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This has been reviewed, but I wanted to give it an 'Academy' review, so here it is ... On this topic, opinions I have
Let's face it, Attack of the Clones was a terrible, terrible film, IMO the worst of the 'hectology'. The unromantic romance, the laughable melodrama, and humorless puns coming out of C3PO's mouth. And Mace Windu says the embarrassing "This party's over!" in the film. So, so regrettable. Has he managed to lived this down yet? I apologized to my girlfriend for taking her to see it. But, and that's a big but, the design was really amazing all over the place. Jango Fett's colors, the Jedi Starfighter with hyperspace ring, and I like the setting on Genosis. So the images of the movie were good... No, great. And with that, I really wanted this set. I saw prices over $100 for MISB, which was just too much for the number of pieces, and put it off. Last week I found a used copy selling for about $45, and decided to pick it up. The owner really cared for this, and all the pieces looked new, as did the box and instructions, so I was very very lucky. How does it hold up, seven years on?
Set#: 7133
Name: Bounty Hunter Pursuit
Theme: Star Wars
Year: 2002
Pieces: 259
Minifigs: Obi-Wan Kenobi (young with Dark Orange Hair, no Headset), Zam Wesell, Anakin Skywalker (Grown Up) without Cape
Price: 4,100 yen, used
MSP: U.S.$30, £27.99
Quote
High-speed bounty hunter chase! Anakin SkywalkerTM and Obi-Wan KenobiTM are on the trail of bounty hunter Zam WesellTM! She flies her vessel at reckless speed through the streets of CoruscantTM, but they won't give up. Can AnakinTM and Obi-WanTM catch her before there's a crash? Includes Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Zam Wesell.
Peeron
Brickset
Bricklink
The box
A 2002, Attack of the Clones set. Looks exciting enough.
The back shows the one speeder in action, crashing and losing its wings, as well as some movie photos to put it in perspective, an alternate model, and some other clones sets, the Starfighter, the SlaveI, the battle of Genosis sets, and that one on the lower left that I think was called the Natman8000 special.
The side is a little peculiar, in that it only shows one proper figure, and that figure is labeled "Clawdite". <edit> On taking a second look, on another side, the three figures are together with the names labeled. It's 1:1, but it's not a full body shot.
The Pieces
Beyond the bright colors (I imagine these colors were really rare when they came out), this set had pieces either I didn't have, or had never seen before. Metalic cups for lights, dark transparent slopes, printed slopes and a cockpit, and these yellow vents that make the speeder look faster.
Three figures with no print on their backs. Very late model, yellow skin SW figures. Love the detailing on Zam Wesell.
Lego Jesus... er, Obi Wan is the same as in his Starfighter set, but the face lacks the microphone and headgear.
The print on Zam is very in line with her character profile. Very good attention to detail.
Hey, you're not Lego!
Anyway, this is Zam when she let's her guard down.
And so the figure has a two sided head print, when you want to get really clawdite.
The Finished Product
Anakin's Airspeeder
This was far from the best ship in the movie, it basically looks like a space taxi, very Earth-y. It wouldn't look out of place in the current Space Police line. As a Lego ship, it's got a nice aerodynamic shape. [rant] the prequels were really concerned with portraying 'Earth in space'... the death sticks, Dexter's Diner, and the airspeeders that looked like cars... the design and production is fantastic, but the underlying idea is really dull.[/rant]
A sleek bubble like contour.
Why is the engine exposed? It looks cool I guess.
The thruster on the back stands out really well against the yellow and green. It's very successful.
The overhead.
The underside.
The engine is really cool. Black printed R2D2 parts, with vents (that don't show up in the picture, sorry) at the front. The metallic lights jump out.
The cockpit's not great, but it has seat-like spots, and a steering device. It could be better, but it looks fine with the figures inside.
Zam Wesell's Airspeeder
This is a cool, striking ship. Fast looking, even the coloring is fast looking
Now this is most definitely not a space taxi.
The contour kind of reminds me of how Superman flies, horizontally, with his hands in front. It seems like a really natural design.
The back has two little fins of sorts. Sharp, and gives the ship some visual balance.
Overhead, you can really see the great design on this ship. It looks fast. If those two fins weren't there, the vibe of the ship would completely change. Try covering the tail with your hand, and see how the feeling changes.
Lastly, the wings are held in place, fairly firmly, with elastics. By sliding back the dark slopes on the back, either one or both of the wings can fall off. I rewatched that scene from the movie again before writing this review, and no, the wings don't come off there. Rather, the ship hits a wall, and crumples up. As far as I know though, Lego has yet to perfect the art of the crumple.
Bonus review!
As a part of the Reviewer's Academy, I was CHALLENGED to make the alternate build. I've never quite loved these, since I can never make it quite as neatly at the pros seem to effortlessly do, but I think I managed to get it about 80% right. At this angle, I pretty much nailed the one on the box. (join the Academy today, to get in on the shenanigans!)
From a side view, it's a little more iffy. Other than being a little off balance, this seems to work. If I were to work on it more (and I'm not
) I'd weigh down the front a little bit.
And so, Zam Wesell bids you adieu from his new helicopterish vehicle.
Adieu! Adieu!
The Final Verdict
This set was awesome. Two ships, striking design, rare pieces, a one time only mini-fig, printed pieces, etc etc. It's not as sleek as the sets tend to be now, but it's quite good for that year, and far better than, say, Jango's Slave which is a little clunky, looking back on it now.
Design: 9/10 So much of the design was taken from Lucasfilm, but TLG did a very good job with it. It loses one point for one ship looking like a space taxi.
Build:7/10 Nothing too unusual. Special note taken for the space taxi's clever engine and SNOT technique. The Zam airspeeder isn't really that complicated, it didn't need to be. The detachable wings are interesting. Also, the set came in two bags, so that was nice of TLG to do
Playability: 9/10 As my reviews have shown, I love paired ships. They come with play possibilities built in. Having good guys and bad guys in one set is also good for play opportunities. The functionality of Zam's speeder is interesting, though it's not really useful, except as a crashing thing. But it's interesting.
Minifigures: 9/10 This is a hard call. I used to be a super Star Wars fan, until I saw Attack of the Clones to be honest. (I still dig that universe though, and can enjoy it). Anyway, Star Wars fans tend to love bounty hunters; Boba Fett, Boushh, even the new guy, Cad Bane who's been on TV for 15 minutes and is already a fan favorite (look for his Clone Wars set in 2010, I bet the house on it). So this set, with the reptilian Zam Wesell, was bound to be a desired one. And so it is, it usually sells for twice as much as a set like 7143, despite having a similar price point originally. I do believe the lovely purple bounty hunter makes a huge difference. I'm glad to have it, if only for its uniqueness. And like other Lego bounty hunters, like Boba Fett, and, er, Dengar, the figure is lovingly designed. And there's another Anakin figure and a Lego Jesus figure.
Price: 10/10 It's 259 parts, but for the size and all, I'm perfectly satisfied. At the 2002 price, I'd have been thrilled (where was my head back then
)Overall: 9/10 A unique set, striking, one of a kind mini-fig, chrome light sabers. Amazing. The only reason it's not 10 is because it doesn't blow my mind. Can a 200-something piece set blow a person's mind? Regardless, this set is very, very good, and a worthwhile addition to any Lego collection. In fact, I saw a cheap used one on e-Bay. Don't you think it's time you filled in the cracks of your collection?
Master Kenobi, are you alright? You're looking a little pale....
vvvvyeewwwww! ppshhhhhhhoooooo!
Cheers all!
Oh well. They are still neat with quite a few unique pieces (and no stickers!).
