Review: 75049 Snowspeeder

Set ID: 75049 Snowspeeder

Number of Pieces: 278

Year of Release: 2014

Minifigs: 3

Purchased Price: About SGD 60

Having just recently completed the AT-AT shootout review, I was resisting the idea of having to do another shootout review for this new Snowspeeder. Part of the reason is because I have not built another Snowspeeder since completing the 2003 UCS version some time in 2005. Since then, there have been no exclusive Snowspeeder sets released and all we got were scene sets that include the Snowspeeders within.

Small vehicle with low nick count = difficult to improve?

The UCS set aside, Snowspeeder was first introduced in 1999 (set 7130) as one of the pioneer range of LEGO Star Wars sets. Not surprisingly, the early sets (including 4500 released in 2004) were a little primitive in design and building technique but sufficed to keep collectors happy. Being a rather small vehicle (around 200+ brick counts), there can be very little improvements or changes that can be made with every new release. In fact, I did a visual inspection of the pictures of the latest three Snowspeeders (sets 7666, 8089 and 75014) and had serious difficulties in telling them apart. It kind of reminded me of the "Spot the difference" game we used to play as children in the past and I derived some form of satisfaction with every difference I managed to pick up.

David vs. Goliath

It is therefore perplexed to me why this set is released now, given that the Snowspeeder last appeared in the recent 2013's Battle of Hoth set. My only justification is to give it a "revamp" with the inclusion of spring loaded missiles. Other than that, I can't see the "why". I do not intend to do another shootout with the 2013's Snowspeeder as I just did one such review for the AT-AT. Instead, I shall review this Snowspeeder as if it is my first encounter with one.

The Exterior

From my research, it seems that there are two versions of Snowspeeder, one with rebel-orange stripes and the other in greys and whites only. This latest version is of the latter rather than the former, and is probably the first one without any trace of orange on it. The few stickers used provided the some nice detailed touches to the vehicle, especially the one on the nose of the Snowspeeder, showing traces of battle damage and scratches.

Just the good old grey and white

The Snowspeeder is piloted by two Rebel pilots, one forward facing and the other towards the rear. There are no joystick in the cockpit but each pilot has their own control panel which feature different details. The pilot seats have also adopted a new design, commonly found in Friends sets. Instead of sitting the minifig on 2 or 4 studs to secure the minifigs, this new design feature a T-bracket to slot between the legs of the minifigs so that they are able to sit on SNOT bricks. This dispense the need for the unsightly stud up seats found commonly in the past. The canopy of the cockpit can be opened entirely by hinging at the rear, or partially via the click hinge in the middle section.

The Snowspeeder is most famously known for bringing down the mighty AT-AT by tripping it using the winch and hook, masterfully executed by Luke Skywalker. The winch is well secured at the rear of the Snowspeeder but the hook and line cannot be deployed by simply pulling the hook it self. It is a rather tight mechanism which can only be operated by turning the gears. The engine exhaust at the rear are represented by a number of 2X1 grill bricks but I thought some touches of orange here will be nice to show an ignited engine.

Spring loaded missiles well concealed

Other than the pair of dummy twin cannons located on the wings, the arsenal of the Snowspeeder also include a stud-firing gun at the rear (presumably operated by the rear pilot), and a pair of spring loaded missiles found under each of the wing. These missiles are very well concealed and easy to fire off during play time.

Overall, the completed Snowspeeder feels very solid and there is no danger of loose parts coming off while swooshing around.

The set also comes with laser cannon operated by the Imperial ground troops. It is mounted on a tripod and has a magazine box attached via a whip-like feeding belt. The design of this cannon is very similar to that found in the 2011's Hoth Echo Base.

Building Experience

This set comes in a very squarish box that is rare in the Star Wars collection. While I like the rare departure from the norm, I do question the logic of the design of the opening end, which is located at the bottom rather than the top. There are a total of three packs of bricks, pack 1 for the fuselage while pack 2 and 3 are responsible for each wing. The three minifigs are also put separately into the three packs. Pack 1 contains most of the small bricks which made up the fuselage and cockpit but I was surprised to find lots of spares when pack 1 was completed. Why that generosity?

The other contents in the box include a instruction booklet and a sticker sheet. I mentioned earlier that the stickers are nice addition to the design but due to the fact that they are small, applying them on the bricks can be a challenge. Construction is easy, no major drama. What trips me was the winch and hook portion, where I have to tie the knots using the string. I have to admit I hate doing this part but its a necessary evil, isn't it?

I wasn't checking out the clock while building this as I was constantly distracted by the telecast of a World Cup match on the TV, but it felt like I took around 45 min to complete it. Kids will have absolute no issue to build this by themselves. Just help them with the knot on the winch...

