Review: 30050 MINI Republic Attack Shuttle

[Big Cam]

I went to my Local target with the intent of buying 8038 Battle of Endor, but they were out, and for some reason I remembered seeing the two Easter polybag sets in the SW forum, so I ran over to the Easter section and low and behold, they were there, so I present you a small review.

BASIC INFORMATION:

Set Name: MINI Republic Attack Shuttle

Set Number: 30050

Number of Pieces: LEGO bag 54, Bricklink 52 (curious)

Minifigs: 0

Price: $3.49

Theme: Star Wars

Year Released: 2010

RESOURCES:

(high res pics available here, also by clicking the images in the review)

THE REVIEW:

The Bag

Front:

I've never been a fan of polybag's because they are hard to photograph and you practically have to destroy them to get the pieces out. Here we have a nice action shot of the Shuttle.

Back:

Very plain and no advertising except for the LEGO club. Warning, don't let children play with the bag.

Instructions

Front:

A simple fold out piece of paper for these tiny sets. Very few steps, but that just gets you completed sooner.

Back:

Finishing off the set with 12 steps, build time should take you no more than 5 minutes, I did it in about that much time.

All Pieces:

Here is your bread and butter shot, all 54 pieces, plus a few extras, see below..

Extra Pieces:

I think for $3.50 this is alot of extra pieces.

Completed Ship front:

A very colorful and good looking replica model if you ask me, I like the maroon color that you find on the Republic Gunship as well.

Completed Ship left:

A view from the left side, showing the hinges and one of two single yellow studded tiles you get.

Completed Ship rear:

Here you can really see the clear pieces I borrowed from my parts bin to display these models. LEGO does not give you anything to display them with. Sad.

Completed Ship right:

The resemblance to the left side is uncanny, oh look, yellow piece number two!

Wings up:

The wings can fold all the way up, which is a great touch. It really allows you to pose this however you like, and it's accurate.

Wings Down:

Here we have the final shot with the wings folded back down to flight mode.

Totals:

Design: 10/10 It's a MINI, it is supposed to be small, and it is supposed to look like the ship it represents. I think this does that very nicely. Although there is no stand included, the overall design is spot on.

Parts: 6/10 Nothing super fancy, and nothing you probably don't already have, plus they are fairly common pieces. They serve their purpose in this set, and that's good enough for a 6.

Build: 8/10 I ranked this a bit higher than I think I should have for two reasons. It was really easy to build, and it's fairly sturdy. Granted it's small, I think it's strong enough of a build to survive being knocked off of a table onto some carpet. Compact too, I like the size.

Minifigs: 0/10 Hmm, I think I'll leave this out of my rating, it wouldn't be fair.

Playability: 10/10 Perfect 10 for sure, it's small, easy to swoosh, and looks good doing it. Now I could have given it a low score since it's not really playable with regular sets, but I figured, it's a MINI and you knew that when you bought it. Use it for what it's meant for.

Price: 9/10 It's cheap, no question there. Although you do not get very much for your money. On the other hand, you have to factor in that you are paying for the instructions as well. For $3.50, you can't really complain.

Total: 43/50 Not the best score, but good overall. It's a mini ship and it looks great, I really having nothing bad to say, especially with the price tag being so low. I recommend you picking this one up, if you have a Target near you. I think I may go back and buy a few more.

The only thing worth noting is that the 4 clear bricks I used as stands do not come with this set, those are from my personal collection.

Edited November 20, 2020 by Big Cam
Removed high res links due to flickr restrictions

[Brickus]

Good review, I like this set but not as much as the X-Wing.

[the lead general]

Great review and set, pity it will be impossible hard to find in Australia

[BlueDragonZ]

I prefer the x wing over the shuttle. Great review and its too bad its hard to get this in canada.

[lightningtiger]

Thanks for another review 'Big Cam' - gee these mini's from Lego are getting better and better.

Fantastic reproduction of their 2009 CW set - right down to the folding wings !

Now I might really start collecting these !!!

I'm a conformist! !

[Toa_Of_Justice]

Nice review! I bought that set mainly for the pieces, but I really like the structure of the cockpit and rear engines, as well as the adjustable guns up front (are they adjustable on the real ship?) and the folding wings. I gave this set a 4/5 due to its somewhat simple design and spots of bright red that I wish were dark red instead. Nevertheless, I like the Mini Republic Attack Shuttle a lot!

-Toa Of Justice

[Big Cam]

I agree the X-wing is the superior set, but when they are both available, I had to get them both.

[Walter Kovacs]

I went to my Local target with the intent of buying 8038 Battle of Endor, but they were out...

Funny, I went to my local Target yesterday looking for these sets, and they didn't have them.

Great review. It only increased my desire to add these sets to my collection. I have all the other MINIs, I have to keep my collection complete, don't I?

