For 35 years, fans have been clamoring for their own piece of Star Wars extravagance and sophistication: a Hasbro recreation of Jabba’s sail barge, the Khetanna, which the notorious crime lord used to cruise across the Dune Sea. With the launch of HasLab, an innovative new platform bringing big ideas and niche products to life, fans across the United States may soon be able to sail away with their own massive 4-foot-long, highly detailed recreation from the toy brand’s comprehensive 3.75-inch scale Vintage Collection. The never-before-produced vehicle has been on the wish lists of fans and toy designers alike for decades, says Hasbro’s director of Global Brand Strategy and Marketing Joe Ninivaggi.
It doesn’t take a Jedi mind trick to see how much attention, and elaborate and painstakingly precise sculpting has gone into the prototype, which was first revealed at Toy Fair 2018 last month. Available only to pledged backers, the $499.99 masterpiece will be the largest Hasbro Star Wars product ever created, if (and we hope when) it’s put into production once HasLab meets its 5,000 pre-order goal by April 3.
StarWars.com recently sat down with Ninivaggi and Steve Evans, design and development director for Star Wars at Hasbro, to get an early look at some of the most detailed and ingenious features on the model, as well as a peek at the impressive skill and research that went into creating the luxury barge. Fans who back the project will not only receive their own ship when it’s available early next year, but they’ll have the chance to get an exclusive first look at other reveals and special behind-the-scenes content along the way, as well as receiving a 64-page booklet detailing the design and development through product blueprints, interviews, and more.
Jabba’s sail barge will be 49.35 inches long and stand more than 17 inches high. It will include exterior weapons, cloth sails, louvered windows and a scale Jabba The Hut figure. According to Hasbro, the minimum feature list includes the following:
- Take control in the two-person cockpit, complete with a full instrument layout and navigation system
- Hold enemies captive in the prisoner’s cell with a sliding door, floor drains, wall-chained ankle shackles, and Hammerhead skeleton shackled to the cell
- Head to the galley to cook up the “fresh” catch of the day using built in grill top and sink
- Prepare for battle in the armory, equipped with a weapons repair bench and storage racks
- Kick back in Jabba’s Lounge, finished with ornate details including wall mounted trophy heads
- Integrated deck gratings help to illuminate interior compartments
- Capture and hold prisoners easily with a prison cell drop door on the forward deck
- A hidden “smugglers” compartment located in the armory floor. Two rotating cannons with 6 rail-mounted locations provides defense against enemies from every angle
- Explore the dunes of the planet Tatooine and beyond with 2 soft-cloth, fabric sails
- Operational shutters in Jabba’s Lounge help to minimize distractions and protect from glares of the blazing twin suns of Tatooine