Should the Land Speeder box contain a ball bearing

[Wolf Priest Haelaeif]

Hi folks, I got my new Land Speeder in the mail today. I haven't bought a Land Speeder since early 3rd edition, and while there have been improvements on the model itself that I really like, the one I got back then has a ball bearing for its flying stand so that I can angle it and also glue it to the top bit and still remove the stand for transport.

 

The box I got now has a flying stand but no ball bearing, and the flying stand alone doesn't really fit properly, sits a little loose, so I'd have to glue it - and that's annoying if I want to transport the model, as it will almost certainly break.

 

So what I really want to know is: do the new LS boxes usually come with the same old ball bearing that my 3rd edition one had? Because if yes I might ask customer support if they could send me one, or even just send it to my store with the next shipment so I could get it there.

[Dark Apostle Thirst]

Don't glue it, it's so much easier to transport them seperately. I assume that the makers wanted it to be a little loose because 1) it's better than risking it being too small), 2) it's much easier to move the base around and eyeball that without the Land Speeder in the way, while still making it easy to take off and put on, and 3) the aforementioned ease of transporting them seperately.

 

Just assumptions though, take it or leave it.

[Wolf Priest Haelaeif]

The thing is, it isn't easier to put on. The ball bearing is a snap-fit, it goes on and off smoothly, and because the ball bearing is glued to the speeder while the ball is glued to the stand, it is a really practical way to have it fit, even in game. Whereas for the flying stand without the ball bearing, I have to take the base off the table to find the tiny hole in the speeder's underside. So it doesn't help in games at all.

[RebG]

I had the same dilemma so i drilled out the hole a bit and popped a magnet in, then another in place of the peg on the stand. Works a treat.

[Wolf Priest Haelaeif]

Sounds like a plan. So I guess nobody gets the ball bearings in their LS boxes nowadays then?

[Melekharn]

I got that piece in my first landspeeder about 10 years ago... and haven't seen one since.

So, to answer your original question, which most people have ignored...

Nope. You don't. Unfortunately you'll have to get creative if you want some movement in your model.

[Gurth]

I guess they got rid of the old Matchbox staff, then … :devil:

 

(Someone once told me that GW, when they first wanted to release plastic kits, hired former Matchbox people to design them. If you look at the sprues, they are set up in very similar way to the kits Matchbox used to make in the '70s and '80s. The Matchbox 1/72nd scale aircraft kits came with a clear plastic stand with a ball-swivel at the top, to which the old GW item this thread is about bears an uncanny resemblance. Check the lower right of this photograph, for example.)

[darth_giles]

Looks like GW did change the base. Around '02 and '03, all the speeders came with the little ball bearing thingey, although most of us didn't realize you were supposed to glue the top part to the speeder. We just thought it was a badly- designed piece.

 

I saw one a few nights ago in a game, and surprisingly enough the swivel base had been replaced by a standard "large footprint" flight base. I'd suggest customizing your speeder or flight base; I'd suggest making some kind of permanent shim or bushing to help take up some of the slack.

[ShinyRhino]

Buy these: http://www.back2base-ix.com/index.php?_a=v...mp;productId=66

 

I have them on all my Speeders, and they solve the problem perfectly. GW flight stands are trash only suitable for spraying orange and using for target practice.

[Wolf Priest Haelaeif]

Some interesting options, thank you for your advice. I guess I will go to my local plastic modeller shop and see if they have a solution, because I'd really like to get the thing on a ball bearing so it can swivel around when I have it make sharp turns. I obviously make swooshing noises during games, too. Ahem. :D

[-JK-]

I recently bought a landspeeder and wondered the same thing! Last one I got was about 12 years ago... It's a shame because you don't get to play with the angle of it any more. To combat this, I actually bent the stand slightly, heated over a lighter, so that I can change the angle of the speeder depending on which way it is facing. I have to say though, I have had no trouble getting it to fit properly to the stand...

[striker8]

I haven't seen a LS come with the ball mount for probably 5 or 6 years now and to be honest it's probably best they don't. THe two I had broke soon after finishing the speeder and the ones I did on commison broke in shipping. As cool as it seemed they were never very sturdy or removable unlike the plain post going into the hull of the speeder. In my experience the plain post lasts longer and has fewer problems if and when it breakes.

If you really don;t like how they fit on the post or break them often then I suggest a magnetized post mount of some form. I used one of the Ninja Magic post adapters on my LS Tempest out of concern about what could happen if the post broke. Do a web search for magnetic flight/flying stands/bases, there are quite a few out there as well as a few DIY methods using kids construction toys.

[chromedog]

Haven't seen the bearing in landspeeder boxes since the old 3rd ed stock was depleted/recalled for the newer recut of the model (which allows tornado and typhoon patterns as well).

 

They don't come with them anymore, and haven't for several years now.