The article linked this morning about Toymaker Superstar Mark Boudreaux made me think. He’s designed the BMF and he’s designed Mini-Rigs, and I (and many of ‘we’) love both.

Mini-Rigs never really went away, they just pop up in strange places. The new fighter ship from the BMF Millennium Falcon and the fighter pod from The Queen’s Royal Starship both easily spring to mind. They both have that "just off-screen" quality that makes them extra-riggish.

I’m one who argues that almost any small ship (surface vehicle or space vehicle) qualifies as a Mini-Rig. All of the speeders and swoops; the droids’ escape pod; and even the new hangar transport count in my book. Basically any small item that could be sold in the $10-$15 (big box store) range gets caught in my concept of Mini. (And now I’m picturing Star Puffs Princess Leia driving a Mini Cooper with little buns on the side.) Sorry if that disqualifies Racing Pods, but that’s life.

My goal writing this is to find some "in-universe" pieces that could be made (maybe with some give and take for scale) as Mini-Rigs. Let’s go…

I’m often accused of overlooking the Prequel Trilogy, so that’s exactly where I started my thinking. Besides the Queen’s Royal Starship Fighter Pod, I thought of the wonderfully evil Neimoidian Mechno Chair.

We already know that it has a built-in holo-projector, so it’s half-a-droid already. So what if in times of emergency it could transform into a droid that could stave off attackers? (Add your own imaginary shield projector because those don’t look so hot.) Alternatively have it morph a bit, fire up some anti-gravity and thrusters to became an escape swoop (like the coward Darth Tyrannus fled on). Hrm… There is a lot that can be done with a design this cool.

Actually, that’s been one of my biggest disappointments with the Transformers crossover line… I want even just a piece of the toy to transform into something I can use in the 3.75" play world. (Maybe someday?)

So while I’m still in the prequel stage, I picked out the KE-8 Kaminoan Clone Enforcer from the Complete Locations book. The whole idea of Mini-Rigs was that they were "just off camera", and this is one that I could swear WAS on camera, but Wookieepedia says otherwise, and we all know it’s not wise to upset a Wookiee. At heart, though, this is what Mini-Rigs are all about. It’s a one-man ship that’s packed with play potential. It’s like the Terminator meets a Nun.

Of course, in the truly imaginary concept of the toy, I’d have mini-fighters for the "Bodi" or ‘teenage’ Clone Troopers to practice their skills. Why not have a teenage Oddball working out panic dives in some sort of nifty and compact combat simulation fighter? (Here’s where the gestalt people would tell me that I’m wasting resources because everything that ever appeared in the movies must be made first! Ah, but you’re wrong. You deny the toy, and you deny the whole concept of the movies — imagination taking flight.)

Then there are all sorts of skips, speeders, transports, and even a rickshaw — all in the reality of the prequels that could be made.

I’d plunk down $10 for a cool looking sleekster speederbike that could be reconfigured into the Sith Medical Capsule. (They call motorcycles donor-cycles for a reason, and maybe it could teach a lesson to youngsters and even oldsters about the importance of wearing armor and helmets. Wait. Look at the audience I’m writing for? Skip it.)

Now getting into the OT, there are a couple of obvious examples of ships that would make awesome little toys. Two of them are parked right outside of the Cantina (bonus points if they have parking tickets).

At right you see the "Spider Ship". I don’t exactly know what it is (an airship? spaceship?) or who flies it (well, technically I think it’s that little guy’s ride) but I know a few folks up in Rhode Island who could turn it into h-e-double-hockey-sticks off-wheels. That dome isn’t necessarily a viewport. Who says it’s not a weapon that latches onto attacking ships and unleashed all sorts of ECM? (That’s electronic countermeasures for the people who don’t obsess.)

At left is the Ubrikkian 9000. If you can’t imagine the toy coolness that could be inside that little one-man ship, you should probably start collecting antique brooches. I see a little ball of mayhem just waiting for me to let it spring into action. (It wouldn’t hurt if it were Ackmena’s personal transport, and she was inside entertaining customers before her shift.)

There’s also a matter of things like the Probe Droid Hyperspace Pod. Who says it can’t be used otherwise? What kind of ship did the officer take over to the Executor to take personal responsibility for being really stupid? (I’m actually asking. I haven’t looked that closely.) I just imagine it looks like one of the vintage Mini-Rig shuttles.

I haven’t even come close to mentioning the beasts that could join in the fun. Doesn’t practically everyone have a swoop? (Notable swoop rider Dengar is rumored to have turned into Johnny Cash wrapped in Charmin because he tackled the wrong racer.)

So while we’re busy thinking BMF "big", don’t forget the small stuff. There’s a LOT of cool little things (not to mention cool little people) in the Star Wars universe.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 10:38 am and is filed under Daily Blog, Toys. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.