Review: 7956 Ewok Attack

[DarkFader]

Hi everyone; today I picked up one of the new Star Wars sets that has been released in some stores here in Sweden and it is now without further hindrance I present to you my review of set number 7956 - Ewok Attack (which I already knew would be the first set of the new wave of sets I was gonna get):

Set Name: Ewok Attack

Set Number: 7956

Theme: Star Wars

Movie: Return Of The Jedi

Year Released: 2011

Number of Pieces: 166

Minifigs: 3

Price: 29.99 EUR / 24.99 USD

The Box

So here is the front of the box which nicely displays the set in action; the size od the box is the same as the 7929 Battle Of Naboo set:

And here is the back which shows the play features and also, three other sets are shown as small pictures on the side: the Dathomir Speeder (7957), the Geonosian Starfighter (7959) and Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator (7961); a small ad for the Lego Star Wars III game is also present:

The top of the box:

And here is the left side:

Contents

The contents of the box, which includes four bags and the instruction manual:

And here I have taken the pieces out of their bags and left them in their respective piles:

The two ewok heads in their bags in which they come packaged in (the heads are made of a harder type of plastic like the recent gungan heads from the Battle Of Naboo set):

Two random pages of the instruction book followed by the next-to-last pages where we can see half of the piece inventory list and a page with some of the other sets displayed there:

Minifigures

And now on to the minfigures (with their weapons), of which there are three: The ewok medicine man Logray (a really cool minifig with lovely printing and just look at that wonderful headdress topped with the bird skull), the ewok warrior Tokkat (who is also a very nice detailed minifig and it's good to see a more obscure ewok) and finally, the Scout Trooper (or Biker Scout as he also is called by some) who makes a reapperance in this set. All three are really good minifigs, especially the ewoks but also the Scout, which is a figure I've always liked:

Speeder Bike

The Scout Trooper's speeder bike is a solid vehicle which has been slightly altered from it's earlier incarnation which came in the 8038 Battle Of Endor set; I don't have that version of the speeder so that I can do an exact comparison, but I can say it's quite similar to the Hoth speeder bike in the 8084 Snowtrooper Battle Pack (comparison shot below):

Ewok Attack Tree

Yeah, I call it the attack tree because that's basically the first thing that comes to mind when I look at it. I'd say it's a little outpost the ewoks have made of a giant tree stump; it's got a ladder, a large stick that can be slid out towards enemies, a small catapult on top and a function that releases two small logs from it and a flick fire missile that is fired from the inside of the tree, which can be opened up a bit to reveal a hidden back compartment of sorts; one of my favorite aspects of the set is the foliage of dark green and light green leaves:

The back of the tree with the back compartment opened up (you can see the flick fire missile loaded into the tree, ready to be fired at unsuspecting Imperial troopers):

And here the compartment is closed shut for any sneaky Imperials:

The left side of the tree:

And the right side:

The front with the back compartment closed:

A top view of the tree:

All in all, it's a sweet little build and the play features are nice as well, I bet kids (and AFOLs as well) can have a fun time with it.

The Entire Set

And here is a view of the entire set, with both the attack tree, the speederbike and the minfigures:

And a bonus picture, in which the ewoks are sorely regretting the choice of having such a small falling log trap, much to the joy of the Scout Trooper:

Final Verdict

Design: 7/10 - The speeder bike is a nice vehicle and the feature-filled attack tree looks a bit funky, but it's still cool. I can't really complain about either, though.

Build: 7/10 - It's not too hard but it is a fun build, especially the tree.

Pieces: 8/10 - The several brown and some green pieces, including the foliage and the brown branches, are great additions to anyone's collection of bricks and I am sure there are many MOC-ing possibilites with the parts. As for the set itself, with some imagination it can be rebuilt into something else.

Minifigs: 10/10 - The ewoks are definitely the stars of this set; they are cool molds, have great printing and while the scout is cool, he ends up playing second fiddle to the ewoks. Logray is definitively my favorite of the bunch and might be one of my all-time favorite Star Wars minifigs.

