Set ID: 8038 The Battle of Endor
Number of Pieces: 890
Year of Release: 2009
Minifigs: 12!!!!!!!!!!!
Purchased Price: About SGD 200
My recent purchase of the Ewok Village has prompted me to dig up this scene set from my store. I wanted to build this set together with Ewok Village to re-create a forested Endor in my place. While I am not confident that I will open up the Ewok Village soon, I have stronger determination to pry open the seals on this 5 year old set. Although a battle scene, the fighting that took place in this scene felt much light hearted and candid as compared to those in Hoth, partly because of the Ewoks, whom by nature are adorable (Some might disagree). And the light weight armory of the Ewoks vs the laser blasting Troopers always remind me of the battle between David and the Goliath. David prevailed. Ewoks, well, needed some help. If you also possess the 2 Ewok Attack sets (released in 2002 and 2011), you may consider combining them with this set too to beef up the Ewok community.
Watching ROTJ while building this set, I have a mental checklist that goes ... AT-ST, checked. Speeder Bikes, checked. Bunker, checked. Ewok glider, checked. Primitive catapult, checked. Ewoks, Troopers, Leia, Solo, Chewbacca, R2, Endor Rebels, checked, checked, checked, checked .... Finally, I get a set that can almost reenact the entire scene in the movie, with all the right props and characters (some Star Wars sets are guilty of including characters that did not even feature in the scene or very remote relationship to the vehicle they are tagged to) The first impression of this set is therefore... very complete.
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| Roll call before the attack! |
As there are so many elements and minifigs in this set, I will break them down into individual elements to review on, ending with the massive 12 minifigs that come with this set. 12, that's a number that only Ewok Village and Death Star sets can surpass.
Speed Away!
There are 2 improved versions of the speeder bikes that comes with this set. Going though the evolution of speeder bikes over the years, I must say the designers are really putting effort to make them better and better. This version comes with the correct color scheme and articulated body, allowing the front portion of the bike some degree of freedom to swing side to side while turning tight corners.
I made no secret of my liking of those well-deisgned handlebars, which are very posable for the Trooper to grab while riding. A backpack is attached at the rear for Trooper to carry some additional knick knacks. However, it is hardly secured and does come off quite easily during play time.
I made no secret of my liking of those well-deisgned handlebars, which are very posable for the Trooper to grab while riding. A backpack is attached at the rear for Trooper to carry some additional knick knacks. However, it is hardly secured and does come off quite easily during play time.
Rounds Away!
The primitive armory of the Ewoks include a catapult and 4 stone ammunition in the form of 2X2 round grey bricks. To improve its camouflage in the thick foliage of the forest of Endor, the catapult is made up of mostly brown (wood) and green (leave) bricks. A couple of clips provided some holding spots for the spears and bow of the Ewoks as they operate the catapult. Unlike many of the older catapult designs, this actually works, and works well. My secondary school science teacher will be happy to use this catapult design to explain the chapter on lever and system, emphasizing on the impact of the long arm on its range. Simple, but effective.Fly Away!
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| Spread those wings! |
Before I get too complimentary with my remarks on Ewoks' armory, the glider kind of brought me back to earth. Mounted on a transparent stand, the glider is perched high above the other elements in this set. The finished product is both flimsy and fragile. Flimsy because its wings have this tendency to flip backwards and fragile because almost every time I play with it, something will come off. It does carry a few pieces of rocks too for ariel bombardment but deploying those rocks is not an easy task. In the end, I decided the best way to deal with this glider is, to leave it alone.
Stamp Away!
I am always in awe of any vehicle that is designed to balance on 2 legs. Many versions of the AT-ST have been released over the years by LEGO, and never once am I disappointed with the design of the chicken leg-esque balancing act. To make it more impressive, the AT-ST is a top-heavy vehicle and that makes balancing even more challenging. I put the AT-ST through several tip-over test and it passed most with flying colors. The only one that it failed was when I attempted to kick it. Duh. This version comes with a knob behind the cockpit to move its legs, just by alternating clockwise and anti-clockwise on the knob.
The cockpit was a simple affair, just having enough space to accommodate Chewbacca, who can access the AT-ST via the hinged top hatch. The cockpit can be rotated 360 degree, on the turntable tile that connects the head with the legs. A point to note is that if the cockpit is rotated beyond 90 degree left or right, the center of gravity would have shifted to topple the AT-ST. Other playable features include a few rotatable cannons and a flick missile beside the cockpit.
Blast Away!
The center piece of this set is no doubt the bunker. It consists of the main entrance piece and hinged on the 2 sides with symmetrical designs. Look wise, the bunker certainly does its original proud, especially the sunken entrance and sliding main door. Opening the door requires little effort and it leads you to the main control center. The occupant of the bunker will be greeted by a whole panel of controls (all printed bricks! Thank you LEGO!) and a couple of chairs, presumably evacuated by the escaping Troopers.
The last play feature that I want to introduce is something that is totally new to me. To simulate the exploding end of the bunker, a pair of push buttons are installed on the roof of the entrance. Underneath these buttons are is an elaborated spring mechanism, which helps to eject the wall panels in different directions when the buttons are pushed. Comparing to the LOTR Helm's Deep set, this exploding mechanism is much more sophisticated and spectacular.
