Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game - Imperial Shuttle

Continuing on from our last post about AT-ATs, it's time to look at another one of those iconic Imperial machines of conquest and rebellion quelling - The Lambda-Class Imperial Shuttle...

I recall watching the opening sequence to Return of the Jedi for the very first time and looking on in awe as the Shuttle slowly drops out of the hangar bay of an Imperial Star Destroyer, is joined by an escort of tie fighters and then heads towards the partially completed Death Star II.... So many cool things hitting you in the face at once!

'We're gonna need a bigger boat...'

But that was only the half of it. As the shuttle lands on the Death Star and the landing ramp lowers, the bad ass mo fo that is Lord Vader strides out and starts cracking employee skulls... All of which means that the Imperial Shuttle is the ride of choice for arriving in style and showing that you mean business. I'm assuming it has an on-board min bar.

The web threw up a number of suitable options and suggestions for sourcing a decent model of an Imperial Shuttle for use in your games of X-Wing (1/270):

• Micro Machines Titanium Series - 1/381
• F-Toys Star Wars Vehicle Collection # 4 - 1/350
• DeAgostini Magazine Star Wars Collection - Scale ?
• Hallmark Imperial Shuttle Christmas Ornament - 1/265

Popular consent suggests that the Hallmark model is the one to go for in terms of accurate scale and best overall looking model - it does indeed look the business - It isn't cheap however... The F-Toys Model is also a good option and appears to be readily available on eBay at around £10. This was the option I was heading toward until I spotted the Micro Machines Shuttle listed for a mere 99p - How could I go wrong? 

The Emperor arrives in Aspen for his annual ski holiday...

Well, not that wrong at all by the looks of things. Whilst a little smaller in scale, It actually looks pretty good next to the FFG models and was a steal at the price.

At the same time as buying the shuttle, I also took a punt on some cheap Titanium Series Bespin Cloud Cars. Unfortunately they didn't turn out quite as well as hoped and were too big scale wise (don't be fooled by the cleverly angled photography!). Still, they were never gonna be as cool as an Imperial Shuttle...right?  

Until next time ;)