Rufus

It's tile-tabulous! I love your reviews, Svelte - always entertaining and informative, and here you've made me pine for a set that I probably would never have looked twice at otherwise. It's interesting that they appear to have piled up plates when, in many places, bricks would have done the same job, but I guess it helps to texturise the building. The beautiful box and manual make this a great collectors' set.

Remember the classic scene from The Empire Strikes Back, where Zev Senesca rescues Luke Skywalker from the Wampa Cave? What do you mean, No? Ok: remember the scene where Luke escapes from the Wampa cave, falls over in the snow, sees an image of Ben Kenobi, is found by Han, who stuffs him into the gizzards of a dead Tauntaun, then is finally rescued by Zev Senesca? Now, edit that scene a little, recreate it in little plastic bricks, and you get: 8089 Wampa Cave & Snowspeeder Official Shop@Home picture Name: Hoth Wampa Cave Number: 8089 Theme: Star WarsTM Original Trilogy (Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back) Year: 2010 Pieces: 297 Figures: 3 (4 if you include the skeleton) Price: GB £ 34.99 | US $ 39.99 | EUR 49.99 | AUD 79.99 | DKK 429.00 Links Shop@Home ... Bricklink ... Brickset ... (Peeron Not Yet Listed) The Box I love the colour scheme of these summer sets - far nicer than the tedious white we've had to put up with for the last eighteen months. The dark blue background is smart and eye-catching, and shows off the set really well. Here we see Luke dangling from the ceiling of the icy cave, whilst the Wampa high-fives the air; meanwhile Zev speeds towards the scene, apparently from inside the cave. It's a somewhat improbable scene, but there is no other way to feature all the elements of the set. The back shows a different view of the set, this time with the speeder landed as Zev drags Luke from the cave, whilst the Wampa apparently waves goodbye and the skeleton watches with interest. A few of the features of the set are shown off: the opening canopy and tow cable of the speeder, plus the lightsaber ejection 'mechanism' which we'll examine later. Also featured are adverts for three of the pricey summer releases. You can see that this box opens with the familiar thumb tabs. The box top shows 'actual size' photographs of the protagonists, including the skeleton amongst their number. Wampa is too tall, so has to sit sideways. Here he is rotated: The Instructions The single booklet sports a larger version of the box picture, looking pretty without all the clutter. It fits snugly inside the box, hence mine came out uncrumpled. The steps are simple, with piece call-outs and about 2-5 pieces per step. There isn't much of a problem with colour differentiation, being mostly white and grey. In this featured page you can see the little sub-builds used to create icy stalactites. The now-standard parts index graces a two-page spread at the rear: Click for a high resolution image. A further double-spread shows close-ups of the set features, and adverts for all the (non-exclusive) summer releases: Note again the lightsaber ejector. The Parts The 297 parts come in three numbered polybags, plus the separately-packaged Wampa: Bags 1 and 2 contain the parts for the speeder: There's little to note here, and the parts collection will be familiar to owners of the previous snowspeeders. Bag 3 builds the cave: Some useful parts here: a few large plates, plus lots of tall white bricks and slopes which are vital for any Hoth builder. There's a single dark bley rock piece, which will probably not get many people excited, but the twelve white cheese slopes are a bonus. The Decal Sheet The single DSS provides detail for the snowspeeder: the nose livery, the engine detail and the computer screen. It's a real shame that Lego have to produce stickers for these features, particularly as the 2004 version (4500) had much of the same details as printed parts. A welcome new feature is the backwards 'ZZ' which can be seen in a few scenes of the movie. The Minifigures Here are the standard-size figures, front and back: Luke will be the biggest excitement here. He sports a new torso: a quilted Hoth jacket, with utility belt, and nice back printing. I'm not sure of the authenticity of using grey for his arms and legs, but it's hard to tell from the movie what colour his trousers are! He has the oversized hat introduced with this year's battle pack. It would be nice if he had a 'car crash' face to match Luke's injuries, but this appears to be the same head as appeared in the Landspeeder earlier this year. Here's Luke in the movie: His arms look like they should be white. In a later shot of Luke in the cave, his trousers do indeed look grey (see here, or later in the review). Zev Senesca is identical to the one from the battle pack (8089 on the left): Lego have done a fairly good job on Zev. He's the dude that flies out to find Han and Luke, and is most famous for the 'I've found them - repeat, I've found them!' line. As such, most will remember him smiling and looking quite jolly: Lego's scowling Zev is a little incongruous, though I do like his helmet. 'Look at 'is little face!' Wampa is very cute: There was a lot of disgust, when pictures of this set first appeared, at the 'holes' on the inside of Wampa's arms. I really don't think it's that big a deal; you really don't notice them most of the time. I suspect that filling these holes would have required a whole separate mould, and would probably have made the set prohibitively expensive. I wouldn't be surprised if the Wampa alone makes up over £5 of the £35 price tag. Note that, unlike with the Tauntaun, there is no ambiguity about how to position the horns. He's quite a good representation: Perhaps a little stocky for what's basically a white wookiee. Wampa's arms are attached via blue Technic pin-axles, as we'll see later. The right arm can grip minifig tools (or chicken legs), and the left arm can hold whole figures, allowing the Wampa to drag Luke off to the cage ... ... or to test the 'Humans taste like chicken' assertion. The Build The speeder is built first. For owners of 7666 Hoth Rebel Base, the build will be hauntingly familiar, although there are a few differences. It's as if the designer relied on memory rather than reference to the previous model. The little differences include use of the yellow tiles for the floor of the speeder. This is a little annoying as the pilot tends to rattle around. There are more differences in the wing. The engine mounts are the same shape as 7666's, but aren't removable. The cannons are improved: they are in line throughout their length, not staggered; however, the cannon end-pieces aren't mounted on jumper plates which mean they sit a little lower. We'll compare the speeders directly later. The cave is a simple open structure which nevertheless makes effective use of staggered blocks to add perspective. The dark bley 4x1 bricks with side studs attach the stalactites mentioned earlier, and also serve as the attachment point for Luke's legs. The ribcage and lightsaber ejection 'mechanism' are built thus: The ribcage is a lovely touch, built simply from tan 1x1 plates with side 'eye', and teeth. The bley minifig neck-attachment serves to anchor the ribcage to the cave floor. The Complete Set Let's have a look at the snowspeeder. It looks like Lego have settled on this basic design, which hasn't changed a great deal since 4500 in 2004. It's sleek and attractive, if not wholly accurate to the movie version; the main difference being the shape of the cockpit which uses the same piece as the X-Wing and Y-Wing models. It's quite imposing from the front, and Zev gets good visibility through the tapered cockpit: From this angle you can see how the cannon end-pieces sit a little low; this would be easily fixed. We'll now have a look around the model, with comparison to the previous two versions - 4500 (right) and 7666 (left). I haven't included a comparison to the original grey 7130, which is a completely different bucket of frogs. The most obvious difference between 7666 and the other two is the colour scheme - 7666 has grey stripes, while both 8089 and the earlier 4500 have orange. This is an authentic feature of the movie: Zev's speeder has the orange flashes, whilst Luke's has grey. The only offender here is 4500, which was sold as Luke's speeder. The colour difference is shown in this screenshot: From the top, you can see how the basic shape is the same, though 4500 has differences in the slopes of the engine modules and the cannon pieces. 