exxtrooper Posted June 27, 2013 First there was the 7163 Republic Gunship released in 2002, released in conjunction with the Star Wars Episode 2 film. Then, there was the 7676 Republic Attack Gunship based on the Clone Wars animated series that I will not get into because people are more than aware of the mixed feelings people have concerning the show. Since it's introduction you've seen countless of these majestic death machines in mocs, specifically huge battle scenes loaded with a specific type of same-face soldiers, tv shows, movies, fanart, stop-motion lego films... you get the idea. It is perhaps one of the most recognizable, if not the most recognizable vehicle from the prequel trilogy (or as I like to call it, the not-original-trilogy trilogy), there is probably not a single lego clone army out there that does not include one or more of these gunships. You simply cannot picture an army of clones charging forward into battle without a rain of these dropping them down into battle for the glory of the republic, it is truly a magnificent aircraft that some of us have an emotional attachment too. Sadly, I am not one of those people. Today I present you one of the biggest wallet-burners of the Star Wars summer wave 2013, the third version of the Republic Gunship that has appeared in the Star Wars franchise. I picked this up at me local toy-store, and I thought why not? I've finished my finals and haven't bought myself something nice in god knows how long! I deserve this I tell you! And since these products aren't released until August in the almighty Americaland, why not take a step further and do my newfound brothers and sisters in arms a favor and write a nice little review on a upcoming set from our all-time favorite toy-brand? Now let's get to it! Does this set make up for it's prize? Is it worth buying over other sets this wave? Is it a great improvement from it's previous incarnations? Well that's what we're here to find out! Join me in my very first lego star wars review! On a journey through thick and thin- ... all right let's stop there and just get on with it shall we? Review: 75021 Republic Gunship™ Set information: Set Name: Republic Gunship Set Number: 75021 Number of Pieces: 1175 Minifigs: 7 Price: $119.99 USD | £109.99 | 1099.00 DKK | 1299.00 NOK Theme: Star Wars Released: June 2013 (august 2013 US) Lego group description: Rescue the heroes with the LEGO® Star Wars ™ Republic Gunship™! Race to Geonosis™ in the awesome LEGO® Star Wars™ Republic Gunship™ to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala before they’re overpowered by 2 Super Battle Droids™! Aim the 4 ball gun turrets with minifigure cockpit, then open the front compartment to grab the flick missiles and restock the 8 top-mounted launchers! Open the side and rear doors to deploy the swoop bike! Use the lifting handle for easier flying-action role-play! Includes 7 minifigures with weapons: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, Clone Trooper™ Captain, Clone Trooper and 2 Super Battle Droids. • Includes 7 minifigures with weapons: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, Clone Trooper™ Captain, Clone Trooper and 2 Super Battle Droids™ • Features 4 ball gun turrets with space for minifigures, flick missiles, 8 top-mounted flick missile launchers, side and rear doors, swoop bike and a lifting handle • Weapons include 2 Lightsabers, blaster pistol, blaster and a blaster rifle • Aim the turrets and fire • Restock the flick missile launchers! • Open the cockpits and put the minifigures inside • Recreate awesome battle scenes from Star Wars™: Episode II Attack of the Clones • Build an even bigger Battle of Geonosis™ with 75015 Corporate Alliance Droid™, 75016 Homing Spider Droid™ and 75019 AT-TE™ • Measures over 7" (20cm) high, 18" (48cm) long and 16" (43cm) wide The Box The very first thing you see, the big pretty box! The box is surprisingly small for such a big set, it is by all means not a very small box, but you'd expect it to be bigger considering all the parts you get, and the prize tag. The box has the 2013 action-jumpy yoda in the corner with a rather darker background. Which is quite unusual for Lego as they usually make their boxes as bright and colorful as possible to be eye-catching to kids and people who like to look at pretty things and sometimes end up buying them just because they thought the box looked pretty even though they don't really have the money for it. Anyway it is a nice break from the usual white, white and blue, white and blue and red, white and white. And nice to see Yoda, he's a pretty cool character and I was really getting tired of seeing clone troopers up in the corner of old trilogy sets. I like the green, green is my favorite color. It's nice. The box shows the ship blasting into action with it's deadly flick-fire missiles and additional pew-pew turrets! As this is was bought in europe, it doesn't tell you how many parts there are in the set, don't really understand why but it seems really useful when buying sets off shelfs in stores, you guys are lucky. The back of the box has the usual showing you things you can do here and there along with our trio of heros in the corner and some pew-pew action here and there. Before we get onto the build and minfigs, there's this thing! Free poster! Yay! Showing you all the 2013 minifigures. Despite what it says on the box I was unaware you got a huge poster, which was a pretty a nice surprise as I really like huge posters, makes my wall look less empty. The other side features artwork similar to what you see on the box. I personally prefer the minifigure gallery, makes some of the old republic sets look really desirable with those fancy minifigs like the sith warrior. Onto the minifigs! 