Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle (#8096)

I picked up the Emperor's Theta-class shuttle off Bricklink (got a pretty good deal because there weren't any minifigs included). You may remember this one from the end of Episode III. Star Wars Battlefront II players have probably used this shuttle in space battles.


As far as accuracy goes, this one did fairly well. The cockpit is a bit large in proportion to the rest of the shuttle, but it's not the end of the world.


The canopy opens for access to the pilot. The updated pilot has a white face and the helmet is more open. I just swapped out the solid black head for a solid white head.


Here's what's supposed to go in, Darth Vader's little recovery room. The two levers on the end push in to move Vader's helmet into position. It almost looks like they're holding hands in this picture, maybe Palpatine wasn't always so mean after all...


I decided to give the Emperor a desk and a chair. After all, what's the point of being the supreme ruler of the Galactic Empire if you don't have a desk in your own personal shuttle? I have to admit, the new grey Emperor is a bit more menacing than the older yellow version...


I also put in a couple of clone guards as escorts, along with quick and easy weapon mounts. Behind them are the two lightsaber holders. I suppose I could take out one of them since Vader isn't riding along.


The rear cannon. If you're playing Battlefront II, it's worth waiting around in the hangar for someone to man the cannon. This one swivels up and down, as well as side to side.


The retractable landing gear was a nice touch too.

I'm going to experiment with the Episode VI Lambda-class shuttle to see if I can incorperate some of these improved design features (like the smoother wings, maybe even the landing gear). I'm also going to work on replacing the white pieces with grey ones.

This is a really good set and a great addition to your Imperial fleet. With or without the figures, I'd recommend this one.

Plo Koon's Jedi Starfighter (#8093)

I don't know what it is about these Jedi starfighters, but they're sure fun to play with. The latest addition to the fleet is Plo Koon's fighter (from the Clone Wars, and briefly from Revenge of the Sith).


I like the color scheme, and I also like the fact there aren't any flick-fire missiles with this one.


View from the rear. Everything you hoped it would be, and more. There's supposed to be a clip for his lightsaber below the cockpit on this side, but I thought it looked a little goofy, so I took it out.


Also conspicuously absent is the ejection system. There's supposed to be a post underneath that when flicked will pop Plo Koon out of the cockpit. It didn't seem to be working in Episode III, so I didn't even bother putting it in.

Plo Koon and his R7-D4 astromech droid.

This one is a great compliment to the other Jedi starfighters. I don't imagine they'll be making too many more of these variants. Unless they start making purple pieces, Mace Windu's fighter is out. I'm not sure if Kit Fisto or Ayla Secura even have fighters...

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.