Clone Turbo Tank (#8098)

So, I finally finished my 6-week fitness program, which means I got to reward myself with the set I purchased way back in February and has been sitting on my shelf waiting for me to get my flabby butt into gear. I wanted the Clone Turbo Tank, even though I already had the original (#7261). I'm a sucker for clone troopers, so this one was a natural choice.

Here is the original 7261 on the right and 8098 on the left. The set comes with two clone troopers, Aayla Secura, another Anakin and Ahsoka (they're for sale on my Bricklink page if you're interested), and the bounty hunter Cad Bane. My first thought, and I don't think I'm alone here, was, "I'd gladly trade out Anakin and Ahsoka for a few more clones." They are probably the two most over-used minifigures in the Star Wars line-up. Fortunately, thanks to battle packs and Bricklink, I have a few extra clones and filled in the gaps from my own supply. Aside from the minifig selection, I think 8098 is improved on nearly every detail from the original.

The new wheels are a nice improvement, and the new suspension system is a lot nicer. It gives the tank a higher clearance, even though the two models are roughly the same height.

The rear-view. The turret is nice and simplistic, no need to get overly fancy with it.

The rear hatch opens to reveal seating for two. These clones are from the battle pack, not the tank. I always like having extra clones on hand.

Where the engine compartment was located on the old model, this one has a removeable weapons storage rack for two pistols and two rifles.

I'm still trying to decide whether or not I want another pull-out troop rack like I installed on the 7261. It's nice being able to carry the scout walker, but I still think the tank should be carrying more troops. The walker with green accents came with the kit, the other one I put together because I like the scale better than the 7250 version.

To the front... room for two at the controls. I'm thinking about putting a third seat in the middle somewhere. Anything to fit in more troops...

The front guns were handled much better on this one than on the original...

Around to the other side, there is a mobile command center which can be stowed on the opening side panel. I think someone at Lego figured they needed to put something on this side to even it out.

While not much of a handle, this slides up and down and is compatible with the Republic Dropship (10195). The adjacent gun turret is actually a flick-fire missile, complete with the obligatory "you'll shoot your eye out" warning symbol in the instructions. Which leaves me to wonder just how much force is necessary and how close does one's eye need to be in order to inflict sufficient damage.

Hoth Wampa Cave (#8089)

I have had this set for quite a while now, but somehow missed posting it. Bad me. This is a good addition to the Hoth line-up. You get Luke in Hoth gear, the Wampa, and Zev Zenesca (which doesn't mean much if you have the Hoth battlepack), and a(nother) snowspeeder.

A photo of the set...

Here's a close-up of the cave. Luke gets to hang upside-down and reflect on the merits of not chasing meteor sightings without backup. I thought the mystery ribs were a nice touch. The lightsaber launcher is okay, it's fine as a holder but if you're trying to actually launch the saber, it only works about half of the time.

Your friendly neighborhood Wampa. His left hand will hold a minifigure rather nicely. Some of the movie "purists" are complaining the arm should come off. I say, "get over it."

Here's the snowspeeder and Zev. Personally, I would've included a different pilot considering Zev is available in the battlepack. If you have the Hoth Rebel Base set (#7666), there are only a few minor differences between the two versions. A slight change to the engine design (they're not built to come off either)...
 

...the harpoon gun on the back uses the classic megaphone/pistol instead of the double-handle on the previous version...

...orange sloped bricks instead of light grey, and a few more stickers.

Unless you stocked up on the snowspeeder when it came out on its own (#4500), this is the cheapest way to add one to your collection. Your other alternative is to get it off bricklink, you can usually find just the ship by itself after the seller has removed the minifigs. There really isn't anything I don't like in this set. A few things I would've done differently, but nothing I'd consider a deal breaker. It's always nice to have another snowspeeder, and the price/feature is pretty good too.

Bounty Hunter Gunship (#7930)

This one is the Bounty Hunter Gunship, or the Halo as it is called on Clone Wars. I wasn't sure if I wanted this one, but then I saw the episode again and changed my mind. If you're familiar with the set, you'll notice the black assassin droid is conspicuously absent from the photos. That's because I didn't think it was worth the effort to put it together. I don't think anyone would've missed it had Lego not included it in the set. Anyone who wanted one would've purchased the battlepack.

