Set ID: 7754 Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser
Number of Pieces: 789
Year of Release: 2009
Minifigs: 6
Purchased Price: About SGD 200
The recent release of the various themes have been a huge distractions to my loyalty to the Star Wars range. It does not really help that some of these new sets are really a collector's dream (e.g. Hellicarrier, Simpson's mart and the Detective's Offce) These distractions also came at a time when I was on an 8-week business travels and could not afford the time to build and review. Now that the trips have tapered off as well as the cash, I am back to my first love and there is nothing more appropriate than to dig up a rare scene set to restart my review momentum again.
On first glance of the set name, it really reminded me of some exotic menu item which name I cannot articulate in a 3-star Michelin restaurant. I have to do a little bit of research in order to ascertain where this unique name originates and see how this set affiliate to that in the movie. In fact, the set name is kind of misleading as it suggests that this is a vehicle set instead of a scene set. I could imagine the UCS version of this (although is may be quite boring looking) with Admiral Ackbar as an accompanying minifig. Anyway, I digress.  |
| Separated for easier storage |
It is quite rare that LEGO invests in a scene set that was hardly featured in the movie. As far as my memory can brings me back, I can only recall a few very brief moments in ROTJ that this scene was featured. Given the brief cameo, I am impressed by the details that went into the design and the playable features that accompanied them. The rare minifigs are also a hit with collectors but more on that later.
The set mainly consists of two parts: the hangar and servicing bay for the A-wings and the bridge / command post. The hangar is large enough to accommodate a full size A-wing, with an overhead servicing beam and hoist. The A-wing can be nestled on a rotating dock to allow the vehicle to be admired in 360 view. This was achieved by a very simple design consisting of a long Technic shaft and a pair of rotating gears. The half dozen of SNOT plates also allow the A-wing to slide effortlessly along the floor of the hangar.
Of the few A-wings released to date, this is the only one that comes with a removable rear engine and in green colour theme. I am not sure if I have seen a green one in the movie before but my preference (and all my researches) points towards a red one. There are not much playable features on this A-wing except for the opening rear engine compartment, hinged cockpit canopy and retractable undercarriage. A couple of wing mounted flick missiles complete the armoury but I would strongly suggest against playing with that feature as it is rather flimsy IMHO. The same flimsiness can also be said of the rear engine compartment as I lost count of the number of times I have to rebuild its rear fins when I messed with the engine compartment.
The projection room is a scaled down version of that in the movie but did a decent job to depict the projection equipment and atrium seatings. The bluish radar dish and orange projection ball are really eye-catching in a room of primarily white colour. The opposite side is the bridge, perched a little higher for better visibility of the situations outside the cruiser. Two seats and Admiral Ackbar's command post can be found here, with the latter designed with some flexibility to slide and rotate. Ackbar's preferential treatment goes beyond the comfort of his command post, with an exclusive cup for him within his reach.
The rotating command post has the exact same rotating mechanism found in the hangar so while I was pretty impressed by its deployment when building the hangar, the repeated appearance in the command post became more of boring than exciting. Just a thought, I would prefer the rotating mechanism to be used on the projection ball rather than the command post. It's worth mentioning that most of the stickers are used as the control panels (plural, plenty of them) in this room.Building Experience
The box seems a little too big for the content. It could even pass off as a UCS box and comparative to the smaller UCS sets released to date. If you do not intend to keep the box, the perforated design of it will not irk you, otherwise you will have to find another way to access the bricks without spoiling the box.
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| 10th Anniversary logo on box |
The phrase "Limited Edition" is clearly printed on the front to make this a "must have" for the collectors. The entire gang of minifigs can also be seen with special mention of "Admiral Ackbar". The 10-year LEGO Star Wars anniversary logo on the box further raises the value of the content. The back of the box features the various playable features of the set as well as different ways of displaying it.Cautiously peeling off the stickers on the box, I managed to dig out the bricks that are separated into three batches for the ease of construction, two instruction booklets, a sticker sheet and a long Technic shaft that will be used to manoeuvre the docking station in the hangar. It's worth mentioning that the stickers are mainly applied on the A-wings and the display panels found in the auditorium. Not a major issue for me as they do enhance the necessary details in the set.
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| Sticker sheet - half for A-Wing and half for control panels |
Minifigs
In the beginning of the review, I mentioned about the exclusivity of the minifigs in this set and their collection-worthiness. 5 out of the 6 minifigs here are exclusive in this set, although a number of them are variants from earlier versions or later ones. 2006 is also a time when the human minifigs still don the traditional "happy" expression and dual faces head piece are non existent.
A-wing pilot - The green flight suit of this character stays loyal to the movie version but comparing it to the later variant in set 75003 A-Wing Fighter in 2013, there is an obvious lack of details to the suit. His torso is only printed on the front with a simple chest plate design. The grey helmet is one accessory that deviates furthest from the movie as it was adopted from the motorcycle helmet commonly found in City sets. The complete re-design in 2013 eventually rectified this to a large degree.
Admiral Ackbar - He first made an appearance in this set in 2009, with a completely customised head mould to reflect the lizard-like features of the Calamari tribe. What impressed me was not just the shape of the head, but also the level of details of the scales and skin tone. His white uniform contrasts starkly with his tan head piece but as white always resemble some form of authority, Ackbar does stand out when placed beside the Calamari officer. His torso is printed on both sides with the beige vest over his uniform. One point to note is that the brown hands do not really match up to the lighter brown skin colour of the head piece
Mon Calamari Officer - Sharing the same same head piece with Admiral Ackbar, the officer can be differentiated by his beige overall. Being lower ranked than the Admiral, the officer's torso is only printed on one side, with creased lines and utility pockets as designs.
Mon Mothma - This was a highly "controversial" minifig in my household as the debate of her gender rages on, no thanks to the very misleading hair piece that makes it difficult to determine the gender of the minifig. The small lip-sticked print on the head piece is similar to that of the earlier version of Princess Leia. This also mean that she looked pretty nonchalant or expressionless. Her white cape and torso prints do exude that sense of authority as a Supreme Commander, although she wears a robe most of the time in the movie instead of a top and pants combination. I did try to swap her hair piece with Lando (also found in this set) but the effect was even more disastrous. Until a more appropriate hair piece is found, I still find it hard to rate this rare minifig appropriately.
General Crix Madine - Strictly speaking, this minifig is not exactly EXCLUSIVE to this set as it was also included in the Collectible Display Set back in 2009. However, minifigs collectors all over the world has been trying to hunt down this very limited and forgotten minifig for some time, pushing the price to a dizzying USD 200 in some instances! Rarity is indeed king. General Madine's happy expression is half concealed by his tan coloured bearded print, which blends nicely with his matching hair piece. Front torso print includes collar pins, badge and belt, with creases to show for the organic feel of the fabric.
Lando Calrissian - Another highly coveted minifig that is unique to this set. His closest variant is the one found in 2003 Cloud City set. Both are rare and in high demand amongst collectors. I am impressed by the level of details printed on his front torso, including the cape chain, gun holster sling and belt.
Conclusions
+ Hangar design and its playability
+ Unique and rare minifigs
+ The projection ball. Yes, for some reason, I do like its inclusion in this set.
- Flimsy A-Wing design
- Repeated use of the slide and rotate mechanism in the same set
+ Hangar design and its playability
+ Unique and rare minifigs
+ The projection ball. Yes, for some reason, I do like its inclusion in this set.
- Flimsy A-Wing design
- Repeated use of the slide and rotate mechanism in the same set
