Release Date: July 2022
RRP: $12.99/£12.99
With all the ships there are in the Star Wars universe Jazwares were hardly short of choice when it came to launching the Micro Galaxy Squadron line, which makes it all the more impressive that its launch wave isn't just made up of the obvious favourites. Perhaps to compliment the Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter release, Asajj Ventress' Ginivex Starfighter also comes as part of the assortment. Also known as "Fanblade starfighters", these Geonosian-built fighters were built for Separatist Agents during the Clone Wars.
Though part of a lower price "light armour class" assortment than the X-Wing and Darth Vader's TIE Advanced, Asajj Ventress' Ginivex Starfighter comes in largely similar packaging. The big difference here though is that, as a prequel era craft, the backing card features an image of a Jedi Starfighter locked in combat with Vulture Droids instead. The top corner of the backing card also sports a gold "launch edition" sticker - noting these as the line's initial releases. On the back of the card there's some nice blueprint-style artwork of the Ginivex Starfighter, with the toy's features displayed in the top corner and the other vehicles currently available at the bottom. This lower price assortment currently also includes a standard Imperial TIE Fighter and AT-ST Walker, with an alternate colour TIE and The Mandalorian's AT-ST Raider as the chase variants. Inside the ship is neatly stored in its own moulded plastic tray, with the Ventress mini-figure housed within a separate tray fitted within that.
Asajj Ventress' Ginivex Starfighter is a rather curious looking ship, and if it weren't in the name (or if I hadn't seen it in action in The Clone Wars) I probably wouldn't even know it was a starfighter. The ship consists of a bulbous cockpit section with translucent yellow canopy, which stretches out into a thin body. Attached to the back of that is a vertical solar sail, made of reddish translucent plastic with covered with moulded patterning. Despite its simplicity, it's a very elegant design and like some of the other ships from the prequel era stands out from the more blocky, industrial look of most ships from the Star Wars universe. Jazwares have done a great job of the look of this toy, with the translucent parts at either end of the ship really standing out against the bone white body.
The Ginivex Starfighter is also notable because, due to its shape, it actually includes a display stand. This thick piece of clear plastic plugs in on both sides of the ship, giving it a comfortable base to sit on. The arrow-shaped base sports the Star Wars logo as well as some circular detailing (also present on the stand part) to give it a distinct look. Overall it's a good looking stand, and even though it's only here because it is a necessity it's great to see at least something in this line come with one. Why they all can't have one I don't know, but maybe it's something that'll be fixed (or become clearer) as the line continues to progress and develop.
The ship features multiple play features, including an opening cockpit and moving guns but most significantly an opening solar sail. Made up of two moveable pieces, the sails can fold outward to create a full semicircle – vastly increasing the ship's size in addition to making it far more intimidating. The size of the sail combined with the patterned translucent plastic looks incredible, but opening said sail immediately reveals the only real flaw with this release – the display stand is absolutely useless in this mode. The core craft itself sits far too high to work with the included stand, and the overall shape of the ship makes it very difficult to use properly with many other articulated display stands. So really Jazwares have taken one step forward and immediately one step back here. I don't know whether it's just because they're so focused on play that they don't feel the need to have these ships displayed in any sort of attack mode, but given how Star Wars toys are predominantly a collector-orientated thing now (and given the ridiculous chase variants this line has, Jazwares aren't ignorant to it) it seems silly not to consider these things.
Included with the ship is a one-inch tall Asajj Ventress figure, based on her original Sith Assassin appearance with twin lightsabers emitted. It's a good look for the figure on its own, but admittedly makes much less sense when she's sitting down inside the ship. The figure features hinged arms and legs – the skirt being a solid piece whilst the two arms move in tandem with each other. For a piece this size the detail and colouring is extremely impressive – the figure is immediately recognisable as Asajj Ventress and while it might be too small for specific face details or anything like that, touches like her outfit and Lightsaber hilts have the key details to make them stand out.
The Ventress minifigure fits comfortably into the Starfighter's cockpit, and then when the hatch is closed is visible through the orange window. As previously stated the Lightsabers being emitted doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but at least the body of the figure is the most visible part.
Much like the rest of the line I've experienced so far the Micro Galaxy Squadron Asajj Ventress Ginivex Starfighter isn't without its flaws, but Jazwares are definitely showing that the line has some real potential to fill the Micro Machines-shaped hole in collectors' lives. While this particular set immediately stands out from the others by actually including a display stand, it lets itself down by said stand completing ignoring the core gimmick of the ship. But with all the various ships there are in the Star Wars universe, it's amazing that something like Ventress' ship got released so early into the line's run.
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