STAP Riders Model Kit Review (AMG)

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Yet another iconic Droid kit comes screaming in on it's jet turbines! the Separatist Alliance STAP Riders kit is one of the most striking units from the Prequel movies and the Star Wars Legion kit doesn't disappoint!

Look and feel (5 / 5)

Straight out of the gate, this kit captures the feel of the STAP speeder - the proportions and fine details in this kit are absolutely flawless.

Given that the STAP riders tend to have quite a static pose, it's no surprise that the model kit follows suit. I'd argue that if you attempted to make the Droids look too dynamic, you'd actually move further away from what makes these guys great.

I love how these fast gun platforms look, with absolutely minimal attention given over to safety or armour, with the fully exposed B1 Droids flying casually into the heart of the enemy without an apparent care in the world!

This visual austerity just reinforces how little the trade federation values individual Droids; unlike the hero Droids such as R2D2, we're encouraged to laugh at and disregard the destruction of these machines like a disposable coffee cup!

All in all, I think the kit brilliantly represents everything I love about Droid STAP riders and anyone creating a Droid army should definitely pick up some of these characterful little flyers! 

Functionality, Cost & Quality (5 /5)

As with their other kits, AMG have produced another high quality product with crisply moulded components and rather attractive packaging. I haven't actually mentioned it before, but I genuinely do think their box art is second to none. I adore beautifully painted action scenes on a box cover and this one in particular has such a great vibe to it!

In terms of the contents vs cost, I actually think these guys are about right for what you get, which is two STAP riders per box. Considering this is a full unit, I think it's a no brainer from the Separatist range of boxed sets.

In terms of functionality, these guys are great - as always, the heavier AMG bases keep these miniatures solidly on the tabletop although I must admit that I mounted all four of my STAPs on the smaller of the flying bases as I'm always paranoid about snapping clear acrylic stems as they're almost impossible to fix cleanly!

Construction (4 / 5)

Construction is the only area of this kit where I have some slight misgivings. Although the majority of the kit goes together relatively easily, I do feel that the instructions for this kit could have been a lot better.

The images from the construction guide really aren't very clear when it comes to the foot pedal positions on the platform wings. I assembled the first one incorrectly because of this. The connection point for this part is also very fiddly and thin so isn't very forgiving if you do make a mistake!

My only other grumble is that sticking the clear acrylic bases to the STAPs is a rather rage inducing experience. You have two options - glue them on first and risk getting paint on the stems or paint the STAPs and glue them on afterwards risking your paintwork. I'll also note that as they're acrylic, you must use super glue and that can mist the clear stems.

It would have been far better if the intended socket for the stem was deeper allowing a proper friction fit where the ball joint could pop in and out of the hole allowing you to remove the bases or reposition the STAPs on them. This may sound picky, but for someone who has had to fix broken acrylic stands more times that I can count, this is a big bugbear.

Kit posing and options (5 / 5)

The posing options for these miniatures is ok insofar as there are two bodies each with a single pose. This gives you a little variety even with a couple of packs, but as they're mass produced Droids, you wouldn't expect much variation anyway.

Where poseability comes in is with the STAP platforms themselves as you can get some pretty wild angles from them if you so choose - all you need to do is reposition the head and you can have a wicked-cool Droid Tokyo Drifting his STAP round a tight corner!

As far as options go, there is one alternative and and aerial to turn a single B1 into a commander, but as there is no option for this in the unit entry, it really is just an aesthetic choice. It's nice to have the option of a Droid angrily shaking his little fist at a pesky Jedi!

Final Score & Comments (4 / 5)

I think four stars might be a bit harsh as I do really love these little guys, but they are the only kit I think back to being genuinely enraged by when the base stem refused to stick or the pilot wouldn't sit right because the instructions weren't clear enough on how his feet should connect to his speeder.

Overall, I'd recommend the kit although I would also highly recommend dry fitting all the components before applying glue and have some super glue and activator spray ready in advance to get the best out of posing these miniatures on their bases!