Star Wars Advent Calendar Review: Day 1
Posted by CapnRex101,
2015 marks the release of the fifth Star Wars Advent Calendar, an annual treat that I really look forward to. Upon a brief look at the London Toy Fair in February I was very impressed with what the calendar has to offer so we will see if my optimism was well founded over the next three and a half weeks!
The first model certainly supports my initial impression. Jabba's Sail Barge is a reasonably well known vehicle and it is recreated very nicely here using just 12-pieces. All of the important details are included such as the two enormous sails and steering vanes which make use of two angled 1x1 tiles.
Moreover, a stand is provided to simulate the vessel hovering over the Dune Sea. It only consists of two elements but serves its purpose very nicely and makes the model a little easier to display. It is also worth noting that the 1x1 brick with 2 studs in reddish brown which is included here has only appeared in five sets before now, so is fairly rare.
Overall - 5.0 - I have never given full marks to a model on day one before but Jabba's Sail Barge is worthy of such an accolade. It is instantly recognisable, sturdy and fun to play with, exactly what I want from an Advent Calendar model.
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I'm happy about this little model as well, it's great!
Not a bad model, just opened mine yesterday
I'll take the opposite standpoint. In the preview images, this thing looked "fine" for its scale, but when I opened it up and put it together, it just didn't feel right. I know accuracy gets harder and harder to accomplish in small scale, but this felt like a dud to me.
Well, I'm glad you told me what it is, because I hadn't a clue :-)
Other than the rare part, I think this is utterly dreadful.
We positioned our orange sales slightly askew. I think this adds to the sail barge look.
I'm the same, opposite standpoint, didn't have a clue what it was till you told us...
Oh geeze. Then I envision at least 3 more days of "what the hell is this?" builds for readers. There's one upcoming item in particular that I reeeeeeeeealy had to think about before I figured out what it was.
Disappointed was my first thought
I'm not sure how people didn't know what it was until reading. The model is unmistakably Jabba's sail barge, at least to me it was. It's a very cute model for its size.
Yep, also immediately recognized what it's supposed to be. Nicely done with the small amount of bricks.
Maybe you should have said instantly recognisable if you have ever watched the Star Wars movies.
I really like this model! Very compact.
I built this....said: "What is this?!?" but then twisted the slopes a bit and realized what it was. I would give it a 3.8 to 4.2, just because it was difficult to recognize. Apparently several people didn't recognize it at first. ^
I enjoyed putting it together. Nice little model that captures the vehicle's look well. I like the stand it comes with.
I saw the SW movies only once a long time ago and even I recognised that it was the sail barge. Definitely a 5.
I initially had no clue what the parts should build without looking at the picture. It's a decent representation and it is definitely recognizable. These will be filling up my desk through the month.
Dud
Cute, and so fresh in the winter calendar (desert theme).
It was instantly recognizable and surprisingly original for an advent calendar.
Well, it wasn't super obvious what it was, but it only took a few seconds for me to figure it out. For models this size, that's pretty good, especially if you compare it to the junk from last year's...
I saw the movie here and there as a kid, so I'm not super familiar with everything, but I knew I've seen the vessel somewhere. Just didn't know exactly what it was. Thanks for the confirmation!
@zmarkella "I saw the SW movies only once a long time ago", was it in a galaxy far, far away ;)
When I first saw prelim images for this I knew it was the sail barge, but I am a big Star Wars fan, so that might explain it.
Nice little model of the sail barge. I saw what it should be at once. But i can see why some people do not sees it. It just appeard in one movie. It is not like a TIE fighter or Millenium Falcon.
5 out of 5? You're leaving yourself no wiggle room; there must be something better down the line. 3 out of 5, maybe 3.5.
I purchased the Star Wars advent calendar because I'm actually a huge fan of the series. To that point, it was easily recognizable and a very cute model to my collection. Not sure what people are expecting when it comes to mini models that are specific to the Star Wars theme.
This is a gyp. I mean it doesn't even look like the actual sail barge.
When I open the first calendar day take 5 seconds to recognice the model and I get surprised, a mini model of Jabba's sail barge. I do a short stop motion video of the mounting in this link. https://youtu.be/D4t2BojCbgo
Sorry for my english, I'm from spain and have it some roost, and sorry for the quality of the video I'm not too expert and take it with my phone.