Minifigs

Luke has evolved little from the version found in Battle of the Hoth set. From preliminary visual inspection, I can only see that the head piece is different. He comes with a dual sided printed head, one with the visor down and the other with the visor up. Both faces are also printed with chin straps which blend nicely once the helmet is worn. Talking about the helmet, the details printed on it are very movie accurate and I wonder if there is anything else the designer can do to make it better in the future? Luke's pilot outfit is also impressively detailed, printed on both sides. Check out the vest printing on the back of his torso, it has this organic feel to give it a more realistic look. The prints also extend to his leg piece with thigh pockets and straps. The bar on the quality of minifigs has been raised once again, I am now eagerly anticipating the next wave or next generation of Star Wars minifigs. Kudos to the designers!

Luke's co-pilot, Dak Ralter, is the second pilot included in the set. He shares the same torso and leg piece design with Luke so the only way to tell them apart is from neck up. His helmet has a blue theme as compared to Luke's. There are also lesser details but still movie accurate. I can't help but to laugh at his comical startled expression, a strong contrast to the happy one on the opposite side. His accessory is a small arm that can be kept in the cockpit area between the two pilot seats.

The Snowtrooper is new in the 2014 wave of Star Wars set but not new to me, as it was reviewed before in the latest AT-AT review. His inclusion is most appropriate for this set, to provide some resistance to the Snowspeeder. My favourite part of this minifig is still his helmet that includes a "fabric" face protector. Very detailed, very accurate. The only complaint I have is the "butt cape" that looks kind of weird but honestly, I can't think of a better way to represent it in the LEGO form.

Conclusion

Perhaps this is a typical demonstration of diminishing marginal utility (something that I learnt from the boring Economic lessons during my school days), or perhaps it's a matter of over supply vs under demand (another key principle from Economic lessons). Regardless the reason, I am hardly jumping over the moon with this set. With hardly significant improvements (please don't include the by-now default inclusion of spring loaded missiles), I would not be interested to pick this set up, if not because I am a die hard fan.

+ Snowspeeder will always be a classic
+ Nice detailed minifigs
+ Not too expensive (relatively speaking to other June releases)

- No major improvements to wow
- Dislike the tying of knots for the grapple hook (It's just me ...)
- How many Snowspeeders do we need?

P.S. Just realised that my blog review page has just crossed the 10,000 hit mark!!! 

Review: 75017 Duel on Geonosis

Set ID: 75017 Duel on Geonosis

Number of Pieces: 391

Year of Release: 2013

Minifigs: 4

Purchased Price: About SGD 80

I have not been too impressed with too many Star Wars Scene sets after 15 years of collecting them. On the scale of 1-5, 1 being "waste of money" to 5 being "WOW", I have rated most scene sets in the lower end of the spectrum (the recent Ewok Village is a rare exception). The thought of the disastrous 2005's 7257 Ultimate Lightsaber Duel, still sends ultimate shudder down my spine. And if I used 7257 as a benchmark, then this set will be rated much higher for its playability and accuracy to movie details. Although it is unfair for me to compare the two sets as apple-to-apple, I would think that nine years will be an adequate duration for the design team to come up with a better set. It is about time.

Take this, Yoda! Stop jumping around!

While I sit on the fence with my final impression of this set, my bigger disappointment was actually not from the perspective of the design nor set accuracy, but with LEGO, for getting a brick wrong! This is rare, really rare. I might have a better chance of winning the lottery than to expect LEGO to make the very fundamental mistake of including a wrong brick in a set. This is the level of trust I have in the brand which kept me as a loyal fan. BUT, it happened. More on that later ...

The completed set

This set attempts to re-create the great battle in Genosis where the ever-jumpy Yoda took on Dooku (masterfully acted by Christopher Lee in the movie) Plenty of structural destruction was witnessed during that battle and so a fair bit of that was included in the design of the set. A huge SNOT platform provides the landing pad where Count Dooku could park his bike upon arrival.

The view from landing pad

Falling pillar

Crumbling wall

Playable features in the set include falling wall pieces and the collapsing column that kept Yoda busy while Count Dooku made his escape. Yoda can also be attached to a long stick with multiple degree of freedom to manipulate Yoda's movement during the duel. But seriously, I don't think there will be too many people who will be spinning Yoda around during play time. The walls are hinged so you do have some flexibility on how you want to display the set. Movie accurate touches such as the wall colours, hanging lights and pipes are welcomed inclusion in the design. There is also a stone wall that opens up to a secret compartment. Not too sure what's that for or if I ever remember seeing it anywhere in the movie...?

