STAR Force APC (1998 Lanard)
The STAR Force series flew under my radar during its time in store shelves. I was looking for new Star Wars toys and wasn’t paying much attention to Lanard’s venture into space toys. It’s too bad, as the series produced a few real gems for collectors of unusual small Joe scaled vehicles. The APC is the granddaddy of STAR Force cool in my eyes.
Based on the CORPS! military APC mold, the base vehicle adapts well to a space environment. With added details to the top doors, the plain-Jane vehicle becomes something decidedly more lunar. That’s the overall feel I get here; a ‘roided lunar rover. One-sixth the gravity, twenty times the coolness.
At first glance you might think the Lanard APC is a close copy of the Joe vehicle. The A in this case stands for Armored more than Amphibious, as it cuts a more stout silhouette than Hasbro’s version. Heavy doors replace a canvas top, and the interior is more mobile operations than glorified station wagon. Lanard has always adapted its base vehicle designs with add-on details, and a few techie boxes, hoses, stickers and radar accouterments put the space elements into the ride.
I had this one back in the 1990’s. At the time I was using Star Corps as Imperial stormtrooper fill ins, since the figs were $1 each and Stormtroopers were $5 each. The waning days of “toy universe”.
What the G.I.Joe A.P.C would look like if the Ghostbusters ever got their hands on it ..
I passed on all those Lanard vehicles of that time as I only really had room for Star Wars vehicles. By the time I got more space, most of this stuff was gone and ARAHC had started up.
It’s too bad as Lanard’s vehicles are easily the best of the ’90’s. Some have gotten pretty hard to find and quite pricey of late, too.
That’s really COOL1