4500 also features more tan in the colour scheme. The major difference between 8089 and 7666 is the centre section of the cannons, which have been smoothed nicely in the latest incarnation. From the back, we can compare the harpoon and tow-cable mechanisms. The basic spool is identical (notwithstanding that I hadn't applied the fiddly string when I took these pictures), but the harpoon itself is different on all three versions. 4500 used a classic space camera; 7666 a piece which resembles a jack-hammer; and 8089 a megaphone. The last, unfortunately, does not grip the hook well. The evolution of the harpoon system is linked to the change in the cockpit between 4500 and 7666. 4500's cockpit opened in the middle: this is authentic to the movie, but problematic as the whole rear part of the cockpit tended to rip off. Therefore, with 7666 some opening hinges were provided so that the whole cockpit would open, giving easier access to the gunner. The downside of this otherwise useful change was that there was less room for the harpoon gun, which was now attached with a clip piece and therefore doesn't rotate. You can also see in the above shot how the bley ridged plates on the inboard surface of 8089's wings do no extend all the way to the rear. This is due in part to the engine modules sitting a plate lower on the wing. Here's a close-up of the tow cable apparatus, with string attached: The left-hand picture shows the intended arrangement; as such, the megaphone doesn't grip the hook, so I've reversed it in the second picture. That way, whilst it doesn't grip securely, at least the hook stays in place. The differences in the cockpit design can be seen in this view (8089 at the front): Note that the more recent versions' cockpits can still open in the middle, thus preserving authenticity. Finally, a view from below: It's a shame that the later sets didn't include rounded plates to assist the sliding along the carpet that kids will want to do. 7666 has a 2x4 plate which lets it sit in the rotating repair bay that comes with that set. 8089 is rather plain by comparison. The Cave For a very simple playset, this is quite an attractive design, and I think Lego have done well to include nice details and play features whilst ensuring that Luke remains the centre of attention. The use of cheese slopes to finish off the upright parts helps to highlight the iciness of the scene; I love the perspective effect of the cave tunnel. This is what the cave should look like: Note Luke's grey trousers. The Lego rendition is far simpler, but the icy stalactites and stalagmites are brought to life quite well. It's not so much to look at from the back ... ... although the outward-facing rock piece helps to break the monotony. Looking at the screen shot above, I guess this aspect represents the entrance to the cave: the rock piece facing outwards therefore makes some sense. The skelington has a little handle to hold onto: This is a nice touch, and helps to prevent him disappearing under the furniture during dusting. The lightsaber launching mechanism is less effective: The features page of the instructions implies that pressing on the white tile at the right will launch the saber at Luke, so he can cut himself free. However, no matter how I pressed it, I couldn't get the saber to shift more than a few millimetres (right panel). It's more of a talking point than a play feature, but a nice idea. To continue the sequence, Luke somehow retrieves his lightsaber, and cuts himself free in time to face the Wampa: He then dismembers the poor blue-blooded beast and legs it ... ... In time to be rescued by Zev. Conclusion Isn't there something missing here? Well, I haven't watched Empire for maybe at least a week, but I could swear there's a whole scene involving fading Ben, muttering Luke, hero Han and a Tauntaun's giblets before Zev stages his eleventh-hour rescue. This set therefore sits on a dubious premise: that the target market will either not remember the details of the film, or forgive both the blatant editing required to render this scene, and the extra cost of having to purchase 7749 Echo Base in order to recreate the movie plot with accuracy. Most adult SW Lego fans, I'm sure, won't care. This is a great opportunity to get hold of a snowspeeder, for those who missed out on the short-lived 7666 and the ancient-history 4500, and holds the additional excitement of a new Luke figure and the cute chunky Wampa monster; I can't imagine that anyone who is thinking of buying this hasn't already got at least one 7749, or wouldn't be averse to buying one. From that point of view, I suspect 8089 is aimed as part of a marketing strategy: with 7749, two elements of a collectable series. I know many will complain that the snowspeeder is just a re-hash, but with another AT-AT out this year, it'll need something to fight; plus we have a whole horde of Hoth battle figures, so another central player in the Battle of Hoth actually makes perfect sense for 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. Design: 9 Lego have just about perfected the design of the snowspeeder, so I can't complain about its similarity to the previous incarnations. It's a beautiful little ship, delightfully executed. The cave is simple, but the staggered blocks recreate the look of a short tunnel very effectively, and the little touches such as the ribcage really set it apart as a design triumph. Build: 8 The build process is fun, even for those who have built the speeder before. There is minimal repetition, and little fiddly Technic, though attaching the tow cable required patience. I didn't apply the stickers, but there are no multiple pieces or tricky curves to deal with. Parts: 7 There are no particularly rare or unusual parts, but the collection of tall white bricks and slopes would be useful for MOCcers. Figures: 8 Despite concerns about the Wampa's hollow arms, he's a handsome brute. The different arms can look a bit odd, but are necessary for playability, and I like that he can pick Luke up. Luke himself has a great new torso, but I would have liked to have seen a scarred face. It's a pity that Zev is identical to the figure from the battle pack, but this is more a fault of the latter which should ideally have included a generic pilot. Playability: 7 There are lots of little features which add to the playability, but there really is a limit to the number of times you can recreate Luke escaping from the cave. The lightsaber mechanism is more puzzling than anything else. This sets shines most when combined with others, be it Han and the Tauntaun from 7749, or using the speeder to attack the AT-AT of your choice. Price: 6 Considering the original Snowspeeder 7130 cost around £15 back in 1999, this set seems way overpriced - it's only £5 less than the much larger 7749 Hoth Rebel Base. Much of this cost is, I suspect, down to the Wampa, and may preclude the purchase of multiple copies in order to build a fleet of speeders or a Wampa civilisation. Shame! Overall: Average score 45/60 (75%). My score 8.5/10. I didn't have to think about buying this, and I rushed out to get it as soon as it became available. With the Wampa, we have finally filled a hole in the Lego Empire Strikes Back story, and who can complain about another snowspeeder? Verdict: A must for any Original Trilogy fan. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the review. Please let me know your thoughts on the set and the review. Rufus For all the pictures, including high-resolution shots, go to my Brickshelf folder Read schlaouich's review here. Other Snowspeeder resources: 4500 Snowspeeder by Skipper24 7130 Snowspeeder by I Scream Clone : by def 7666 Hoth Rebel Base by mutley777 : by def 10129 UCS Snowspeeder by Rufus To finish: Take care when cutting yourself free from ice caves with a laser sword: Sometimes Vader regretted joining the Dark Side:

