REVIEW: 7957 Sith Nightspeeder

[def]

Love the prequels, hate the prequels, whatever. One thing we should all agree on was this: Darth Maul was excellent. There is something cool about him dying off in Episode One, so that he didn't get all played out, but I miss the little guy. I need more of his tattooed badness in my life. Luckily, there's a whole damn planet of his kind, waiting to get LEGO-fied.

Set#: 7957

Name: Sith Nightspeeder/ Dathomir Speeder (Japanese name)

Theme: Star Wars, The Clone Wars

Year: 2011

Pieces: 213

Minifigs: 3: Anakin Skywalker, Asajj Ventress, Savage Opress

Price: ¥3,150

MSP: U.S.$24.99, £29.99

Peeron

Brickset

Bricklink

Use the Force to fight off the stealthy Sith Nightspeeder™!

Sith Assassin Asajj Ventress and Savage Opress are speeding toward Anakin Skywalker on the stealthy Sith Nightspeeder with flick-missiles. Detach their twin pods and close in on the young Jedi warrior! Will Anakin Skywalker be able to fend them off? You decide!

* Includes 3 minifigures: Anakin Skywalker, Asajj Ventress and Savage Opress

* Features 4 lightsabers and weapon!

* Flick-fire the missile!

* Detach the twin pods from the Sith Nightspeeder for a multi-directional attack!

* Measures over 6” (15cm) wide, 5” (12cm) long and 2” (5cm) tall

* Pods measure over 4” (10cm) long

The box

Your standard Clone Wars box. The background conjures up the rugged landscape of Dathomir well enough, plus there's a silly explosion in the background.

The back shows the single play feature, disconnecting speeders. They are reminiscent of Darth Maul's crescent speeder in Episode 1. I don't remember them disconnecting in the Clone Wars episode it appeared in. Summer 2011 is a good year for sets.

The booklets

Standard booklet. Nothing special. Guess who's on the back

There are some interesting techniques in this build, so I thought I'd show this

The Pieces

Three bags, stickers, and a booklet.

Here's my curly sticker sheet. Very curly. The stickers really are important to the set.

The pieces are a smattering of dark and light grey, with a pinch of brown. Notice the five printed slopes! What? I'm confused. Are we in 2001?

These were new pieces for me, and pieces that I could see being very common in the future: 2x4 snotties.

Look at these guys, one new minifig, and two classic Clone Wars figs... or are they? The guy on the right is the dread Savage Opress. What a ridiculous name. It's pronounced sa-VAGE His brother's name is Feral (fe-RAL). Seriously. Check the Wookiepedia. It's yet another reason I stopped reviewing Clone Wars episodes. But we can't blame LEGO for that.

And all three have back printing. Hurrah!

A new Ventress? Nice. I wasn't so satisfied by the first Ventress (on the right), and I think the new one is an improvement. She's definitely lankier. I'd like to see her even thinner and taller though, however they could do it.

And of course, the back printing is an improvement from before.

Oh God, another damn Anakin. I've got so many Anakins I've started giving them away to people as souvenirs when they visit my house. Wait, what? This is a new Anakin? Huh? A new body print? Wow. A loose circa-Episode Two Tattooine look. Very nice. (New on the left, old on the right)

And a new back print Oh, the prices are starting to make sense.

So here's Savage as he appeared in his episode. He was pretty awesome. Big, fast and, er, savage It really was one of the high points of the season, and he should be returning in season four. Cool stuff.

I love you Savage Opress. Will you go to prom with me? His head has a mini-hat of sorts, the spikes are a detachable rubber ring.

Oh Savage, you have a tattooed belly. It drives me mad.

Oh, you got muscly shoulder blades too. Maddening. Here's his Facebook page if you want to be his friend: link

The Finished Product

The first half of the build is these two speeders. Sharp, sleek, with nice SNOT side panels.

The second half is building the frame for it. Equally nice SNOT techniques. Note, the front slope is printed, the back ones have stickers.

So, this speeder only appears for 30 seconds in the show, so it's hard to get a good idea of the 'real' shape. But this gives you some sort of idea.

So this is it. It's not too big, but it cuts a nice shape, and is relatively sturdy.

I'm always a fan of the asymmetrical, so I like that the engine is on the left, as nonsensical as that would be in reality.

If you just need to go down to the store for milk or something, this is a lot more convenient than a full tank or something.

