Dark Wanderer

8038 The Battle of Endor

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The forest moon of Endor: the site of the turning point in the war between the Rebellion and the Empire. The bunker which housed the shield generator for the second Death Star was destroyed, and the Rebellion triumphed. So how does that battle translate into LEGO? Is it an accurate reproduction, or a shoddy copy? That's up to you.

Name: The Battle of Endor

Set Number: 8038

Theme: Star Wars

Year: 2009 (summer)

Pieces: 890

Minifigures: 12

Price: USD 99.99, GBP 73.39, EUR 99.99

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Brickset

I'm quite happy with this set: 12 figures, 6 of whom are exclusive, two speederbikes, an AT-ST, an Ewok glider, and a partially-exploding bunker? Sounds fun. But is it? That, of course, is your decision.

The Box

Front

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This box is huge. At 38x58x9 cm, it dwarfs the other boxes on the shelves and can only be fit 4 deep on standard LEGO store shelves, which makes it quite an attention-grabber- it was the first thing I saw when I walked in.

The Back

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The back of the box showcases the same features that are to be found in the back of the second instruction booklet: the AT-ST, the catapult, and the various bunker details.

The Logo

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The old LEGO Star Wars logo makes a comeback here, in rather impressive size and detail.

The Instructions

Front

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The instructions harbor the same image as the box. There are two equal-sized booklets to be found.

Random Instruction Page

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Colors are easy to tell apart and piece callouts are present throughout both books. The only oddity (that I found) is that a plant moves position between one step to the next.

The Parts Manifest

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An impressive array of parts is contained within this set, in quite a few colors.

The Minifigure List

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A list of minifigures is present in the back of the instruction booklet, along with...

The Ad

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...some sort of peculiar Clone Wars sets' ad.

The Sticker Sheet

...

There is no sticker sheet, actually. Let the dancing in the streets begin!

The Parts

There are three different distributions of parts in this set: bags one (the catapult, minifigures, glider, and speederbikes), bags two (the AT-ST), and bags three (the bunker). I doubt you really want to look at a bunch of polybags, so let's just proceed to the parts, shall we?

Bag One

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Interesting and fun bits are the new minifig torsos, the new Ewok head, the dark green plates, the rebel commando helmets, and of course the clear things. These are actually my first long clear pieces. I am filled with shame at my own shortcomings as an AFOL.

Bag Two

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The AT-ST parts; not many interesting bits here except for the plates without studs on the outer edges.

Bag Three

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The bunker parts, where it gets fun. Lots of dark green and dark gray, a hint of orange, and just the sheer variety of pieces make this a delightful set. Those three pieces down at the bottom of the picture were actually outside any bags, loose in the box. There weren't any holes in the bags, either, but the parts were used. Perhaps some sort of sorting defect?

The Build

The build actually took me quite a while, perhaps four hours. I must be getting slower in my old age. It was quite fun, though, and certainly taught me a few things. A most entertaining experience.

The Minifigures

Twelve minifigures are present in this set, with six exclusive: the three Ewoks (Chief Chirpa, Paploo, and Wicket), the Endor Leia, and the two Rebel Commandos.

Ewoks, Fronts

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As one may see, each Ewok's hood has a different something printed on it: Wicket's (orange) has some sort of string, Paploo's (tan) has some leaves and a string, and Chief Chirpa's (gray) has a tooth and a drawstring.

Ewoks, Back

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And all of the Ewoks are (of course) back-detailed.

The Hero Group, Front

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Han is the same as always, and Chewbacca as well; however, the last three Chewbaccas I received had no eye-printing- that's the results of a marker, there. Leia is entirely new, with the Castle Queen hair and a new torso.

The Hero Group, Back

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Leia is back-printed, as well.

Rebel Commandos, Front

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I believe that the torsos are exclusive to this set, and I haven't seen the head of the guy on the left anywhere, so I assume that it's new. The head on the right is apparently from the Rogue Shadow.

