I've been kicking myself ever since the original version (#7163) went out of production. Prices on eBay and Bricklink typically start around $200 and have gone as high as $400 for MISB (mint in sealed box) kits. As much as I love Star Wars Lego (which is a lot), that's a little too rich for my blood. So when I saw on a couple of "leaked" sites they were releasing a Clone Wars version, I started saving up right away. That, and I watched 8 kids for two days (my 4 and brother-in-law's 4 of 5)... totally worth it.
It fixed a couple of the short-comings I felt the original version had. I never did get the original, but I downloaded the instructions and thought (briefly) about building it from scratch. I never did like the way the first version split apart at the front. And this one has cockpits that actually open, instead of having to pry them off.
The view from the front. My only complaint with this one (and it's not a very big one at that) is that it was a little short on the minifigs. It came with Asajj Ventress, Obiwan, Commander Cody, Plo Koon, and a clone trooper. I don't think it would've killed anyone to put in maybe one more clone. As it was, I had to put in one clone pilot and two "star corps" troopers (the yellow markings) for the wings (another shortcoming in the original - couldn't put anyone in the wing 'pods'). The instructions called for a 2x2 flat plate in the wing pods, which didn't hold the minifigs at all, so I put in a grill plate and a 1x2 plate to hold them in place a little better.
It fixed a couple of the short-comings I felt the original version had. I never did get the original, but I downloaded the instructions and thought (briefly) about building it from scratch. I never did like the way the first version split apart at the front. And this one has cockpits that actually open, instead of having to pry them off.
The view from the front. My only complaint with this one (and it's not a very big one at that) is that it was a little short on the minifigs. It came with Asajj Ventress, Obiwan, Commander Cody, Plo Koon, and a clone trooper. I don't think it would've killed anyone to put in maybe one more clone. As it was, I had to put in one clone pilot and two "star corps" troopers (the yellow markings) for the wings (another shortcoming in the original - couldn't put anyone in the wing 'pods'). The instructions called for a 2x2 flat plate in the wing pods, which didn't hold the minifigs at all, so I put in a grill plate and a 1x2 plate to hold them in place a little better.
A portable bacta tank for those medical emergencies on the battlefield. I also liked the nose art stickers that were available. I went for the Kowakian Monkey Lizard (like Salacious Crumb from Episode VI) holding the bomb. Little-known fact: the writing above his head says "Laugh this off" in Aurabesh.
The mobile command center... kinda cool.
Obiwan and Commander Cody. You can also see the back of Plo Koon's head. The clones have actual faces under their helmets this time instead of the straight-black head. I do like how the side doors close completely, but I kinda miss having the gun pods on the sides.
The rear hatch opens up to deploy the speeder bike. Also a nice touch. Over-all, I have to say this is one of my favorite sets. And yes, I still play with them when no one is looking...
1 comment:
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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