13 August 2012

LEGO 7155 - Trade Federation AAT

The Trade Federation Armored Assault Tank (AAT) comprised a significant portion of the Trade Federation's ground forces and appeared in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace where it was deployed at the Battle of Naboo as well as several Clone Wars episodes.

This set was obtained through the secondary market as it was first released in 2000 and is long out of production. Back then, it cost a mere US$20 for 158 pieces. Nonetheless, this is well-designed with a strong resemblance to the film version. Most of the bricks are tan and art is printed on the bricks rather than using decals.

It comes with two battle droid mini-figures, although most collectors would have wished for more. Excellent playability with a turret that swivels (to some extent), cannons that move up and down as well as hatches that open to store the droids.


Contents

Build process:











Completed build:











Battle Droid mini-figures (front and back)



Space for two battle droids


Manual shows a couple of alternate builds, but no instructions for them

30 July 2012

LEGO 4502 - X-Wing Fighter

This is an old set from 2004 that I obtained through the secondary market while shopping on eBay. Although it is called the "X-Wing Fighter", this is really based on "The Empire Strikes Back" where Luke goes to the Dagobah system to search out Master Yoda and begin his Jedi training.

I've already said quite a bit about the X-Wing's design when I reviewed LEGO 6212, and the fighter in this set appears similar. What distinguishes this set from other X-Wing releases is the inclusion of Yoda's hut and the vines on the X-Wing. Yoda's hut folds in upon itself to form a nice, compact dwelling, but smoothly opens up to expand into a playset. There are 563 pieces to this set and includes three minifigures: Yoda, Luke in Dagobah fatigues and R2-D2. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the build process as the set was already assembled and displayed for a few years. Enjoy the pictures.


Yoda's hut folded out (exterior)

Yoda's hut folded out (interior)

Yoda's barang-barang

Yoda's bed and barrel

Yoda's hut folded in (rear)

Yoda's hut folded in (front)

Yoda's hut folded in (top), with a unique printed piece

Minifigures (l-r): R2-D2, Luke (Dagobah outfit), Yoda

Luke has a pilot helmet. Unfortunately, the lightsaber is green.

X-Wing Fighter (with vines):


29 July 2012

LEGO 8909 - Team GB Minifigures


The London 2012 Olympics is well underway. To celebrate, LEGO released an exclusive special edition line of Team GB minifigures. These are similar to the Minifigures blind packs released thus far, although there are nine different figures in a complete set instead of 16 for the other Minifigures series. Each box contains 60 foil packs, which should contain at least 6 complete sets per box. Overall, there some nice designs with unique pieces for each minifigure. Mix and match for different combinations or for your own MOC. 

The nine Team GB figures are:
  • Brawny Boxer Punching his way to the top, this lean machine in blue is ready to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee for Team GB!
  • The Stealth Swimmer Like a fish in the water, the Stealth Swimmer is ready to torpedo through the water into pole position.
  • Relay Runner Sprinting to reach the winning line, could this give Team GB a relay team victory?
  • Judo Fighter Taking down her opponent’s one at a time, this mistress of martial arts knocks down anything in her way to grasp that gold medal.
  • Tactical Tennis Player First on the court in his gleaming whites, this tennis ace will knock the white socks off of any competition.
  • Flexible Gymnast Balance and co-ordination is the name of the game for this agile Olympic contender.
  • Wondrous Weightlifter Powerlifting his personal best, the crowd looks on as this burley guy weighs up his chances of going for gold.
  • Horseback rider Riding her way to the last hurdle, this athlete won’t be horsing around when it comes to winning!
  • Agile Archer Complete with bow in hand, let’s hope this little fella will be on target on the day!

Thanks to Toy Station who sold me a complete set without requiring me to buy an entire box. 

Set of 9 sealed foil packs

Front and back design of foil pack. Note that the figures are of the inferior sort manufactured in China. 

As with other minifigures series, the pattern of bumps indicate the contents of the packs (see circled).

Instruction sheet (front) serves as a checklist of the series.

Instruction sheet (back). Easy to follow universal instructions for the series.

Standard contents of each pack include a white base with Team GB printed and a gold medal piece.

Archer has one eye closed to take aim and a black archery glove

Boxer has boxing gloves instead of the claw hands

Gymnast includes a balance beam accessory

Judo fighter has feminine curves

Tennis player with racquet

Weightlifter is able to lift weights with one hand.

Relay runner with a nice hair-piece and a baton accessory. I believe the tag "1948" refers to the year when London last hosted the games. 

Swimmer in Speedos instead of those modern swimsuits they use these days.

Horseback rider comes with hair and riding hat as one accessory.

The full line-up.

They all fit nicely in a $2 Daiso display case.