"To infinity and beyond .... Oops, wrong movie!"

I am not too impressed with the Dooku's bike in this set. Basically the LEGO version is a little too "angular" to resemble its movie counterpart. In all fairness, the actual bike is too rounded to be replicated in LEGO form, especially the rear end of the bike. The designers have also took pain to include the pair of foot paddles at the front end, unfortunately, the LEGO minifig of Count Dooku does not have legs long enough to straddle the bike and rest his feet on these paddles. All in all, this Dooku's bike reminds me much of the first generation LEGO Star Wars Scooter Bikes.

Building Experience

The 391 bricks were split amongst three bags. Content also includes a manual that, IMHO, rather challenging to read even in white light. My main issue with this manual is the colour distinction between the shades of brown, and to a certain extent, between the dark brown and dark grey. Fortunately, there is too little bricks in this set for me to commit the mistake of choosing the wrong bricks, so no harm done. The other loose contents include the plastic wings belonging to Poogle the Lesser and a ginormous 16X8 SNOT plate for the landing pad.

Spot the difference?

What's really appalling halfway through the construction of the set was the discovery of a grave mistake by LEGO. THERE IS A WRONG BRICK INCLUDED! I cannot remember when was the last time I encountered this, possibly never before! One thing I cannot ascertain if this is a prevalent problem in all of this set or is it only unique to mine. But my confidence of the brand does take some beating with this discovery though. Fortunately, as shown in the pictures below, with some improvisation, I managed to get the parts fixed up nonetheless.

Improvisation required! It still works!

The discovery of the mistake did take me some time off the construction as I was scouring through the rest of the bricks to ensure that the correct piece is not misplaced in another bag. Without this distraction, the et could easily be completed in around 30-40 minutes, or even lesser. No difficult moves and techniques involved so it will certainly be an easy build for younger kids. In any case, probably only the younger owners will be interested in the simulation of Yoda in the fight with Count Dooku, right?

Minifigs

All four minifigs are new and unique (almost) to this set, with exception of the FA-4 Pilot Droid, who also appeared in the Star Wars Avent Calendar Set before. Yoda and Count Dooku are certainly the must-have with this set and I can also see why FA-4 is here as it was responsible for the escape of Count Cooku after the duel. But Poogle? Can't see the relevance but I am not complaining, for it is a well designed minifig worth collecting.

First up, Yoda. The headpiece went through an overhaul to make him less of a Gremlin and more of a wiser (and happier) Yoda. Its rubbery texture revealed that it is a customised piece and that allows much more details to be included in its design. His torso is printed on both sides with details of the robe and inner vest. For playability, a L-shape neck collar can be fixed on to attach to the control stick anchored on the wall. However, the neck collar does make Yoda look a little out of proportion, resembling more of a Hobbit with a long neck.

The white hair Count Dooku comes with a double face that spells little differences between both of them. His all black outfit is movie accurate to the extent of the details of his belt and chain across his chest. The accessory impressed me more, especially the curved hilt of his red lightsaber. The other accessory is the purple-blue electric bolt which is not uncommon amongst some of the earlier Star Wars set. Credit to the minifig designer, I could almost see Christopher Lee in this minifig! Lol...

The PA-4 does look a tad too brown to its lighter coloured movie counterpart. But I do like how the legs (or bottom) are designed, closely resembling that of a triangular roller base that the PA-4 is traversing on. Most of its torso and hands are recycling parts from a common Clone droid, just with different colours. Head piece is totally new, with a face reminding me more of the movie "I-Robot".

Poogle the Lesser made a brief appearance just before the duel between Yoda and Dooku so I guess that air time earned him a spot in this set. The details on this minifig is nothing short of breathtaking, especially if you study his torso and legs designs. As the Archduke of Geonosis, it is no surprise that Poogle's wardrobe sense will tilt towards opulence than simplicity. And that was totally reflected in the design of this minifig. To replicate those details on his head, the headpiece has to be customised too using rubber, rather than plastic, mould. The result is a highly-detailed headpiece of Poogle but the down side is that the attachment to the torso tends to be a little loose. With the rather complex wing fixture on his neck, my Poogle's headpiece tends to slide upwards from time to time. Nonetheless, I am still impressed with this minifig, at least from design's perspective.

Conclusion

The price per brick ratio, this set is certainly on the steeper side. Scene sets have always been an Achilles' heels in the Star Wars range as it is always tough to get the details right. Playability wise, this set does well enough but for an AFOL, this factor is always secondary. The biggest disappointment for me is still the inclusion of a wrong brick. Someone in QC will need to look into this.

