Review: 9496 Desert Skiff

Set ID: 9496 Desert Skiff 

Number of Pieces: 213

Year of Release: 2012

Minifigs: 4

Purchased Price: About SGD48

The desert skiff is a hovering craft which often forms part of the entourage of Jabba the Hutt. In a classic scene in Episode 4, Luke was held captive by Jabba and was about to be sacrificed to the gapping beak of Sarlacc in the sand pit, before he was rescued by Lando Calrissian and his timely use of the "Force". This set attempts to recreate the scene, less the majestic Sail Barge, and plenty of sand.

The desert skiff is not new to the Star Wars range, making its debut in 2000 with the very simple Desert Skiff (7104) and as part of the Jabba's Sail Barge set, launched in 2006. With every revision, the skiff is always improving in details (and size) and this latest addition is of no exception. Longer and wider (by a width of 2 studs), this new desert skiff can accommodate the minifigs more comfortably, even offering space for a dedicated cockpit. The luxury of space even allows a storage to be built in in the middle of the skiff to safe keep a couple of laser guns belonging to the guards.

Hidden storage onboard

Retractable plank

Luke was supposed to walk the plank, which swivels out from the bottom of the skiff and can be tucked neatly away when not in use. It is stud-less for most part of the plank except for 2 studs near the edge of it, where Luke stands and look down at the sand pit. Underneath the skiff, you can also find a flick missile and a number of transparent 2X2 round bricks to prop up the skiff, simulating the hovering effect.

Sarlacc having lunch

In the movie, much of Sarlacc was concealed in the sand and all I could see was a tenacious looking mouth with sweeping tentacles around it. This new Sarlacc is definitely a more improved version, with larger beaks and a pair of tentacles that can be posed in various directions. In fact the beak is so large you can place a minifig in it with room to spare! With a mouth like this, I wonder why is there a need for Sarlacc to chew his food at all. A row of teeth around the edge of the creature completes its menacing look.

Building Experience

View from cockpit

I cannot even qualify building this set as building experience. You can almost finish building this within 3 commercial breaks of a typical soap drama on TV. 30 min should be the maximum time you need to spend on completing the 3 packets of bricks. Packet 1 is solely for Sarlacc and the other 2 are dedicated to the skiff. There is only 1 booklet of building instruction included in this set.


















Minifigs

Luke carries his green light saber in this set. He now wears a grey vest as compared to the full black outfit in the last 2 desert skiff sets. On first sight, Boba seems to be the same old design so I was struggling to figure out what the "new" features are. Not being able to locate the minifigs of the older versions of Boba, I made some quick references on the net and finally found the subtle difference that makes this new Boba unique. Guess what? He actually has a pair of painted toe caps! Nice touch!

If I have not mistaken, Kithaba should be making his debut in this set. Being partner in crime with Boba and operating under the leadership of Jabba (it rhymes!), Kithaba comes with a very menacing expression and a stretch of ammo pouches across painted across his chest. He has his own blaster pistol but he is also free to choose from other weapons tucked in the storage compartment in the middle of the Skiff. Lando attempts to conceal his identity by dressing up as one of the skiff guards. The very detailed full face helmet does help to achieve this objective. I do like the silvery part on the chin strap of the helmet, which gives a more metallic feel to it.

Conclusion

The desert skiff can never be considered a well recognised classic Star Wars vehicle, especially if you pit it against the other high tech war machines featured in the films. As such, do not expect this set to appreciate too much over the years with the luke warm demand. Off hand, I cannot even think of a good excuse to collect this set unless you are a die-hard fan or have space to spare on your display shelf.

Review: 9516 Jabba's Palace

Set ID: 9516 Jabba's Palace 

Number of Pieces: 716

Year of Release: 2012

Minifigs: 9!!!!!

