Set ID: 4479 TIE Bomber
Number of Pieces: 230
Year of Release: 2003
Minifigs: 1
Purchased Price: SGD70
Last year, to keep my kids occupied during their school break, I allowed them to help me do some maintenance of my rented LEGO storage space and as a reward, to choose a set from the collection to build. My son's wide eyes showed signs of disbelief when I proposed this but very soon after, the wideness diminished as I stated my conditions of choice: (1) No UCS sets (2) Something that can be managed in an hour or so and (3) I have to agree. The last condition literally wiped the smile off his face. Anyways, this was the set he chose.
I have since dismantled the set and rebuild it recently. So this review will be based on my rebuilding experience of this 10 year old set. It is only now that I realized that this is the ONLY TIE Bomber ever released (till now 2013). With too many TIE variants released over the years, it is easy to lose count of how many TIEs are there in my collection.
Not the best looking variant in the TIE family, the TIE Bomber consists of a cockpit pod and an ordnance pod, as well as the trademark TIE wings by its side. The pilot can access the cockpit via the front and it is quite disappointing to see that the entire cockpit is quite scantily designed. There are no control panels or joystick to keep the poor pilot occupied. Guess he will also need to master the use of force to fly this machine then. Behind the cockpit is the bomb chamber. The bombs are loaded via a hinged hatch on top of the cockpit pod and deployed via the bottom, by tugging the rear of the pod.
The ordnance pod is designed to house the entire spring action missile firing mechanism. As compared to those flick missiles that are introduced in recent years, this tops all of them in terms of firing power and SIZE! The exit of the missile pod is covered by two flaps, which are hardly adequate to stop the projectile of the exiting missiles.
And then there is this weird looking gadget that is found on the undercarriage of the ordnance pod. I have to admit I first thought it was a landing gear of sort, but it does look strangely our of place and unsymmetrical to be one. Flipping through some literature and a fair bit of research later, it turns out that it is actually the target tracking sensor.
It also turned out that the colour scheme of the LEGO version is quite a departure from the original. The former very much shrouded in black and blue, whilst the latter is primarily grey, which I find is nicer.
Building Experience
Rebuilding is never as easy as building it for the first time, for the bricks are not sorted by colours / shapes nor are they in sequential packages. But for 230 pieces, it doesn't really take long to put this together. Once again, the colours on the manual did mislead me a few times, especially with the shades of grey. As this was launched 10 years ago in 2003, the manual is also not designed with the additional brick inventory with each step.
It was also quite easy to tell the age of this set during the building process. The overall design still exude a very "bricky" feel, partly due to the lack of variations of brick choices. I am looking at it with a pair of 2013 eyes so this lack-of-asthetic is rather apparent. But I guess 10 years ago, not many people will be complaining about this.
The completed set did not feel very solid, with the wings flapping a little when you touch them. As I attempted to hold the TIE Bomber by the wing, it actually detached from the fuselage! This could be due to me building it for the second time, and therefore some parts are coming loose (but this should not happen to LEGO quality right?), or it could be attributed to simply bad design.
And then .... there are NO stickers!!!! All the designs on the bricks were printed and this is also another sign of age. If LEGO is going to re-launch this set again today, I bet my last dollar that there will be an accompanying sticker sheet. Where are those good old days?
Minifig
There is a lone minifig in this set, a very early version of a TIE pilot. He comes with a brown unprinted head piece inside a very detailed (by 2003 standards) helmet. There is only a very simple design printed on the front of the torso piece and the rest of the pilot are essentially, black.
Conclusion
Rewinding back 10 years ago, this set didn't really appeal to me. Moreover, I had already quite a number of TIE fighters in my collection then and this was not any better than any of those, in terms of design. Well, being a compulsive collector, I have to have this.
+ No stickers!
+ Big huge missile that really fires off! (Despite its weird proportion to the overall size of the TIE Bomber)
- Dated design, resulting in "blocky" feel
- Does not feel solid when completed. Some loose parts near the wing joints.
- Naked cockpit. Disappointing
Get this if you are an avid TIE lover, provided you are prepared to part with USD 50 (starting bid on ebay) for a new set on internet now. Psst ... some websites are classifying this set as vintage! How apt.
I have since dismantled the set and rebuild it recently. So this review will be based on my rebuilding experience of this 10 year old set. It is only now that I realized that this is the ONLY TIE Bomber ever released (till now 2013). With too many TIE variants released over the years, it is easy to lose count of how many TIEs are there in my collection.
 |
| The scant cockpit |
Not the best looking variant in the TIE family, the TIE Bomber consists of a cockpit pod and an ordnance pod, as well as the trademark TIE wings by its side. The pilot can access the cockpit via the front and it is quite disappointing to see that the entire cockpit is quite scantily designed. There are no control panels or joystick to keep the poor pilot occupied. Guess he will also need to master the use of force to fly this machine then. Behind the cockpit is the bomb chamber. The bombs are loaded via a hinged hatch on top of the cockpit pod and deployed via the bottom, by tugging the rear of the pod.
The ordnance pod is designed to house the entire spring action missile firing mechanism. As compared to those flick missiles that are introduced in recent years, this tops all of them in terms of firing power and SIZE! The exit of the missile pod is covered by two flaps, which are hardly adequate to stop the projectile of the exiting missiles.
 |
| The "target tracker" |
It also turned out that the colour scheme of the LEGO version is quite a departure from the original. The former very much shrouded in black and blue, whilst the latter is primarily grey, which I find is nicer.
Building Experience
Rebuilding is never as easy as building it for the first time, for the bricks are not sorted by colours / shapes nor are they in sequential packages. But for 230 pieces, it doesn't really take long to put this together. Once again, the colours on the manual did mislead me a few times, especially with the shades of grey. As this was launched 10 years ago in 2003, the manual is also not designed with the additional brick inventory with each step.
 |
| The old school building manual |
 |
| Rear View |
And then .... there are NO stickers!!!! All the designs on the bricks were printed and this is also another sign of age. If LEGO is going to re-launch this set again today, I bet my last dollar that there will be an accompanying sticker sheet. Where are those good old days?
Minifig
Conclusion
Rewinding back 10 years ago, this set didn't really appeal to me. Moreover, I had already quite a number of TIE fighters in my collection then and this was not any better than any of those, in terms of design. Well, being a compulsive collector, I have to have this.
+ No stickers!
+ Big huge missile that really fires off! (Despite its weird proportion to the overall size of the TIE Bomber)
- Dated design, resulting in "blocky" feel
- Does not feel solid when completed. Some loose parts near the wing joints.
- Naked cockpit. Disappointing
Get this if you are an avid TIE lover, provided you are prepared to part with USD 50 (starting bid on ebay) for a new set on internet now. Psst ... some websites are classifying this set as vintage! How apt.
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