'Tell Captain Kagi to ready my shuttle for immediate take-off. I sense Lord Vader is in danger ...' - Emperor Palpatine ... Funny how the epitome of evil cares so much about his new apprentice. I think it's quite sweet! The Cygnus Spaceworks Theta-2c shuttle was the immediate forerunner of the beautiful Lambda Shuttle that graces the screen of Return of the Jedi. Newly-crowned Emperor Palpatine's shuttle appears for only a few seconds during the closing scenes of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, but even in that brief moment it creates an impression, and its pedigree is instantly recognisable. I was quite excited to see this craft released as a Lego set - the large passenger space-going vehicles have always been my favourites of the Lego Star Wars range, and I'm a sucker for shuttles . Let's see if this one lives up to my expectations. 8096 Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle Official Lego.com image Name: Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle Number: 8096 Theme: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Year: 2010 Pieces: 592 Minifigs: 4 Price: UK £59.99 | US $59.99 | EUR 69.95 - 74.90 | CA $79.99 | AU $109.99 Links Brickset ... Bricklink ... Peeron not yet listed ... Brickshelf The Box This box is surprisingly wide and shallow, presumably to appear more substantial on the shelf. In keeping with the rest of the summer wave, the logo has the lovely, smart indigo which frames a clone looking to windward against a turbulent sky. The ship is pictured blasting its lasers against a volcanic backdrop; appropriately enough as one of the few times we see the shuttle is over the igneous landscape of Mustafar. The four figures are displayed, along with an inset of one of the play features - Darth's behelmeting. The rear expands upon the play features: Darth's helmetification is shown stepwise, the landing gear is deployed, the cockpit opened; all framing an open-lid shot of the whole shuttle. You will notice that the box is of the frustrating 'tear-tab' variety, normally requiring a letter-box approach to get the contents out without destroying it; however, you might also spot in the top-right corner that Argos had made a start on destroying it for me. Typically, I didn't notice till I got home. The top displays the figures in 1:1 scale. The narrow box requires the figures to be rotated 90 degrees; to save you scrolling too much, I've rearranged them into 2x2. The Instructions The two instruction manuals share the same front picture: the same as the box minus the insets and wording. The steps are clear but a little simple, often with only two or three parts per step, but there are piece call-outs and warnings (eg. to make sure you get the correct-sided wing-piece). The proximity of black and dark bley might make colour differentiation difficult, but Lego have been listening, and no similar parts are found in these colours. Most of the construction steps are in the first manual. The second, which is noticeably poorer quality than the first (I phenomenon I first noticed in the Emerald Night), contains the finishing steps, the inventory (page 2), and a few adverts: Note the juxtaposition of the two 2010 logo themes: isn't the blue Summer theme so much nicer than the white? Fans of the Tt Games Lego Star Wars series beware: It is coming! The Parts Four numbered polybags fall out of the box: Bag 1 is surprisingly small, and contains the figures and the cockpit: The cardboards holds Palpy's cloak; the droid torso is protected in its own little bag. The printed console is the same as that from the V19 Torrent. The cockpit cover is (I think) the same as the front of the new Passenger Train; the cockpit base is a part I haven't seen before: Bag 2 is larger, and builds the shuttle base and interior: There's a daunting number of Technic pins, but the build isn't too fiddly. I like the dark green chairs. The wings and landing skids come from bag 3: Bley wing-pieces will always be useful for Star Wars MOCs, and there's a nice number of tiles. I don't think I've built a 2010 set that hasn't contained the new 2x4 tiles. Bag 4 is sizeable. It builds the roof of the shuttle. Note the Persian arches, the 1x3 dark red tiles and the transparent orange 1x2 plates. There are only two stickers for this set, both intended for the cockpit cover: My box contained two sheets! The Figures The set comes with four figures: Emperor Palpatine, 'Charred' Vader, Clone Pilot (presumably Captain Kagi), and a medical droid: Only Vader and the clone have back-printing. Palpy has a new face, with more sunken eyes and a more fearsome scowl than his relatively amiable (and now quite dishevelled) predecessor from 7264 Imperial Inspection, on the left. He also has a noice silver clasp to his cloak, which gets hidden when he has his hood on. Rather disappointingly, he appears to be wearing gloves - can't keep his lightning-hands under control? Vader has a lovely Mustafar tan. He looks like he'd be quite comfortable in a Prince of Persia set, albeit having been at the wrong end of Dastan's katana. The medical droid has been weight-training, by the looks of it. His torso and head are one piece, with delicious printing; he'll be useful for a Hoth base. Captain Kagi (if that is his name) has a face a skeleton would be proud of (so proud he's wearing shades). His suit is the same as the clone pilots from the latest ARC-170 (right), and similar to the V-Wing clone pilot (left). The helmet mould is the same as the ARC pilot, but with different printing; interestingly, it has the 'broken circle' Republic motif. See here to compare the helmets. The Build The bulbous cockpit is built first. It's quite an entertaining little sub-construction, with some interesting SNOT on the sides: The result is quite attractive, seen here from above-front and below-rear. Note the two pins that are the only connection to the body; reasonably secure nonetheless. The body of the shuttle will look familiar to owners of the Republic Attack Shuttle: You can see that the mechanism for attaching Vader's helmet takes up most of the space, but there are recessed areas for seating two passengers. The wings open with a similar mechanism to the RAS, pivoting on friction pins, but there are ugly holes where the mechanism doesn't sit flush with the shuttle floor. The landing gear consists of skids made from inverted tiles: The white plates here are a little ugly, and unnecessary - I don't know why they didn't use grey. The wings are very well designed: a bilayer of plates, but the use of the wedges is very clever. Here, the white on the top surface is quite effective, but on the underside is again a little incongruous. Similarities to the RAS are again apparent in the construction of the roof: Some ugly-looking Technic widgets are required to form the roof opening mechanism, rear and front respectively: They aren't too noticeable on the finished model. The centre wing is an asymmetric assemblage of plates: Note the four black 2x2 plates with offset hole that will attach the wing to the spine of the shuttle ... ...like this: Some SNOT plates and tiles finish off the roof, and we are ready to see the completed shuttle. The Complete Set First off, we'll look at the model in 'flying mode'. To photograph it with the wings extended, I've had to balance it on a tumbler. From this angle, it looks pretty good. The forward-swept wings give it a predatorial look, and the design of the cockpit is simply