Random set of the day: TIE Interceptor & Death Star
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 9676 TIE Interceptor & Death Star, released during 2012. It's one of 38 Star Wars sets produced that year. It contains 65 pieces and 1 minifig, and its retail price was US$9.99/£9.99.
It's owned by 15,950 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you should find it for sale at BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $36.30, or eBay.
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38 comments on this article
I've always loved this series; have all 12 of them. This is one of my favorites. Love how they made the Death Star with unique parts.
Still really do not understand the gun choice, the pistol was available. Planet Series was also very underrated, definitely better than Mechs. This one was a little lackluster, but not bad.
Great for Christmas ornaments. Didn't realize this one was getting up there in value!
Such an icon of the Star Wars theme. This is my favorite of the series it is in.
They need to do another series of Star Wars vehicles at a smaller than minifigure scale. I'd like them to do a line of vehicles at the same scale as the Imperial Shuttle in 75419.
@twentythree said:
"Great for Christmas ornaments. Didn't realize this one was getting up there in value!"
'Tis the season!
I use the whole series on my tree. I had to get the last three from a Japanese ebay seller. I also use the Lego ornaments, Xmas baubles, and a bunch of minifig keychains.
These are such a pain to collect as several were never released in the US. I gave up on ever getting those ones, but the ones I do have I'm fond of.
I still remember seeing an astromech MOC that used the top of this for the dome.
@BabuBrick said:
"I've always loved this series; have all 12 of them. This is one of my favorites. Love how they made the Death Star with unique parts."
I really should get around to getting the last wave on the secondary market. I'm still mad at Lego for not releasing those in the US.
Better than the new dinner plate, am I right!? Heyo!
I really wish LEGO would do something like this again. I honestly think it's way cooler than those microfighters with the funky proportions.
I have this one. Incidentally though, I didn’t get the superlaser dish on my Death Star
@Jo3K3rr said:
"I really wish LEGO would do something like this again. I honestly think it's way cooler than those microfighters with the funky proportions."
I personally prefer the microfighters, though I can see why someone would prefer these, especially as display pieces. I like how microfighters are somewhat ridiculous while still feeling very Star Wars, something that the recent small mechs don't do very well.
@RaiderOfTheLostBrick said:
"I have this one. Incidentally though, I didn’t get the superlaser dish on my Death Star"
Do you mean you didn’t get the correct top half??
How unfortunate, though probably a bit late to ask customer services about it now… :/
I only have one of this range, bought at the time, and like others wish I had more
Best planet by far. Asteroid field is also pretty good. The rest…lean pretty heavily on the mini models.
Wasn't a fan of these at the time because they felt expensive for what was a glorified microbuild and fig. Of course, I didn't really factor in the planets themselves as much. Or the stands. That was because I saw them in the stores. Those domes were so big the packaging basically sat around it with most of their surface exposed. They felt like overly big, overly specialized parts, most of which depicting planets that weren't thát iconic to me. And as I had limited money and was already struggling with space, such a giant capsule would not really be the best purchase, it felt.
Oh, and I had the 2003 minis and those looked cluttered together aready, so there's that.
I've since come around to them. Most were printed and this one had awesome moulding, the figs were a nice inclusion and the stands elevate the usually well-done microbuilds. They were good for what they were going for. And they depicted integral star wars stuff that couldn't be done in any other way.
that's no deathslice it's a space station.
Sadly never bought it
I'm surprised that Lego never used these parts for a Hoth ion cannon.
I'm suprised that no one said "That's no moon, it's a space station..."
@twentythree said:
"Great for Christmas ornaments. Didn't realize this one was getting up there in value!"
I’d guess because the Death Star pieces here are unique, getting the actual shape of the laser moulded in rather than just the same repainted sphere of the others in the series
The only Lego Death Star I own!
It is a fun series to collect, they pop up for cheap (even new) and they are fun little sets.
Like others, I put the planets in the tree as well. Makes Christmas a tiny bit more bearable...
I love the Planet Series. It ended far too soon with the final 3 not even releasing in the US. I snagged them off Amazon for about double the price back in 2014, but it was definitely worth it.
The Death Star is definitely one of the most popular for MOCs since it's singular color makes it pretty versatile, and the little greebling can scale well, too, particularly space and sci-fi builds of course. The other two would be Dagobah and Bespin because despite the melded colors, they're also pretty uniform and can be used for all sorts of things. The rest are a bit more difficult because of the prints and how they become a bit too specific bu every now and then you find one being used in a unique way that's not simply as a planet.
But back to more that they could have done. This series came out right when Clone Wars was canceled, and Rebels was just on the horizon, and had the series continued, there are so many different planets that could have been included with wonderful and unique models and minifigs. And I feel like there may have even been a way to do planets with rings with some of that vinyl plastic, although it may have required a slight redesign on the hemispheres to have smaller tabs.
But it seems Microfighters were destined to be, and I love those, too, but they're just not the same as they used to be, nor are they quite as versatile as the Planet Sets.
