Question about ARC-170 Fighter (and other vehicles)

[Sappy69]

Hi, I'm a new Star Wars collector, and was thinking of purchasing some vehicles like the ARC-170 fighter. Before delving into these purchases, I'd like to ask some questions regarding these vehicles to people who already own them.

1) Does the droid slot on the fighter fit every astromech droid, or is it designed to only hold certain specific droids?
2) After looking at how large the box for the ARC-170 is, I was wondering if this thing is in "accurate" scale with the figures? Or is it downsized from how big it's supposed to be in order to make it more playable, like how the GI Joe vehicles from the 80's were?
3) Speaking of scale, I've noticed most Star Wars vehicles are downsized for increased playability, such as the Republic Gunship, Millenium Falcon, AT-ST, etc. Are there any vehicles out there that are made to "accurate" scale, other than speeder bikes?
4) This question isn't related to vehicles at all, but I thought I'd ask it anyways. Why do so many Star Wars figures have limited articulation? Is this a cost issue, or an aesthetic one? I'm just to used to GI Joe figures, where they have tons of articulation and can hold almost any pose.

Thanks for helping.

[JediTricks]

1) Does the droid slot on the fighter fit every astromech droid, or is it designed to only hold certain specific droids?

Neither the ARC-170 nor the Jedi Starfighter can hold any astromech droid figure correctly, both droid slots have the same problem, they're designed to be deep enough for the figure's body, but not its legs, so the figure sticks way out. The JSF's droid slot is very tight and can even warp some astromech figures' legs, the ARC-170's droid slot is very loose and the figure almost always will fall out when you bank the ship.

2) After looking at how large the box for the ARC-170 is, I was wondering if this thing is in "accurate" scale with the figures? Or is it downsized from how big it's supposed to be in order to make it more playable, like how the GI Joe vehicles from the 80's were?

The ARC-170 and JSF are definitely under-scale with the figures as well as their own bodies.

3) Speaking of scale, I've noticed most Star Wars vehicles are downsized for increased playability, such as the Republic Gunship, Millenium Falcon, AT-ST, etc. Are there any vehicles out there that are made to "accurate" scale, other than speeder bikes?

The snowspeeder, that's about it though. The Naboo Fighter, the Ep 2 JSF, and the modern X-wing, they're all "closer" to scale than expected, but they're still pretty off. I think the Snowspeeder may be OVERscale actually. I have no idea if the AT-RT is to scale or not really.

4) This question isn't related to vehicles at all, but I thought I'd ask it anyways. Why do so many Star Wars figures have limited articulation? Is this a cost issue, or an aesthetic one? I'm just to used to GI Joe figures, where they have tons of articulation and can hold almost any pose.

Partially it's aesthetics, partially it's manufacturing costs, keep in mind that GI Joe is a brand created by Hasbro while Star Wars is a brand that Hasbro has to pay licensing fees on. Also, Star Wars lends itself more to dynamic posing in the figure sculpts whereas GI Joe's attempt at that was an EXTREME disaster.

[Sith Lord 0498]

Hi, I'm a new Star Wars collector, and was thinking of purchasing some vehicles like the ARC-170 fighter. Before delving into these purchases, I'd like to ask some questions regarding these vehicles to people who already own them.

1) Does the droid slot on the fighter fit every astromech droid, or is it designed to only hold certain specific droids?
2) After looking at how large the box for the ARC-170 is, I was wondering if this thing is in "accurate" scale with the figures? Or is it downsized from how big it's supposed to be in order to make it more playable, like how the GI Joe vehicles from the 80's were?
3) Speaking of scale, I've noticed most Star Wars vehicles are downsized for increased playability, such as the Republic Gunship, Millenium Falcon, AT-ST, etc. Are there any vehicles out there that are made to "accurate" scale, other than speeder bikes?
4) This question isn't related to vehicles at all, but I thought I'd ask it anyways. Why do so many Star Wars figures have limited articulation? Is this a cost issue, or an aesthetic one? I'm just to used to GI Joe figures, where they have tons of articulation and can hold almost any pose.

Thanks for helping.

1) It holds most astromech droids, but they don't lock into place. Basically, you try inverting it, and the droid's gonna go into free fall all the way to your floor.

2) In my estimation, it's closer to scale than most vehicles.

3) I don't think I've really ever come across other vehicles that are made to "accurate" scale. Plenty that are close, but not 100%. Still, that's just a subjective opinion (as is my answer to #2)

4) I always thought the scale attributed to this. It seems hard to have articulated fingers in 3.75" scale. Even the Marvel Legends figures have limited articulation in their fingers. I think the figures would end up being all joints.

Hope this helps a little, and I'm sure others will chime in with their views on the topics.