[prateek]

I like this set's design better than the X-Wing, but as a parts pack, that one is much better. Thanks for the review.

[CommanderFox]

Another surperb review Cam!

This is one lovely mini, I like the colours, and the designe is just like it's big brother.

Lego are really generous with those spare parts!

Love all the trans blue 1x1s....

Thanks for the Great review!

CommanderFox

[Big Cam]

Funny, I went to my local Target yesterday looking for these sets, and they didn't have them.

Great review. It only increased my desire to add these sets to my collection. I have all the other MINIs, I have to keep my collection complete, don't I?

Irony at its best, I think I'm going to clear out my target and then help out some EB members and sell them at actual cost plus shipping, because my target had a bunch.

[CommanderFox]

Irony at its best, I think I'm going to clear out my target and then help out some EB members and sell them at actual cost plus shipping, because my target had a bunch.

Tempting, ver very tempting!

I'd be keen but this years sets are pricey so I might have to pass for now.

Great idea though!

CommanderFox

[RileyC]

wow Lego was really generous with the extras in your bag. It seems really accurate and great if your a minis fan. Great review Big Cam I always love your reviews, you give great insight on the sets

[I Scream Clone]

Great sets and great reviews Big Cam! I like the look of both the X-Wing and Mini RAS (Always knew a mini RAS would show up on EB ) I like the way they incorporate a lot of angles and moving parts in both sets. Now I wish these would show up in Australia one day.

[gratefulnat]

Nice pictures Big Cam (always enjoy your reviews by the way).

I do think the wings are just a bit too big, otherwise a very cool mini set.

[drdavewatford]

Another lovely new mini, and another nice review from Big Cam.

None to buy here in the U.K., but thanks to a generous Brickset member in the U.S. this just arrived in my mailbox - big respect, Brian !

I love the way that the LEGO community helps each other out at times like this.....

Can't wait to build it.....

Dr. D.

[puddleglum]

This is a fantastic set for $3.50. The model is nice and while none of the parts are mind blowing, taken as a whole it is a very nice assortment. Counting extras there are 9 cheese slopes here! And lots of nice white plates, which I have been running short on. I just got done making a bunch of alternate models with this set, it's a very versatile assortment of parts. The X-Wing is a very nice model but in terms of parts it is very lackluster.

[Oky]

Sorry to say this, but your review made me want this set less than before. I thought the white parts were grey and that all the red parts were dark red. I hate it when TLG uses white instead of grey and mixes red with dark red. This doesn't look very good or accurate at all, color-wise. Pity, since the shape is spot-on. I guess one could always mod it, but since I can't even seem to be able to find these promos, I probably wont get this.

Thanks for the great review though.

Edited February 28, 2010 by Oky Wan Kenobi

[KimT]

Indexed.

Thanks for reviewing this one.

I really like how TLG's minis are coming out the past years.

This is as good as it gets for a set this size.

Only is that they somewhere along the line decided to skip selling them as regular sets and made them "specials" or "limited" to certain stores or parts of the world.

Shame on you TLG for doing that.

A great set that I hope to acquire in multiple copies for future contests here on EB.

Now the question remains - how do I get a zillion of these?

[Toa_Of_Justice]

Now the question remains - how do I get a zillion of these?

Clean out all of these BrickLink sellers' supplies, that's how! Also, you can try eBay. Altogether, it might not be a zillion, but it's pretty close! WARNING: Shipping and handling costs may add up quickly.

-Toa Of Justice

EDIT: Alternatively, you could take a trip to the USA and clean out several Targets' worth of stock. You might save money on shipping fees that way, but those savings could be offset by airline, rental car, and hotel fees.

Edited March 1, 2010 by Toa_Of_Justice

[Big Cam]

Now the question remains - how do I get a zillion of these?

haha, question answered.

Thanks for all the comments everyone.

[Walter Kovacs]

Funny, I went to my local Target yesterday looking for these sets, and they didn't have them.

Great review. It only increased my desire to add these sets to my collection. I have all the other MINIs, I have to keep my collection complete, don't I?

Irony at its best, I think I'm going to clear out my target and then help out some EB members and sell them at actual cost plus shipping, because my target had a bunch.

Crisis averted. I found both sets at the second Target I visited this morning. They had plenty of the X-Wings, but I had to hunt to find this one.

[Big Cam]

Irony at its best, I think I'm going to clear out my target and then help out some EB members and sell them at actual cost plus shipping, because my target had a bunch.

Crisis averted. I found both sets at the second Target I visited this morning. They had plenty of the X-Wings, but I had to hunt to find this one.

This set does seem to be the more popular one of the two.

I bought out two Target stores for some members here and each store had plenty of X-wings left over after I got enough pairs.