As many of you know, the Brickmaster program was recently discontinued. However, I had just bought a year-long subscription just beforehand. What would this mean? Would I be refunded my money? Or would Lego just keep on releasing promos that only people like me would get? I'm happy to say that Lego kept on going and this awesome set arrived at my door. With no further ado, I present a review of the beginning of the true end of Brickmaster... 20019 (Mini) Slave I!

BASIC INFORMATION:

Set Name: Slave I

Set Number: 20019

Number of Pieces: 76

Minifigs: 0

Price: N/A (Brickmaster Promo, est. value $6 USD)

Theme: Star Wars / Mini

Year Released:2011

RESOURCES:

Brickset

Bricklink

Flickr

THE REVIEW:

BAG:

Front:

First up is our oversized Brickmaster polybag. The Captain Rex logo has become a favorite of mine, and the blue borders are pleasing to the eye. The red, sandy desert (presumably from the Season 2 finale of the Clone Wars) also goes well with the set. The usual set info and Brickmaster logo are also found here.

Back:

The backside is also standard, and features the usual clear plastic strip that gives you a sneak peek at the pieces. Part information and warnings fill up most of the backside. The pieces of this set were made in Denmark, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

Bag:: Thoughts: A great bag with nice, simple designs. I'm definitely keeping this one.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Front:

The instruction booklet has a compressed version of the box art on its cover. Most of the set information has been removed and the background image has been extended to suit the size. I used to be angry that Lego folded such a small instruction booklet when they didn't need to, but by now I've gotten used to it.

Random Page:

Random instructions page. You can see that there are no piece call-outs, but of course you don't need them for a set this small. The background is a boring light-gray but it helps you focus on the actual set instead.

Parts Inventory:

The parts inventory fits on a single page. You can see that the set appears to be made of mostly gray pieces, but somehow the complete model looks mostly dark red and green. We'll see how that happens as we build it.

Back:

The back features pictures of all the 2011 January wave. A very pleasant change from the screaming kid we all dislike.

Instructions:: Thoughts: Nothing special or unexpected apart from the back design.

PIECES:

Unsorted:

Like many other Brickmaster promos, the set has a number of loose pieces and one small polybag.

Pieces:

And here are all the pieces spread out for your viewing pleasure. You can see that there are more types of gray pieces, but almost every red and green piece had multiples. I just love the dark red slopes and the dark green curves! Not only are they rare colors, but they're pretty cool pieces anyways. The rest of the pieces are fairly standard, and get buried in the model.

Pieces of interest:

The more interesting pieces include the red and green curves and slopes like I mentioned. There's also a dark bley double-cheese and two black curves that compose the cockpit. Delicious.

Pieces:: Thoughts: A pretty good selection for a small set, in terms of both color and variety.

THE BUILD:

Build:

After 24 steps (shown at six-step intervals), the model is done. There are no large submodels along the way but there are a few interesting building techniques that I'll highlight in more detail later. The most prominent technique is the SNOT cockpit and the black slopes that fit together perfectly. The gun-attachment is pretty neat, and the wing-tilting mechanism is perfect. A quick but very enjoyable build.

Extras:

Only a few extras here, so nothing spectacular. Cheese slopes are always nice for MOCing.

Build:: Thoughts: Considering it's such a small set, it felt great and used some interesting techniques.

COMPLETED PRODUCT:

The Whole Set:

And we have our completed set! Isn't it pretty? The red egg-shaped base is captured fairly well with the use of slopes in a few different directions. The green wing-protector curves look great and the wings themselves look like the real thing.

Front:

The wings rotate along with the ship, so they're horizontal when the ship is landed. From this angle you get a great view of the cockpit and the cheese slopes on the top.

Side:

The side view also looks great! The green slopes underneath are perfect and the green tile on top blends in seamlessly with the non-stud segment of the "tube".

Cockpit:

The cockpit technique is seamless and brilliant. I first encountered it in the Mini Atlantis Sub Brickmaster promo, and it works perfectly here too. It would have been nice if it was clear instead of black though.

Guns:

I've never seen this technique of clipping onto axles, but I think it works reasonably well as the cannons. However, this is the flimsiest part of the set and the binoculars have a tendency to fall off frequently. They'd probably look better on the other bino lens, so they're higher up like the real thing.

Back:

The backside is probably the least accurate part of the ship. The line of three boosters should be a little above the wings, and the other two should be right below them. The "inverted" dish should be a little higher too, but unfortunately there aren't always places for the studs exactly where they belong. The three in the center are ok, but I'm definitely moving the two up as soon as I'm done writing this review. I also wish that the center plate could be dark like the rest of the plates on the back. Another easy MOD.

Side:

I particularly like the hole the wings come out of. The combination of slopes and curves gives the opening a cool pentagonal shape, and the colors are great on top of it.

Video:

A short video of the Slave I in action. The only function to demonstrate is the moving wings, so I turned it into a test-flight video. Enjoy!

_______________________________________________

Totals:

Design: 9/10 The only design flaws I can find are the back and the guns. Both can be fixed fairly easily. I really think they captured the shape perfectly and the whole thing is sturdy and visually appealing. A lot bigger and more accurate than its predecessors.

Parts: 7/10 A good mix of rare colors and a few interesting types. Nothing mind-blowing or completely unexpected. I would have preferred a clear windshield.

Build: 9/10 Quite enjoyable with a few interesting techniques thrown in. There's practically no repetition whatsoever and the process is very satisfying.

Playability/Swooshablility: 8/10 It's a very fun and swooshable model that's sturdy enough for a few crash landings. Apart from the moving wings, it doesn't do anything, so I doubt anyone could play with it for hours without getting bored. Plus those darn cannons keep falling off. But for a few minutes of mild swooshing, it's great. (Trust me, I've tried )

Price: 5/10 These things are already going for $20+ online and the only way to buy one regularly didn't even involve knowing about this set. It's such a shame that they decided to release a gorgeous model like this once most fans couldn't get their hands on it.

Total: 38/50 Overall an excellent set that's very satisfying despite being small. If you're willing to pay the price tag and you're a big fan of Star Wars, you might want to consider buying it. It's such a shame it wasn't released more widely. It's definitely one of the most accurate and fun minis I've owned, and on top of that it's one of the most popular ships. One can only wonder what marvelous models the last few months of Brickmaster will bring.

Bonus:

Not the shrink ray!

Thanks for reading! Comments and criticism welcome.

-Inconspicuous

Great review. This set is growing on me. At first, I thought the cockpit was too big, but now it looks better. My favourite angle has to be this one though.

Thanks for this wonderful review Inky! I've never been a fan of minis, but I must say this is probably is the best one I've seen. The overall shape and design are very accurate, the colors are spot-on and it's quite amazing how TLG incorporated the functional rotating wings for such a small build.

Thanks for this review. This looks like one of the better minis of the year, but it's shape seems somewhat lacking. Not sleek enough, I guess. If it was one stud longer, they could've used curved pieces instead of the angular ones next to the boarding ramp; I think that might've looked better.

Thanks for doing a review on this one.

The video is pure awesomeness

Great shots

Now I eagerly await mine.

blogged

Wow that looks great! I definitely like this better now that I have seen more pictures of it. Those dk. green parts are just lovely! Hopefully I'll end up with this.....

Thanks for the review, the film is really cool.

It's a nice mini ship, I just got mine this morning.

Wow! I never realised how good the design in this set was, especially the cockpit and the entire wing mechanism.

Shame I live in UK, no chance of me getting this at a reasonable price.

Excellent review! I really like this MINI... too bad I wasn't subscribed... any chance I could buy these from you?

Thanks for the great review! This has to be one of the best mini's to-date for me. The design is near perfect for something of this size.

Now Like KimT I have to wait for mine to arrive.

Just got mine today, and I was impressed on how cool of a mini it was! I haven't opened it yet, mostly due to the fact that it's worth so much on BrickLink, but like the mini AT-AT, I'll have to reconsider opening and building it!

Thanks for the review, Inky!

Thank you for the review! Lets hope this is the last good brickmaster set only available in the US

Mine finally arrived today and it is indeed king of the mini's!

I love this set!

I love this set, and your review perfectly showcases what it's got, Inky! I really really really want to get it but I won't don't want to pay 20 euros for it. I'll see that I can get it for cheaper than that.

Cheers!

Lego left out half the instructions for my AT-AT. Then they sent me 8043s instructions instead of 8129s. I called today to again request the correct instructions. They were very apologetic and offered to send me this Slave 1 as a good faith/sorry gesture! Can't wait to get this little set!

(apparently they still have quite a few Slave 1 and Bounty Hunter (CW?) mini ships still sitting around waiting to be handed out..)