Hi all. I'm currently doing some research into Micro Machines' old Action Fleet line, and one thing I'd like to be able to do is compile a definitive list of all AF vehicles that actually saw a New Zealand release. Obviously a lot of vehicles are now available via online retailers and auction sites, but I'm interested in which items were originally available in brick-and-mortar New Zealand retailers.
Below you'll find a list of vehicles (I''m ignoring battle packs, playsets, and deco variants) that I know were definitely released here, followed by a list of vehicles that I never saw. If you remember seeing one of the vehicles on the latter list in a NZ store, please let me know!
Thanks in advance for the help!
Available in New Zealand:
A-Wing Starfighter
B-Wing Starfighter
Bespin Twin-Pod Cloud Car
Imperial AT-AT
Imperial AT-AT (Remote Control)
Imperial Shuttle
Jawa Sandcrawler
Rancor
Rebel Snowspeeder Slave I
TIE Advanced X1 (Darth Vader's TIE Fighter)
TIE Bomber
TIE Fighter
TIE Interceptor Virago
X-Wing Starfighter
Y-Wing Starfighter
Episode I Naboo Starfighter Episode I Republic Cruiser Episode I Sebulba's Podracer Episode I Trade Federation MTT
Episode I Anakin's Podracer Episode I Fambaa (Remote Control) Episode I Flash Speeder Episode I Gungan Sub Episode I Mars Guo's Podracer Episode I Royal Starship Episode I Sith Infiltrator Episode I Trade Federation Droid Control Ship Episode I Trade Federation Droid Fighter Episode I Trade Federation Landing Ship Episode I Trade Federation Tank Episode I Trade Federation Tank (Remote Control)
Saga AT-TE Saga Jango Fett's Slave I (technically just a deco variant, I suppose...) Saga Republic Assault Ship Acclamator Saga Republic Gunship Saga Solar Sailor
Last edited by Archon Revuge on Wed Jul 11, 2018 12:48 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Yeah i think that is about right i've encountered a couple of the second wave the AT-TE and republic landing ship (Accumator SP) which i've had but only seen in the second hand market and single digit numbers of, I know you didn't include them on purpose maybe? but we also had the x-wing/vaders tie with handle/stand which are 10-20% larger than their normal release, and of course the variants that came with playsets.
I'd love to get a hold of a Tie defender but i don't think that is likely unless somebody gives up their collection
(Model kit info)
But if you are trying to add numbers to your displays the Bandai kits are 5-10% larger than the action fleet but the biggest issue is you'll need to paint them to match the default plastic is very bright white, however the Tie fighters look perfect out of the box, i can do some side by side pictures if people are interested, i have both the red squadron and first x-wing release.
However if you don't mind too much about size the slightly cheaper "REVELL EASY KIT STAR WARS SKYWALKER X-WING FIGHTER MODEL Revell_1856" Model is 30-40% larger than the action fleet but looks better than the action fleet models do and slightly costs less than the bandai when i picked mine up.
WTB
Cw44 Ashoka.
"Arc troopers 4pack", Rex phase 2 with knees.
Rys & Jek (in 2 packs)
Scythe(dvd)
Stealth trooper(w/jetpack)
CW56-ARF,Homing Spiderdroid (vehicle),At-Rt(s)
Action fleet Tie and Tie/In and x-wing(s)
Thanks for the input buddy - you're one of the very AF experts I was hoping to get help from!
Dawfydd wrote:...i've encountered a couple of the second wave the AT-TE and republic landing ship (Accumator SP) which i've had but only seen in the second hand market and single digit numbers of, I know you didn't include them on purpose maybe?
These ones completely slipped by mind! I've added them now
Dawfydd wrote:I'd love to get a hold of a Tie defender but i don't think that is likely unless somebody gives up their collection
Ugh. My future brother-in-law has both this and the E-Wing sitting on his shelf, and I just salivate over them every time I see them. I tried to trade him my Lego TIE Defender for his AF Defender, but he was having none of it.