7 of them, 5 exclusive redesigns, 2 truly new. Finally a really nice looking Padme figure, she now has her own new faceprint as opposed to a re-used Harry Potter face (or a CW version), in her battle of Geonosis outfit. Lego really doesn't seem to like Padme considering how little we've seen of her in lego form, so I'm glad we've finally gotten a proper carnation of her from episode two that will be an excellent addition to my collection. Along we have new phase 1 design troopers in the form of a captain and a pilot. While I am not a big fan of re-made figures in general, especially when it comes to clones (as it usually ends up with people having armies getting clones that are "not like the other" and such which is really annoying, sometimes it seems lego make new clone designs every year in order to make money on those battle pack sets). I do welcome new Phase 1 clone troopers based on the movies rather then the CW animated series, considering the fact that the old Phase 1 helmet (as far as I know) is no longer in any form of production this seems to be the very rare case were it is actually justified for lego to make a new clone trooper design. In short: I'm not even mad. The clone trooper captain is really cool, I like him. His helmets visor has an extra gunmetal visor detail, along with dark red markings. And of course we get new versions of both Padawan Anakin and Tarzan hair Obi-Wan, now with leg printing. And two battledroids, which are nothing new really. Lego continues it's new trend of adding as much detail on the figs as possible, both of our jedi-buddies have nice back printing, though the one that really stands out is Padme's wounds on her back from the arena. A very nice additional detail actually. Both of the troopers come with the new clone face, not the most charming looking fellow but a lot better then just a black head, a nice addition. And alternate faces, Anakin and Obi-wan has there war faces on, while Padme has a rather uncanny smile, which concerns me really I know I wouldn't be smiling with such a wound on my back. Now onto the build! This set has nine numbered bags, each with different minfigs in them, which is something I'm really not a big fan of. I don't really see any point of not just giving us all the figs in the first bag? Though it's only a minor thing. The build is the usual lego star wars aircraft building, stud-on-stud with the occasional snot techniques here and there with technic bits to keep it all sturdy. The hold thing holds itself together quite well actually, the build consists of making smaller parts of the gunship then putting them together and securing the whole thing in a technic frame. The whole build is very piece-by-piece type of deal, with just a whole lot of very small bits put together to make the whole thing. The building experience was quite satisfying, it just took a little while. All done! Here's the set in it's full entirety with all the minifgures, and the nice little speeder bike that comes along. It's quite massive and very eye-catching with it's bright white and dark red highlights. The troop transport part of the ship doesn't disappoint, you can fit well over 15 minfigures in this ship, not including ones in bubble turrets and cockpits. While it is indeed very open it is accurate to the film version, though I do wish it could be more closed for such things as space-flight, the second pair of doors is something I actually liked on the CW version, though this does mean you need to sacrifice the bubble turrets. Which are nicely designed by the way, very simple yet offers a lot of movability (that's actually a word?). A shame you didn't get a ton of clone troopers on this set to load your ship with. There's also the old lego safe pieces in which you can store small blaster or whatever you please. And the bubble turrets have enough space to be folded in like so! The little seat on the wing here, the control panel is sadly a sticker, but it's not too big or too small and on a flat surface so shouldn't be too troublesome. It looks comfortable, I guess? I don't really have too much to say here really there isn't really too much to it. The front of the gunship can be folded up like so to reveal a storage of extra flick-fire missiles. I don't understand why the top missiles have green studs while the others have blue