Action Figure Customs Blog

This Star Wars inspired Custom Republic Gunship brings the battles to life in the Lego Universe. This custom features highly detailed construction and the vehicle itself sports a low profile compared to the original release of the Gunship. By integrating the large cannons into the wings, the Gunship does not look as top heavy and adds a nice, streamlined look to the vehicle. The wings are also angled much lower, creating the illusion of an x-wing with its ability to move its S-Foils in and out of position. Due to its low profile, I would go as far as classifying this as stealth given the abrupt angle of the wings and cockpit features. huetoys goes on in further detail:

"This is a very special creation because it has been modified to carry up to 24+ mini figures. I love the original Lego Republic Gunship, the Imperial Shuttle, the Imperial Landing Craft and the Trade Federation MTT and thus decided to combine some of their ideas into one. This MOC republic gunship has a very detailed troop compartment that opens from the back. There is a sliding plate similar to the imperial shuttle that slides out revealing seating and standing area for 14 mini figures. Additional mini figures can be place on both sides of the ship as well as in the cockpit and side turret guns. A lot time and effort has been dedicated to this modified original creation. Everything from the design, construction, color scheme, interior/exterior design/detail fits very well. My intent was to design something that looks great as a display but can and will handle normal Lego play (no crashing or dropping please!). This is your chance to truly build your army and carry them as well!"

Labels: custom, Custom Figure Reviews, lego, legos, Republic Gunship, Star Wars

The introduction of the Republic Gunships to Hasbro's lineup of vehicles was a welcome addition! The first time I saw one of these bad boys was on the silver screen and Attack of the Clones finally lived up to its name as thousands of Clones decended onto Geonosis to battle the Separatist forces and rescue the Jedi. The databank over at starwars.com succintly lays out the details of these massive ships:

"Rugged, combat-equipped repulsorcraft, Republic attack gunships rained down blistering barrages of laser and rocket retribution against the droid forces of the Separatists. Each winged gunship was covered in weapons, offering air-to-ground and air-to-air support as well as serving as an infantry transport.

The front of the gunship features hunchback-style cockpit bubbles, wherein the gunship pilot and copilot / gunner sit in single file. Chin-mounted on the craft are a pair of laser cannon turrets. On the gunship's dorsal surface are its primary armaments, two massive rocket launchers fed by a rear-mounted missile belts. The vessel's splayed wings have a pair of automated bubble-turrets, with composite-beam laser weaponry. A second pair of bubble-turret cannons extends on articulated arms from the troop cabin, and are gunner-operated by clone troopers encased within the armored spheres. Air-to-air rockets are slung on the ventral surface of each wing. Rounding out the gunship's armaments is a single tail-cannon that provides covering fire for troops and small vehicles leaving the gunship. ." - source: starwars.com

As far as the toy representation that Hasbro produced to compliment the toy line for Attack of the Clones, the gunships suffered from one serious flaw - missing bubble turrets. As described above, the cockpit turrets (as seen in the movie representation below) sported these massive turrets, very reminiscent of the B-17 bubble turrets on the under bellies of the bombers in World War 2.

The eBay seller, vader9900, created a simple fix for Hasbro's oversight and lack of attention to detail. He created custom bubble turrets for the gunships (as seen below):



A very nice addition to the Gunship and fans of these vehicles had an opportunity to bid on one of these customs in an eBay auction that ended September 9th. Vader9900's creation nabbed him $204 on eBay! Nicely done! If you are impressed with his work, you can find links to other custom star wars figures and vehicles that are being sold on eBay.

Labels: Custom Lego Star Wars, Custom Star Wars, Custom Star Wars Vehicles, Republic Gunship