Imperial Fanblade

Our local stocks of MGS ships are 20% off for the first time! So I finally bought the one vehicle I didn’t like: the Ginivex.

Micro Galaxy dog not included

Of course the stock pink look won’t do. So I gave it a twist.

The Imperial Ginivex Starfighter

At the end of the Clone Wars, the newly formed Galactic Empire found itself with thousands of different starfighters. This was eventually standardized with the TIE Fighter program.

But before the TIE was available in sufficient numbers, the Imperial Navy had to make do with what was on hand. These ranged from V-wings and ARCs to Z-95 Headhunters.

It also included locally produced fighters, such as the Ginivex starfighter.

Produced by the Geonosian Shipwright’s Collective for the Confederacy, the Ginivex was designed to be piloted by other species.

It was radically different from the complex Geonosian starfighter meant for Geonosian warriors, which had controls for insectile limbs and piloted using scent glands. The Ginivex had a more universal seating layout and conventional controls. But it boasted a different form of propulsion using its distinctive fanblade wing.

A seized Fanblade undergoing Imperial modifications.

With the end of the war, the Empire seized the surviving stocks of Fanblades and used them for regional security in the Geonosis sector until they could be replaced by TIE fighters. However, their time in the Imperial Navy was short.

The victorious Empire carried out the infamous Sterilization of Geonosis, effectively committing genocide and wiping out the majority of the Geonosian population. This left the Ginivex without experienced techs and mechanics for maintenance. As the Fanblades gradually wore out during service, they were discarded by the Navy.

The brief service history of the Imperial Ginivex is symbolic of Galactic Empire philosophy. Despite being more effective than the TIE in terms of weaponry, shielding and stealth, the xenophobic Empire deemed it inferior, simply because it was produced by a hostile non-human species.

The Empire was not the only one to benefit from surplus Fanblades. With the sudden end of the war, criminal organizations and well-connected individuals were able to seize Ginivexes in the chaotic aftermath. Wealthy collectors snapped them up for private hangars, while pirates used them to raid freighter convoys.

Some privately owned Fanblades were even modified with external hyperdrives. These were taken from the abandoned orbital staging areas of the extinct Jedi Order.

Where to Buy

Ginivexes are like ants: they seem to be everywhere. In case you live in Antarctica, you can find them on Amazon for less than $14.

The ship may be clogging up shelves worldwide, but it has two things going for it:

• First, it’s cheap enough for fleet building.

• Second, it can be easily disassembled and the wings repainted.

So snap them up, make your own Fanblade fleet, and help clear out stocks to get retailers to buy Series II and III!

Meawhile, in the Jazwares Ginivex assembly line: