Aanchir Posted December 29, 2011 Posted December 29, 2011 Cost! If you can't see the piece Lego will generally make it in a colour that costs them the least to produce. It's why a lot of sets have this - even the 10030 ISD has a white technic frame, simply because it can't be seen. Actually, the reason I'm most familiar with is to make the building easier. Brightly-colored pieces are easier to distinguish between, both in the building instructions and in the pile of pieces builders tend to work from just after opening a set. If it were a matter of cost, then all interior pieces would be colored the same (cheapest) color, not an assortment of vibrant colors. Anyway, this review is very good, and gives me a great perspective on the new set. It would be great to see a side by side comparison of where this set is stronger or weaker than the previous set. But overall, TLG has demonstrated IMO that they will continue to improve on older set designs even when those set designs were groundbreaking in their own ways. Quote
lightningtiger Posted December 29, 2011 Posted December 29, 2011 Thanks 'cei' for his review, I wonder if my wife will buy me this for my birthday this year....yeah, as if ! It's the minifig's that sells the set especially our porky pilot and his astromech ! I do have the 2006 X-wing already, but Lego is twisting my arm again.....stop it Lego ! A solid build indeed by the photos.....again thanks 'cei' for the review. Quote
Werlu Ulcur Posted December 30, 2011 Posted December 30, 2011 Actually, the reason I'm most familiar with is to make the building easier. Brightly-colored pieces are easier to distinguish between, both in the building instructions and in the pile of pieces builders tend to work from just after opening a set. If it were a matter of cost, then all interior pieces would be colored the same (cheapest) color, not an assortment of vibrant colors. I was musing exactly about this just half an hour ago. I am (finally) assembling my Juggernaut tank, and was wondering what was the reasoning behind what parts they put in each baggy. Not counting the assembly order of course, using different colors when possible makes the whole building process much easier, even if you previously separate all the pieces before you start out. At least for me, I sometimes have a hard time distinguishing between black, light gray and dark gray from the pics on the booklets, so different colors facilitate a lot finding the right piece. Quote
Brickmamba Posted December 30, 2011 Posted December 30, 2011 thx for the review, the new pilot helmets look great, i have a x wing already so will only be after r5 off bricklink Quote
Esurient Posted December 30, 2011 Posted December 30, 2011 The review looks great! I don't mind more X-wing fighters and pilots as there are tonnes of them shown in the Star Wars movies. Luke Skywalker can be transformed into a random X-wing pilot in my moc. Quote
Mr Man Posted December 30, 2011 Posted December 30, 2011 About the astromech being sideways, what is better, that or only using the head like in some of the Jedi fighters ? The most aesthetic and practical solution would be to use the technique in the Imperial V-Wing set. Quote
Solscud007 Posted December 30, 2011 Posted December 30, 2011 Porkins and the R5 has made me rethink about not buying this now. Quote
StoutFiles Posted December 30, 2011 Posted December 30, 2011 The most aesthetic and practical solution would be to use the technique in the Imperial V-Wing set. That would be much, much worse IMO. Speaking of the V-wing, they couldn't even bother to make the right droid for that set. Quote
Fallenangel Posted December 30, 2011 Posted December 30, 2011 The most aesthetic and practical solution would be to use the technique in the Imperial V-Wing set. So much redundancy on this forum. There already exists a simple and stable solution for a 3-wide droid socket. It was thought up by Bruce Lowell and utilizes two pairs of hinges: This method allows the droid to be removed with ease and is much more space-efficient than SNOTed slope bricks. Quote
Ceroknight Posted December 30, 2011 Posted December 30, 2011 Thank you for the review! This is defiantly on top of my list Quote
Piranha Posted December 30, 2011 Posted December 30, 2011 Very good review. I would rate this set at above average. Certainly a good improvement from the previous rendition. The new droid I would agree is the best new fig Quote
Brickdoctor Posted December 30, 2011 Posted December 30, 2011 Thanks for this review, cei. I love the minifigs in this set, but the rest doesn't impress me. I'm not sure if I'm going to buy it, yet. Quote
Fallenangel Posted December 30, 2011 Posted December 30, 2011 Brickdoctor, you've forgotten to correct the set number on the blog. Quote
Brickdoctor Posted December 30, 2011 Posted December 30, 2011 Brickdoctor, you've forgotten to correct the set number on the blog. I knew something was wrong with that number. Fixed, thanks. Quote
