JimBee Posted August 30, 2008 (edited) 7681: Homing Spider Droid (LIMITED EDITION) Number of Pieces: 206 Number of minifigs: 5 Price: 34.99 USD/ 29.99 EUR/ 19.99 GBP Theme: Star Wars: Episode II Year Released: 2008 Brickset Folder Bricklink Catalog Welcome to my sixth review on these boards, of the mighty Homing Spider Droid. At first glance, this ball on legs may not seem like much, but hopefully this review will change your mind. The box. This box is the standard for all of the new Clone Wars sets: sleek, shiny, and a right-out-of-the-factory look. The blue-and-white color scheme is fantastic, and portrays that the sets are based off of a cartoon well. This box has a "LIMITED EDITION" (in Spanish, too! ) seal slapped on the front, although you won't have trouble finding this in your local Toys "R" Us, because of the big Clone Wars display in the front of the store that you can't miss. Overview In this picture, you can see the contents of the whole set (minus the instruction booklet) built. You can spot five minifigures (which I'll get to later), and a very tall CIS weapon, known as the Homing Spider Droid. This weapon of destruction is a must-have for your CIS army, although the color scheme (mostly dark bley and light bley) is a change up from the regular colors (brown or blue) of the CIS. This may have something to do with the blended armies of the Trade Federation and Corporate Alliance, but I don't know for sure. The instruction manual is very thin, only about twenty pages. Homing Spider Droid This is the main part of the set. Four huge legs, two mounted guns, and a red sensor eye are the highlights of this artillery unit. There's not many playability factors to this one, but sometimes its just fun to squash the little clones, a change-up of the contrary. It also looks good next to all of the other CIS sets, but you might want to clear some room in your display area; the legs take up a lot of room! This thing is also massively tall, about the same height as the Republic Cruiser. Main Body This is the main body of the spider, which has no cockpit and is remote controlled. This spherical body (not in that sort of way...) is a very quick build, and features a big, red eye connected by a red stud and hinge. Top Gun Here is the top gun (not with Tom Cruise), which is connected to the body using a clever Technic system (pun not intended). As you can see from this picture, you can see that it can rotate a full 360 degrees, but only if you remove the eye. Also, the gun can be pulled back, and if you let go, it will snap back, like the a gun does when fired, due to the force of the shot. I'm not sure this was intended by TLG, because it wasn't showed anywhere on the box or in the manual. Lower Gun Here is the gun attached to the under body of the main part. It is attached using a hinge, which allows it to move up and down. I also like the cord (that presumably transfers power) included on both guns. Hips Here is one of the hips attaching the legs to the body. There is one on each side, with two legs each. The are attached to the body and legs with Technic pieces. Legs You can see the tall legs in this pic. They are basically just Technic poles and connectors. Feet This is one of the feet, the essential to balancing the whole vehicle. These and the legs are repetitive, so I suggest doing them all at the same time to avoid flipping back in the manual and repeating the process three more times. The picture speaks for itself for the design of the feet. All are connected to the legs using a double-holed Technic piece. One Massive Son of a Gun This thing is so tall! It frightens the skin off of even the toughest, most experienced soldiers. Run for your Lives!! Look at how much havoc and fear it causes! Family Photo Enough of the battle scenes, here is a shot of this spider with it's smaller cousin: the Dwarf Spider Droid. Minifigs Finally, here are the minifigs that come with this set. There are five in all, which include: Battle Droid: Nothing special, but still an addition to your army Commander Battle Droid: I love that yellow torso! Super Battle Droid: Again, nothing special Clone Trooper: I'm glad they gave us one in this set, I can add it to to my other Phase 1 clones. Commander Fox: I love it! Everything from the dark red markings to the accessories are fantastic! The head is just the regular anime style Clone Wars face. This set comes with two flashlights, two antennae, one visor, one pauldron, and one kama. Close-up of Fox Here is a close-up of Fox, so you can see the detailed insignia of the Republic Guard. That wraps it up for the review, here is the FINAL VERDICT: Build: 8/10, very easy and straightforward, a little repetitive with the legs. Should take the seosoned builder around 20 minutes. Playability: 6/10, not many play factors, but it's fun to just squash puny clones with this giant arachnid. Swooshability: N/A Minifigs: 10/10, you really can't ask for more in this sort of set! Design: 8/10, not very sturdy, but it is altogether clever. Price: 5/10, yes, it is limited edition, but pumping up the price fifteen dollars more than it should be is a little ridiculous. Overall Score: 8.5/10, An excellent set for display, although not very sturdy. Minifigs are superb, but the price could be better. In the end, I would highly recommend this to any Prequel Trilogy fan looking to build up his/ her army. Well, that's about it for this review, Please feel free to leave your opinions! Edited September 15, 2008 by JimButcher Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KimT Posted August 30, 2008 I just bought this set the other day and I must admit that it gets a "Below Average" from me. The price is not corresponding with what you get. Which would be implied, had Jim added the EUR or GBP price in the info[hint hint ] The spider droid is flimsy at best. Making it stand or even move without tumbling over is hard. Also why the brown cylinders on the legs? Keep the colourscheme clean, please. The figs are fine, except that I dislike the clone headgear and the fact that the helmets now have holes in the sides, allowing the flesh head to show within = Goofy looking. I am soo replacing the clone heads with black ones. Great review of an acceptable set Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimBee Posted August 30, 2008 I just bought this set the other day and I must admit that it gets a "Below Average" from me.The price is not corresponding with what you get. Which would be implied, had Jim added the EUR or GBP price in the info[hint hint ] The spider droid is flimsy at best. Making it stand or even move without tumbling over is hard. Also why the brown cylinders on the legs? Keep the colourscheme clean, please. The figs are fine, except that I dislike the clone headgear and the fact that the helmets now have holes in the sides, allowing the flesh head to show within = Goofy looking. I am soo replacing the clone heads with black ones. Great review of an acceptable set Aw, that's too bad, KimT. While I must admit it is flimsy, I still love this set. Oh yeah, I added the other prices, thank you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asuka Posted August 30, 2008 Thank you for that good review, JimButcher. I think that this is really a pretty interesting and original looking set. Maybe it´s not very stable, but it owns some special 'War Of The Worlds' charm for sure... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KimT Posted August 30, 2008 Thank you for that good review, JimButcher.I think that this is really a pretty interesting and original looking set. Maybe it´s not very stable, but it owns some special 'War Of The Worlds' charm for sure... Yes that's it. I couldn't remember what the spider reminded me of, but that's it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ExoBuilder Posted September 10, 2008 Thanks for the great review JimButcher! This looks like a pretty decent set, I might get this if I find it on discount. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blast Posted August 12, 2013 I love the look of this set it's the closest to getting a Walking Eye from The Venture Bros. As well as the Droids and Troopers :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