The Final Verdict

Design: 9/10 This is a smartly crafted ship. For something so slight, it is holds together, and it cuts a sharp silhouette.

Build: 7/10 This was a grueling eight hour build with lots of mistakes in the details. No, wait, it was a brief, 30 minute build. But no complaints.

Playability: 8/10 For the size of the set, it is playable. It has a good guy and two bad, and a ship that breaks down into smaller ones. Very swooshable.

Minifigures: 10/10 Three new figs, and one has a spiky head and a complex print. All have back prints.

Price: 7/10 No, this is a little small for the price, but compared to the rest of the licensed line, it's pretty average. As a collector, I'm feeling pretty gouged. But, not on this set any more than any other.

Overall: 9/10 Of the 2011 Clone Wars sets, this is the must-have set, in my opinion. Low investment, great characters, and printed pieces. Savage Opress!

I probably won't buy many or any other Clone Wars sets this year, not with the other interesting OT and PT sets out there, but there was no question about buying this set, and no regret upon building it and seeing it up close.

[Lego Otaku]

Great review! Looks like I need to add one more set to my wish list. I got to wonder what LEGO was thinking when they made 5 slops with prints and not have all the slopes done??

[Stardusty]

Great review, thank you def.

This set is now on my wishlist.

[Blackknight112]

Thanks for the review, this is indeed one of the better clone wars figs. I love the new anakin!

[Stegoceras]

Thanks for the review,

You improved my opinion on the set a bit, don't dislike it as much now. It has some strong points and Opress' headpiece looks better than that of Maul (and Ki-Adi-Mundi for that matter) by a longshot.

Still very low on the list though, will probably once again wait for a discount before getting it.

[Hollander]

Thanks for the review def!

This set was on my wishlist anyway, but you improved my opinion of this set as well...

I think the set has amazing minifigs and a nice selection of parts. And some are printed too! Lets's hope lego will keep printing those pieces... and maybe... maybe, we will find all pieces printed in the future...

[drdavewatford]

Great review, nice figures, but the craft itself is the thing of nightmares - what an ugly monstrosity. I remember the days when machines from the Star Wars universe looked cool - when did that change ?

Not LEGO's fault, of course, and the model looks like a fair approximation of the subject material. With subject material like this, however, it gets ever harder to remain a LEGO Star Wars completist....

D.

[Petit-bleu]

Great review, nice figures, but the craft itself is the thing of nightmares - what an ugly monstrosity. I remember the days when machines from the Star Wars universe looked cool - when did that change ?

Not LEGO's fault, of course, and the model looks like a fair approximation of the subject material. With subject material like this, however, it gets ever harder to remain a LEGO Star Wars completist....

D.

Agreed.

They could have printed the whole parts instead of the little half. It would have been a printed thing of nightmares.

By the way i still dislike Anakin's face but his body with another head will make a pretty cool jedi.

[MrLestrange]

Good review!

Now, I really want to have this set!

[lightningtiger]

Thanks 'def' for this COOL review of such a COOL set....top of my SW/CW list it is now....detachable speeder bikes and those minifig's....too COOL !

May the brick be with you !

[Ki-Adi-Mundi]

Thanks for this very good review. Crispy pics and everything about the set is shown well.

I cannot vote, though. Shall i rate the set or your review in the first question? Shall i cast a vote on that 'Savage' char or the minifig? Might sound stupid but i have extremely opposite receptions on those respective questions.

[def]

Great review, nice figures, but the craft itself is the thing of nightmares - what an ugly monstrosity. I remember the days when machines from the Star Wars universe looked cool - when did that change ?

What is it you don't like with the ship? The shape? The color?

I quite like the original design of it. The only weakness for me is the flat bottom, but that's only if I compare it to something similarly designed, like the Cloud City Cloud Car

Thanks for this very good review. Crispy pics and everything about the set is shown well.

I cannot vote, though. Shall i rate the set or your review in the first question? Shall i cast a vote on that 'Savage' char or the minifig? Might sound stupid but i have extremely opposite receptions on those respective questions.

Thanks. I might redo the mini fig pics though, it got cloudy today as I took pictures, and it was hard to catch the color cleanly.