stunning. Seen from this side, the centre wing looks nice; the white wing pieces at the leading edge are a little odd, but are intended to represent a feature of the real thing, as we'll see. You can also see how the lasers are slightly tilting inwards; this is caused by the white inverted 2x2 slope obstructing the guns, but the effect is not displeasing. Viewed directly from the front it looks quite menacing: The SNOT cheeks of the cockpit are nicely smooth and streamlined. The rear isn't quite so nice. The designers have captured the two straight engines well, but the mass of technic parts are a little untidy. I don't think there's any excuse for the visible tan frictionless pins here. The rear laser cannon can pivot left and right, and up and down, using quite a simple technique, but it isn't quite intuitive to handle. Compare the busy rear of the Theta shuttle to the relative sparsity of the Republic Attack Shuttle's (picture taken from def's review): Whilst the RAS's rear is simple, if functional, the Theta's is fussy. From the starboard side, we can see the effect of the asymmetric centre wing. I think the visible plate undersides are a little disappointing, but I can't think of a way of achieving the same effect using bricks. From this side, we can compare to the real thing: Notwithstanding that the lighting in this Mustafar screenshot isn't ideal, you can see how the designers have gone to some lengths to recreate the livery of the 'real' shuttle. The white wedge plates at the leading edge of the centre wing are an attempt to recreate the visible stripe; it's not altogether successful. I do like the flashes of dark red, which are authentic; I like to think the shuttle was in the process of having its Republic insignia removed. The 'holes' in the wings are recreated nicely; they should sweep forward more but I don't think that could be replicated in Lego at this scale. In 'landed' mode, the wings fold almost vertical. You can't overextend the wings in either direction; there are technic axles in the folding mechanism to prevent this. In this side elevation, you can see how effective the landing gear is: It sits very stably on the skids, but the ugly white is very apparent. The rear cannon seems to extend uncomfortably far from this angle. From the rear: This is definitely not the shuttle's best angle. It looks somewhat squat, and the Technic parts are emphasised without the extended wings. The Features Hooray for folding undercarriage! The skids fold back neatly; they are still a little obtrusive when folded, but there isn't space to fold them flush without losing what little interior there is. It's a vast improvement on the fixed white blocks found in the RAS and Imperial Landing Craft sets. The roof-opening device operates thus: I've removed the port-side cannon for clarity. It's easy to open, but closing the roof is a bit tricky. Once again, the similarity to the RAS is striking. Here's how Vader gets his hat: The helmet is gripped by two rubbery pieces, attached to a Technic contraption that slides on two axles. Push it onto Vader's head, and the head-stud grips the helmet more strongly than the rubber. Finally, you can tilt him upright. The most fearsome and iconic arch-villain in science-fiction history is created, and says ... 'Is Padme ok?' You can also see the lightsaber holders in this view. Finally, a look into the roomy cockpit... ... And Palpy sits in the smallest room in the shuttle, doing his Imperial business. It's a bit of a squeeze to get him in there, and I wouldn't recommend leaving him sat there for long with his cloak on - it'll get awfully crumpled. Conclusion It's quite a brave move for Lego to produce a higher-end set from a ship that appears only for a few seconds at the end of a five-year old film. I don't know if this ship does or will appear in the Clone Wars cartoon series, but even if it does the set is clearly inspired by the movie Episode III. It might therefore appeal to older kids for whom ROTS may have been their first introduction to the Star Wars universe, but the attention to detail certainly suggests the designer had AFOLs in mind when creating this Lego incarnation of the Theta shuttle. On the whole, I think the result is a success. There are problems: the use of colours in an attempt to recreate the livery of the movie shuttle, while well-intentioned, comes across a little blocky; the Technic constructions that attach the roof to the body are fiddly and unattractive; the interior, like its cousin the Republic Attack Shuttle, suffers a lack of headroom and the Vader-helmet mechanism eats up most of the space. However, the overall shape is a faithful representation of the Theta shuttle, which is no mean feat given the vehicle's intricate design; the cockpit section is stunning, and the functions are ingenious and well-realised. Design: 9/10 Even given my reservations, most notably the incongruous white plates and the holes and lack of space inside, I think a high score is deserved. I really don't see how the designers could have done a better job without the set being a dull grey blob. The cockpit design is outstanding; the landing gear is very welcome, if imperfect; and the very successful RAS design deserves its reprise here. Build: 8/10 Never tedious, but rarely challenging, the build process is entertaining and rewarding. You are always aware, when putting the sections together, that there will be a final 'coming together' moment. The attachment of the centre wing deserves a special mention as an innovative technique. Parts: 8/10 There's a good selection of plates, handy for SW MOCs, and the number and variety of tiles is a bonus. I would get more excited about the dark tan tiles, but once you've bought a Prince of Persia set or two they become a bit ho-hum. Figures: 9/10 Thinking about it, all four of these figures are unique. Palpy has had a face-lift (of sorts!); charred Vader is better (and better tanned) than the 2005 version; the clone pilot has a new helmet print, and OT fans have been crying out for a medical droid for years. The only thing missing is one or two red-marked clones (a shock troopers, I believe) which accompany Palpy on Mustafar, but I can't really complain. [Edit: Palpy is the same as in the 10188 Death Star set - I stand corrected ] Price: 7/10 I wanted to mark this lower. £60 seems awfully pricey for a mid-range set; the slightly larger RAS was a whole £10 cheaper only 18 months ago. However, the reason for this apparent extortion is the weak pound which has seen a hefty hike on all imported products; the price in the US is $60 which puts it at the usual 10 cents per piece mark. So I'll hold my tongue, and instead direct my anger at Argos for damaging my box... Overall: average 82% My score: 9/10 This is a great set. Look beyond the odd colours: this is one of those models you'll keep picking off the shelf and swooshing around whilst no-one's looking. Afterword: I was so impressed by the RAS when it came out, that I used the design to base a model of the Lambda shuttle on. I had hoped that when Lego finally released a decent Lambda, it would use a similar mechanism. I was actually a little disappointed when news came that the offical Lambda would be a UCS; this set has gone some way to make up for that (and I'll buy the UCS Lambda anyway). Here are the Siths comparing the Theta and Lambda shuttles (my interpretation of the latter): Thanks for reading! Please let me know your thoughts. Rufus