Purchased Price: About SGD220

It's raining minifigs! (strictly speaking it should be 8, if we disregard the B'Omarr Monk, which is made up of bricks rather than a minifig)

Bad guys

Many boys (and now men) will remember the Jabba's Palace in the movie for a sole reason - Princess Leia in golden bikini. That is probably the raunchiest outfit in the entire movie and I must say Carrie Fisher carried it well. As such, she was invited to be part of the 1st LEGO Jabba's Palace set (4480) released in 2003. At that time, the minifigs still come with the traditional yellow faces and "double dot" eyes. My hope that there will be an improved and more detailed version of Leia did not materialise in this new release. 9 years later, LEGO actually decided to relaunch this classic scene set WITHOUT Princess Leia? What were they thinking? To be fair, Princess Leia does come in another form in this set, disguised as Boushh the bounty hunter, prior to being unmasked by Jabba.

Good guys

This new release is 3 times the brick count and 4 times the price of the 2003 version. A quick look at the box art immediately reveals where those extra bricks went to. Comparing to the rather simple and skeletal set in 2003, LEGO has almost totally re-design this new set. There are many more details being included, and it seems like this new Jabba has the resources to upgrade his previous palace to this pretty posh one.

Jabba now has a proper roof above his head (as compared to the umbrella-like shelter in the old set) to screen him away from the elements. The huge round roof even comes with a flick missile to defend it against any possible invaders. While the bigger roof makes is aesthetically more pleasing to the eyes, it does hamper your hand movement when you try to manuevre Jabba on his sliding day bed. As the roof is not fixed to the main building structure, it can therefore be easily removed should you want to relive the scene of Luke Skywalker falling through the trap door.

Talking about Luke, why is he also not in this set? In the 2003 version, Jabba's throne room is elevated therefore Luke can actually fall into a cell below (although in the movie it is more of a cave than a cell) For this set, a more sophisticated looking sliding trap door is designed but (a) there is no Luke to fall through and (b) whoever falls through has nowhere else to go! This led me to suspect that this set is never intended to be a stand alone set, again. i.e. there will be a future set released to complement oradd-on to this.

Han Solo volunteered to test the trap door

LEGO has done this before with the old Jabba Palace. In 2003, 2 other small sets, Jabba's Message (4475) and Jabba's Prize (4476) were designed to flank the main Jabba's Palace as a combined set. As I am writing this review, I already knew that LEGO will be releasing a new set soon, forming a basement to this new Jabba's Palace. Will that be the only add-on set? Will have to wait to find out.

Back to this new set ...

Hinged rear backdrop

The set comes in 3 major components - the throne room, the removable roof above the room, and a guard tower. In addition, the throne room is built with a hinged backdrop where you will also find a sliding prod, used to push the day bed of Jabba forward. Once the day bed is moved, it will reveal a secret compartment where Jabba stashed his loot and weapon. On the left of the bed is a single clip that is used to hold the carbonited Han Solo, and that is also where you can find another sliding prod that opens the floor. With Jabba's wealth, he can easily afford all the luxuries that you will find here, including wine, food and smoking apparatus. You name it, he has it. Even Oola is included in this set to offer exotic dance to Jabba, so what do you expect?

The 3-storey high guard tower comes with a sliding castle gate, a pair of cannons above the gate and a Gamorrean Guard, taking his position at the top, equipped with a laser gun and binoculars. Upon construction, the guard tower can be easily attached to the throne room at the side. Alternatively, you can leave them as separate entities on display.

Building Experience

2 manuals and 7 packs of bricks made up this set. One interesting point though is that 1 of the manual is printed in 'portrait' format while the other opens up as 'landscape'?!? There must be a good reason for this but my limited intelligence could not find a convincing rationale behind it. Another observation is the inclusion of brick separators in many of the new sets nowadays. I have always raved about the usefulness of this little tool (which saved me many chipped fingernails) but having opened up quite a few sets already this year, I have already amassed a collection of 5 brick separators. What am I going to do with so many of them ...?

As expected, there are plenty of brown bricks in this set to reflect the sandy and desert-like environment Jabba operates in. I felt that distributing them into 7 packs is a little of an overkill. However, if you do not wish to finish the entire set in one swoop, having more packets will allow you to take regular breaks in between the construction. There are many movable parts such as hinges and sliding prods. Not a difficult set to build but I had my fair share of frustration when I accidentally destroyed some of the overhanging cantilevers while attempting to tighten the connections between the bricks. For an adult to complete this set, 2 hours of full attention should suffice.

