Jedi Defender Class Cruiser (#75025)

I picked this up in Nashville while we were down there. Between my VIP points and the difference in price between US and Canada, I saved about $45 on it. The Lego Store got their shipment in early, so I was able to get this 3 days before the scheduled Aug 1 release date. You have to know it was torture not being able to build it until we got back.

This is the third set from the Star Wars: Old Republic online game. I haven't let myself actually play the game yet because I would never stop. I did watch all the game trailers though and they look really good. I got so excited about this one that I actually bought the Old Republic battle pack in anticipation. I never did get the Striker-class starfighter because I thought it was cheesy (still do, actually). However, I may have to go on Bricklink to get the Satele Shan and Republic trooper minifigs, because they'd go really well with this one.

Anyhow, the set comes with four figures (from L-R): Jedi Consular, Jedi Knight, Sith Warrior, and Sith Trooper. I'm guessing the Jedi are generic because they're taken from the game instead of specific characters from a movie.

Top view of the ship. I like the hammerhead look, just seems cool to me.

Side view (but you probably figured that out on your own). The guns on the front rotate and double as flick-fire missiles.

The rear hatch opens for holocron storage. I'm guessing by the red color that it's a Sith holocron.

Another side view. Not sure what I was focusing on here, but I'm sure it made sense at the time...

The engine module comes out, probably for service and repairs.

A nice little handle slides up to carry the ship if you don't want to hold it from the bottom.

This little module pops out too, but I'm not sure what it does. Maybe it makes sense to those who have played the game. Maybe the designers just decided to mess with us a bit...

There's another holocron storage at the front of the ship. That comes in handy when you find yourself with two holocrons.

The top sections flip up for access to the seating. One drawback in the design is the lack of storage space for the lightsabers. Our Jedi knight can hold onto his, but the consular doesn't have anywhere for her double-bladed saber unless you want it rolling around inside the cockpit during flight.

An escape pod on each side. According to the plans, the Sith are supposed to ride here, but I swapped in the Republic troopers from the battlepack, which makes more sense to me...

The underside. The landing gear can fold to some degree, but they're never really out of the way or tucked in.

Here's the Defender next to the Sith Fury Interceptor. This seems to be more evenly matched than the Striker starfighter.

So, there it is. It took me about 2 hours 15min to build (including all the times I dropped small pieces onto the hotel room carpet and had to look for them). Some models have very obvious builds, but it was really fun to see how this one came together. There seems to be a lot of unused space along the center of the ship, and if I can find a way to use it, I could fit in a few more troopers.

Unlike the Fury, this isn't a ship you'll be flying aggressively. Hardly anything on top is "nailed down"... the front holocron storage, that little piece behind it, and the tops to the escape pods are just held in place by gravity. I guess they figure if you're using the handle, you're not exactly doing barrel rolls with the ship.

This one keeps finding it's way back to my desk somehow, no matter how many times I put it back on the shelf. I'm going to need a little more self-control if I'm going to get any work done before the novelty wears off.

Sith Fury-Class Infiltrator (#9500)

This is one of the first sets from Star Wars: The Old Republic (online multiplayer game). Rumor has it the 2013 Star Wars Lego line is going to include Old Republic battlepacks, so we might be seeing more TOR sets coming out in the future. So far, the only exposure I've had to the Old Republic is watching the game trailers online. Darth Malgus is the big bad and he's fighting against the Jedi (I hope I didn't just spoil the plot for anyone...). Anyhow, my point is you don't have to know what's going on to see this is a cool ship.

It comes with three minifigs, Darth Malgus (center) and two Sith troopers. I'm not sure how they see out of the helmets, but it seems to work for them.

The top view. I love the design of this ship. The angle of the wings, the "hooks" on the ends, the folding rear wings... very "swooshable"

Front view...

The canopy opens for access to the cockpit. Malgus gets a comfy chair and the computer panel swings out to make it easier to get in and out. One tiny drawback, there's nowhere to put the lightsaber, so I tucked it in behind the seat.

The back hatch also opens for access to the troopers...

...and the compartment slides out for easy access. It has guide rails and clips back into place when you push it in. The poor guy in the back has to stand up for the whole flight though.

...and with the rear fins extended. The wings were fun to assemble, there's some nice mechanics at work here.

A closer look at the "hydraulics" on the fins. The bottom fins click into place when folded down so they don't swing down during flight.

Side view, looks pretty sleek from this angle... The flick-fire missiles are a bit goofy as projectiles, but not bad if you just leave them in as wing-mounted guns.

Hallelujah! The instruction booklets are FINALLY sent in a plastic bag with a cardboard backing to keep them from getting crumpled as everything bounces around inside the box. This also keeps the stickers from prematurely peeling off the backing. Nicely done!

This made me stop for a second during construction. What happened to steps 9, 10, and 11?? Will this compromise the structural integrity of the ship?? I finished building and didn't have any unusual pieces left over, so apparently this made it past the proof-readers.

 This one was probably one of the most fun I've had on a build in a long time. The wing mechanics were the right amount of challenge to be "this is pretty cool" instead of "A pox on the designers and their posterity!" The back lid can be a little fragile sometimes, one of the drawbacks when using the hinged pieces, but overall the set is very sturdy. I dare anyone to hold it without being drawn into aerial combat moves with it. It's such a cool design you just can't help but swoosh it. The only drawback now is there aren't any timeline-friendly opponents worthy of it. The Republic Striker-class starfighter really doesn't seem like any competition at all. It's smaller and not very intimidating. Oh well, I'm sure the ARC-170 could hold its own in a dogfight. The V-19 Torrent or the X-Wing might do okay too.