Republic Frigate (#7964)

When I saw this one on a Clone Wars episode, I figured it wouldn't be long before it made its way to a Lego set. My one complaint with these larger sets is the scarcity of the minifigs. This one comes with Yoda, Eeth Koth, Quinlan Vos, Commander Wolffe, and a Wolfpack trooper. That's it. No pilot, no extra crew. I would gladly trade in Eeth Koth for another Wolfpack trooper (don't worry, I have already ordered one off Bricklink).

Profile view. That's Yoda and Quinlan Vos with their green lightsabers. That might not be a big deal for many of you out there, but it's nice to finally have the right color.

The front view... I like the design of these cruisers/frigates. There's something about them which is just fun. This one is well-armed and ready for battle. The double-turrets on top swivel, but the ones on the bottom are stationary.

The rear view, not much to see here.

There is a seat for the rear gunner. Fortunately, I still have a few gunners left from the Clone Wars battlepack. The guns double as flick-fire missiles, which doesn't excite me. They still work as guns, so I haven't swapped them out yet.

The cockpit. This clone is a stand-in until I can get another clone pilot.

Another gunner in the weapons bay. There are bombs which can be dropped by pulling on the black lever sticking out.

There's Eeth Koth and an ARF trooper (not included) in the command section. It doesn't show up well in the photo, but the little blue cylinder in the middle is a hologram of the chancellor.

This one has a nice little handle which slides down out of the way when not in use.

The escape pod. Only the two clones with blue markings actually came with the set. The others are from battlepacks. Comfortably seats five, perfect for when you want to take the clones on a little planet-side excursion...

Here it is next to the Republic Cruiser (#7665) for comparison. It's not quite as long and doesn't have as much cargo/crew capacity as the cruiser, but it has more weapons.

In short, I love this set. Excellent playability, it's sturdy, and has room for extra figures. I'd give it a 9/10. With a couple of extra clone minifigs, it would've been a solid 10/10.

Sith Infiltrator (#7961)

When I saw this one on the Lego website, I wasn't quite sure about it. I liked the curved wings of the 7663 version because they were more movie-accurate than the first incarnation (I may end up transferring them to the new one). This is one of those models you need to see in person before you make up your mind. This is the third version of the Infiltrator and I think Lego did a good job on it.

Here is the 7663 version with the new 7961 for comparison. The proportions on 7961 are much better and I prefer the new cockpit section to the old one. This one feels sturdier as well, it doesn't feel like it's going to fall apart when you pick it up.

The minifigs... the first time we've seen Captain Panaka, an updated Padme (haven't seen her since "Anakin's Podracer" set from 1999) with an alternate expression on the back of her head, and a new Quigon Jinn with a green lightsaber (finally).

The hinged cockpit works much better on this model than on 7663 (the back had a bad habit of falling off when opened) and there's a lightsaber storage compartment as well. Much better than having to piece it together from various parts of the ship.

Darth Maul... he comes with an optional horns ring (even comes with an extra one) or a hood which can be interchanged. This new version is very good.

Here's where we start getting onto shaky ground. The front section seems like the designers were a bit rushed and didn't put as much attention here. I'm not a fan of the spy droid deployment system. They're not supposed to drop out of the ship like bombs. I don't have a problem with storing them in the front section, but the bomb levers are a bit silly. An enthusiastic 'meh' on the flick-fire missiles, but I really like the speeder storage...

...and design. It's much more streamlined than its predecessor, and fits nicely inside the ship. But because the   top section of the ship is mounted on Technic hinges, it tends to flip open if you barrel roll the ship, which ends up with the speeder falling out and onto the floor. It's like having the hood of your car flip open as you're driving down the highway, not good.

So I fixed it with a hinged brick for now. If you have it, I would recommend the hinge with a 2x2 plate on top, the standard 1x2 doesn't seem to be strong enough.

Despite a few design shortcomings, this is still a great set. It even feels better when you hold it, 7663 felt almost fragile at times. This version does not have that problem. Overall, I'd give it a solid 8.5/10.