Tuskano Posted December 31, 2011 Posted December 31, 2011 Wow... yes the droid there is a good step up from the normal R2 unit. Out of curiosity, I visited to Lego store in San Diego and unfortuently they are not even stocked with any of the new 2012 sets :(. They seem to actually be waiting until January hits to bring them out lol. I did still walk away with a 853219 PotC Battle Pack for some of the outfits though. Quote
legolandia Posted December 31, 2011 Posted December 31, 2011 Just finished building this set and I have to say that it was the most pleasant and flowing build I've done so far. The set feels solid and very elegant to hold. Maybe because of its sleekness it also felt smaller then previous models to me. At £50 it's slightly over priced. Instead of Luke and R2 Lego should have included two new minifigures and that would have made the price perfect. Quote
AndyC Posted December 31, 2011 Posted December 31, 2011 There already exists a simple and stable solution for a 3-wide droid socket. It was thought up by Bruce Lowell and utilizes two pairs of hinges: It's a neat solution, but probably not stable enough for little kids playing about when there isn't a droid in the socket, I can imagine the middle of the ship getting constantly squashed would annoy many of them. Quote
cei Posted December 31, 2011 Author Posted December 31, 2011 Thanks for this review, cei. I love the minifigs in this set, but the rest doesn't impress me. I'm not sure if I'm going to buy it, yet. Any chance you can change the set number on the title? I can't seem to do so on the edit I have access to. Thanks for blogging it! Quote
Final Exit Posted December 31, 2011 Posted December 31, 2011 (edited) Cost! If you can't see the piece Lego will generally make it in a colour that costs them the least to produce. It's why a lot of sets have this - even the 10030 ISD has a white technic frame, simply because it can't be seen. I've always wondered what the reasoning was behind the hidden bricks colour choices is, makes sense :) Oh and superb review, was a bit underwhelmed at the idea of another X-Wing but it does seem to be a must buy :) Edited December 31, 2011 by Final Exit Quote
Mr Man Posted December 31, 2011 Posted December 31, 2011 That would be much, much worse IMO. How, it would make the set more stable at the back as you wouldn't need the hole, the over sized legs won't force you to ether extend the back out sideways to compensate nor would you need the ugly sideways solution they have now. So much redundancy on this forum. ? Your posted solution wouldn't work with a a official release the back would be too weak to swoosh around. Quote
Hollander Posted December 31, 2011 Posted December 31, 2011 What bothers me about this set is that they could have improved it way more, compared to the previous version. I don't say it's bad, as the changes they made are good, but it's just not enough, they had the change to improve it a lot, yet they didn't. True, the laser cannons are better and we now have the hexagonal backside, but that's it. Why not a new design for the nose? A better windscreen piece? And what abou the engines? Maybe I'm complaining too much, but I feel like this set could still use a lot of work. It's like TLG was thinking the previous X-wing was almost completely accurate, and they thought with some minor changes, they now have the perfect representation of an X-wing. Quote
StoutFiles Posted December 31, 2011 Posted December 31, 2011 Maybe I'm complaining too much, but I feel like this set could still use a lot of work. It's like TLG was thinking the previous X-wing was almost completely accurate, and they thought with some minor changes, they now have the perfect representation of an X-wing. Sometimes I think the TLG builders are instructed to not make perfect System-scale ships. If they did, how would they get people to buy the remake if they own the previous model? Remakes seem to always be marginal improvements. Quote
Hollander Posted December 31, 2011 Posted December 31, 2011 Sometimes I think the TLG builders are instructed to not make perfect System-scale ships. If they did, how would they get people to buy the remake if they own the previous model? Remakes seem to always be marginal improvements. Well, you certainly have a point, but.. why would people buy a new X-wing if the improvements are minimal? Don't get me wrong, apparently the people DO buy new sets which are only a little different from the previous one, but still. I wouldn't. Or they just want the R5-D8 unit as bad as I do. Quote
Brickdoctor Posted December 31, 2011 Posted December 31, 2011 Any chance you can change the set number on the title? I can't seem to do so on the edit I have access to. Thanks for blogging it! Sorry, that's a Staff-only power. (and Fellows can change their own titles, I believe) I'll PM one of the mods for you, though. Quote
kittridge Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 Thanks for the review! Are you planning on reviewing the other sets you bought too? It would be much appreciated! Quote
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