Corgi Spotlight- Klingon Bird-Of-Prey

Item Name: Klingon Bird-Of-Prey ("Regular" and Silver Versions)
Manufacturer: Corgi



Corgi released this standard colored BOP in this oddly shaped package...



... and the silver "Limited Edition" in this swanky fold out display box featuring a ton of little facts about the Bird-Of-Prey. Here's what it looks like all folded out-



The Rundown: Ah, the curse of clearance. I can't tell you how many items that I've been perfectly content to pass on at regular price... only to then gobble them up when they hit clearance. A perfect example is the Star Trek 2009 Playmates lines. I told myself, "Self- You only need to collect one scale, so just pick up the 3.75" stuff and be happy with it". Which I did. Then the 12" line hit clearance and I bought those. And the 6" line. And a carded set of the 3.75" line. And a carded set of the 6" line. Sigh. I kinda hate clearance since it makes me buy stuff I was perfectly fine not having. BUT.... sometimes it works out well, like with these Corgi releases! I passed on them at their ridiculously high original retail price, but snagged them on the cheap just recently. They were so cheap in fact that I even snagged both versions. Let's take a look at 'em!



First up is the standard painted version. This is the one most folks will want, so it's nice that Corgi made the "regular" paint jobs as the cheaper versions, and saved the silver repaints for the limited editions.



I was pretty happy with the Hot Wheels BOP, but man, this Corgi version puts the HW version to shame! All the colors are great, and the lines and details are all very clean. Incredibly nice work here!



The biggest complaint I have on this is the non-moving wings. At the original retail price, they should have found some way to make them work. I understand that they probably didn't want to compromise the sculpt, but Mattel pulled it off with their Hot Wheels version and it looks fine.



Both BOP's include this nifty Klingon display stand. The ship attaches via a hole in it's underbelly. Feels pretty sturdy and I'm not too worried about it breaking off any time soon.



And here we have the silver "Limited Edition". Again, I give Corgi credit for making this the more expensive, limited version. It would stink to have to pay the extra money for all the bells & whistles just to get a standard BOP. It was a pretty big gamble on their part to do a silver version as the pricier piece (which apparently didn't pay off all that well since these hit deep clearance just about everywhere that carried them).



I've never been a fan of "solid color repaints". I just don't get the point. Why would somebody want a plain silver version of something? Maybe to see the details more.... I don't know. I much prefer the painted version to this one.



Another odd thing here is that some of the parts are molded in clear plastic. I have no idea why. Are the guns cloaked or something? Oh, and the silver plastic doesn't quite match the silver of the metal, giving the whole thing an odd mismatched look.



So by now you're probably thinking "what's the point of getting the silver one?". Glad you asked! The silver version includes an extra piece for display! Plug your BOP into it's stand, and then set it down on this nifty electronic base. Hit the button and...



Yeah. That's pretty darn cool. Corgi's original solicitations stated there was supposed to be a sound feature too (in fact some ads for this piece still state that), but nope, just lights. The lights do look awesome in my opinion though, and the cool thing is that since the lighted base is separate from the stand, you can easily switch out which BOP is resting on it.



So there ya go... I picked these up for the very affordable sum of $15.99 each over at Amazon. At that price, the standard version is a pretty great value. The ship is very nicely detailed, and looks great sitting atop an entertainment center or computer desk. The silver version is a bit of a tougher sell, since I can only recommend it for the lighted base to use on your standard version. Unless of course you dig silver Klingon ships...

-James