Box Side (click to enlarge)
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Box Side (click to enlarge)
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Catalog Description:
TWIN-POD CLOUD CAR protects the BESPIN mining colony. Sleek vehicle features clear roof canopies that open and close easily. Twin cockpits hold Star Wars figures. Landing gear can be manually operated for quick liftoffs and landings. Colorful molded plastic. Action figures not included, sold below. Source: 1980 Alden's Christmas Catalog |
Description:
The Twin Pod Cloud Car had to be one of the dorkiest Star Wars vehicles that Kenner released. I just never understood its design. Why were the two pilots kept separate in isolated cockpits? Did they dislike each other? What happened when one pilot needed to borrow something from the other pilot, like a pen or a piece of paper? And talk about a steering nightmare! I suppose it should come as no surprise that, when, in 1982, Kenner finally got around to releasing a pilot figure for this vehicle, it looked something like a really effeminate Power Ranger. Oh well, I shouldn't shoot the messenger. It was George Lucas who put these things in The Empire Strikes Back. Kenner just sold his toys.
The Cloud Car was really a low price point vehicle, sort of like the ESB version of the Land Speeder. It had no electronic features, wasn't too large and, umm....it was brownish. I know it was the first vehicle that I (Ron) convinced my notoriously penny-pinching mother to buy for me. I remember getting it for Christmas and saying to myself, "Oh great, I now command the dorkiest force in the galaxy."
Dorky or not, the Cloud Car inhabited store shelves for most of the ESB era. In 1980, Kenner offered their larger retailers a "Special Offer" version of the toy, which came packaged with a free Bespin Security Guard figure and featured a yellow sticker on its box. Like most of these "Special Offer" toys, it is exceedingly rare. Surprisingly enough, regular versions of the Cloud Car aren't so easy to find in unused condition. Loose, however, they're quite common.
First Issued: 1980 (ESB packaging)
Re-issues: 1980 (ESB packaging, with Bespin Security Guard and Special Offer sticker)