Hmmm... reminds me of this: So maybe they did make it into a set. In 1985.

They appear to be 'Telling Everybody' and 'Whisper Your Name' by Human Nature. Number 2 didn't work for me.

Looks great, Cavey (if I can call you that!) You've got the wing mechanism right, and the underside is spot-on. Two criticisms: the SNOT skirt looks a little too fat - might it be better at a single brick thickness? Secondly, I'd use the new Slave 1's round dark green pieces for the arches - they look more accurate to the real thing:

This was one of the first sets I ever owned. It is memorable for a number of things: the inordinate number of stickers; the then quite advanced techniqes of the jumper plate for the motorcycle handlebars and (if I remember correctly) a Technic bush used to secure the spare tyre; but also the lovely SNOT of the 'headlights' - two 1x1 yellow (not even trans-yellow!) plates in a fence piece. Notice also the 'kneeling man' with his trousers on backwards! Well ahead of its time for 1978.

^^ That's a great photo, Carbohydrates - beautifully composed and with perfect lighting. One of the best I've seen, it rivals Smokebelch's on the SW Forum.

I'll agree wholeheartedly with def here. This thread should - in my opinion - act as a benchmark for anyone wishing to present their MODs and MOCs; you've clearly gone to a lot of trouble. The only way you might improve this is to add links in the pictures to higher-resolution images; some of the details are a little hard to make out at this scale. The mod itself is simple but highly effective, and I'll second Siegfried and others in saying I'll be shamelessly copying your ideas when I finally get round to building 7676. Great job! One question - what medium do you use to print your custom stickers?

Wow. I hadn't realised how much bigger than the gunships the Republic Cruiser is. The Lego version of the gunship is taller than the cruiser. I'd love to see another Lego cruiser - easily one of my favourite SW Lego sets. def, you and Oky are doing a fantastic job on this Clone Wars review. I've only seen about four or five of these episodes, so it's great to have a Lego-orientated synopsis at our fingertips.

Superb review Inky! It's great to see this set up close, and the video clips of the functions are priceless. Nicely done. This set has a lot of charm. I wasn't collecting playsets back then (mostly only UCS models) but looking at it now, I wish I had. However, there's no way I'd bay the current asking price.

Amazing response, thanks everyone for the feedback! It seems to have provoked some extremes - kind of a love-it-or-hate-it set. @lightningtiger - sorry couldn't quote you for some reason - I like your bathroom idea. Been racking my brains trying to create a Lego loo to go in there! Thanks Brickster, and for the frontpage ! I quite agree with you: if looked at from the classic town perspective, this set deserves a higher rating, but with the overall average I was trying to be as objective as possible - an impossible task, especially given the extreme responses this thread has drawn! Mmmm... a dark blue roof would have been nice. Quite with you on the Apple Tree House, but I guess they're going for the playability factor rather than style. I hope we'll see a nice variety of colours, if they continue the mini-modular theme; perhaps the 'boring' colours are to prevent too much of a clash if the different sets are combined. The genetics comment was meant to be a lighthearted throwaway; I didn't expect to provoke a debate! D'Oh! Thanks - I've fixed it. As far as I'm aware it's only available from Smyths Toys (UK and Eire) so far. Fair point. The advantage of these online reviews is to get a variety of opinions in response to the reviewer's thoughts. Personally, I try to be objective on the scores, and put my feelings in the text; also I try to put myself in the place of all target audiences, not just that of an AFOL. It's not always successful!

Thanks for the comments! 'Charming' is the word. I wish I'd thought of that! It is an interesting move, but I'm sure it was only done for variety. I doubt the target market will care, or even notice the hair colour oddity They might, however, ask their parents about solar panels. It's also possible Mum has dyed her hair black. Personally, I suspect she's wearing a wig Thanks for the info!

It's the mouse that does it! Fantastic MOC, 74louloute! The Metro entrance is spot-on.

Lovely review, KimT! I'll need to spend a bit of wonga to get a few of these, if only for that fantastic printed tile I'll have to dig out the old spacedudes to get all five colours on the fridge

