Review: 7961 Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator

Set ID: 7961 Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator

Number of Pieces: 479

Year of Release: 2011

Minifigs: 4

Purchased Price: About SGD110

My favourite view of the Sith Infiltrator

I was wondering what on earth was LEGO trying to create when I first saw the 1st generation Sith Infiltrator (7151) in 1999. Having just watched Episode 1, I was struggling to find any resemblance of that set to any of the vehicle I saw in the movie. Luckily, the Sith Infiltrator has come a long way and this 3rd generation version is a joy to own. My joy lies not in the vehicle, but the accompanying Darth Maul minifig. That probably explains why this set is named "Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator" instead of the simple "Sith Infiltrator" tagged to the previous two versions - The star in this set is the minifig, not the vehicle. Vehicle wise, my preference will be the sleeker looking 2nd generation version released in 2007 (7663), with more curves and less exposed studs to emulate the breathtaking futuristic Sith Infiltrator seen in the movie.

Move it, baby!

There are many moveable parts in this vehicle. Lifting the tapering nose reveals hidden compartment that house the Probe droids that Darth Maul sent to hunt down Jedi. Also stored here is his mini speeder bike which is simply a U-shape brick with seat and handles. Probe droids can be deployed through releasing a catch at the bottom of the vehicle. Undercarriages are retractable which makes lots of sense in preserving the sleek silhouette of the vehicle in flight. Each wing comes with 2 moveable flaps that can be adjusted to various angles. However, they are best left as C-shape. Making them too vertical and they might pass off as a TIE Fighter with an elongated nose. Darth Maul can access the cockpit from the rear, by lifting the single hinged cockpit door.

Speaking about the cockpit door, I must say it was very well designed and integrate nicely with the shape of the entire cockpit. This seamlessness is evident when I could hardly make out the shape of the door once it is shut. Judging from the size of the cockpit capsule, you can easily imagine 2 minifigs fitting in. However, I guess Darth Maul has a selfish side in him and prefer to have the whole cockpit all by himself. The space inside was tight, with thick bricks lining both sides. These thick bricks made the entire cockpit compartment very dense and therefore heavy, to the extent that the entire ship feels lopsided when you carry it in your hand.

Extremely simple bike

The light sabre has always been the prized possession of a Jedi. It is a dream weapon for many, having a beam of "light" that can slice through almost anything. Having a double sided light sabre just gives the owner the escalated status, and that honour belongs to Darth Maul. It is not without a headache to own such a weapon in LEGO though. How is he going to keep the elongated weapon when he is steering his Sith Infiltrator? Luckily, the cockpit was designed with a special "light sabre storage" that can hold a dismantled light sabre and conceal nicely and securely below the cockpit (see photo on the right). Darth Maul should be happy with this innovation.

Building Experience

Building this Sith Infiltrator is just a matter of putting three parts together - the nose, the cockpit and the wings. Set aside two hours and you will have your finished product. The box states "8-14" for suitable age, I would suggest 6-10.

This set has a fair share of stickers used and by the time I dismantle the it to make space for other sets, some of the stickers have already started curling up and peeling from the bricks. Depending on the humidity that is encapsulating your Sith fighter, I would suggest not applying the stickers when constructing the set. The down side is, they will not be as photogenic.

Minifigs

Here comes the stars of the set - the minifigs. There are four in total. From left: Qui-Gon Jinn, Captain Panaka, Darth Maul and Padme. With each passing year, the prints on the torso of the minifigs get more detailed. The array of colours is also wider to close the gap in realism with the movie characters.

Captain Panaka is the Naboo Head of Security and this minifig makes his only appearance in LEGO series in this set. His peak cap (with an embossed logo) is also unique, unseen in other LEGO sets before. Padme a.k.a. Queen Amidala in disguise, makes a return to LEGO Star Wars set after a long absence. Last seen in 1999, the new Padme now has a flesh coloured head (previously yellow) and ta-da ... two faces! 

Darth Maul comes with two head gears, a black hood and the brand new horns! The latter acts like a mini horned tiara that clips nicely onto the single studed head, giving Darth Maul a much more menacing look as compared to the conventional hood.