Probably my favorite of the series (alongside Coruscant and uhh... Asteroid Field for some reason :D)
Missed out on these unfortunately, maybe I'll get a used one some day...
The packaging on these looked a bit hap-hazard though. I wonder how many of these got their paint worn off on store shelves... Reminds me a little bit on the whole "Try Me" feature for the LULS sets - similar problematic choice (though a bit more understandable for the LULS regarding advertising).
@stefwaffles said:
" @RaiderOfTheLostBrick said:
"I have this one. Incidentally though, I didn’t get the superlaser dish on my Death Star"
Do you mean you didn’t get the correct top half??
How unfortunate, though probably a bit late to ask customer services about it now… :/
I only have one of this range, bought at the time, and like others wish I had more
"
Yeah, I was only like 8 years old then and I didn't know any better. Alas, might find one somewhere.
These still occasionally show up, I bought a new sealed one at a bootsale three weeks ago for £5. I already have it but for a fiver I wasn't leaving it.
@Brickalili said:
" @twentythree said:
"Great for Christmas ornaments. Didn't realize this one was getting up there in value!"
I’d guess because the Death Star pieces here are unique, getting the actual shape of the laser moulded in rather than just the same repainted sphere of the others in the series"
Correct, the details were molded, rather than printed as with the rest of the series.
@Atuin said:"Probably my favorite of the series (alongside Coruscant and uhh... Asteroid Field for some reason :D)
Missed out on these unfortunately, maybe I'll get a used one some day...
The packaging on these looked a bit hap-hazard though. I wonder how many of these got their paint worn off on store shelves... Reminds me a little bit on the whole "Try Me" feature for the LULS sets - similar problematic choice (though a bit more understandable for the LULS regarding advertising)."
"Try me" packing is annoying. With toys like the LULS, where the batteries can't easily be replaced, it's *really* annoying. You have no way of knowing how much battery life is left, unless you order direct, or happen to come across a stocker opening a new case. I actually got a 7263 for five dollars off, because the battery was dead in the https://brickset.com/minifigs/sw0117/darth-vader-trans-red-light-up-lightsaber. I tried opening it up to replace it, but couldn't get the back open, so now it's got a dead battery and a scratched back where whatever tool I was using scraped across.
@Maxbricks14 said:
"Such an icon of the Star Wars theme. This is my favorite of the series it is in.
They need to do another series of Star Wars vehicles at a smaller than minifigure scale. I'd like them to do a line of vehicles at the same scale as the Imperial Shuttle in 75419."
Yes but they'd each be upwards of $30 - and thats not looking so hot...
@Binnekamp:
The printed ones don’t have distinct top and bottom sections like this molded one does. They’re printed in such a way that you can rotate the connection one notch at a time and stuff on the top will always line up with stuff on the bottom, but there’s isn’t anything that resembles a proper map.
@MCLegoboy:
The reason I said the asteroid “planet” isn’t as bad as the other printed ones is I put a kneeling minifig on top of one, and popped a PotC globe around his head. Gave the minifig two of the same arm, and raised them to make it look like he’s holding the planet up. Yes, it’s technically backwards, but I had to work with the parts made available to me.
I prioritised other sets back in the day. Were I on my today's budget, I'd definitely gotten one of each. Now I only have 9678 Twin-Pod Cloud Car & Bespin, which I found in a retail store in 2015 (three years after release) for only € 4.98
I'm not actively looking out for more of them, but would I happen to come across one by accident, I'd probably not hesitate to get it.
@MCLegoboy:
Yavin 4 is used quite often for Naboo MOCs, and I think it’s a great choice for that. I still find it a bit odd that Geonosis was not included, nor Mustafar. For Geonosis, they had both Poggle the Lesser and Dark Orange Battle droids. For Mustafar, they had Nute Gunray, and Anakin. Very strange that they didn’t do either.
@twentythree said:
"Great for Christmas ornaments. Didn't realize this one was getting up there in value!"
They really are! Mine has been used for that, the moon itself for play scenes with the kids, and usually stays closer to my work desk than the other planets. I wish I had more.
These would be a great thing to bring back. And with fresh faces and places, like Peridea, Nevarro, Mandalore, Ghorman, Khofar, At Attin. Having two figs and a small build (maybe a microfighter?) would probably justify the box size too. And they could probably release things from different eras and shows concurrently for a long time.
Remember when a depiction of a Death Star war spherical? Crazy!
@R0Sch said:
"Remember when a depiction of a Death Star war spherical? Crazy!"
Grumpy old man voice "Back in my day, Death Stars were round!"
I really love this series. It would be great to see them make a comeback, given the amount of planets that have been introduced in major Star Wars media since it ended!
@R0Sch said:
"Remember when a depiction of a Death Star war spherical? Crazy!"
Would that have been before or after this slightly ovoid version? Seriously, I didn't even need to measure it to see that (even if you don't count the studs) it's taller than it is wide.
@Wallace_Brick_Designs said:
" @MCLegoboy :
Yavin 4 is used quite often for Naboo MOCs, and I think it’s a great choice for that. I still find it a bit odd that Geonosis was not included, nor Mustafar. For Geonosis, they had both Poggle the Lesser and Dark Orange Battle droids. For Mustafar, they had Nute Gunray, and Anakin. Very strange that they didn’t do either."