INDEXED It seems the trend of mini-modular houses, which we first saw in last year's 7633 Construction Site and 7641 City Corner is set to continue. It is also nice to see the return to Lego City of the humble dwelling, which of late seems to have been farmed off to the minifigure-less Creator line; let's take a good first look at this brand-new offering from Lego City. Official picture courtesy of Brickset: Name: Family Home Number: 8403 Theme: City Year: 2010 Parts: 382 Minfigs: 3 (+ 1 canine) Price: £29.99 from Smyths Toys Shop@Home Says: Nothing Yet! 8403 is not yet listed on any of the dozen or so countries I tried. Links ... Brickset ... Bricklink The Box - Front It looks like the blue-outline City box is here to stay. This one shows a nice diorama of the house against a faux-town background, laid out American-style in blocks. It's quite a large box for the price, measuring W 478 x H 280 x D 60 mm, or exactly the same size as the heavier (and £5 more expensive) 7937 Train Station. Back It's a fairly busy rear, and again in keeping with recent city sets, shows off the modular construction and many play features. But Hey! can you spot what's NOT there? It won't be sadly missed, I'm sure! It's worth zooming closer in on the bottom right panel: Here we see the modular construction at work - sections of both 7633 and 7641 can be interspersed with floors from 8403, in some sort of mix-and-match building experiment which to my eyes doesn't look too successful. What might be an advantage, if Lego chooses to continue this line, is that streets can be built up relatively cheaply, without having to save up for the Cafe Corner/Greengrocer line. The long top features a spread-out view of the figures: The grey triangle at the dog's feet is the apex of the gable of the house, where it has 'carried over' from the front. Contents Out of the box fall four numbered bags, a green baseplate (16x32), three large dark bley plates (6x16), a small sticker sheet and a single instruction manual. Instructions If you compare the instruction cover to the box front, you'll notice it's (relatively) taller, so there is room for the whole house to fit on. The instructions are simple, with only about 2-4 parts per step, no call-outs, and easy colour differentiation: You'll notice we're already on step 25 - and page 44 - and still only on bag number 2. There the usual parts inventory, which we've come to expect (picture is link to Hires): There's an error in the inventory - there is only one of the flower sprue: Otherwise, there are adverts for other City Sets, and the Airport line, and the back page again invites you to Win! Gewinne! Gagne! Decal Sticker Sheet The small sticker sheet features two solar panels, the house number, and the sun-city designs that would adorn the skateboard, if I had a mind to apply them. The solar panels are nice, though I wonder if the same effect could have been achieved with bricks (eg. grille tiles). The Parts Bags 1 and 2 make up the 'ground' floor of the house, the garden features, and the figures: Parts of note include three half-arches in dark brown, and eight 2x4 tiles in bley. It's nice also to get a tree. The only printed parts in these bags (figures aside) are an 'error-message' computer screen and a letter. Bags 3 and 4 contain parts for the upper two floors: Of note here are the four 'Prince of Persia' arches in white, and two more 2x4 tiles, this time in black. The two printed parts we'll come to later. Leftovers after building: No surprises here. Why do they put 4 flowers on a sprue, when there are only three stalks? The Figures We get three figures and a dog, clearly representing a happy family: The kid sports a freckly smiling face, and a hairstyle just like his dad's, but ... ginger? My knowledge of gentics must be a little flawed. Or he's adopted. Note he also wears the Hoodie torso first seen in January's 3177 Small Car. Dad (whose head print I don't recall seeing before) has a manly Weekend Beard (I approve of that!), and a torso widely available on LDD, last time I looked; Mum has a star-spanlged sunvest that I don't think suits her look, sporting as she does EVIL HAIR. And from the back: There is printing on mum's and son's torsos only. None of the figures have reversible heads. The Build We start with what I'll optimistically call 'the basement' - an area which serves to raise the ground by a brick. Notice that there are two 6x8 plates used here, when I'd have though a fourth 6x16 plate would have done the trick. Still, I'll be an old man before I stop asking why these things happen. Next, we build the ground floor: Construction is extremely simple at every stage, and is helped by the wall panels and large window pieces. Note the yellow 2x1 brick with side studs: this holds a computer screen on the inside, possibly representing a burglar alarm or thermostat or other home gadget, and the tile for the house number on the outside. The awning is completed neatly from eight 4x1 bow pieces. Looking inside, we can see some furnishings, which define this room as a kitchen/diner: I love the simple sink and oven. Note how the grille tiles on the studs beneath look just like a hob. Genius! The ground floor is finished off by adding the garden features: We have a tree-house, some picket fence, a green recycling bin and mailbox. The lamppost upholds the latest modern design, like City Corner, and will give our streetlamp repair truck some more work to do. Fire hydrants too are in this season, and judging by the heavy Fire presence in Studsville they'll be needed. Plus it'll give Pooch somewhere to go. The sun-lounger deserves special mention: Nice! Just five pieces. The black wheel-arch contrives to sit at an angle, allowing the occupant to relax back and soak up the rays. It doesn't attach to the ground like this though, and is meant to sit loosely on the studs of the veranda. The First Floor is designed as a lounge area. Construction is very similar to the ground floor, but with a second window pane instead of the door. Note the two 1x8 plates with a brick-wide extension which serve as handy guttering; praise here for the imaginitive use of pieces. Here, the furniture consists of a sofa, a table/lamp and a chair replete with