If you intend to carry the Palace part around (for reasons I cannot explained), do try to hold it by its base rather than the pillars. During my photo shoot session, I managed to uproot the pillars a number of times when I tried to pose the set. Just a word of caution.

Minifigs

Since Jabba is the main star, let's begin by looking at him. This new generation Jabba is definitely more detailed than its predecessor and bear closer resemblance to the movie version. Those details come in the form of a dual-coloured torso with painted eyes, making this Jabba looks a little more evil as compared to the pure-green one in set 4480. Upon close examination, this Jabba even has a tattoo on his posable arm! Cool!

Han Solo has appeared in the 2010 Slave I (8097) before so there ain't too much surprise or excitement to talk about. He has a dual-face head piece, one side portraying his agonising expression and the other side - a blank look. He fits nicely into the carbonite block and can be locked into position by holding on the the hidden pegs.

Jabba's assistant - Bib Fortuna has only appeared once before in 2003 (Jabba message). This revision has a less friendly face (an understatement) and opened mouth, baring a row of sharp teeth. The Gamorrean Guard has seen most improvements over the last few years, with more colours and details added with every new version released. The head piece extends downwards with the shoulder pads and bulging torso. Great job by LEGO with this minifig!

Oola is a captured dancer performing for Jabba. I almost forgotten how she looked like in the movie until I did some research on the net. Pretty exotic I must say! This is Oola's first appearance in any LEGO set, and considering that she has limited cameo in the movie, I will not expect her to appear much in future launches. Treasure this one.

Leia appears in this set (sadly not with the golden bikini) in Boushh disguise. She dressed up as a bounty hunter to infiltrate Jabba's Palace and rescue the captured Hans Solo, no doubt with limited success. This is also a brand new minifig that comes with a lot of details painted on the torso (both sides!). Leia can choose to appear with her pony-tailed hair piece or Boushh helmet, which looks really cool and detailed.

Salacious Crumb is Jabba's adopted pet, making its debut in LEGO as well. It is a one-piece minifig with overhanging legs, making it only poseable sitting on Jabba's hand, or by the ledge of his day bed. Chewbacca is just ... the same old Chewbacca, in a pair of cuffs.

Last words...

I must admit this is an expensive set. But 2 main reasons made me part with my hard earned money. (1) It is a rare scenery set and is an improvement from its predecessor 9 years ago. It does provide the brief reprieve from the usual vehicle sets and the vertical presence on the display shelf. (2) Minifigs. Period.

Review: 9495 Gold Leader's Y-Wing Starfighter

Set ID: 9495 Gold Leader's Y-Wing Starfighter

Number of Pieces: 458

Year of Release: 2012

Minifigs: 3

Purchased Price: About SGD80

Have been traveling a bit lately (2 months to be exact) and is already itching to pen my next review. During this period, I added only a few new Star Wars sets to my collection, with the UCS B-wing (10227) being my biggest catch, and must admit that this summer has been a disappointing one for me as a collector. Staring at me now is also the Palpatine's Arrest (9526) which I bought on impulse, only to realise that it belongs more to the "cartoon" series which I am not interested in collecting. Then comes the "old republic" range that was launched. No interest at all. On the bright side, my summer budget was very much intact as a result. (Latest: Just saw the winter range on the web. Will be going after 2-3 more sets)

As one of the more iconic Star Wars vehicle, Y-wings (forget about the "Gold Leader" label for now) appeared in the collection a number of times before but seldom seen by itself. It was tied (pun intended) to the TIE Fighter in three earlier sets and was only individually launched as the UCS set in 2004 and set 7658 in 2007. This brick count is close to that of the latter and you can hardly tell the difference between the two versions, in term of details and design. Unless you have a special liking for the Y-Wing or being a compulsive collector like yours sincerely, you can indeed give this set a miss.

"Y" is it like that?

Comparing to its predecessor (7658), there were a few subtle changes which takes a pair of learned eyes to pick up. But the most prominent difference is the shape of the cockpit, with the 2007 set being more sleek and tapered as compared to this version. Predecessor 1. New 0.