Oh I had a whole list of possibilities at the end of a video discussing the whole line of sets back in 2014. Literally the whole last minute is just a scrolling list:
https://youtu.be/br1bcD00ZqM?t=1966
Don't worry about watching the whole thing, I've timestamped the important bit.
@BabuBrick said:
"I've always loved this series; have all 12 of them. This is one of my favorites. Love how they made the Death Star with unique parts."
I came here to say the same thing.
Some of them were really hard to track down in Australia - I had to buy a couple new ones eBay or Bricklink and have them shipped from overseas!
Very underrated series!
Awesome looking planets, nice minifigures, clever and fun little space ship builds!
These seemed expensive at the time though I love them and I’d buy new sets for sure. I did get Tatooine for those sweet pink lightsaber blades.
@MCLegoboy said:
" @Wallace_Brick_Designs said:
" @MCLegoboy :
Yavin 4 is used quite often for Naboo MOCs, and I think it’s a great choice for that. I still find it a bit odd that Geonosis was not included, nor Mustafar. For Geonosis, they had both Poggle the Lesser and Dark Orange Battle droids. For Mustafar, they had Nute Gunray, and Anakin. Very strange that they didn’t do either."
Oh I had a whole list of possibilities at the end of a video discussing the whole line of sets back in 2014. Literally the whole last minute is just a scrolling list:
https://youtu.be/br1bcD00ZqM?t=1966
Don't worry about watching the whole thing, I've timestamped the important bit."
Wow, that is quite the list! It’s quite surprising that we didn’t get at least three more in the lineup, and for most, the figures were already there! Which one would you have wanted to see the most? (Maybe you did earlier in the video, but I guess it could have changed, haha.)
@Wallace_Brick_Designs said:
" @MCLegoboy said:
" @Wallace_Brick_Designs said:
" @MCLegoboy :
Yavin 4 is used quite often for Naboo MOCs, and I think it’s a great choice for that. I still find it a bit odd that Geonosis was not included, nor Mustafar. For Geonosis, they had both Poggle the Lesser and Dark Orange Battle droids. For Mustafar, they had Nute Gunray, and Anakin. Very strange that they didn’t do either."
Oh I had a whole list of possibilities at the end of a video discussing the whole line of sets back in 2014. Literally the whole last minute is just a scrolling list:
https://youtu.be/br1bcD00ZqM?t=1966
Don't worry about watching the whole thing, I've timestamped the important bit."
Wow, that is quite the list! It’s quite surprising that we didn’t get at least three more in the lineup, and for most, the figures were already there! Which one would you have wanted to see the most? (Maybe you did earlier in the video, but I guess it could have changed, haha.)"
Oh man, I don't know, there's just so many.
But I would have really liked to have seen how they could have done Geonosis because of the rings. I want to know if they would have omitted the rings, ot just printed them on like the Asteroid Field, or if they would have made something specific that could be slid between the hemispheres. That would have definitely screwed up my display because the planets are all snug, but it would have presented a really interesting challenge. Do you even go transparent with the hemisphere, print on the rings, and suspend something in the middle to be the planet, like the Phantoka Shadow Leech Pod in a solid color?
I'm also quite interested in Utapau because we still have yet to get Tion Medon. We have finally gotten a Pau'an with the Grand Inquisitor, but the Rebels version is superior to the Obi-Wan show version, and I still never got either. Maybe Boga or one of the flying critters could have been the mini build instead of a starship, but that likely means it would have been Obi-Wan as the minifig.
Chrystopsis would have also been cool just to get the Clone Wars representation, and it's colors and patterns would have made it stand out among the line.
The issue you run into is finding some place memorable that it deserves a planet (even though you have Endor the planet for the B-wing when we never see it in the movies except the Ewok movies) and then you also have to come up with a memorable vehicle that applies to the location. There's also the figures. You want them to be unique to the line, some are exclusive, but then you have TIE and Rebel pilots that aren't repeated exactly, but not as much of a draw when they appear again. But you don't want to have a figure and a vehicle not align, so while a vehicle may be present, they're not always associated with that (Like Lobot and the Cloud Car. He never flies one, and yet, the 2002 Cloud Car set included him as the pilot, so I guess he fits the theme of the Planet Set.).
And you can only do it once. No repeats in the Planet Sets, we're not pulling a Millennium Falcon Microfighter and having 3 of them. Tatooine is off the list and it's Sebulba and his Podracer, no Luke and a T-16 Skyhopper or his Landspeeder. The Forest Moon of Endor has been used, and so has Hoth, so if an AT-AT were to have been made, where would it go? Had the line gone on long enough, maybe Scarif even though they used AT-ACTs, but it would have worked, but what if there was a U-Wing? There's so many possibilities that we never got, or were never going to get to be made, and I think that's possibly why Microfighters have endured because they're a bit more flexible just being the vehicle and not 3 things in one set.