Rebel Commandos, Back

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Both should have the 'backpacks', but I removed one to show that nice back printing.

Rebel Commando Helmet

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A closeup of the helmet, in all of its glory. I'd like to see an Endor Luke with one of those..

The Imperial Forces

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Two scout troopers and an Imperial trooper. No back printing on any of them. This brings me to my major problem with this set; the Imperials are outnumbered three to one, whereas in the film they had a vast advantage over the small band of Rebels. Couldn't LEGO have included two stormtroopers to even it out a little? I took some off of my legions to see how it looked, and the effect was quite nice.

R2-D2, Front

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Everyone's favorite astromech, now in gray and white!

R2-D2, Back

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I guess you could call that 'back printing'...

Extra Pieces

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A few extra pieces, nothing really stunning here, except perhaps those four clips.

And now onto the main part of the review: the actual set.

Vehicles/Odds and Ends

The Catapult

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The catapult is surprisingly effective- I made it fire a meter with ease.

The Catapult, Side

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A bow (more commonly seen in Castle sets) and a spear adorn two clips on the sides of the catapult.

The Speederbikes

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The bikes are identical, and are based off a brown three-wheeler frame; they also have a megaphone blaster on one side, presumably as a nod to the Endor chase scene.

The Speederbikes, Front and Back

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The bikes are really quite long- longer than I expected, at least. Unfortunately, I don't have any previous bikes to compare them to.

With a Minifigure

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And here one may see how the scout trooper fits on.

The Ewok Glider

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The glider actually requires a minifigure to be connecting it to the stand- it seems like they could have found a way to go around that.

The Glider Side

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Here one may see how the glider connects to both the minifigure and the stand. those two 1x1 cylinders are extra ammunition for the rock-dropping feature...

The Rock-Drop

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...which is detailed above. The droid arm lifts up, which allows (if the glider is at a steep enough angle) the rock to fall out.

The Stand

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The stand is two pieces, a long pole-like piece stuck into an upside-down bowl-thing.

The AT-ST Body WIP

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A Work In Progress shot of the body. One may glean some of its structure from here.

The AT-ST

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The AT-ST is fairly well-built and can hold a minifigure...

AT-ST Front

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...but its main attraction is the 'walking' feature which is done by turning a knob on the back back and forth. Please see the video for a better explanation than my feeble words. One problem with this feature is that the AT-ST is a little unstable because of this, but it's not too bad.

AT-ST Walking Mechanism

AT-ST Side

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And of course, the regulation flick-fire missile can be found here.

AT-ST Back

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The tan gear controls the walking mechanism.

AT-ST Hatch

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Both the hatch...

AT-ST Top

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...and the top open.

AT-ST Interior

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Inside, there's a seat for one, and a handle so that one may pose minifigs with their heads sticking out of the hatch.

And so finally onto what you probably bought the set for- the Endor shield generator bunker.

The Bunker, WIP

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The nearly-finished bunker.

The Bunker, Front

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The doors open and close independently, unlike the Seperatist Shuttle doors- however, they could be modified to move simultaneously, and I expect to shortly.

The Bunker, Side

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Those panels that make up the side are actually just sitting there, but even after transport up and down two flights of stairs twice and to various rooms, they haven't budged. The front-corner ones, however, have the feature of 'blowing off' when the dish on top is pressed. See the video below for how it works:

The Exploding Bunker

The Exploding Bunker Mechanism

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As one may see, depressing the dish on top forces out the shock absorber, which pushes out the panels.

The Back of the Bunker (Folded In)

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The back of the bunker. When folded it's 32x25 studs....

The Back of the Bunker (Folded Out)

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...and when folded out, it's about 52x25 studs. The 'wings' of the bunker attach using a hinge and a clip/bar system.

The Inner Side of the Bunker (Unfolded)

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The generator mechanism (the orange cone apparatus) isn't too well-designed- if it's built by following the instructions precisely, the clips at the top of he cones are loose: one must leave a gap in between the saucers for everything to fit properly. The computer is part of the main console, and is in place when the bunker is clipped together. Both sides of the bunker are identical.

