REVIEW: 9499 – Gungan Sub

[XimenaPaulina]

About the little orange thing from Bag 1, that's some sort of cargo container seen in the Bongo's side cockpits in the movie and also visible in the cross-section drawing. Some nice attention to detail there.

It's quite funny since I used that image as a reference for the specific parts of the Bongo yet I didn't notice that orange cargo thingy in there (the image is quite small afterall ) Thanks for pointing that out!

I don't see why some folk are saying Amidala shouldn't be it, because besides the Naboo fighter, there's not much else she can go in. Unless they release a chrome Nubian starship

I do think this set makes perfect sense since I just now remembered a couple of separate instances in the past where TLG surveyed SW FOLs on:

a) Which SW character they'd like to see the most as a minifigure (If I remember correctly, I answered this survey on FBTB and Queen Amidala won, which was my top choice too); and

b) Which set they'd like to see for the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars (again if my memory serves me right). I believe the 8038 The Battle of Endor set was the top fan favorite and two of the other choices were an updated Gungan Sub and a Palpatine's Arrest set (which we'll get later this year).

So from those results it made sense for TLG to combine both the fan-requested Queen Amidala fig together with the also requested updated Gungan Sub as they're both from Phantom Menace. (Though I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for one of the chrome Naboo starships, no matter how expensive it will be. )

Also good to know that TLG does not totally dismiss the FOLs' requests and simply "shelves/schedules the idea" for future consideration/release.

[Brickdoctor]

a) Which SW character they'd like to see the most as a minifigure (If I remember correctly, I answered this survey on FBTB and Queen Amidala won, which was my top choice too);

I remember that survey. I don't remember if it was put on by TLG through FBTB or just by FBTB, but I thought the Tauntaun beat out Amidala.

[XimenaPaulina]

I remember that survey. I don't remember if it was put on by TLG through FBTB or just by FBTB, but I thought the Tauntaun beat out Amidala.

Yeah something like that, I just remember listing my Top 5 (or 10?) and I put Queen Amidala as my top choice. Though it's kinda crazy to know that the Taun-Taun beat out Amidala. (I don't want to live in this world anymore. )

[Brickdoctor]

Yeah something like that, I just remember listing my Top 5 (or 10?) and I put Queen Amidala as my top choice. Though it's kinda crazy to know that the Taun-Taun beat out Amidala. (I don't want to live in this world anymore. )

I voted for Amidala, too. I remember that I was shocked only because the Tauntaun was a creature in a poll about minifigs.

[Sandy]

I just saw this set at my local store for 85€. That's $102 with current rates... I couldn't believe my eyes.

I want Queen Amidala, but there's a lot cheaper ways for me to get her.

[Clone OPatra]

I want Queen Amidala, but there's a lot cheaper ways for me to get her.

She doesn't have a slope skirt, though, so she can't count with your lady figures in dresses

[wesker]

Thanks for the review. I have to admit I am disapointed with how the new Obi-Wan turned out. The face that came with last year's podracer was perfect but the new one looks kind of squished. He also should have had a better hairpiece than the classic male hair.

[J.V.D.]

Excelent and clear review Kiel; very good and to the point pictures too!

But nomatter the quality of the review, I am still not convinced this is a set that belongs in my collection, so I probably will not get it.

Being when it comes to SW mainly an OT fan, I do have some stuff from the prequels, but this must be be one of my least favourite ships. Without any doubt the queen is the star of this set, and maybe for many people the main reason to buy it, but I do prefer to spend the aprox 75€ (90+US$) it costs here on some other set.

Just hoping Lego will reuse the queen Amidala mold (it must be an expensive one!) in a more relevant set in the near future, maybe a palace scene?, or I might try to get her on the aftermarket..

[Clone OPatra]

b) Which set they'd like to see for the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars (again if my memory serves me right). I believe the 8038 The Battle of Endor set was the top fan favorite and two of the other choices were an updated Gungan Sub and a Palpatine's Arrest set (which we'll get later this year).

Palpatine's Arrest was on the TRU survey for special 10th anniversary of LEGO Star Wars, the other choices being Home One (which won) and a Slave I with Cloud City landing platform. You may be thinking of a survey on Lego.com quite a while ago, maybe for the 30th anniversary of Star Wars (although I'm iffy on that), which asked about which sets people would like to see remade. I remember both the Gungan Sub and Sith Infiltrator on that survey.

