Review: 9494 Anakin's Jedi Interceptor

Set ID: 9494 Anakin's Jedi Interceptor

Number of Pieces: 300

Year of Release: 2012

Minifigs: 5

Purchased Price: About SGD 64

The Red Hot Background

The Master-Disciple Duel

Planet of Mustafar. Red hot lava. Feuding relationship boiling over. Bad acting of Hayden Christensen. That's what I can remember of the scene in the finale of Revenge of the Sith. Anakin has just defected to the dark side and committed the hideous massacre of Jedi younglings. Arriving in his green Jedi Interceptor, he even attempted to kill his beloved Pademe only to be stopped by his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Cue the epic battle between the master and disciple while trying to avoid being swallowed by the lava fountain on Mustafar. This set should be combined with 8096 Emperor Palpatine's shuttle so that the entire sequence of the battle to the transformation from Anakin to Darth Vader can be played out in totality. 

Some years back, there was another release of this classic battle scene (7257 Ultimate Light Saber duel released in 2005) that was meant more for child play. That set was a total disaster from design to playability to minifigs whereas for this set, I believe, provided a reprieve for LEGO. Sometimes, simple is beautiful.

The Set

This set comes with a well-designed Jedi Interceptor, two 'hovering' droids which Anakin and Obi-Wan used as their surf boards while battling and 5 minifigs. There has been many Jedi Interceptor (and / or starfighter, sorry I can't tell the difference though) released before and I must say the design quality is getting better with each release. This version is, by far, my favourite. The overall design has not really changed much over the years, but upon close examination and during the building process, I could not help but to be amazed by the subtle, yet well intended, improvement made by the LEGO design team.

View from the bottom

The cockpit looks small but fits Anakin nicely. Instead of a backrest, he gets a pair of clip studs behind his seat that can hold his light saber, but not without first dismantling the hilt from the "light". I love the details printed on the bubble canopy, which is hinged to the rear of the cockpit. The Interceptor is protected by a pair of laser guns on each wing and another 2 flick missiles below the right wing. I have to say it is not easy to access the flick missiles from the way they are positioned, but hey, who really plays with those darn missiles anyway?

There are no flick missiles on the left wing because ... the space is taken up by a specially-designed compartment for R2! Yes, R2 finally gets an exclusive seat in a starfighter, without having to fake it by removing his head and attach to the wing. For a vehicle of this size, I can imagine the difficulty in trying to accommodate R2 on the limited space on the wing. This Interceptor does not come with retractable undercarriage so it will rest on the few 2X2 round bricks when not in flight.

The finished product is a joy to look, and to play. This is a rare attribute, given that most lookers (think UCS) are not really playable, while many of the more playable sets are not really eye candies. I even could not help "swooshing" a little with this Interceptor, on the pretense that I need to test it's durability for the sake of writing this review.


The two Mustafar robots are mounted on a number of 2X2 round transparent bricks to simulate the hovering effect above the boiling lava. With limited bricks attributed to them, I have to say they are well designed and look close enough to their movie counterparts.

Building Experience

As an adult builder, I find it more challenging to build the two Lava robots than the Jedi Interceptor, for the sole reason that the numerous small parts in the former are really painful to put together some times. Attaching the flame bricks to the clip proved to be a huge test for my finger's dexterity too.

What's in the box?

As for the Interceptor, building the two wings was not as boring as I initially expected as they are not totally the same, or symmetrical. The holding bay for R2 in the left wing broke the monotony of building a little. There are stickers to be applied to the Interceptor, but appropriately so. These are quite big so pasting them onto the flat surface of the foldable wings was quite a breeze. For once, I keep my sceptic mouth shut on the stickers.

Minifigs

Five minifigs is actually quite a generous gesture by LEGO for a small set like this, although 2 of them are droids. The Battle Droid comes with a maroon torso piece and different left / right arms. This new design came on board only in the last few years to allow the Battle Droid to hold the gun in an upright position. R2D2 doesn't bring along the "wow"s any more. In fact I lost count of how many of R2D2 I have in my entire collection already, not withstanding those that came in the form of key chains, avent calendar etc.

The other three human (not too sure about Nute Gunray though) minifigs are all unique to this set, at least at this current point of time whenI am penning this. Viceroy Nute Gunray's design was spot on. From the robe, to the complexion, LEGO has somehow found the right combination for this minifig. The details on his head gear and robe resembles closely to that in the movie and if there is one thing I must pick on, it will be his leg piece, or 'robe' piece. Too blocky for my liking. Not complaining though.