The Bunker Console

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The whole console, with the sides of the bunker in. I've never seen those particular pieces on the sides of the console before- they're printed.

The Inside of the Bunker

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The entire inside of the bunker. The two knobs run the two sides of the sliding bunker doors. Apparently those four guns inside the bunker didn't help the Imperials too much...

The Bunker- Folded In, Top View

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One may see the full dimensions of the folded-in bunker here...

The Bunker- Folded Out, Top View

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...and folded-out from the top.

Please view my next post for the rest of the review.

Edited by Dark Wanderer

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The Rest of the Review

The Whole Business

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There you are, the whole set: 8038 The Battle of Endor.

With Minifigures

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As one may see, the minifigures integrate well into the set..

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...and many scenes from the movie may be recreated...

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...as well as some that failed to appear...

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...and the interior works just as well as the exterior...

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...folded in as well as out.

Final Thoughts & Ratings

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The Ratings

Playability/Swooshability: 10/10 (There are quite a few possible scenarios to be played out here: the exploding sides, the walking AT-ST, and the catapult all assist.)

Design: 9/10 (The AT-ST can tip over sometimes, and its 'walking' doesn't work the best; however, the rest is quite nice.)

Price: 9/10 (A little on the expensive side, but okay; besides, my Reviewers' Guild contract requires me to complain about the price.)

Minifigures: 10/10 (Six exclusive out of twelve make me happy; however, two stormtroopers could have fleshed out the set a lot.)

Overall: 9.5/10 (No stickers, fun to fiddle with, only a few things that need to be fixed: I like it.)

I'm very happy with this set: a hundred dollars well-spent. Great minifigures and design, nice features, and just wonderful overall. A classic scene from a classic movie, with a good many interesting bits and few flaws. If you've a hundred dollars/ the equivalent in your own currency floating around, I say go for it. Until next time, fare thee well.

Brickshelf

Flickr

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Edited by Dark Wanderer

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I saw this review when you posted it in the RA, great, great review again!

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Great review. Lots of photos are good because it gives people a better idea of the set than just the box art.

I found the built to be fun and quick. I like the fact that there's a few discreet parts to be built so you can build them seperately. While you're working on the next part you can see the part you already built. Kind of add to the fun of the built.

I think its a great set. The RRP is a bit high but since I picked it up on sale its great.

Thanks for the review and I agree that the Rebel to Imperials ratio seem to be totally opposite to what we saw in the movie.

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Fantastic review. The details you show really give insight to the value of the set. It's on my list to get by the end of the year. Thanks :wink:

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Absolutely stunning review :wub: :wub:

The whole set-up really does have a 'classic' feel, which is emphasised by your beautiful pics, especially all those hilariously composed action shots at the end :laugh:

Thanks for sharing it with us!

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Fantastic review, your videos and GIF images enhanced the wonderful pictures and writing you already have. :wub:

This has definately been one of the better reviews I've seen lately, and about one of the better sets out there...:wub:

Thanks for sharing!

-darthperson :classic:

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WOW awesome review! I love this set its so well designed. The minifigs are so cool especially the ewoks and the rebel soldiers. What disappointed me was they did not put C3PO into the set when he should've been in it cause he featured in the battle of endor. I like the new design of the AT ST even though it doesnt go well with the most recently released one :sceptic: .

In my instructions the blue pieces that help with the exploding bunker mechanism turn purple for most of the pages which I found rather funny :laugh:

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Superb review !

Ordered this yesterday from Lego S@H, and I'm now looking forward to it arriving even more !!

Keep up the good work,

Dr. D.

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one of the best reviews 've seen so far... great work. thx a lot. no questions left. have to buy this set!

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one of the best reviews 've seen so far... great work. thx a lot. no questions left. have to buy this set!

Hate to mini mod but thx is not a word used on eurobricks. We do not talk in l33t speak or text speak.