ones? In the event you should be unfortunate enough to lose some of your flick-fire goodness it's always nice to have a couple of extra in storage just in case. Better safe than sorry! There's a bigger storage in the back where you can store blasters and lightsabers. I don't remember exactly but I think you can fit a minifig in there, don't really know what the purpose of that would be but I guess it's good to know just in case. This is also shows the turret in the back, quite simple but looks decent either way. Do you even lift gunships? Now this is a lego trend I'm actually a big fan of, the almighty technic handle! It adds to playability for those who like to swoosh around with their models, and it's great being able to move it around without the fear of the whole thing falling apart (which isn't something you should be concerned about in this case considering how sturdy this set is). It doesn't get in the way of the build and doesn't look too out of place. The whole model is built in such a way the it won't fall apart if you grab it by the handle due to it's interior technic-magic goodness. One thing I really like about these new parts is that the cockpit opens like so! No more ripping off the windshield (canopy? cockpit glass? what am I supposed to call it exactly?). The cockpit is quite cramped with the control panel (also a sticker, I know) being over the minifigs legs when it's properly seated. It's not too tricky to get them in there but you won't be able to fit any fig in there with too much accessory on them. The whole double cockpit look really nice though and uses almost entirely new parts (compared to the previous versions), I really like the sleek look this one has and I'm glad they took a whole new approach to this part of the ship for this new version. At the back of the ship you can open a large hatch to reveal a storage for a nice little speeder, in case you need something fast. I believe the CW version had a speed as well but it was stored in the trooper carrier rather then in the back, getting in the way of storring clone troopers. It's nice to have it here in the back not getting in the way of anything. And we end our photo session with a profile shot of the entire thing, as you can see it is way too big for my scene. Now onto the ratings: Design: 10/10 With the introduction of new bits and pieces over the years since the last gunship TLG has done a great job incorporating new parts into the model to make the model as movie-accurate as possible, enough for it to be far superior to it's previous incarnations. Parts: 9/10 You probably won't be buying this as a part packs, but for those who of you who do you obviously get a huge variety of different white slopes along with some newer technic bits here and there. Build: 10/10 The build is sturdy, great building experience, along with with some great part usage normally not seen in TLG sets. It's quite frankly something you'd probably see in a Moc posted on flickr or EB. These new SW sets really are quite something. Minifigs: 7/10 No random minifigs in this one folks! A great plus in my book, all the minifigs in this set are new exclusives and all seem to "fit-in" quite well with the set, this is definitely not one of those sets they're trying to sell using fancy figs. The only thing I'd wish for was maybe three or four regular troopers to man the different turrets and such, but I guess this is what the battlepacks are for. Playablity: 8/10 The whole thing is very swooshable and can carry a lot of minifigs, along with some nice functions here and there, definitely a kid favorite. Price: 6/10 It's one of the big ones that's for sure, something you'd give as a birthday or christmas gift. Living in Norway, I bought this for 1299.00 NOK, usually when a set is 1 NOK per piece it's a good buy, though I made an exception for this one as I missed both of it's previous incarnations. Total: 50/60 It's definitely a great set you'd buy for the set itself rather then the figs, I'd say it is actually worth the money, it's a very recognizable ship and looks great on the shelf of collectors and lots of playability for kids. I highly recommend it for people who are fan of the ship but missed it's previous versions like me, and this one definitely puts the CW one to shame. Now it's journey of collecting dust on my shelf begins! Thanks for reading, if I get good enough feedback I'll be sure to review the new AT-TE, that is unless someone else does it first. Thanks for stopping by! That is all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alfadas Posted June 27, 2013 Nice review, I really want this set and I need it the clone captain!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Only Sinner Posted June 27, 2013 Great review! I'm certainly getting two of these! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Im a brickmaster. Posted June 27, 2013 Nice review, the gunship is one of my favorite Star Wars vehicles and I've always missed out on the set! Looks like a good thing I waited! