Hello, and welcome to my review of the Tantive IV, the final Star Wars set of 2009.

Let's start with some photos. To begin, the front of the box:

And the back:

Slightly better than the one the old Tantive IV box, from Rufus's review. Actual pictures this time.

A close up of some of the fun play features, such as Princess Leia in a meeting, and the rebels pretending to be postmen:

Next the instructions. No real surprises here; two standard booklets with good black/dark bley differentiation. Only problem is that sand coloured vents look yellow.

Just the usual junk on the back, same as it’s been for some years now.

Random instruction page, showing attaching the engine block onto the main superstructure, made mainly of technic beams:

The pieces. Just a few too many to fit on one photo, but gives you an idea of how big the set seems, but also how small it is compared to the Death Star. Something to note and be happy about though: no stickers! Everything is printed!

On to the mini-figs next. Here we see the rebel we got in the Rebel Speeder battlepack, new dome R2-D2, and the gold C-3PO:

Next we have Princess Leia sporting the chocolate fondant hairstyle, thanks to a miss-mould. With her is the only new fig in this set: Captain Antilles:

Antilles also comes with a second face, for being strangled by Darth Vader. I feel really sorry for him, the poor little guy:

Next, the only interesting, new parts are the cockpit parts, which are printed. They look so lovely, and are much better than if they'd be stickers as was once feared:

And so, the build. These photos show how it builds up from near the start, to half way the first book with through with the engine block attached, and Leia for scale:

With the engine "pods" attached:

And now the whole engines, and the yellow disks. Shame they're the wrong colour (I think), but still a good effect.

The escape pod:

Little cramped in there. Looks more like a hot tub.

The second escape pod, with a dark bley smooth tile in place of a white one:

Escape pods attached:

The underneath of the Tantive IV, showing the lower laser cannons, and my favourite part: the set of four wheels near the back to allow for easy rotation:

The little rebel transport. Not entirely sure why it's there, but it's something I suppose:

The finished cockpit and how it can tilt back:

Spares:

Well, the red triangles aren't, but I only realised after I'd put them away. Managed to find them, but not the rest.

And finally, the complete model:

Leia's office:

Storage space for the transport:

Some comparison picks with chocolate fondant Leia again:

Told her not to stand too close to the engines...

The only place left to put plans in R2:

Overall

Design: Very well designed, and externally similar to the movies. Inside though, the lack of any corridors for the opening scene is a bit of a letdown, but otherwise good.

Build: Rather quick, only 4 hours. Not too repetitive, even with the engines, as most are slightly different

Pieces: Mostly common ones, only real stand-out ones are the cockpit pieces.

Swooshability: Just, if you can find a place to hold it from with it falling apart. Quite heavy though.

Playability: With Leia's office you can enjoy many fine hours of politics, or pretend to be a postman with the rebel transport. No flick fire missiles (which is always good), so despite the look of it, it is more of an adult's model.

Price: In the UK, it's £100, which isn't too bad. Would rather slightly less, but with the way prices are going, we're lucky it's not £150+Minifigs:

Minifigs: Only one new one, but with the extra face, it is a good new fig.

Overall, this is a must buy set for anyone who likes the OT, or just generally good models. For a score, I'd say maybe 8.5/10

Thank you, and goodnight!

Sorry, about some of the photos, but I seem to have lost my nice camera somewhere...

Link to the original photos (when moderated): http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=400979

KimT: can you please add a poll as well, as I have no idea how to do that. Thanks!

Great review Ben! Although I will not be purchasing this set, I am sure that KimT is overjoyed to finally see a review.

Keep up the good work!

Wow. Lego going on for ever .....

Thanks for the great review, Ben506! Great to see this set in the flesh, as it were. Can't wait to get this myself.

I think you're right about the engines, they should have a red glow. They look a bit small, but overall, this looks a fantastic set.

It is great that Lego finally decided that a set does not need 20 stickers. I do have a few complaints though. Why did Lego waste valuable interior space with that dumb little cart for the rebel trooper? Also, why did they only include 5 figures. For a set with that high of a price, it needs a few more figures. While I like the Antilles and the engines, I am not going to be buying this one.

Also, it really stinks that your hair got messed up.

Lovely review! Thanks!

The printed pieces look a little odd - like they've been done in three stages looking by the overlap marks - still, better than nothing.

(I fixed the set number in the thread title and added your poll)

Thatks for the review. This set is way better than I expected. This is 100x better than the Venator IMO.

This is a great set !!

No sticker, very good design, and a good playability !

Of course, thanks for the review !

Thanks for the in-depth review ben506 . To be honest I still don´t love the set at all. It is pretty good but I feel it doesn´t deserve to be THE anniversary set it should have been . The last year Death Star 10188 was TOTALLY awesome but this one is a meh to be honest. Can I ask for something? Can you take some pics comparing this set to other sets like the Gunship or the Battle of Endor so we can really appreciate it´s size .

