Posted by
AFOSL
in United Kingdom
on
09 March 2010
In part one of my review of this set (posted 25/10/09) I focused on the packaging, manual and the excellent minifigures. In this next part I will concentrate on the rest of the model, or should that be models? Besides the minifigures, there are a further six models in the Battle of Endor set, contained within 3 separate bags. Sharing bag one with the minifigures are two speeder bikes, a catapult and the Ewok glider. Bag two contains all the elements required to build the AT-ST Walker and bag three contains everything needed to build the Endor bunker.
Dividing a large set like this into smaller sections helps speed up the construction and makes finding the required elements that bit easier, especially if you're not the type of builder who likes to methodically sort out their parts before building. I'm not the methodical builder, and after pouring the pieces from their bags, I spend a great deal of time scratching around in a pile of Lego bricks looking for the part I need. This method increases the time it takes to complete a model, but that can only be a good thing.
The Catapult.
The first model to be built when following the instruction manual to the diagram, is the Ewok's primitive rock launcher. The Lego design is simple but effective, and is able to launch small pieces of Lego quite some distance.
The catapult is built on two dark green plates and uses various brown and dark grey sloped elements in it's main construction. Two bright green plant elements are included to give the model it's authentic, organic forest feel.
The catapult mechanism itself is made up with Technic elements. This is all very well, and doesn't detract too much from the look of the model, but the parts are still moulded in black and light grey. Brown or tan might have been better and more in keeping with a weapon made entirely with materials only nature would have provided. Maybe I'm taking it all too seriously, but the Technic elements do lend an air of advanced technology to what is a primitive weapon.
Speeder Bikes
Two Speeder Bikes are included with the Endor set, and if I'm correct this is a third design for these models. The Lego Company have been expanding their range of bricks, elements and colours for as long as the company has been in business, and this is a good thing. Mostly.
For the sake of authenticity a lot of the new brick designs have been introduced to improve models and make them truer to their on screen counterparts. A classic comparison would be 7144 versus 6209. Both are models of Boba Fett's Slave 1, but 6209 is vastly superior to 7144, due to it being released almost six years later and using a range of Lego elements and colours that were not available when 7144 was released in 2000.
The same comparison could be made for all three designs of the Speeder Bike too. The original released in 1999 could be considered a little chunky. The rendition released in 2002 improved upon the original basic design, but using some new parts which made the bike neater and sleeker.
But have Lego gone too far with this new design? It's a good design and brings the Speeder Bike model even closer to the real thing, but I can't help but feel a little cheated that the main chassis of the bike is a very big lump of plastic that requires no construction in itself. It's pre-assembled or at least, pre-fabricated, unlike the previous designs which required their main bulk to be assembled.
But like any true chassis, all other components must hang from it or be supported by it, and despite being one lump, the main chassis does require a whole host of other parts to be attached in order to turn it into a bike. A further 29 pieces to be precise. And just to reiterate, the bike is of a good design, with the handlebar set up and pilot position being very authentic and impressive. After two previous models, the Speeder Bike rider is now able to reach the pedals!
Ewok Glider
As I study every model in this review, I find it a little hard to not compare these new models with their previous incarnations, but I do also feel that such comparisons are noteworthy.
The glider in the Endor Bunker set is obviously different from the one found in 7139 Ewok Attack, but it uses many of the same parts.
The main difference lies in the wings. The old wings were made from shiny plastic sheet, like cellulose acetate and were not too bad at all. But the new wings are a big improvement. Out with the shiny plastic, in with fibre like material, similar to that found on capes worn by certain minifigures. The new wings are roughly twice the size of the older design and make the glider look much bigger than it really is. Without the wings, the glider is just a frame attached to a clear plastic stand. When completed it uses fewer than thirty pieces and stands about 15cm (6 inches) high.
AT-ST
Finally, Lego have produce a minifigure scale model of the Scout Transport that looks good.
When compared to the previous two models, this one certainly shines.
I feel as though Lego looked towards the UCS scale walker, 10174 from 2006. Like that model, the Endor Bunker walker uses plates in the construction of it's head/cockpit. The plates are all mounted on hinges which allows them to sit at the correct angles and give the walker's head it's distinctive shape. It's a sturdy construction and the walker can be picked up by the head without it falling apart in your hand. The head also sits on a turn table so is able to rotate left and right.
The walker comes fully equipped with double barrelled chin cannon, side mounted cannons, and a somewhat useless flick fire missile. Why Lego, why? I'm not a fan of flick fire missiles as I find that they don't really work too well. Also, on a model such as this, a flick fire missile seems very much out of place, and looks like a corn dog on a stick or rocket firework. A normal, scale like, single barrelled cannon would look much better.