[XimenaPaulina]

I have to admit I am disapointed with how the new Obi-Wan turned out. The face that came with last year's podracer was perfect but the new one looks kind of squished. He also should have had a better hairpiece than the classic male hair.

I'm not quite sold to this Obi-Wan version too. Yeah it's supposed to look young but it turned out ' too young-looking' IMO. Though I also think the one in the Podracer set does not look like young Obi (cocky smirk you wouldn't see much from jedi). The use of the classic hair is quite understandable, though I'm still hoping we'd get a hairpiece to represent that type of short hairstyle in the near future (useful for other minifigs too - Hawkeye comes at the top of my mind).

Just hoping Lego will reuse the queen Amidala mold (it must be an expensive one!) in a more relevant set in the near future, maybe a palace scene?

Nothing's impossible, though it might take a while (another dozen years perhaps? ) before we see this Queen Amiadala fig in another set. TLG would definitely maximize this fig to sell this set, and even if this fig find its way in the aftermarket (eBay, BL) it still would've served it purpose since those sellers would've still bought the set in order to sell this fig.

Palpatine's Arrest was on the TRU survey for special 10th anniversary of LEGO Star Wars, the other choices being Home One (which won) and a Slave I with Cloud City landing platform. You may be thinking of a survey on Lego.com quite a while ago, maybe for the 30th anniversary of Star Wars (although I'm iffy on that), which asked about which sets people would like to see remade. I remember both the Gungan Sub and Sith Infiltrator on that survey.

Yeah you're probably right about that, as I vaguely remember the survey details from the past years. Looking back how the 'other choices' in those surveys have already made their way as actual sets it's really good to know that TLG is listening to fan requests.

[Cpt. Dan]

Thanks for the great review, KDM! I have to say though, as we get further and further away from 1999 and the original releases, the more I miss the old sets and their simplicity.

It almost feels (to me at least) that these new super detailed sets are taking away from the Lego itself. Maybe I am crazy,but I almost feel like the imagination is going away and being replaced with things like flick fires! I still remember running around my parents as a little kid with the original X-Wing shooting "proton torpedoes" down the Death Star exhaust port.

Oh, those were the days!

Besides my mini rant, cool set though! Love the rebreathers.

[Fabjoueauxlego]

Great review, minifigs are pretty awesome... And I definitively LIKE the new green colored light sabers ;)

[RaincloudDustbin]

This set could pull me out of a Star Wars 'Dark Age'. :laugh:

[Aanchir]

Thanks for the great review, KDM! I have to say though, as we get further and further away from 1999 and the original releases, the more I miss the old sets and their simplicity.

It almost feels (to me at least) that these new super detailed sets are taking away from the Lego itself. Maybe I am crazy,but I almost feel like the imagination is going away and being replaced with things like flick fires! I still remember running around my parents as a little kid with the original X-Wing shooting "proton torpedoes" down the Death Star exhaust port.

Oh, those were the days!

Besides my mini rant, cool set though! Love the rebreathers.

I fail to understand how less simplicity equates to less imagination. The 1999 LEGO Star Wars sets came on the heels of themes like Rock Raiders and Town Jr. which were reviled by AFOLs for their "juniorization". And it showed. Studs-up building except with very rare exceptions, unrealistic transparent blasters for both ships and minifigures, and loads of basic bricks where more advanced hinge-based or slope-based building would be preferable. Mismatched colors, giant, specialized parts, and loads and loads of click-hinges were the order of the day.

Sets like this one show a level of complexity that back then only the occasional AFOL-oriented sets would even dream of. Consider the hinge-based shaping of this set! I can hardly think of a single set that would have used that kind of technique prior to around 2006. To see such a technique in a regular, non-AFOL-oriented set even then would have been unthinkable. Likewise, the new TIE Fighter set has realistic wings for the first time, with lots of lovely details. The new X-Wing dumps the horrendously-unrealistic "wing cannons" that had been used so often since 1999 in favor of more accurate laser cannons that depend on creative use of Technic components (and let's not ignore the fact that the new X-wing has zero flick-fire missiles and its "proton torpedoes" in fact clip onto the ship in a way that doesn't involve any action features) The new Y-Wing has engines with the struts at a more accurate 45-degree angle from the "horizon line", and using SNOT techniques and color layering for the nose where sets of the early- to mid-2000s might have used overspecialized printed elements and huge curved slopes. The new podracers introduced last year pack way more detail into vehicles about the same size as the originals and far more accurate.

