Echo Base (#7879)

The latest set in the Hoth line, Echo Base. There are a lot of play features for such a basic set design. If Lego got smart, they'd modularize these Hoth sets so they'd fit together. I'm still trying to figure a smooth way to get the Hoth Playset (#7666) to connect nicely to this one.

Here it is from the outside, including the two snowtroopers. Don't waste your time looking for the snow speederbike in Episode V, you won't find it, and after a few battlepacks you'll probably have more than enough of them already. The heavy blaster cannon is a nice touch though.

View from the inside. A nice area for the tauntaun to hang out, with a rack to hold the saddle and reigns. More on him later... Han & Chewie in the bay area (which needs a door somehow). The red droid is R-3PO, which apparently has two brief cameo appearances in the movie. I'll have to go back and watch to see if I can spot him.

The command center with a swivel chair for Leia (she has an alternate expression on the back of her head, but I didn't get a photo of it). The falling "icicle trap" on the left is a little annoying and may not last very long.

The medical bay under the care of 2-1B, complete with bed and bacta tank for Luke.

The tank opens up for easy access...

And Luke gets to lay down on the bed (notice his alternate expression). The weapon storage area behind 2-1B...

...folds down for access from the outside, which may come in handy if one of your rebel troops forgets to bring a gun of his own and happens to be outside.

Here's the outside view of the tauntaun pen, along with the swivel turret out front and the two flick-fire missile launchers along the top. Seriously, a door would help improve security.

The gate lowers to get the tauntaun in and out.

It seems nearly everything on this set does something, which means lots of playability. Eight minifigures (two of them have alternate expressions), one vehicle, one animal, and lots of room for imagination. This is a great addition to your other Hoth sets. I'd give it a 9/10. Full marks would've been given if it could link somehow to the other sets, as I mentioned before. 

X-Wing Fighter (#9493)

I've been patiently waiting all month for the new 2012 sets to hit the shelves. As soon as they were available for preorder, I went online and bought Anakin's Jedi Interceptor. I think it is sad that Toys R Us and Walmart get the new sets before the Lego Store does. Something is seriously wrong there.

Anyhow, I went in to TrU and picked up the new X-Wing fighter set. I had some in-store credit and a $10 coupon, so I didn't have to pay any of my own money for this one.

This seems to be Lego's year for third versions. We've already seen the third Slave I, the third Millennium Falcon, and now this is the third X-Wing, and the third Y-Wing is also out.

Let's start off comparing this to the 6212 version (on the right). If you already have the old version, you may be wondering if it's worth upgrading. Two of the biggest differences: 1) The internal gear mechanism has changed so opening the wings is much faster on this one than 6212, and 2) the storage compartment from 6212 is gone (nowhere for Luke to put his lightsaber on 9493).

The wingspan on 9493 is wider and the body is slightly longer than its predecessor. It's also more streamlined than the old one. I would've preferred to have R2 sitting forward instead of sideways though. The guns are more movie-friendly on this one and the nose section seems to blend in better.

The back looks cleaner than the old one too.

6212 came with six minifigs which were clearly fillers. I never really understood why Han, Chewie, and Leia were included in that set, although it was nice to have Wedge and the option to change the wing markings. This time we get to choose between Luke and Jek Porkins, who even has his own astromech droid (not sure why Wedge had to borrow R2). Things don't end well for our friend Porkins during the first run on the Death Star.

Luke doesn't quite have as much room in the cockpit that he did in the last one. He'll have to do without the "joystick" and rely exclusively on the computer panel. The long curved pieces on the side work much better than the wedge pieces from 6212, and accommodate the proton torpedoes on either side. I'm just happy they're not actually flick-fire missiles this time.

Even though they are just stickers on the round tiles, I like the new engines. The wings are all stud-side out this time too, which is nice. Makes more sense to have the wing markings on the outside and makes for an easier build.

Foils locked in attack position... The wings open faster on this one (6212 involved a lot of twisting to get the wings to open), but they also seem to be a bit harder to open. It might have something to do with both elastics being on the back, instead of having one on the front and one on the back. Since the wings rest on the shelf (or floor, or on whatever flat surface you choose to place it), this one shouldn't suffer from the saggy bottom wings like 6212 does when the elastics get weak.

So, is it that much better than 6212 to justify upgrading? Some may disagree, but I say go for it. It's not like you can't use two x-wings in your fleet. Give the old one to Porkins and let Luke have the new one. When you're making the trench run on the Death Star, you want to make sure you have the best equipment possible. The planet Yavin wouldn't have its fourth moon right now if the rebels decided they already had an x-wing and didn't need another one. Just sayin'...