Review - 8096 Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle

[bamaker]

Thanks for that quick little picture review. I'm actually pretty happy with this set; but what is going on with the pilot's face -- is he supposed to be wearing some kind of pull over face protection? Is there a reference photo of the pilot that the LEGO designers may have been using to come up with this?

Also, the fact that some are unhappy with the interior is perplexing to me. How many LEGO Star Wars sets have great interiors -- maybe the 4504 Millenium Falcon and the 10188 Death Star? This set is comparable to Star Wars set offered in the past. I've been happy by and large with what LEGO has offered, and I'm happy with this one. (But the prices -- oy vey! )

[PhantomX]

Is this the only SW set that has that new clone pilot? Or will there be others. I really am liking that medical droid.

[lightningtiger]

Someone was lucky weren't they eh ?

Interesting set - can't wait to see it build in the flesh so to speak.

I voted above average only because of the medical droid - I just want that (maybe we'll see another next year with Luke in ESB ?).

The clone pilot looks creepy and the soon to be Vadar - yeah, he's okay.

The guts of the ship - not much but I guess if you include some fancy feature interior trim is lost to keep the price from going totally loco !

I'm a conformist! !

[Legoman]

I've wanted one of these for a while. It has nice figs, but quite frankly, the ship looks terrible. I plan to get this set and heavily MOD it

Thanks for the pics so far

[prateek]

Nice figs, but the clone's face is weird, and I'm disappointed that they didn't change the white sploches on the ship.

[OneSnowTrooper]

Updated the start post!

more will follow tomorrow (I hope)

[Mr Meleca]

the ship isn´t so special, but the minifigures are very good. The emperor´s torso is great!!!!!!,

the medical droid is a Classic droid from Ep V, better late than never

BTW, in this set the correct name would be Darth Vader , not Anakin

[The Legonater]

Nice review! I might get this set, if I have enough money after buying the Slave, GG Starfighter, Wampa Cave and Turbo Tank .

Nice figs though. I'm still not sure about the pilot- these new helmets- although welcomed- are too open, and this face just... bugs me. The MED-Droid looks good, thoguh, and I like the mini med room.

[k_peek_2000]

I agree, this set is just blah. The figs are amazing though!

[gunm]

Ahh, as the review comes together, more is revealed!

The cockpit seems small compared to the RAS--I'm wondering if it's a slightly smaller model overall as a result?

Also, glad to see the play feature of Vader's medical bed...I'm anxiously awaiting to see if it really does come together automatically as the instructions suggest!

That alone would bring the set up a bit in my eyes...

[Zzz]

Thanks for the review - I am curious about the landing gear!

[M'Kyuun]

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/File:Theta_ICS.jpg

The link is to a pic of a cut-away drawing of the Emperor's shuttle from Ep 3. Aside from using darker colors, LEGO's model looks pretty much like its inspiration, down to the openings in the wings. I like SW shuttles, and this one is no exception. For those complaining about the interior, TLG rarely puts much interior detail in their shuttle models. The helmet placer mechanism is ok, so you can re-enact Vader's transformation and subsequent freak-out. The weapons dropping mechanism in the Republic Attack Shuttle was probably the best function I've seen. The only alternative is just to put seats in the thing with no playability. That's great for a model targeted at adults, but this is a kid's toy, and they try to incorporate neat little functions for them. Fortunately, it's all made of LEGO, and can be modded to suit. Personally, I'd love to see TLG make a shuttle with a proper boarding ramp, but until they do, I need to take my own advice.

As for the pilot, I like how he looks, rather than just being another generic Imperial officer. I looked for a reference pic, but came up empty. As has been the recent trend, TLG's attention to detail regarding the figs is excellent.

TLG have come along way since their first few years...setting nostalgia aside, most of the system sets were pretty inaccurate, and just left much to be desired. I think 2005-2006 marked a turning point in set design, and IMHO, they've been improving ever since. I think it also helped greatly for TLG to realize and recognize the enormity of their adult fan community.

[Ras 74]

I wanted to wait to reply until the review was done. But I can´t bare myself anymore.

My oppinon is so far pretty much as KimT´s. I never judge a model until I got the whole picture of it.

I also agree to the fullest with the RAS. I didn´t like it in the beggining, but changed my mind about it totally after building it.

The figs in this set is pretty ok. Don´t understand why there is no DV fig in it.

Great with the burnt Ani and the Medical Droid is just so

Looking forward to see the set in its full glory.

[Brickus]

The back picture on the box is funny.

[Ras 74]

@ OneSnowTrooper:

When you get around, could you please put a ordinary arm on the Medic Droid left side as well just to show how that would look?

I think that left arm looks way to bulky for my taste.

[OneSnowTrooper]

Update Posted. Rest will follow in the course of the day.

[KimT]

A shame they didn't do the medical droid's arms and legs in metallic dark grey

Nice techniques used in the cockpit design.

[not-in-use-anymore]

A shame they didn't do the medical droid's arms and legs in metallic dark grey

Nice techniques used in the cockpit design.

You mean arms and leg, right? Though it works for the medical droid, he just seemed to hover around silently(but I've never seen him with a giant arm before...). Wasn't Darth Vader's transformation somewhere else?

I like the clone face, but they sgould have changed the helmet.

[OneSnowTrooper]

More pictures about the mechanics for Darth Vaders recovery.

[YG-49]

Anakin is the newish dark tan skin color introduced in Indiana Jones, no?

[M'Kyuun]

You mean arms and leg, right? Though it works for the medical droid, he just seemed to hover around silently(but I've never seen him with a giant arm before...). Wasn't Darth Vader's transformation somewhere else?

I like the clone face, but they sgould have changed the helmet.

It's a trend for TLG to put things in sets where they didn't occcur/ exist: Leia's office in the Tantive 4, Palpatine's office in the Venator, and now Vader's transformation in the Emperor's shuttle. I'm probably missing more, but these spring to mind. Vader was fixed and suited up on Coruscant, IIRC.

[TheBrickHitHouse]

There isn't even room inside for the droid or palpatine...

I will buy this set - but that's the OCD talking. This is really poor - the attack shuttle from last year but even worse...

[OneSnowTrooper]

There isn't even room inside for the droid or palpatine...

Not sure where you base this on but actually there is room for all minifigs when the sete is finished. In my last photos of the finished model all minifigs are inside the model.

[Big Cam]

Ahh, thanks for the edit, the interiror stinks, but it's fun to have a transformation section for Vader.

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

Actually, the review is very impressive. I'm relatively impressed with the build, and how they did push for playability on the interior. The sides of that cockpit are genius also.

However, I can't lie to myself. If I bought this it'd be for one thing and one thing only, the Medical Droid. Why not wait for a possible Bacta Tank Hoth playset where we'll get the same thing?