Nicely designed but lacks degree of freedom

The pair of laser cannon situated behind the cockpit is well designed and detailed. The best part is that it does not swing wildly when you engage in some awkward and sharp turning maneuvre with this Y-Wing. BUT ... this new cannon can only rotate in one plane and is not able to angle upwards toward high flying enemy starships. Predecessor 2. New 0.

Weapons are a must for a Starfighter and this is no exception. Other than the cannon mentioned before, this Y-Wing is also armed with a pair of front facing cannons and flick missiles on each of its wing. For bombing missions, it carries two red missile-like bombs in its fuselage and they can be deployed by opening a secret door on its undercarriage, that is when you manage to locate it. The predecessor deploys its bomb (more bomb-like spherical bricks) by pulling a shaft in its rear. Definitely easier to deploy. Predecessor 3. New 0.

Bomb entry point

Bomb exit point

Both versions have similar wing designs. The more obvious difference lie in the semi-spherical engine cover located at the front of each wing. The older version has a dimpled design while this Y-wing has a smooth glossy finish. I like the latter better though. Predecessor 3. New 1.

The Y-Wing is commonly presented in three colours - Yellow, white and grey. This new version has managed to break that monotony with the introduction of brown stick bricks on the fuselage. They blended well with the grey bricks and (from a distant) look like pipes running along the exterior of the fuselage. Predecessor 3. New 2.

Predecessor wins.

Where the stickers are 

I have made no secret of my hatred for stickers in LEGO sets. If cost is a no-issue, printed bricks will always be my first choice. Two other things will exacerbate my hatred further - (1) application of one sticker over multiple bricks and (2) application on curved surface. For the latter, it always has the tendency to curl up after some time in the open and so I will advise against applying the sticks on this set if you can stand the sight of a "naked" wing engine.

Building Experience 

Three packets of bricks made up this set. First for the fuselage, second for the cockpit and third for the wings. I absolutely play NO part in the construction of this set as I left it to my two capable kids (10 and 9) to do so. My son, being the elder and more seasoned LEGO builder, took little more than an hour to complete the construction, with a little assistance from the sister who was helping with finding the appropriate bricks. 

The thing is, LEGO building instructions are never meant to be used by two person simultaneously. While my daughter was eager to flip the page so that she knew what bricks to look for, my son still required the current page to build his part. In the end, we decided that we shall split the three pack of bricks amongst both of them, with my son having the slight edge in packet count. To pacify her, I promised to let her build the LEGO Superman set she found on my shelf, unopened. Luckily, their dad has many more sets to keep them happy!

Minifigs

The pilot for this set is known as "Gold Leader" and its accompanying droid is R5-F7, which has a more cylindrical head as compared to the spherical head of R5-D4 in the predecessor. Love the details in the helmet and torso design of the pilot. The orange helmet visor and chin strap are printed on the head and yes, there is design printed on the back of the torso piece too! Keep working on the details, LEGO! Well done!

Princess Leia (with white cape) makes an entry in this set. There is no space in the Y-Wing for her so her inclusion is purely for price inflation (my humble opinion). She comes with a two-sided head piece, showing an intense facial expression on one and a happier look on the other. Being a man, I can hardly tell the difference between the two ...

Review: 9499 Gungan Sub

Set ID: 9499 Gungan Sub

Number of Pieces: 465

Year of Release: 2012

Minifigs: 4

Purchased Price: About SGD112

The predecessor of this set was released in 1999. Yes, that was the year when the first sets of LEGO Star Wars were launched. Other than the submarine itself, the older set came with a one-piece stingray and an underwater cove, even complete with seashells! The latest set is much simpler - no frills, no extras. Just the submarine. Somehow, even when I pay more for less, I am a happier collector. For now I do not have to worry about losing the extra pieces (such as the seashell) or mixing them up with other adjacent sets on display. 

13 years separate the two versions of the Gungan Sub and I was surprised there were hardly any obvious changes to the design or colours. Honestly I don't even remember how the sub looks like in Episode I, as most of the time the camera angle was taken from within the sub, closing up on the terrified look of its occupants while being chased by underwater monsters of odd shape and sizes. One thing I am sure, it looks like a stingray from the outside, with a trailing tail-like rotating motor at its rear. And the latest version succeeded in replicating the shape and improved on the slickness of the design. At least many of the odd angles in the older version are now absent in this flatter new one.

