Recommended music: Red Hot Chili Peppers – Snow (Hey Oh)
It’s a snowy #StarWarsSaturday, and we’re still on the icy plains of Hoth during The Empire Strikes Back. Today, from the Hasbro Shadow of the Dark Side line, it’s the Laser Tower!
EXT. HOTH – BATTLEFIELD
The fierce battle on the vast snow plains of Hoth rages on. The
Imperial walkers continue their slow, steady assault on the Rebel base,
firing lasers as they lumber ever onward. In the snow trench, Rebel
troops fire large bazookalike guns and dishlike ray guns as explosions
erupt around them. A gun tower is hit by a laser bolt and instantly
explodes. Another blast destroys a ray gun.
…
While laser turrets are just mentioned once in The Empire Strikes Back script, the phrase ‘gun tower’ is also mentioned once as an iconic fixture seen on the snowy battlefield of Hoth. For the vintage toy line, Kenner included a rotating turret in the ‘Turret & Probot Playset,’ with another one included in the ‘Hoth Battle’ playset during The Power of the Force 2.
Hasbro reintroduced this idea in the ‘Battle of Hoth Ultimate Battle Pack’ in 2007. Three years later, the laser turret returned with a new paint job and a new name, replacing “turret” with “tower” in the Shadow of the Dark Side line. This set also included a brand-new Anti-Vehicle Cannon, two Hoth Troopers, and what many consider the best Hasbro K-3PO figure so far.
This mold works well, and the weapon fits nicely with 1/18th scale action figures. It has a side door, an opening top hatch with a platform, and a missile-firing action feature. I prefer this new paint job to the original because the blast marks are lighter, and the yellow weathering looks more like rust than something left behind by a tauntaun.
The Empire Strikes Back turned 45 years old this year! I “figure” there’ll be a new Episode V figure to share here for the rest of the year. Happy 45 years of ESB!
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