Thanks sooo much for the review. I didn't expect one so soon. Now I really need to get me one of those... Can't wait to have the money

That set looks more and more fantastic... and it looks huge compared to Leia... Do you happen to have the republic cruiser? Could you make a comparison pic with the two together?

shame about the wig, though. Hopefully you'll get a replacement from their customer service...

The only Leia I have has your hair. Maybe since it's a lot less detailed it's cheaper, and now the only hair mold ever used!

The size is great, and sure we could've used a hallway...but I think that's the only downside. That little speeder is awesome in my opinion! And Captain Antilles...

Thanks for the review!

Thanks for the review! I still love this set eventhough it lacks a nice interior. I can always get rid of the desk. I hope I don't get the mis-mould hair piece. I don't like how the white on the cockpits is duller then the rest of it. The same problem happened in Peril in Peru. You're probably going to get frontpaged. Congrats if htat's been you're life long dream. How do the whells rotate the ship? The lower cannon could be in the way and the whells have no rubber. Please explain. Thanks for the review.

JCC1004

This is 100x better than the Venator IMO.

100% agree This looks fairly nice as a display model. It's not USC, but it'll do fine.

Thanks for the review Ben

Nice review and thanks. I will be getting this as well soon. I just have to wait for my local Kmart to get them in stock so I can layby one. It looks great as a display model as well. It also looks a bit better than the USC one as well.

Thanks for the review! I was just thinking today that no reviews for this set where out yet. I'm not too impressed with the figs, but it looks like a great display model.

Hooray for the Rebel Postman!

Thanks for the great review! I still have very little interest in this set though; IMHO it's overpriced.

Antilles also comes with a second face, for being strangled by Darth Vader. I feel really sorry for him, the poor little guy:

I'm rather surprised at this! Bit harsh, don't you think TLG? On the other hand, this could be the start of something; a whining Luke, charcoal Beru and Lars...

good review!

Does anyone know the extent of the chocolate leia menace?

charcoal Beru and Lars...

I would love that!!

Great review, Overpriced piece of crap though.

If it were greatly reduced (60% off I would probable get it for the parts. )

The only thing I like about it is the Antilles minifig.

Curse you, ben. Now I'm going to have to buy this set.

Nice review, I was glad to get a full look at this set. It's definitely better than what I originally thought, and much more finished looking that the Republic Cruiser. My favorite part would have to be the little office. I like the medium blue carpet and how sleek the desk/ controls are. I also like the booster lights (I think they're supposed to be blue or orange) and how the two escape pods make up part of the ship's body.

The printed pieces look a little odd - like they've been done in three stages looking by the overlap marks - still, better than nothing.

Still, I'm thankful they weren't stickers. The half-cones being trans-clear is an added bonus.

I'm rather surprised at this! Bit harsh, don't you think TLG? On the other hand, this could be the start of something; a whining Luke, charcoal Beru and Lars...

That would be hilarious! Like I said on the Flickr photo that JD shared with us in the news thread, I can see this being used in a lot of creations, even with the chin strap (although a yellow one without the strap would be nice).

I also agree that this is overpriced, but I think the set is potentially worth it.

Oh, and does it look like Leia has misprinted face as well as the smooth hair? Her lips seem thinner and lower compared to the head from the 6212 X-Wing.

Great review, I cant wait to get this set.

Great review ben! What a great way to introduce yourself to Eurobricks!

I don't know why some of you guys are saying that this set is overpriced. Compared to the other sets (*cough* Republic Dropship *cough*), the price point for this is perfect. After all, it fits with the golden rule (10 US cents per part).

I'm really happy that LEGO decided to do a complete, full color print on those trans-clear half cones. This means that LEGO is actually listening to our feedback!

Sure, the interior and the minfigure selection may not be extremely good, but if you don't like it, just don't buy it (for your information, I'm not going to buy it because I don't have enough money). It's that simple...

I for one like it, since it resembles the shape of the actual ship pretty well by LEGO standards, and has a huge amount of greebles. The interior details also look good to me, too. The dark green transport ship seems like a last minute addition to either raise the piece count or to add a small amount of extra play (carrying the crate with the transport), but keep in mind that these sets are designed mostly for little children, even if the age says "14+".

_{Wow, that must have been one of my longest posts on EB so far.}

Great review of what looks like a great set. I'll admit, the interior is somewhat dissapointing, and they could have included some more unique figures for a set this large. The yellow exhaust does look a bit odd on the engines, but other than that it's pretty well detailed.

Edited September 10, 200915 yr by Optimus

The cockpit pieces would be good For MOCing Ill have to bricklink them. Nice review.

Nice review, thank you sir! It's a good looking set.

Does anyone know the extent of the chocolate leia menace?

I've seen the Leias from 4 different sets now (3 online, one at a LEGO Store), and she was having a "bad hair day" in all of them.

wow I cant wait to get it now ! I really like antilles' double face print he must not like being choked! The ship looks awesome and has heaps of pieces. Its really great that there isnt any stickers which is especially great for the cockpit cause they weould be a nightmare to apply.

I cant wait for christmas now

Great review and great start to EB!