Review: 9674 Naboo Starfighter & Naboo

[mutley777]

I finally got round to opening the planet sets yesterday so here is the the review for all you guys that have been waiting for one.

I am not quite sure where Lego came up with the idea for the planet sets but I think as ideas for new products go it is not a bad one.

The new Box looks very nice and shows of the planet well but this is also a major design flaw. If you pick one of these up in a normal shelf display then the planet is going to have been handled by every kid with sticky, snotty hands. I might have been dropped, have scratches and god knows what else on it. Order them direct if you can I would say.

They do look very nice though.

Getting the planet out of the box can be a bit tricky if you don't want to damage it. The bags come almost vacuum packed inside the planet.

The planet Naboo parts are both printed exactly the same.

The instuctions.

The Pilot fig is the same as last summers System scale set.

The plaque is printed which is nice the 1x1 round plates are the only metallic looking parts.

The Starfighter build is good but would have been so much better if all the light blay was metallic coloured.

The finished N1 Starfighter looks very good for a mini! Almost no studs in this scale is a very good achievement.

The set and fig with stand look good for display.

The planet looks good on the stand but it also has the part for it to be hung on string. The Nabbo planet parts as I said earlier are both the same part printed the exactly the same. Now this should be fine but the land masses don't really line up correctly and you can see light blue shallow water prints where there is no land. This is a bit of a shame but it is also noticeable on the Super high res pics we got last year. I will add that the other 2 planets don't have this problem.

The leftover parts include the planet hanging part.

The whole set.

I do like these Planet sets and think they could sell well. The mini Nabbo fighter is great and you get the fig and the planet looks very good too. The printing issue should have been sorted out though and might get adressed in future poduction runs. The packaging is still my main concern with these sets. Yes it looks good and shows of the planet well but never before has a lego part been open to the elements so much as these are. Time will tell on this one.

Still it is a nice set for £10.

Edited February 5, 2012 by KielDaMan
Indexed

[Brickmamba]

Interesting set, revolutionary but does not have me bursting with excitement at the same time, not much to write home about regards to the minifigure, maybe someone is building a fleet of naboo pilots where this set might shine, really like the look of that printed plaque, otherwise may pick one up only on sale. Thanks for the review

[Mr Man]

Thanks for the review mutley777. For £10 I won't get one but whey they come on sale I might pick up a Naboo and a Death Star, mainly for the figs though.

[JackJonespaw]

Good review! I'll try to pick this one, and the Death Star one, up ASAP.

[robuko]

According to this globe, there really is no reason for the Trade Federation to land on the other side from Theed, and no reason to go through the Planet Core. Guess we knew but this confirms it...

[Rogue Angel]

While I like the update to the Naboo pilot, It's not a figure I'm going to bother replacing for $10 a pop, since I have yet to MOC with one.

[Big Cam]

It's a bummer they didn't take the time to properly print both sides, but they are priced accordingly.

Another great review. Thanks again for reviewing all 3.

[into the blue]

You realise that you can twist the top and bottom half of the planet to different positions and then click them together, right?

That may solve your 'lining up' issue.

[mutley777]

Thanks for all the comments guys.

You realise that you can twist the top and bottom half of the planet to different positions and then click them together, right?

That may solve your 'lining up' issue.

Do you really think I am that stupid!

There is only 4 different ways each planet can be connected because of the 4 fingers on each half. I tried all 4 with Naboo and only the one that I have in my pictures looks any good and it still does not match up right. The printing pattern just does not match up like the Tatooine one does.

[lego envy]

Good review.... Can't wait to get all 3 of mine .. :thumbup:

[VBBN]

This makes me think of those old "xpod" sets or whatever they were called,

A neat way to make buying a mini set more interesting

Though The only thing really interesting me here is the naboo starfighter

I kind of wish the pod has a ittle something more to it, like the xpods used to have, but I suppose that would make the planet look less..plant-ey?

[Flipz]

According to this globe, there really is no reason for the Trade Federation to land on the other side from Theed, and no reason to go through the Planet Core. Guess we knew but this confirms it...

Actually, David Morgan-Mar beat the set to explaining it:

http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0021.html

[into the blue]

Do you really think I am that stupid!

There is only 4 different ways each planet can be connected because of the 4 fingers on each half. I tried all 4 with Naboo and only the one that I have in my pictures looks any good and it still does not match up right. The printing pattern just does not match up like the Tatooine one does.

Looks like you were unlucky enough to pick up a duff set then.

I know how you feel, my Sebulba podracer had one missing part and three other pieces too many.

[Fallenangel]

I think the issue is common to all Naboo sets. It was pointed out when we first received hi-res pictures of the planets.

[Masked Builder]

These are all really fun little sets, but I this one doesn't have enough good parts to warrant a buy from me.

[lightningtiger]

Thanks for the review ' mutley777 ', interesting set....a hanging feature for the planet itself....they'll be popular at Christmas time eh ?

The mid-scale fighter is great except yes, I agree where is the chrome plating !

I'll consider this set if on sale...only for the figure and the planet to hang on the Christmas tree in 11 months time.

[legolandia]

mutley777, thank you for the reviews of all three sets mate.

I can't see the printing issues that is being discussed here but maybe I'm not looking in the right place .

If the silver parts on the ship were made with metallic bricks I would have given this one an above average. As it is I've gone for average.

[Huntleyfx]

This is the one planet set I am seriously considering, and that is only for the minifig (I have a thing for Naboo security forces.) Still, I might just see how this affects Bricklink prices for the figure and go from there.

Edit: I just checked, and it has already dropped the price $3.00.

Edited January 14, 2012 by Huntleyfx

[Ceroknight]

Thank you for the review!

It's a pity there aren't more metallic pieces

[Blondie-Wan]

mutley777, thank you for the reviews of all three sets mate.

I can't see the printing issues that is being discussed here but maybe I'm not looking in the right place .

I think it's largely a function of how picky the viewer is about the precision of the planet prints. I imagine this print is typical of most of the copies of the planet, and representative of the intended print design; I suspect it wasn't really designed to precisely line up with another copy of the same print, but rather to look reasonably good when put together in any of the four possible assemblies, and that the AFOLSWs here are simply applying a different standard than TLG and LFL have.

I think this looks like a great set, and I'm sure I'll get at least one, but my interest in the prequel era isn't nearly so great as in the OT, so I don't think I'll scoop up multiples the way I suspect I'll do with some of the others.

[Hollander]

Thank you for the review!

It's a pity there aren't more metallic pieces

Indeed, based on the pictures we had, I really thought the nacelle cones were metallica too.