The legs of this walker are a little on the skinny side when compared to the previous models, but they don't look bad or ruin the look of the model, although the blue Technic pins holding them together are quite visible. I have seen this pin moulded in both tan or grey in other Lego models and the use of those colours here would have been more appropriate.
The legs attach at the top to a type of differential gear box of peculiar design. Plenty of Technic elements are used throughout the gear box construction, and it's quite a neat, compact unit. The idea behind this differential is to allow the user to move the legs in a walking action by turning a gear piece at the rear of the model. It doesn't work. In order for the legs to move, the model has to be lifted clean off the floor. Not only that, but when in operation, the walking action looks more like the Can-Can dance as the legs just seem to kick high in the air, feet pointing towards the Death Star.
When grounded, the legs cannot move, so the model just stands there. But that's fine. It makes a good looking static model and is Lego's best rendition of the AT-ST so far.
Imperial Bunker
The final stages of construction deal with the bunker itself. These stages take up the last few pages of instruction manual 1 and take up all of manual 2, so you can imagine that building it takes a little time.
Laid on a base of dark green and grey plates, the bunker is an intriguing build and certainly had me guessing throughout. The front of the bunker uses a double wall design with various mechanisms sandwiched between the inner and outer layers. Various cogs and spring loaded Technic elements are used with no explanation as to what purpose they serve. Of course the builder could always jump ahead in the manual and take a peek at what's to come, but I'm not that kind of builder. One stage at a time and all will be revealed, in typical Lego style.
What looked like outer walls now had a pile of Technic beams piled up against them. Beams which would fall over at the smallest nudge.
Once the doors went on, things still didn't make sense. I thought the doors of the bunker would be on the outside, but they did nothing to hide these spring loaded pieces moulded in bright red and blue.
As the construction moves on, little details are added and the bunker starts to take shape. The outer walls are actually inner walls and the Technic parts are all slowly hidden from view.
The two doors are actually set back within an alcove and are operated by turning cogs, forcing the doors to slide open or shut. It all works very smoothly, and even at this stage, looks just like the bunker in the film.
About half way through the building of the bunker, things start to make sense, and the front of the bunker is ready for it's roof. The roof is made up of two large gridded plates through which slide Technic axles, each hidden under a dome or disc piece. The axle connects up with the spring loaded parts underneath, causing them to pop away from their upright position. The spring loaded pieces are easily put back in their original position and the mechanism is reset for the next time you decide to push down on the dome hiding sitting on top of that Technic axle. But even though you have fitted a roof and mostly hidden the inner workings of the bunker, you are still left with gaping holes in the bunker walls at this stage.
Construction continues by moving onto the side walls of the bunker and finishes off the interior control room.
Although the control room seats two minifigures, only one Death Star Trooper is provided, so he has to man the bunker by himself. He sits facing a bank of computer console screens. All these pieces are printed elements. There are no stickers in this kit, and that is certainly a good thing.
Like the front of the bunker, the side walls are also full of large holes between the support pillars. Don't worry about that though, as the final stages of the construction of the bunker require you to make eight separate wall panels. Each identical panel consists of two 4x4 plates, two 2x3 plates, one 1x2 plate and four 1x4 tiles. Once constructed, these panels just sit neatly in all the holes left in the walls of the bunker; two at the front and three either side. The front panels and front side panels rest up against the spring loaded Technic elements. Now when the domes on the roof are depressed, the mechanisms below spring open and push the walls clean off, simulating the dramatic explosion as the bunker is destroyed in the movie, Return of the Jedi. It's a neat little addition to the set and adds a play feature whilst keeping the model looking very authentic.
I feel the bunker could be a little taller as the minifigures are almost as tall as it, and it feels very low next to the walker which towers over it. If the bunker were two or three bricks taller it would bridge that gap, neither looking too short for the minifigures or dwarfed by the walker.
Final Thoughts.
The Battle of Endor set is one of the best Lego have produced, and gets almost everything right. The minifigures are wonderfully detailed, the AT-ST is the most accurate to date, the Speeder Bikes look swift and nimble, and the bunker itself oozes realism and authenticity, whilst managing to be a play set too.
Great care and attention also went in to the packaging of this set. Sealing delicate pieces in their own bags for protection was a nice touch and should be seen more on other Lego sets.
Price to piece ratio was also very good, making this set even more worth a purchase when compared to other releases which certainly pale in comparison. After building this set, and despite my little grievances with some of the design aspects, I now find other Lego sets somewhat lacking. The Battle of Endor has raised the bar and I would like all future Lego sets, big or small, to match the same level of sophistication, detail, design, and price per piece.
If I had to vote for my favourite Star Wars Lego set of 2009, I would choose the Battle of Endor.
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