glasses; there is also a computer station. The computer with its printed tiles deserves a closer look: We've seen the 'error-message' computer screen both downstairs in this house, and also in the limo of this year's Helicopter/Limousine set, and the yellow truck; however, I for one haven't seen this computer keyboard before. If you look closely, you can make out the QWERTY keyboard, each key printed! Nice touch. I'm sure EB members will be quick to point out if it has featured elsewhere. The Attic floor is a slightly more interesting build, having lots of dark bley roof parts: A small bed and another table lamp are the only furniture in this rather cramped space. The solar panels consist of the two black 2x4 tiles arrached via hinges. I'm not sure where the fireplace is that feeds that chimney; perhaps it's in the missing 'back' of the house. The Complete Set Here we have it: a three-storey town house, complete with basement (beware low headroom); patio, with sun-lounger and awning; picket fence, tree house and a garden wall with an arch leading who knows where (possible a parallel dimension in which all houses have a rear wall): Our Happy Family enjoy the balmy summer: Dad teases Pooch with a saveloy; Mum carries a letter that she keeps forgetting to post; son Ginger annoys the world on his skateboard. (Funny how every Lego kid has a skateboard? Must be something to do with the Skateboard shop only a short ride away on the 244 bus.) Thoughts on the house itself: it's an interesting mix of styles; the overall shape would fit nicely in a town centre in the UK, but the modern full-length windows give it rather a European look, at least to my eyes. The side garden is perhaps a bit of a clash: you'd expect this to be a terraced house, with a back garden; still, it wouldn't be too much trouble to MOD it to your liking. The side profile is narrow, as you might expect given this is actually half a house: This angle shows off the pleasing effect of the PoP arches under the guttering. Let's take a tour of the features: Dad has a cuppa at the kitchen table, whilst Mum obeys the old stereotype by washing up a frying pan. Later, Dad relaxes on the sofa, sipping a glass of wine, whilst Mum surfs the internet and Ginger pretends to be asleep: Mum: 'Darling, which of these pairs of shoes should I buy, the red ones or the gold ones?' Dad: 'Sssh, Love, I'm trying to watch the World Cup Final*.' Mum: 'I know, I shall buy both.' * NB. TV not included in set (it might be in the imaginary rear half.) Earlier, they had enjoyed a relaxing day in the garden .... Mum soaks up the sun; Dad undercooks the sausage and Ginge spies on the neighbours in the treehouse (though I'm not sure how he got up there). A note to UK readers: that sausage on a fork strongly reminds me of this: For the uninitiated: Grange Hill was a TV drama about a dysfunctional (ie ordinary) secondary school in North East London that ran in the 80s and 90s; the earlier shows featured a 'comic strip' opening sequence and the infamous flying sausage above. Finally, Mum remembers to post the letter: ... but in her own mailbox..? Conclusion There you have it, a run-through of the latest offering in the City range. Personally, I'm delighted at the appearance of a new family home; non action-based sets don't come around very often, though I suppose they are necessary as somewhere for fires to start, and for burglars to burgle. I'm also pleased to see the continuance of the mini-modular building range, which despite its flaws and incomplete look does allow for inexpensive town expansion. Lastly, the addition of well-designed furniture is likely to be very well-received. Design: 8/10 Despite its mix of styles, this is an attractive house. To me it's somewhat reminiscent of a mini-modular rendition of the classic 80s Holiday Home, and if you're tight on space, it has all the housey features with a reasonably small footprint. I'd rather spend a little more and get a 'complete' house, with a back wall, but at least the open back keeps the price down. Build: 6/10 There isn't much for the AFOL in the build: it's big blocks and 6x1 brick on 6x1 brick all the way, although the furniture and in particular the sun-lounger brought a smile to my face. Parts: 6/10 As a source of white blocks and grey roof tiles, this could be useful, but I don't think you'd necessarily buy this set for the parts, unless it's to add extra floors in the new mini-modular building craze the box predicts. Minifigs: 7/10 These are nice figures; despite what I said about Dad's torso, I owned neither his nor Mum's before I bought this set, and I think Dad's head may be new (again, I'm more than happy to be corrected here). I'm also a little tired of the men's haircut, which seems to be very much the fashion, but it's nice to see it in ginger. I appreciate the dog - it's only my second - but a different colour would be nice. Maybe a black labrador? Playability: 9/10 Nearly full marks here; there is lots of scope for arranging the figures to do interesting things; I had quite a lot of fun taking the photos for this review. There is also plenty of opportunity for integration with other sets, whether to expand a display or to give the other sets a focus: the bus has somewhere to go; the lamppost repairman has another lamppost to worry about; the fire and police finally have citizens to protect. However, I daresay this is a set that will appeal more to city-building AFOLs or FFOLs that you average 10-year-old boy. Price: 8/10 This is reasonable value for £30; it certainly feels like you're getting a lot for your money, and I suspect some will buy a few of these to make a little street scene. Overall: 73%. I'm not sure the score does it justice. I actually really like this set; I thouroughly enjoyed building it (and especially enjoyed reviewing it), and it felt - like with City Corner - a refreshing change. I do hope Lego continues with the mini-modular line, and brings us more places for the City residents actually to live. I hope you enjoyed the review. Comments and criticisms, as ever, welcome; please do let me know your thoughts on the set. Rufus To finish, there are consequences to spying on the attractive and scantily-clad neighbours:

Nicely done, Renegade Clone! I think you've improved on mine significantly (tho' I've modded it since). You've done what I never did - get the colours right. I much prefer the look of your (and my) cockpit to the official set's too tapered look. The next trick will be to combine this cockpit design with the official set. Race?!

Thanks for the pics, Grogall! I love these sets. The coach and tram are fantastic, and I like the 'mini-modular' house which will fit nicely with the pizza parlour from City Corner. The trick now will be to MOC up some tram-lines, but I guess it'll be tricky without a huge number of tiles to create a road surface. Bricklink here I come. Air-hostess girl makes another appearance - first the Heli-Limo, then the airport set, and now in the TRU truck. Nice torso, but I wish they'd provide more variety.

That's brilliant!

Superb review, Z06! Wonderfully detailed and you've captured every feature beautifully. This is indeed an amazing set. It has problems - I for one found the magnet attachments too weak, particularly on the bottom, and I understand the nose has a tendency to sag - but what an incredible rendition it is. Very brave for Lego, back in 2002.

Seconded! I could never beat this amazing MOC. My half-built effort's going back into the box...

The shuttle is a must for me. I'm not so keen on the cockpit - I think it tapers too much - but the rest of the design is fantastic. And it's great to see another addition to the UCS line.

Yeah, tell me about it. Nearly choked on my hat when I thought of the £10 TRU tax I paid.

Happy Birthday Sieggy! Looks like you made a wise choice. In the battle between Lego and clothes, Lego wins every time!