Thanks also for the info regarding in-scale model kits. I've occasionally been tempted to go down that route to get a more complete set of vehicles at this size - but then I think about it for a while, and I realise that it's the play-worthiness of the Action Fleet vehicles that make them so appealing to me: the loaded action-features; the articulated minifigures; the robust, not-quite-screen-accurate chunkiness of the sculpts... Qualities that just aren't available with model kits
Yeah i just had a poke at my Revel x-wing while its built much better than the Bandai is even with glue the plastic is pretty thin, the Revel does seem built enough to handle a fall though not ideal its about 8/10th of action fleet strength wise, where bandai would be 3 or 4/10, and the size issue really does stop me from buying another.
I think we are doomed to try to find more second market haha, and yeah i can't imagine trading mine if i had a E-wing or Tie defender!
I was thinking about the Transformer line of vehciles to figures, the scale is "similar" but they are even less friendly to touch than bandai as picking them up moves them around i have an AT-TE and a AAT just through random bulk auctions they're alright but if i had a good place to store them i don't imagine i'd be displaying them currently as i have other versions. (3.75)
I don't think we'll ever see a return to this line but as 3d printers get more cost effective it might be an idea to make them in pieces though i don't know how strong the plastic if you do it that way would be.. it could help replace lost pieces i've seen more than a handful of X-wings i've passed because they were missing laser canons, and the snow speeders often lose the speed brakes i think those flaps are?
WTB
Cw44 Ashoka.
"Arc troopers 4pack", Rex phase 2 with knees.
Rys & Jek (in 2 packs)
Scythe(dvd)
Stealth trooper(w/jetpack)
CW56-ARF,Homing Spiderdroid (vehicle),At-Rt(s)
Action fleet Tie and Tie/In and x-wing(s)
Dawfydd wrote:I was thinking about the Transformer line of vehciles to figures, the scale is "similar" but they are even less friendly to touch than bandai as picking them up moves them around...
I actually picked up a select few vehicles from the Transformers line for this very reason. I mostly focussed on ships that would never get an AF release, and that looked pretty accurate in their 'vehicle' mode - most notably, the ARC-170 and Grievous' Starfighter.
These vehicles had some decent action features (opening cockpits, firing missiles, and even retractable landing gear in the case of Grievous's ship), but the best part was that they came with articulated minifigures that were almost identical in scale to their AF counterparts.
I was trying to get a TCW era Y-wing with the armor on, ended up getting a mini version sadly haha, maybe because mine are second hand the transforming areas are very loose whenever they're picked up they tend to move about the transforming pieces but that line got canceled too.. hahaha.
the only other series i can think of is Disney ;
I know of the AT-AT we've had posted on trademe for a massive mark up, which is die cast, as well as the Poe x-wing/Kylo tie in their cases that have been listed but i don't know much about their size only the price doesn't seem right the action fleet were priced so well, and at a time 3.75 figures could barely move they had so many moving pieces!
WTB
Cw44 Ashoka.
"Arc troopers 4pack", Rex phase 2 with knees.
Rys & Jek (in 2 packs)
Scythe(dvd)
Stealth trooper(w/jetpack)
CW56-ARF,Homing Spiderdroid (vehicle),At-Rt(s)
Action fleet Tie and Tie/In and x-wing(s)
Dawfydd wrote:the only other series i can think of is Disney... the Poe x-wing/Kylo tie in their cases that have been listed but i don't know much about their size only the price doesn't seem right the action fleet were priced so well, and at a time 3.75 figures could barely move they had so many moving pieces!
I was incredibly excited about these, and went to the Disney Store to check them out. Unfortunately, the vehicles and minifgures are about 1 1/2 times the size of the Action Fleet vehicles, so don't scale all that well.
It's a real shame, because if they'd basically been Action-Fleet-in-all-but-name, I would've picked up every last one of them.