TIE Defender (#8087)

Imagine how excited I was when this set came in the mail from Bricklink on the same day I received my Toys R Us gift cards (cashed in some hotel rewards points), which turned into the ARC-170.

Don't remember seeing this one in any of the movies? Don't worry, This is one of those "expanded universe" items (meaning still officially Lucas-sanctioned, but never had screen time). The TIE Defender first appeared in the 1994 PC game TIE Fighter.


Here's the front-view. If you like the flick-fire missiles (and I don't), these ones are a little harder to access. They still look good as guns, so I haven't swapped them out.


A view from the rear (insert oooh's and aaah's here).


A closer view of the cockpit module. The hinge is much better on this one than it has been on previous TIE models, which had a tendency to come off when opened. The one drawback with the swiveling cockpit is that it flips upside down when you open it.


They revised the helmet for the pilot (shown on the right) so it's not just a black version of the regular stormtrooper helmet (on the left).

This was a fairly straight-forward build, nothing complex really. This one is a must-have for your Imperial fleet. Faster and more maneuverable than the X-Wing, and better weaponry than the A-Wing.

ARC-170 (#8088)

The ARC-170 fighter... this one first came out in 2005 (as set #7259). I thought the original was good, but it had a few shortcomings, which the new version has resolved.


Here's the front view. The S-foil wings are a lot more stable on this model than they were on the original, each wing is secured with two connectors instead of just one. I love the larger engines on this one as well. The nose is a lot smoother-looking than 7259 (the two halves didn't even really meet in the front). The stickers on the cockpits were a little tricky to get on straight. Make sure they are on right the first time because there's no pealing them off again for a second try...


Rear-view with the double cannons (7259 only had one in the back). They still flop around back and forth, but there doesn't seem to be a good way to add the right amount of resistance.


Look at that, all three cockpits swing open. It's much easier to get the figures out than it was with the original. Kit Fisto is included, but there's no place for his lightsaber in the ship. They also didn't include any weapons for the clones. The green astromech droid was a nice touch, it's good to see them getting away from the generic red R5-D4 figure. I'd love to see a "build your own" astromech droid kit where we could mix and match all the pieces, but I'm not holding my breath.


A closer shot of the wings, a much better open/close mechanism than the red balls on the first one...


You had to know I was going to take out the flick-fire missiles...

I really like this revised version, so much that I am debating on whether or not to dismantle the first one for parts. They are the same size, but this one feels sturdier. The only drawback in my opinion, and in the grand scheme isn't really a big deal, is the lack of weapons. It would not have killed anyone over there to include a couple of blasters for the clones. That is easily forgotten when you're in a dogfight with vulture droids or the magnaguard fighter...

Clone Wars Y-Wing (#8037)

Hi, my name is Gary and I've been a Star Wars Lego addict for ten years now. This isn't really news to most of you, but there are probably a couple out there who may not know already. My latest acquisition? Anakin's Y-Wing fighter from Clone Wars. I should take a moment to thank Bricklink for being such a great enabler... I love that I can buy the sets from the US, pay to have them shipped to Canada, and after exchange and duty it's still cheaper than buying them off the shelf here.


I don't know what it is about the Y-Wing, but I really like it. It has a very good "swoosh factor" for playing...


But wait, that's not Anakin. How can this be Anakin's Y-Wing and not have Anakin?? I was getting tired of having so many Anakin's and Ahsoka's (Jedi starfighters for each of them, as well as the AT-TE, and it looks like they're both included in the upcoming August release of the Clone Wars Turbo Tank set...), so I decided to mix it up a bit by using a clone pilot and trooper instead. I had to modify the cockpit to make room for the pilot (his helmet is bigger than Anakin's hair, so the canopy wouldn't close without making a few changes first).


I like the Clone Wars R2-D2 much better than the old version.


Even comes with a nice little storage compartment in the rear for weapons.


It's supposed to have a spring loaded missile on the bottom (pull back on R2 to launch), but since I don't like the missiles I took it out. I'm just happy they didn't try to put in the little "bombs" like they did for the original trilogy Y-Wing.

Rear view. Not much to see from this angle.
There have been a couple of Clone Wars episodes which showed red Y-Wings, so if I get ambitious I may look into making a red variant.

Tantive IV (Rebel Blockade Runner) - 10198

All hail Bricklink! Even after shipping, US exchange, customs, and GST, I was still able to buy this from the US and have it sent to me for cheaper than I could get it off the shelf in Canada.

Anyhow, thanks to this year's tax refund (Dawn got a pedistal washer and drier), I was able to order the Tantive IV set. Let's walk through some of the features, shall we?

The view from the front. One nice thing about this set was the absence of stickers. I was worried the cockpit pieces would require stickers, but they came preprinted.


Profile shot. This really is a big one and has a good supporting frame on the inside. The engines got a little tedious by the 5th one, but otherwise a fun build.


Rear view. All eleven engines...