Yes, there are more flick-fire missiles today than there would have been back in the day. This is because flick-fire missiles are cheap, versatile, and unobtrusive action features that don't detract from any set that includes them. Compare that to the Technic blunt shooter which was awkward, unwieldy, and required parts of the ship to be "built" around the function. I'd prefer a Gungan Sub with two harmless flick-fire missiles to one with an inexplicable splitting-apart-and-rearranging function like the 1999 one.

I, too, have fond memories of 1999, back in the days when I collected and built LEGO Star Wars models with a passion. But I don't let those memories blind me to how far sets have advanced since those dark days when kids were expected to have so little building ability and were never given sets with design techniques more advanced than the ones they could easily dream up themselves.

[BrickPicker]

Great review...Queen Amidala is so hot!

[Commander_Rob]

It's quite funny since I used that image as a reference for the specific parts of the Bongo yet I didn't notice that orange cargo thingy in there (the image is quite small afterall ) Thanks for pointing that out!

Always a pleasure. I've been wondering what an odd shape for a cargo container that is ever since I picked up the book, but I guess it's cool they picked up on it when designing the set.

[idunno101]

Great Review with all the comparisons to the movie and getting every detail of the set. The Queen minifig looks excellent probably on of the best ever created.I do have to say though it does look odd how there are spaces in the front curve of the sub but maybe some day maybe 5 years from now Lego will come up with a new piece that can make a smoother finish for the sub and it will be something to behold.

[glenbricker]

Great review. I really appreciated the comparisons with earlier figures and builds. Thanks

[8BrickMario]

This will be a string of disjointed thoughts on your review, Kiel!

1. Oh my god, I laughed at the incorrect corrections of the spelling of "Amidala"!

2. The "pizza box" is quite a surprise, and I assume it's for storage.

EDIT: Mine was not a pizza box! Why?

3.As for the propulsion tail being too thin, I think the tail pieces used for dragons and the old Jabba would do fine.

4. Why do you prefer the old yellow figs, if they were reprinted in flesh?

5. I don't think Olivia looks comfortable in the cargo hold with the burger, teddy bear, and Cap's shield!

6. The object in the hidden crate is a Gungan Boomer, an energy orb used in battle.

Thanks for the review, KDM! I now see some potential use for the minisub: Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon covince Jar Jar that the mini-sub is special and turn off the mini-sub's controls. He enters the mini-sub, and the Jedi jettison it, leaving Jar Jar to be eaten by a Sea Killer! (If you couldn't tell, I'm on the anti-Jar Jar side of things!)

Edited March 25, 2013 by 8BrickMario

[XimenaPaulina]

2. The "pizza box" is quite a surprise, and I assume it's for storage.

EDIT: Mine was not a pizza box! Why?

Yeah, someone pointed out that the "pizza box configuration" is for easy storage of the sub, and the sub indeed fits quite nicely inside and there's no need to dismantle the whole thing. I don't why you had a different type of box, I assume they differ depending on location(?).

3.As for the propulsion tail being too thin, I think the tail pieces used for dragons and the old Jabba would do fine.

Those tail pieces may be bulkier but quite short for the intended purpose IMO. I still think Pepa Quinn's solution is the best brickbuilt depiction of that sub's propulsion tails.

4. Why do you prefer the old yellow figs, if they were reprinted in flesh?

I don't remember saying I prefer old yellow figs over fleshies. I like both, they serve their pupose for classic LEGO (yellow) and licensed themes (fleshie).

6. The object in the hidden crate is a Gungan Boomer, an energy orb used in battle.

Thanks for the info! Yeah I remember those Gungan energy balls (Booma), it's just it was never shown as part of the Gungan sub (they appeared only in the Battle of the Grassy Plains in the movie) that I completely forgot about them. Nice catch!

Thanks for the review, KDM! I now see some potential use for the minisub: Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon covince Jar Jar that the mini-sub is special and turn off the mini-sub's controls. He enters the mini-sub, and the Jedi jettison it, leaving Jar Jar to be eaten by a Sea Killer! (If you couldn't tell, I'm on the anti-Jar Jar side of things!)

Thanks for taking the time to read the review and commenting on it even if it's several months old. And hilarious idea about the mini-sub!

Sorry I wasn't able to respond to your comments right away, and I just read your PM so.. my responses are above in blue.

[merman]

I can get this set new for €100. Is it worth it? I am mainly interested in the Amidala fig

[KevinYoung]

That's about the going price for the set these days. Its a good set.