Here's the ship from the side. Both side panels swing open to give access to the cockpit up top and the prisoner compartment below. It would've been nice to fit more than one figure in the cockpit, but we deal with what we have. Aurra Sing is in the driver's seat, Sugi and Embo (with the big hat) are the other two bounty hunters. The geek in me says I should point out the writing on the nose art sticker. It's supposed to say "Nice playing with ya", but as near as I can tell, it actually says, "gaig fshtgho". It seems something got lost in the translation... Maybe they thought no one would notice.

The front view. I do like the looks of the ship, the front looks intimidating. There are a few stickers with this kit, so be careful when putting them on. Most of them are pretty big, which means unless you're really good at pealing them off, you only get one shot at it.

The back hatch opens to show the prisoner compartment. Instead of including the cheap assassin droid figure, it would've made more sense (to me anyway) to include someone who could be used as a prisoner.

The engine pods in flight mode. Sliding the rear section of the tail will move the pods back and forth between flight and landing modes. As you can see, unless you're holding the back of the ship, the weight of the pods is enough to pull them down slightly. The first design flaw in the set.

The second flaw is the lid to the cockpit. If you tilt the ship more than 90 degrees, the lid flips open. This could be somewhat embarrassing during combat. Either the clips need to be notched or the lid needs to be secured when closed. Since there are no studs along the top of the cockpit, notching the hinge seems to be the best bet.

There is a concealed storage compartment when in flight mode. The little blue thing is supposed to be a Jedi holocron.

So, this was an interesting build. Nothing too difficult, but I liked how they managed the engine pod mechanism. This one has a good swoosh factor, but would be even better with improvements to the pods and the lid as mentioned. It's still a fun ship and I'd recommend it for any Star Wars Lego fan.

Mace Windu's Jedi Starfighter (#7868)

I've been watching for Mace Windu's starfighter ever since January when, for reasons unknown, it was released in Europe but not the rest of the world. So when it showed up on the Canadian website, I was very excited. Every time I had a trip to Calgary I somehow managed to find myself in the Lego Store. Unfortunately, the store is about two and a half weeks behind the website on product availability. When they finally did get the new kits in, they didn't have Mace's starfighter, but were nice enough to order it for me and have it delivered to me (thanks Zach and Troy!).

For those of you who, like me, have the other three Clone Wars Jedi Starfighters and possibly even Obi-Wan's Episode II fighter, you may wonder why you should get this one. I think Lego may have anticipated this. Unlike Plo Koon's (#8093) and Anakin's (#7669) starfighters, this set comes with some battle droids to round things off a bit.

The TX-20 Tactical Droid and speeder is a nice touch, and exclusive to this set. I'll be trolling Bricklink for a couple more of these...

Two battle droids and STAPs (Single Trooper Aerial Platform), these are not so exclusive. These are the same build as the one found in the AT-TE set (#7675) and fairly close to the battlepack version (#7654).

Here are Mace Windu and his astromech droid R8-B7 in front of the fighter

I don't know why Lego is using flat tiles for the cockpits now. The minifigs just don't sit right unless there's something holding them in place. If you have the spare parts, replace the 2x2 tile with a 1x2 studded plate and a 1x2 tile as shown here. This will hold Mace firmly in place while still keeping it easy to get him in and out.

I was so excited with Plo Koon's starfighter because it didn't have any flick-fire missiles (the goofy ejection system is another discussion). Mace's fighter comes with four missiles on the underside. Each push rod will fire two missiles. As far as flick-fire missiles go, these are relatively easy to access so if you like missiles this will be a plus for you. If you don't, the missile compartment comes off very easily with the only down-side being that it leaves the ship looking off-balanced without it.

The front view of the fighter. Noticeably absent are the wing-mounted guns each of the other variants have in one form or another. I guess they figure having four missiles underneath must make up for it. Some reviews have criticized Lego for using so many stickers. Personally, I don't see a problem with it. I'm sure if it were cheaper to preprint the pieces, Lego would be all over it. If a few stickers keep the price down, I'm all in favor.

The rear view of the ship. There are two clips on the back of the wings to hold Mace's lightsaber (one for the hilt, the other for the blade). I like the transparent blue pieces in the engine pods, they look better than their plain predecessors. I'll be retro-fitting the engines on other Clone Wars fighters to match these.