+ Simpler scene set with adequate play features.
+ Detailed and uniquely-designed minifigs

- - Wrong parts included in set! Big no-no!
- Not too impressed with Count Dooku's bike
- Not too sure if putting Yoda on a stick is a good idea

Review: 75054 AT-AT (AT-ATs Shootout!)

Set ID: 75054 AT-AT

Number of Pieces: 1138

Year of Release: 2014

Minifigs: 5

Purchased Price: About SGD 200

June is an exciting time for LEGO fan like myself. In the past I was always looking forward to the new Star Wars range (I still do) but now my attention has to be divided with other ranges such as the LOTR range (which thankfully has stepped off the limelight for a while) and LEGO Movie range (which unthankfully is getting better and better). The result? I just blew almost SGD 1000 last weekend in my neighbourhood LEGO store, beefing up my Star Wars collection and adding the Sea Cow (an amazing set) to my LEGO movie sets. I have no ground to complain, especially after getting to work on my first of the June releases - the all-time classic AT-AT.

Sibling rivalry! Older on the left, newer (and taller) on the right

AT-AT first appeared in 2003 in the form of set 4483. Even at more than a decade old, this set was already pace setting as one of the few 1000+ piece sets. The brick count was quite consistent even with the motorised version in 2007 (set 10178) and came down to sub-1000 pieces in 2010 with the disappointing set 8129. I was wondering how can LEGO improve or evolve this AT-AT after a 4 years' absence, and from the first pictorial releases during the early months of 2014, I was honestly not expecting too much pleasant surprises. I was wrong. The many flaws that I used to gripe about in my previous review of the 8129 have been addressed in this new set, and then more. Don't judge the set by its first impression, I have learnt.

Fortunately, I managed to find the 8129 in my LEGO Storeroom and thus this review will be a straight shootout / comparison between the two sets. Let me first declare that the latest version is already a winner by a distance and the following review will divulge my justification behind this verdict. For consistency, all the picture comparisons in this review are with the older version (8129) on the left, and the the 2014 release on the right.



The Winning Formulae

Longer new legs

Putting the 2 AT-ATs side by side and you will be able to tell some of the obvious differences straight away. The newer AT-AT is taller by around 2 studs and has a slightly wider head. Proportion wise, it is slightly on a lankier side, no thanks to its four long legs. It does make the AT-AT looks a little top heavy and susceptible to falling over. The legs of the new AT-AT is also closer apart, close enough for the left and right corresponding legs to touch each other if you align them together. For best photo moment, I will suggest to alternate the legs (1 click on the knee and 1 click on the hip joint).

Heads Up

The cockpit of the new AT-AT can now accommodate two pilots instead of one. There is a control panel now, although unimpressive, is still better than its older sibling. It also has a much more accessible top hatch that is easy to open and close. The previous version of the AT-AT suffers from a rather loosely put together head, which always give you the feeling that something might come apart while handling it. The head feels more solid in the new version, and comes with a pair of spring loaded missiles under the cockpit. These missiles do improve the playability of this set significantly. The neck connecting the head to the body can now be articulated at two joints. This gives the head an increased flexibility for posing.

The overall body design do look comparable between the two versions, in terms of size and design. The only significant difference, and one that swing the vote towards the new version, is the design of the hatch doors on both sides of the body. The entire side hatch door can now be opened via the hinge located on the top of the body. This resulted in a much bigger access to the belly as compared to half the size in the older version. I also prefer the new smoother hinge over the previous click hinge, which makes me worry of the side panel coming off every time I open the hatch door.

Much better new side hatch door design

The interior of the body has also gone through a major overhaul. Out goes the incomprehensible "mobile office' within the belly of the AT-AT, and in comes a totally empty interior (not sure if this is considered an improvement, unless doing nothing is better than doing something wrong) The bottom of the belly now includes a hatch door that opens downwards and allowing Luke to climb into the AT-AT during the battle of Hoth. Unfortunately, Luke is clearly missed in this new set. As with most new 2014 sets, this AT-AT also comes with a pair of red spring loaded missiles to improve playability. They can be located at the bottom of the head and can be fired rather easily from there.

Building Experience

Even from the box design point of view, the new set wins hands down. Although smaller, it is much more pragmatic and just enough to house the 8 packs of bricks and two instruction booklets sealed with a hard cardboard backing (always welcome this). Also included is a poster, which in my opinion, is the best I have seen so far. One side of it is the artwork of a battle scene from Hoth that is made up of three different Hoth sets, and on the opposite side is a minifig chart, laid out in landscape format. The opening of the new box is also my preferred dual-tape type, rather than the perforation one, which tends to damage the box.

