Anakin's Jedi Interceptor (#9494)

I got pretty excited when Lego announced this set. I even went online and preordered it as soon as they would let me. In retrospect, I could've picked it up at Toys R Us two weeks sooner, but what can you do...

These fighters are so darn swooshable, I had to move it away from my desk so I could get stuff done. I like the green/grey color scheme. I'm not sure why they put in the two light tan pieces on the wing. I'll be replacing them as soon as I can get dark green tiles in from Bricklink.

Here's a photo of the complete set. Personally, I like the lava droid and platform. I think they're a fitting addition to the set. Nute Gunray, although he also belongs with this set, really needs to have legs. The printed skirt look just doesn't work for him.

Here's Anakin and R2 standing beside the fighter. I wasn't sure at first if I liked the idea of a full R2 mounted in the wing, but they seem to have made it work. And no, Anakin is not force-choking R2...

The cockpit has been redesigned slightly. This time we have clips to hold the lightsaber blade and hilt. Plus, the canopy doesn't flip open whenever you roll the fighter. This is a good thing. It's difficult to intimidate the enemy when your canopy keeps flipping open, although it's a good way to keep your cockpit clean.

Rear-view, the engines are slightly larger than those on the previous versions.

Aside from the "Nute Gunray in a dress" gripe, the only other complaint I have with this model (and the other recent models) is how sloppy the underside looks. Like the new Millennium Falcon and the Sith Infiltrator, the underside seems to be an after-thought. This one isn't as bad as it was out-of-the-box because I've already swapped out some pieces. While I'm not a fan of the flick-fire missiles, they do keep things balanced.

Here's Anakin and Obi-Wan duelling it out. This is what happens when Padme "Likes" one too many of Obi-Wan's Facebook posts. Awkward.

Here they are again, posing for the photo. Anakin has "Sith eyes" and Obi-Wan looks like the Clone Wars counterpart.

They both have alternate expressions, which I thought was kinda cool. These are apparently their "duelling faces". Can't you just hear Anakin saying, "You underestimate my power!"

I give this set a strong 9/10. It would've had full marks if Nute had legs and if the design department would 1) stop using the light tan pieces as filler, and 2) make the underside look like "we meant to do that" instead of "no one looks under here anyway".