As for the poll, unless stated otherwise, the questions should be about the LEGO. "Rate this set," not the review

[Ki-Adi-Mundi]

*snip*

As for the poll, unless stated otherwise, the questions should be about the LEGO. "Rate this set," not the review

Thanks for this swift reply. I reconsidered and voted, then. I don't like the set but now took the following into consideration: I personally don't like the animated series at all and found this asymmetric vehicle to be of no concern to a collection. It has a bunch of huge stickers. Nevertheless, the minifig prints are excellent and Anakin's hair is a beautiful piece. Quite some effort was put into designing the comic imitation of Maul. The original was a fascinating char and this one might be to the CW series as well. Due to the good playability value i did cast an 'average' then.

If i had to vote on your review: It's outstanding, as said above.

Edited June 4, 2011 by Ki-Adi-Mundi

[White Cat]

Thanks for the great review. This's a must buy for me. The face of Opress is really fascinating, I think it's even better than the new Darth Maul. And I like the design of the Speeder. Great set .

[gratefulnat]

As a LSW completist, this was (once again) one of those CW sets that I knew I was going to get, but was pretty 'meh' about.

But after building it, I really like the ugly thing. The build was fun and the ship is quite solid and stable, as def says in his review (which was a fun read, thanks!). The more I look at it, the more it grows on me.

The speeder bikes, once detached, are pretty slick in their design.

Plus the figures are well executed. Savage Opress's torso print is great, so much so I won't display him with his armour.

[DarkFader]

Really good review of this set, def. The speeder has too many stickers for my taste (I never apply the stickers on my sets) but it has a pretty interesting design. As for the minifigures, they look great so I am pretty sure I will get it mostly for them (I haven't got a Clone Wars Anakin or Ventress yet and Opress looks really cool so it's all the more reason for me to buy it).

[Big Cam]

Def I approve of your man crush, because I think I have it too. That new torso, and face/head combo is lovely.

Great review as well, the ship does nothing for me, so I'll be seeking this yellow wonder out on bricklink.

[def]

If i had to vote on your review: It's outstanding, as said above.

Thanks for the great review.

Really good review of this set, def.

Thanks so much

I want to take a second out, since it's that time of year, where lots of members are desperate to share the first review of the new sets. I love being first as much as anybody, but I still put time in to this review. I'm pretty let down when someone takes pics for a review with their cellphone on the kitchen table with cereal in the background just so they can be first EB is a classy site ( ) so when we do first run reviews, like ones that are titled "Review: xxx", they should take some effort.

Anyway, I'm glad you all like it.

The speeder has too many stickers for my taste

I know where you're coming from, nobody is a fan of stickers, but these are pretty essential to the design. The ship would look pretty dull without them.

Def I approve of your man crush, because I think I have it too. That new torso, and face/head combo is lovely.

It takes a real man to admit a man-crush BC. You are a real man

[Mr Man]

It takes a real man to admit a man-crush BC. You are a real man

It's a minifig not the real Opress.

Great review def very clean and well put together.

Why did TLG put so much effort into Savage and completely neglect his brother, the Maul fig looks like he is been sick.

The set isn't particularly great, but the figs are definitely the best bit about it.

[def]

It's a minifig not the real Opress.

It's a joke, not a real crush And Opress is a cartoon character

[MaceWindu]

Great review! It is one of the best lego sets this year! I love Savage Opress because this minifigure is very colourful.

[Nightshroud99]

Great review! I really want this set now, I mean a New Anakin!!

Savages' print looks a little bright though, I'm guessing it's just the light eh?

[Mr Man]

It's a joke, not a real crush And Opress is a cartoon character

I knew it was a joke I just forgot to put a after my comment. And so? .

[TheDarkness]

Great review def very clean and well put together.

Why did TLG put so much effort into Savage and completely neglect his brother, the Maul fig looks like he is been sick.

The set isn't particularly great, but the figs are definitely the best bit about it.

Agree with everything here. First up, great review. Always helps with seeing everything in a review whilst pondering a purchase.

Onto the set itself, the minifigs are awesome but I don't have any interest in adding them to my collection. The ship though, is horrendous. Regardless of what it looks like in the CW, it looks horrible and I'm sure they could have found something else to make instead. And to add insult we have a great Savage but a squashed Maul

[anti-hero]

This set was an easy pass until I read your review. Don't have any CW stuff yet so a nice new Ani that can double for a movie one is great to me. Didn't think much of the speeder but it looks pretty decent in your pics.

Thanks for the review!