Building Experience
The box of this set is huge and I suspect the size was to justify the price and the space required for the artwork. I was very careful not to tear open the perforated lines when opening the box, but that makes accessing the bricks really difficult. At close to 900 brick counts, I would have thought there would be a good number of numbered packs. To my surprise, there were 2 packs of "1" - for all the minifigs, the catapult, speeder bikes and glider, 2 packs of "2" - for the AT-ST and 4 packs of "3"- for the bunker. The longest time taken were for the construction of the bunker as there were quite a number of bricks when I opened all the 4 packs of "3". Did not help that mostly were in different shades of grey.
Since I am still on color, I want to mention that the color representation in the 2 instruction booklets can be misleading at times. It is especially difficult to differentiate the black and dark grey. And there were occasions when I did mistook their identities. Lesson learnt: find somewhere well lit (with white lights instead of warm lights) when building this set.
There were no major drama during my 2.5 hours of building experience. Although the glider did tested my patience at times with its flimsiness. On a good note, the spring elements that came with the set offered some element of surprise during the construction process. I was very impressed with the intricate design of the exploding mechanism. Another compliment must be given to the assortment of leave elements included in this set. It is totally up to your imagination how you want to position those leaves to simulate the camouflage around the bunker.
The box of this set is huge and I suspect the size was to justify the price and the space required for the artwork. I was very careful not to tear open the perforated lines when opening the box, but that makes accessing the bricks really difficult. At close to 900 brick counts, I would have thought there would be a good number of numbered packs. To my surprise, there were 2 packs of "1" - for all the minifigs, the catapult, speeder bikes and glider, 2 packs of "2" - for the AT-ST and 4 packs of "3"- for the bunker. The longest time taken were for the construction of the bunker as there were quite a number of bricks when I opened all the 4 packs of "3". Did not help that mostly were in different shades of grey.
Since I am still on color, I want to mention that the color representation in the 2 instruction booklets can be misleading at times. It is especially difficult to differentiate the black and dark grey. And there were occasions when I did mistook their identities. Lesson learnt: find somewhere well lit (with white lights instead of warm lights) when building this set.
There were no major drama during my 2.5 hours of building experience. Although the glider did tested my patience at times with its flimsiness. On a good note, the spring elements that came with the set offered some element of surprise during the construction process. I was very impressed with the intricate design of the exploding mechanism. Another compliment must be given to the assortment of leave elements included in this set. It is totally up to your imagination how you want to position those leaves to simulate the camouflage around the bunker.
Minifigs
There are a number of minifigs that are exclusive to this set. Let's start with the 2 Rebel Commandos. Both share the same torso and leg piece designs. What sets them apart are their facial expressions - one with bearded and the other with a frown. The torso designs are printed on both sides, with details such as an ammunition belt and camouflaged vest. Each commando also carries a small haversack for their basic survival kit in this dense vegetation. While the frown-faced commando looks generic, I did manage to locate his counterpart in the movie scene. Can't remember if he has a formal identity though.
The 3 Ewoks are rare too. Chief Chirpa, being the more senior Ewoks amongst the others, possess the stake of power. His grey body also sets him apart from his 2 other junior Ewoks, Paploo and Wicket, who are predominantly brown in color. It is worth noting that Chief Chirpa has not appeared in any other sets until the recent release of Ewok Village. All the 3 Ewoks shared the same head piece mould, differentiated by only the color combination of their body and scarf. In the movie, Paploo was responsible for dislodging the Biker Scout Trooper from his bike and Wicket was the mastermind behind flying the glider. Is such details don't bother you, you can place them what ever way you want in this scene set.
Princess Leia appeared in many variations in past LEGO sets, from bikini clad, to disguise, to this camouflaged version. I have to say her green torso and blue pants do make a weird color combination and you will probably not see her making a fashion statement with this outfit any time soon. There are quite a fair bit of details printed on both sides of her torso, including a utility belt, scarf around her neck and camouflaged designs to blend into the environment. Thank goodness Leia made a change of her wardrobe when she appears in the Ewok Village.
The details on Scout Trooper has changed little since they first made an appearance more than 10 years ago. The Scout Trooper found in this set is therefore not an exception and offers little surprises. His torso is only printed on the front, with details of his chest armor and ammo belt. He also comes with a all black head piece, which forms part of his black visor when he dons his helmet. By the way, there are 2 of this Scout Trooper included in this set, and each has their own ride in the form of the Scout Bike.
I am starting to lose count ... Who's next? Oh yes, the all-black Imperial Trooper. His chin strap is printed on his head piece, and it connects nicely to the helmet when you put it on. The printing on the Trooper's torso cannot be seen easily, with exception of his belt as it has a silver buckle and utility pouches. Surprisingly, he is not accessorized with any hand held weapons so Han and gang will certainly have an advantage over him.A 'common' R2D2 rounds up the dirty dozen of minifigs included in this set.
Conclusion
Plenty of reasons why this set is a must-buy for the fans and collectors. It is a very complete and playable set, with elements ranging from building to vehicles to a dozen minifigs. Its a scene set that you might even write a few sub-plots on, just to get every elements involved in your play time. Works best if you can combine with other Endor / Ewok sets released over the years.
+ The balancing act of the Skinny legs of the AT-ST
+ Playable and dramatic playable features of the bunker
+ Good variety of leave elements
+ 12 minifigs!
- The design of the glider is flimsy and disappointing
Love your reviews! Keep up the good work!
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