Impressive poster!

Box and content

Pack 1-3 of Technic parts

All the packets contain pretty manageable amount of bricks each but pack 1 and 2 are overwhelmed primarily by Technic parts. These are the parts the made up the core of the AT-AT, after which the frame and panels are added to it. Pack 4 and 5 are the "legs packs" where I engaged my son's assistance to get through the more repeated and boring steps of putting all the 4 legs together. Pack 6 builds the side panels and the last pack is responsible for the head. Although there are a lot of grey bricks in this set, the colour representations in the instruction booklets are easy to tell apart and I experience no problem in reading them at all.


What I did have challenges are with the instructions on building the Technic portions. I had to backtrack on a number of occasions as I mis-read the instructions on where to insert the pegs. As I undid some of the steps, I could not help peeping at the "9-14" recommended age
label on the box with a strong sense of embarrassment...

There are a whole lot of new brick types found in this new set that I have not come across before. Perhaps they may have appeared in other ranges of LEGO products, but certainly unseen in the Star Wars range. The flat 4X2 with single peg hole (part 4646512 and 4646513) is the most intriguing find for me. They are extremely useful in hinging parts together without the use of too many bricks. Hope to see them more often in the other sets in future.

This new set adopted a much more "Technic-ques" building technique. Much, much more. In fact, almost the entire frame of the new AT-AT was built using tons of Technic parts and pegs. This certainly gives rise a a very sturdy frame and solid body, something the previous version scores very low on. It is so well designed that the younger AT-AT is able to withstand some rough handling during play time. Despite the slender look, the legs are also quite well designed and built, also being able to take some abuse in twisting and turning for various poses.

Minifigs

For the first time in many recent new sets, the minifigs in this set are rather underwhelming, both in quantity and variety. Although all the minifigs are supposedly "new" as proclaimed on the box, the improvements are minimal and you can hardly tell unless you place the earlier versions beside them. I would have hope for some major characters, especially Luke, to be included. Sadly, this set has placed a much heavier emphasis on the vehicle than the characters.


The only "recognisable" character is General Veers, who also appeared in two other earlier releases of the AT-ATs (set 8129 and 10178 Motorised AT-AT). This new version has attempted to replicate the wrinkled expressions of Veers and ended up with an over elaborated face design that makes his face looks like cracking up instead. Surely there is a way to reflect Veers' ageing complexion than to add more lines on his face? If that is not enough, a microphone headset is also printed across his right cheek. Guess the designer had an aspiration to fill up every micro inch of the head piece of this minifig. Veers' torso has also been updated with an additional black belt, on top of his vest.

The revised Snowtrooper has a brand new helmet, one without the see through eye holes. His head piece is now the generic face commonly found in all the 2014's releases. The torso piece undergone minimal revision when compared to the 2013 version from the Battle of Hoth set (75014). What's apparently new are his backpack and "butt cape" (not too sure what else to call it) While I am quite a fan of the printed 1X1 SNOT brick for the backpack as it resembles closely its movie counterpart, I can't say the same for the "butt cape", for it is a little out of proportion relative to the short legs of a minifig. It does look weird though.

The Snowtrooper Commander does not differ too much from his subordinate, and visibly having more whites than greys. He has a pair of white gloves, white groin T-joint, and a little more whites on his chest armour. From a distance, you probably can't tell him apart from a regular Snowtrooper!

The last minifig is the AT-AT driver. He has no identity so LEGO has assigned the common generic face head piece to this minifig. My favourite part is still the well-designed helmet, with much thoughts and details put in. However, I cannot  help but to notice that the rear of the helmet is not designed to cover the entire head, exposing a relatively large area of the head. I tried to research online to see if this is true in the movie but there are simply no information showing the rear of the helmet. I'll give the designers the benefit of doubt then. Driver's torso prints do expend to the peg piece but the design seems to mysteriously truncate somewhere near the knee, making me wonder what happened below that?

Conclusion

This is my 4th AT-AT already and I must say it brought back the confidence that was once lost with version 3. With every release, the price will only go north bound so I am not going to comment on whether it is worth buying this based on price. But if you can appreciate good engineering design and value the uniqueness of the AT-AT, this is a must-have. Now I have the urge to dig out the other AT-ATs and build them too to create a AT-AT nursery!

+ Very sturdy body design, thanks to the extensive use of Technic parts
+ Side panels open up much more than the previous version
+ Larger cockpit that accommodates two pilots (although they look a little too close from comfort inside)
+ Hatch door at the bottom of the belly a better representation of the movie version

- Legs look a little too long for the body
- Too little minifigs and iconic ones included in this set