The cockpit section and cargo by are mounted into the upper fuselage. An access panel on top of the fuselage also permits viewing of the frozen Han Solo.

Aerodynamic skirts are installed around the sides of the upper fuselage, followed by the lower fuselage plate containing the engines, sensor dish and wing pivots.

The kit also includes a display stand to allow the assembled model to be shown in the in-flight position.

I never had the opportunity to see this kit when it was available during the first Star Wars Trilogy, but it is a nice project that will build up into a distinctive model. This kit is recommended!

My sincere thanks to RC2 for this review sample!