Anakin's head piece has 2 faces, and both are evidence of his transition to the dark side. Plenty of details on his torso piece, which is also printed on both sides. Not to be outdone, Obi-Wan has to have 2 faces as well. Only very subtle differences separate the 2 so to me, it doesn't matter which side I display him with. I have to say the expressions on these 2 minifigs do look a little "cartoony" to me, which was why I thought this may be a "Clone War" release initially.

Conclusion

Nice Interceptor, which is a good reason to part with your money. Minifig junkies will also love this.

Review: 7656 General Grievous Starfighter

Set ID: 7656 General Grievous Starfighter

Number of Pieces: 232

Year of Release: 2007

Minifigs: 1

Purchased Price: About SGD48

There are two versions of the General Grievous Starfighter released by LEGO so far. The latest one being the 8095 version which I did not possess due to the fact that it is released as the Clone War range (which I am not a fan of and therefore do not collect). This is the movie version, released in 2007, without much peripheral elements or frills. Just the vehicle and its pilot. As I am not able to do a comparison review of the two versions, this review will just be focusing on 7656, the older of the two.

The Starfighter in the movie looks chunkier and wider than this one. Curve is never a strength of LEGO design (no doubt it is getting better over the years) so it is unfair to judge this Starfighter against its movie counterpart. I tried to not look at it from a 2013 perspective, but instead, appreciate it from the angle of 2007. It doesn't feel bad at all. There are no fancy bricks in this set, untilising just very basic LEGO elements, mostly dark grey ones.

Hinged laser cannon for what?

The shape of this Starfighter does bear a huge resemblance to the Naboo Starfighter. In fact, many of the vehicles in Episodes 1-3 tend to emulate this design to a certain extent. Think Pod Racers. Two front mounted engines, single seater and anti-aerodynamic design. Someone must have ran out of idea or it is an excuse that all the ships then look the same. The Starfighter is only lightly armed, with two laser cannon hinging on its wings. I am not too sure why the need for the hinge though, perhaps to allow General Grievous to swing the cannon 180 degrees towards his blind spot behind.

The cockpit is a let down. There is absolutely NO effort to detail the cockpit at all. Just a "hole" in the vehicle to house the pilot. There is no control panel, no joystick and no room for Grievous to move his four arms. In fact, his arms will have to be tucked inwards in order for him to fit into the cockpit. A darkened canopy is loosely attached to the cockpit's front. You will have to remove it totally to allow any access. A hinged or sliding canopy will be much more appreciated.

Grievous' four colourful light sabers are mounted on a saber stand which can be attached to the Starfighter's undercarriage. I am still not able to comprehend a rationale behind the design of the hinged rudder at the rear. The only reason I can muster is that it is for supporting the rear when displaying the vehicle. If there is a better justification for the hinging, I will like to know.

Building Experience

Fuselage, cockpit, laser cannons, left wing, click, right wing, click. Time check. 35 minutes. Done. No numbered packs, no problem. After building many of the sets released in the last 2 years, I need some time to get use to the 'classic' instruction booklet. By that I meant with each step, there is no reminder of where and what are the new additions so you will have to scrunitise the diagram carefully so as not to miss a step. For 233 bricks, this is not too painful. To build anything more than 500 pieces this way will be quite unbearable.

In the early stage of the construction, the manual indicated that the 4 light sabers should be mounted to the undercarriage, I guess for the ease of carrying them around. However, throughout the next few steps, my hand will inevitably dislodge the light saber while building the other parts. In the end, I remove the light saber stand totally and only fix it back after I completed the vehicle. On a positive note, I was rather impressed by the design of how the snort is attached to the fuselage. Instead of the typical stud-on-stud approach, the snort was actually built with a groove and slip towards the cockpit, finally attached via a clip. I am not sure if I describe it well enough but you will have to personally build it to understand. Clever.

Minifigs

There is only one minifg in this set, the owner of the Starfighter - General Grievous. There were only 2 General Grievous minifigs that were ever released (besides the Clone War one, which in my opinion, is more detailed), and this is the later one, in total white. If I can make a wish list for the design of a future General Grievous minifig, I will like to have a more detailed head piece and posable legs. if I can push my luck further, I will like it taller, similar to that in the movie. Although he is equipped with a laser blaster, General Grievous looks best with all the 4 light sabers in hand. Without other minifigs in the set to steal his limelight, he certainly ace the pose!

Conclusion

A pretty solid set once completed, though not one of the most impressive (I have to say very little vehicles from Episode 1-3 can impress me). A "can have", if you have room for it.