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.