So, is it worth buying yet another version of the Jedi Starfighter? If you didn't pick up the Republic Attack Shuttle (#8019) and don't already have the Clone Wars version of Mace, then that's a pretty good reason right there. It's nice for Mace to have his own starfighter so he doesn't have to ride around in the shuttle everywhere he goes. Sure, he could hitch a ride in the Jedi Shuttle (#7931), but sometimes it's nice to travel alone. Even if you already have all the other Jedi Starfighter kits and Mace Windu, I would still recommend this set. The droids are a nice addition and the starfighter is just fun to play with, and in the end that's the point behind Lego.

Geonosian Starfighter (#7959)

At first I wasn't too sure about this set, I put it on my list because it came with Ki-Adi Mundi. But once I had it assembled, it really grew on me. It's very difficult to hold this one and not swoosh it.

It comes with three minifigs: a Geonosian, Ki-Adi Mundi, and Commander Cody. I thought Ki-Adi's head would be one piece, but it's a standard minifig head with a "hat".

The ship's gun rotates from side to side... Not really an astounding feat of engineering here. I like how the top and bottom fit together to keep the stud-sides facing out.

The rear view. There have been some comments on the Lego site from people who don't really like the engine module, but I think it works.

The bottom flap opens to drop a bomb. It does a good job of staying closed in flight, so you don't have to worry about premature deployment.

I like the new canopy design with the clip bar instead of needing the hinge brick. It's nice not having to leave a space in front of the hinge to allow it to open.

Do yourself a favor when you're building the cockpit. Take out the two 1x3 grey tiles and put in a 1x2 plate and a 2x2 tile instead. This will keep the pilot secure while still making it easy to get in and out. The pilot does tend to rattle around a bit during flight without having the plate to keep him in place.

So, I ended up liking this one more than I thought. The only problem I have with this set is why they included two very specific figures in such a generic kit. I want to get another starfighter, but I don't need another Ki-Adi or Cody. At the same time, I probably wouldn't have added this to my list were it not for the Ki-Adi figure. I'll probably turn to my trusted Bricklink to find someone selling just the ship and the pilot.

Jedi Twin Starfighter

I was checking out a few Star Wars sites a couple of weeks ago and saw a concept art drawing of a Jedi Twin starfighter and thought it would be fun to make one. So here it is...

Front view. Due to a limited range of colors for some of the key parts (like the folding flaps), I stuck with the yellow color scheme. I may go with the dark blue later to get away from the "Anakin look", but this will do for now.

Rear view. I figured it would need more propulsion than the standard Jedi fighter, so I put in an engine pod in the center.

Master Kit Fisto and his padawan Nahdar Vebb.

Front view with the flaps up. I still have some tweaks in mind, so we'll see how those turn out. I'm not really fond of the 7256 design and lean more towards the 7661 build for the cockpit. The 7256 is a bit too "boxy" for me, so that'll be one of the first things to get overhauled.

T-6 Jedi Shuttle (#7931)

Another great deal on Bricklink, less than half the shelf price because the minifigures weren't included. That's okay, I have extra Jedi just sitting around not doing anything. And while the Shaak Ti and Saesee Tiin minifigs are pretty cool and new to this set, Obiwan hasn't been in very many sets in the past, but another Anakin figure?? Good grief, he seems to be a standard filler in most of the sets.

Anyhow, this is another installment in the Clone Wars line. This one has a really good "swoosh factor" and was a fairly straight-forward build. It came in right before I was heading out of town for a few days so I actually put it together in my hotel room.

Here's the front view. I was very happy to see the canopy was printed as opposed to needing stickers. I also like how they used the white arch pieces for the engine housing on the back.

The profile view. There is a folding landing gear on the bottom which is surprisingly stable.

The cockpit is designed to serve as an escape pod and seats two Jedi (so long as they don't have their lightsabers in-hand). Mace Windu is riding shot-gun with Kit Fisto, but will most likely give up his seat to Aayla Secura once I open my Clone Turbo Tank.

Here are the wings in flight mode. The small gear wheel on the bottom does a great job of keeping the wings from flopping around while in flight. There are two flick-fire missiles which are fired when you pull back on the engine pods on the back. However, I thought this was annoying, so I secured the pods so they don't move and I don't have to go searching for the flick-fire missiles.

This one kept me entertained for the evenings I spent alone in the hotel room, although I'd recommend closing the curtains before you start flying around the room with your shuttle unless you want weird looks from people walking outside.