With so much danger lurking in the water, this sub needs to be equipped with an escape pod. Unfortunately, while the Gungan sub is designed to carry three passengers, the escape pod is only designed to take one during the time of an emergency. Well, the other two passengers will be better off dead, given that the escape pod (carrying the lucky escapee) will be detached from the main sub and propelled by the rotating rear engine. That will practically leaves the sub without any propulsion and possibly ending up in the stomach of a hungry sea monster.

Larger front cockpit to accommodate more minifigs

The sub comes with three independent cockpits, not unlike the 1999 version. Key difference is with the main cockpit at the front, large enough to accommodate three minifigs. Although a little tight for space, at least the three passengers can sit together and brave the adventure as a team. That leaves me with a question - so what's the other two cockpits for? According to the box art, one can be used to store the capes of Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi (otherwise they cannot fit into the main cockpit together) and the other is for a (my best guess) underwater mine. My preference will be to keep Jar Jar Binks in one of the rear cockpit alone as I do not want to deprive the Jedi masters of their signature capes.

Besides the underwater mine that is stored in the cockpit, this Gungan sub is also equipped with a couple of flick missiles, located on the bottom of the sub. A couple of well concealed containers at both wings carry a single blue transparent brick each. From the look of its colour and its resemblance to those ammunition used by the Gungan patrol, I can only assume that those are part of the Gungan Sub's armoury. How this weapon can be deployed is a mystery to me though.

Building Experience

This set was a 1.5 hour effort for me. Without any distraction, it is not a difficult set to build. Five packets of bricks and two building manuals can be found inside the unique square box. It seems that LEGO is starting to explore beyond the conventional rectangular boxes in recent years, testing water with such design. While I am not resistant to it, the shape does pose a challenge when I have to store them with the other sets. At least for now, this Gungan sub will have the recently-released TIE Fighter (9492) for company. Expect more of such boxes in the future.

One of the reasons why this new Gungan sub can look "flatter" and sleeker than the earlier version is  the extensive use of curved bricks for its peripheral design. Years back, most of the sets were usually built by the "bottom up" approach, i.e. build the base first and upwards from there. However, such an approach usually pose a constraint for those vehicles that are more curvy in design (think Sith Infiltrator) and the end product will look a huge departure from its original.  To overcome this, many recent sets have adopted another approach - by building the peripheral walls as a flexible part and assemble that to the main body, creating a much more aesthetic representation of the vehicle. This Gungan sub is yet another example of such design.

The completed sub does look smaller than what I expected, defying the rule that the bigger the better. I did wonder where did those 465 bricks went to, and the answers lie within the sub. There were many small bricks (and single studded ones) used in this set, found mostly on the inside of the vehicle. Built with care and precision, this vehicle is one sturdy product, allowing you to play with it (you just need to imagine the chasing monsters) and perform a few barrel rolls without the fear of falling parts. Having said that, the bomb containers on the wings are not THAT secured so they do come off if you invert the sub. Remember to remove them during "rough play".

Minifigs

The two Jedi masters and Jar Jar Binks minifigs offer little surprises, except that Qui-Gon Jin and Obi Wan do comes with 2-faced heads. One side showing the normal, calm expressions and the other with a breathing apparatus, for the Jedi masters to survive in the water when they abandon ship. 

For collectors, the Queen Amidala minifig is almost the sole reason why this set should be bought. Being unique to this set aside, the details that go into the design of the head piece and gown was breathtaking. I will even go as much to say that there is a certain look in the minifig which resemble Natalie Portman. Perhaps it is the face paint. Perhaps its the elaborate head gear. Or perhaps I am thinking too much. The long gown of the Queen offers an opportunity to design the minifig with a large base, allowing it to be more stable than a conventional minifig. I just hope this minifig will not be over produced and start appearing in many other future sets. Over exposure = lower collector value. I am sure LEGO will agree with me on that.