But back on target i love your review, but im not overly fussed about the lack of imperials (we dont want to give TLG another reason to jack up the price do we?), im just happy about the amount of unique and rare figs in this set and all thats included in this set. I will surely have to pick this one up :grin: .

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Wonderful review. Thank you.

I understand your point about wanting more Imperials, but if adding stormtroopers (which we've had plenty of opportunities to get) would have meant fewer Ewoks/Commandos in this set, I'm glad the bad guys are outnumbered. :classic: And sure, we could say the set would be better if TLC added two stormies to the lineup, but the set already has 12 figures. How greedy can we get? :grin:

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Great review :thumbup:. Did anyone else notice that on the rebel commando front pic both of the rebels the back thing, and on the back pic only one of them had it.

Edited by Mission Commander

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Great review :thumbup:. Did anyone else notice that on the rebel commando front pic both of the rebels the back thing, and on the back pic only one of them had it.

errr, yes - he DID say he'd taken one off to show the printing .... :classic:

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Amazing review, convinced me to order the set for 70 (!) Euro at amazon.de

I'm impressed by the AT-ST, which looks much better than the 2007 version, because of the way it's built. The legs and the cockpit look much nicer, maybe because it's only made for one fig, as the 2007 was, but the new one has less space for the driver.

The bunker is not that nice, TLC could have made better, but then the price would be as high as the 130 Euro of the Calamari Cruiser.

The figs look nice, haven't got a Leia yet, so this special offer is a great chance to get it.

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Thank you for the nice detailed review with lots of pics. :classic:

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I bought part of this set (used). Namely AT-ST walker. Unfortunately without the design sheet. Can anyone send me photos of pages with AT-ST construction details? My email is: (snippety)

Edited by KimT
never write your email -plenty of spammers around

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I bought part of this set (used). Namely AT-ST walker. Unfortunately without the design sheet. Can anyone send me photos of pages with AT-ST construction details? My email is: pacinpm@gmail.com.

You can download them from TLG website.

http://us.service.lego.com/en-US/BuildingI...ns/default.aspx <<<Go there

Enter 8038, click search, download, and your set.

I have a tutorial on how if you need help.

I also verified that this set is up on their website.

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Good Review. I like the pictures and the some of your mini dioramas. I think this sets is awsome. There are so many useful parts and the AT-ST on this set is my favorite. I plan to get more just for the AT-STs. Great review of a Great set. :classic:

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I love this set so much. It's just a goldmine of great figs and parts, I wish they'd remake the hoth base exclusive into a playset like this.

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I bought this today, and I loved it until... in building the base, the diagonal pieces don't work. I can put the dark grey pieces in. but the light grey pieces dislodge them. I spent too long with them today, and I'll give them another go, but at the moment it seems they made a design failure, or I'm retarded. (my money's on me being retarded.)

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Great review... I'd like to get one of these since, as far as Star Wars goes, I'm only really a fan of the OT... but I never liked Ewoks, so it's fairly low on my list.

Why is R2D2 naked in back? It's like he's wearing a hospital gown for droids.

I haven't looked at any of the R2D2s I have in years (because I only have a couple - one in unopened box, the the other has been in the X-Wing forever... I'd check, but I'm at work), but don't recall them being "bare."

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I spent too long with them today, and I'll give them another go, but at the moment it seems they made a design failure, or I'm retarded. (my money's on me being retarded.)

I was retarded. I just had trouble recognizing some slopes in isometric view.

I like the set, but I'll hold off a few days to place my vote. I'm not decided on how much I like it versus the price.

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I was retarded. I just had trouble recognizing some slopes in isometric view.

I like the set, but I'll hold off a few days to place my vote. I'm not decided on how much I like it versus the price.

LOL, where are the title giving mod's when we need them. :tongue:

It happens to al of us, I swear LEGO sometimes makes builds extra confusing just because they can. In other news, i decided to pick up the few fig's I really wanted from this set instead of dropping the $100 for it. Mostly due tot he reviews on EB.

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