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pablo94 Posted June 27, 2013 The reason why minifigures are not in the first bag any more is the fact that LEGO had a lot of complaints about missing minifigures. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TWP Posted June 27, 2013 Very good review indeed exxtrooper ! of course we'd like it if you did a review on the AT-TE too!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristofBD Posted June 27, 2013 Very nice looking set! Thanks for the review! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brickdoctor Posted June 27, 2013 Excellent, outstanding review. Plenty of pictures, which are all crisp and well-lit, accompanied by a wealth of information and thorough writing. (Maybe other readers feel differently, but I like my reviews with information overload and walls of text; maybe that’s why I don’t like video reviews. ) To me, this looks to be on par with a Reviewers Academy review. The gunship may be a PT set, and I may be an OT fan, but the gunship is such a great vehicle that it's one of those that I think every LEGO Star Wars fan should buy at least once. I myself have some other sets I want to get instead, and I already have 7676, but if I didn't... this one looks like the best official set rendition yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nom Carver Posted June 27, 2013 Maybe its a little late to ask for more details of the construction, but could you post a pic of the clone captain with the skirt of the ARC trooper of the 9488 (Elite Clone Trooper & Commando Droid Battle Pack), or a comparison with the previous versions of it. Thanks for the review, I am an OT fan and this is certainly the only PT set I want to acquire. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chills Posted June 28, 2013 Brickdoctor echoes my own thoughts. I'm an OT fan, and usually steer clear of PT sets. However this set looks fantastic! I don't have a version of the RGS yet, so I'm definitely getting this one when it comes out. I'm digging the minifigures, I especially like the Padme. Great review, exxxtrooper. It just makes me more impatient for August 1st! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ham17 Posted June 29, 2013 Awesome review can't wait to get it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Legonater Posted June 29, 2013 It looks to be a cool set. I'm definitely spending a lot of money on LotR this year, and I do have the 2008 gunship, but it's so unstable for me I wouldn't mind picking this up, especially with the beautiful minifigures! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
exxtrooper Posted July 1, 2013 Thanks for the positive feedback guys! Appreciate it! The reason why minifigures are not in the first bag any more is the fact that LEGO had a lot of complaints about missing minifigures. I was unaware of this complaint, may I ask how does this fix the problem exactly? Very good review indeed exxtrooper ! of course we'd like it if you did a review on the AT-TE too!! I'll be sure to get on with the writing as soon as I have time Excellent, outstanding review. Plenty of pictures, which are all crisp and well-lit, accompanied by a wealth of information and thorough writing. (Maybe other readers feel differently, but I like my reviews with information overload and walls of text; maybe that’s why I don’t like video reviews. ) To me, this looks to be on par with a Reviewers Academy review. The gunship may be a PT set, and I may be an OT fan, but the gunship is such a great vehicle that it's one of those that I think every LEGO Star Wars fan should buy at least once. I myself have some other sets I want to get instead, and I already have 7676, but if I didn't... this one looks like the best official set rendition yet. Thanks yet again! It's a very expensive set making it debatable whether or not it is worth it, though it is a very recognizable PT ship, defiantly a great set for the CW era fans. Maybe its a little late to ask for more details of the construction, but could you post a pic of the clone captain with the skirt of the ARC trooper of the 9488 (Elite Clone Trooper & Commando Droid Battle Pack), or a comparison with the previous versions of it. Thanks for the review, I am an OT fan and this is certainly the only PT set I want to acquire. I was originally making a time lapse building video but I had some technical difficulties and the whole thing effectively failed I'll be sure to make comparison to it's phase ll incarnation as I do have that set as well. Unfortunately I am currently stationed away from home, therefore I am unable to do so at this point in time, though I will be home by 7th july. Brickdoctor echoes my own thoughts. I'm an OT fan, and usually steer clear of PT sets. However this set looks fantastic! I don't have a version of the RGS yet, so I'm definitely getting this one when it comes out. I'm digging the minifigures, I especially like the Padme. Great review, exxxtrooper. It just makes me more impatient for August 1st! As I've said there has been a huge lack of Padme minifigures through time and I'm quite happy we finally got a proper rendition of her. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Esurient Posted July 2, 2013 Thanks for the review! Great job! This set is a 10/10 for me! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zzz Posted July 2, 2013 Great review (and the first!) - thanks a lot! I agree with Brickdoctor here, that it's the one PT vehicle, that really shines and has what otherwise OT vehicles are more famous for - and that is character. I do like TLCs approach and re-design on 7676, and it might be coming a little too soon after the CW set, but we all know what the original deal was with Episode II and something called '3D'. The set depicts the movie scene alright, has some nice features, some improvements and some good minifigs. Still, it's nowhere near perfect, there aren't enough clones, the bubble turrets on the wings are still to be manned, all turrets have a terrible back and aren't round, the flick fires are terribly positioned, the nose cargo is terrible, the nose art is missing, it has no air-to-air missiles under the wings (and these were important in the scene). Also, I can get over it that Yoda is not in the set and TLC wants us to buy the other (overpriced) 50€ set to get him, but how on earth is someone supposed to man this ship accordingly? When 7676 came out, 8014 was around which provided 3 normal clones and a gunner - all really useful to man bigger sets. And now we have a 17€ battle pack out that contains ONE clone trooper only? How many commanders does one gunship need? 1 or 2 perhaps. This doesn't work and while those are all nice sets, TLCs minifig shortage, especially when it's about army building, is just too obvious. In the old days it wasn't that obvious as there were not even battle packs or so many different sets. But this thing is really not helping to make the sets look great I would say. Also, while I am not a fan of the CW figs, I have to admit the CW-version of the gunship is just much cooler with it's all closed look. It just seems more robust, practical and also bad-megablocks then the partly open version. But that's just my taste. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ha876 Posted September 1, 2013 Great Review. I ordered this online for $75.99 a couple days back @ YoYo.com . Cant wait for the AT-TE review, as I am unsure if it is worth the money. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmynick Posted September 1, 2013 Great Review. I ordered this online for $75.99 a couple days back @ YoYo.com . Cant wait for the AT-TE review, as I am unsure if it is worth the money. Are you sure it's not a scam at that price? Oh, and this is a great review! I read it when you first posted it and I really enjoyed all of the information. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hench Posted September 1, 2013 Great review of awesome set! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted September 1, 2013 Padme is great in this set! Thanks for the great review! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Annobanno Posted September 1, 2013 Thanks for the great review - very cool ship also! :-D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyC Posted September 1, 2013 I was unaware of this complaint, may I ask how does this fix the problem exactly? Two ways: 1) It's harder for less honest folk to buy a set, take out the bag with the minifigs, seal the box back up and return it as "unused" 2) It's less likely that dishonest folk will just ring up TLG claiming "Bag 1 is missing" from their purchase (which they never made), knowing that'll get them all the figures. Not foolproof, but hopefully something that'll cut down on stolen figures and thus stop the rest of us honest folk from paying for other people's behaviour. Nice review though, although I'm still not totally convinced I want another gunship after getting the CW version. It's just not quite good enough to justify splashing out on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mrmakrus Posted April 16, 2014 Getting this for my birthday in two days. It's my first piece ill add to my collection as I'm just starting. I also love that the characters aren't CW style and look like the old style lego. Now to find any other sets from SWII that don't contain CW style characters to add to my very small collection. Cheers for the review. :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SinWolf89 Posted April 16, 2014 Great review! It's a marvellous set IMHO, hope to get it one day! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ryker_Hill Posted April 16, 2014 Just got mine on Monday, finished it yesterday, due to mess ups Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zaxa13 Posted April 17, 2014 Great review! I am definitely considering getting one now, although I am slightly annoyed that a ship with two cockpits only has 1 pilot mini figure Either way, it seems like a big improvement over the Clone Wars set. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