The cockpit has a very smooth opening hinge and is balanced so it doesn't slide closed on itself. Room for two at the controls. I really don't think it would've killed anyone at Lego to include another blue Rebel minifig. And what's with not having any minifig weapons with this set??


The lid comes off to reveal Leia's command center. She gets the nice big desk while Captain Antilles gets stuck at the little monitoring station. Seems fair... For not actually being attached to anything, the lid is quite secure, guess they figure no one will be doing barrel rolls with this set.


The concealed cargo sled is a little goofy, so I kept it in long enough for the photo. This could give Leia enough space to hand off the Death Star plans to R2...


Escape pods on both sides. Port side has the droids, starboard side is empty for the time being. I might have to look into the Rebel Soldiers battle pack to get more staff for this set. I already had to trade my son a clone trooper for one of his Rebel soldiers just so I could have two people in the cockpit.


One of the fun(ny) features is Captain Antilles... normally mild-mannered, easy-going. But when Darth Vader comes in...


...our Captain becomes a little more distressed.

This set is as awesome as it looks in photos. Now I'll have to see if I can talk the kids into having an air battle with me  :)

A-Wing (#7754, Home One version)

I've had this one done for quite a while now, just haven't got around to posting it until now. Remember way back when I said I'd love to have a green A-Wing fighter? (March 09). Well, it seems Toys R Us had a poll back in 2008 about which of three or four options fans would like to see done as a Lego set. The winner was the Home One ship from Return of the Jedi... Admiral Ackbar, the briefing room, and a green A-Wing fighter.

I wasn't keen on spending $140 on the whole set, so I decided to just build the A-Wing from scratch. There are a couple of minor variations from the official set, mostly because I didn't like the flick-fire missiles.


I thought these guns were a bit more "movie-friendly" than the ones in the set (I know, they're longer than they should be, but they're still better than the flick-fire version). I didn't buy the stickers because I wasn't ready to spend $20-$30 to get the whole sheet from Bricklink when I only needed three.


I much prefer the new engine configuration over the storage bay on the old A-Wing, gives the ship a more authentic feel.


The engine is supposed to slide in and out on flat tiles, but I want my engine staying in place so I used regular plates instead. I can still get the engine out if repairs are needed, I just don't have to worry about it falling out during a dogfight.


It has smaller fins on the underside than the prior versions did. Although it's not as accurate this way, it does work better with the retractable landing gear.

This is my favorite of the A-Wing variants and, in my humble opinion, it has a better "swoosh" factor than did its predecessors.

Slave I (#6209)

Until the new sets come out in August, I thought I'd post a few of my older sets to catch up a bit. The Slave I is a good place to start. This one was actually an anniversary present from my wife a few years ago (saying was from my wife seems a bit redundant, doesn't it? Not like I get a lot of anniversary gifts from other people).


The front view. I think this one is the best one of the three Slave I variants (the original #7144, and Jango Fett's #7153).


Hidden missile compartments... There is also supposed to be a spring-loaded missile launcher in the center, but I sealed it up. I also sealed up the bomb compartment.


Weapon storage in the rear section. This was way before the new pistol & rifle designs came out.


And don't forget storage for Han Solo, frozen in carbonite. The black knob on the side raises and lowers the storage ramp.


Boba Fett's seat stays level as the Slave I goes from horizontal to vertical.

The set also came with Dengar, IG-88, and a Bespin Guard (which I put in the Cloud Car with Lobot). The Slave I has an excellent "swoosh factor" and is great fun when having air battles with the kids.

AT-TE (#7675)

This is the first set since January to have been purchased in-store as opposed to coming from my favorite Lego site ever, Bricklink.com. I cashed in some of my hotel points and gave my wife a long-weekend trip in Great Falls, and she brought this back for me :)


Have I mentioned lately how much I love Clone Wars? Anyhow, here's the front view. Four ball-mounted gun turrets and a top-mounted cannon with a 360-degree turn radius. The four small legs are attached to elastic bands for support. The two large legs in the middle don't really do anything. They're poseable, but don't support any weight.


Rear view... two more ball turrets. The little thing sticking up in the middle is the carry handle which makes this compatible with the Republic Dropship. The rear seems a little exposed...


Flip-top for access to the rear compartment. Seats four in the rear, two up front, plus the pilot and gunner.


The troop seating comes out for easy access to the minifigs and the weapon storage. The set comes with Anakin, Ahsoka, Captain Rex, a clone, and Rotta (still in the bag). There's also a battle droid and the third STAP variation. I added the other four clones from my reserves.


Front seating area with a storage compartment behind them.


The pilot slides out, kinda cool.

There are a few comments on the Lego site about this one being hard to assemble, especially the legs. My 10-yr-old son was able to assemble three of the legs just by watching me do the first one. He did the top cannon mostly from the photo on the box (had to check the instructions a couple of times). He would've done more if I'd let him, but it's my toy and I wanted to build it. I don't share my ice cream with the kids either...