Fine Molds 1/72
Star Wars Slave I

Background

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 coliseum.

According to the information in this kit, Slave I is actually a Firespray-class patrol and attack ship produced by Kuat Systems Engineering. As you'll remember from the saga, it was handed down by Jango Fett to his son Boba after his death in Episode III.

The basic Firespray vessel was long-since antiquated compared to contemporary spacecraft, but the Fett family had used their bounty earnings to keep the craft updated.

The Kit

Fine Molds has taken on several subjects out of the Star Wars saga and the most impressive of the lot is the Millennium Falcon! This release is clearly building on the experience gained from the previous subjects from Fine Molds and even though it is smaller than the Falcon, it is definitely as impressive.

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

The flight deck is very nicely detailed, as is the passenger deck visible below the flight deck. The superdetailer will have a field day painting all of the various features that will all be visible through the cockpit dome.

A pair of figures are included in the kit. One is Boba Fett seated at the pilot's console, the other is Boba standing with his jet pack ready to hunt. Actually there is a third figure provided. Appropriately cast in white metal, the figure of Han Solo frozen in carbonite is provided for display.

The kit provides moving wings and 'tail' guns, which allow for the model to be repositioned vertically for flight mode or horizontally while on the ground.

The engineering in these kits improve with every release, and like the impressive Bandai Star Trek snap-together kits, this release is designed to be detailed without being overly intimidating. Nevertheless, I recommend that this is not a kit for young modelers unless they have some serious experience under their belts. While the kit would be very impressive if built unpainted, the real benefit will be from careful painting and attention to detail.

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

Conclusions

This is an impressive work of art in kit form. Congratulations go to the engineers and designers at Fine Molds who can transform a few partial sets and lots of CGI graphics into a three-dimensional model.

This kit is definitely recommended!

You can see this kit at HobbyLink Japan here.

My sincere thanks to HobbyLink Japan for this review sample!