Playability: 8/10 - The play functions quite obviously add a lot to the play factor. The set is definitely fun on it's own but in the company of more Endor sets and/ or related minifigs, it can become an even more fun set.

Price: 7/10 - The price per parts ratio is not all that great, but there's a steady bunch of useful green, brown and some tan parts and the ewoks are a big reason why this set just might be worth it.

Overall: 8/10 - I have to admit that I think this is a neat little playset with some fun play functions, great ewok minifigures (especially Logray), the obligatory bad guy and his nicely re-designed speeder bike; the set would also make a great companion to anyone's Battle Of Endor set. If you are a fan of ewoks and/or anything Endor-related, I would definitely recommend it.

(Finally; thanks for reading my review of this brand new set)

Edited June 1, 2012 by DarkFader
Indexed

[october]

nice review and thanks!

[Churchill]

Thanks for this review. I'm still not sure about the tree. It looks like something thrown together to make a set with more Ewoks and a speeder bike. I'll probably get this set anyway, though.

[Petit-bleu]

Thank you. It gives a good overall look of this set.

Great minifigures. MEH Tree and OK (but MEH too) speeder bike.

I'll get it for the figs and because i hope i will be able to make something about this brown blocky thing.

And who knows, maybe if you put it right beside 8038 it starts to shine...

[Fives]

Finally, summer sets review season has started! Thanks for this great review!

Overall, this set is ok. The tree is pretty much like a wooden hut. The speeder bike is that same as always. The figs, though, are amazing! Well, just the Ewoks. The scout is pretty boring. I wish they would improve his torso print.

Logray is definitely one of this years best figs! He is so detailed! I'm probably gonna get this (along with all of the other sets from the main wave) because of the figs.

[Gregorovich]

Thanks for the excellent reviw, DarkFader! This seems like a great little set. The minifigs are excellent, and the tree is very nice and fun. However, there's a few other sets from other themes I want a bit more than this, so it's most likely I won't get it.

Thanks again for sharing this great review with us!

[Ki-Adi-Mundi]

Thanks for sharing this nice review.

Regarding the set itself - i like the content. Interestings figs, fold-out structure (having both in- and outside is always good) and a modified design for the speeder bike. I guess this one makes for a worthy addition to the BoE set.

The only criticisms adress the coloring of the light green pieces - they do not look any natural IMO and the piece/price ratio. Similar to 2009's Echo base it is terribly overpriced. The former offered the Taun-Taun; here the specials/features appear a little meager.

Still, i stick to my initial reception. Will definitely go for the set when it's on a sale.

[Blackknight112]

Thanks for this excelent review. This is really a nice set. It has the same bigger battle pack idea as the 2009 echo base.

[YavinBase]

Thank you for the detailed review DarkFader.

Although I have viewed this set as a glorified battle pack based on the poor concoction of a tree, the tree actually doesn't look that bad in the review photographs.

I am going to buy this set regardless due to the inclusion of two Ewoks and I'm always game for more Imperial troops and speeder bikes. Back printing on the Biker Scout would have been a bonus. I am curious as to why the Biker Scouts don't have back printing like their Stormtrooper cousins.

Edited May 30, 2011 by YavinBase

[Praiter Yed]

Nice to see an early review of this set DarkFader .

As I have suspected from early on, this set looks very poor indeed. Even though I am not a fan of the 'Battle of Endor' speeder bike design I find it a little frustrating that TLG have chosen to change the design without improving on it - in fact, imo they've made it worse! Either improve the design or at least keep it consistent. And I feel the 'battle tree' is just meh.

Imho this set is barely fit for a child and I'm embarrassed to say that I will definitely be buying it. Only for the the mini-figs - although I'm sure a pile of brown bricks and some leaves will come in handy.

In summary: TLG score a sale out of lazy design and one man's obsession - it's hardly encouragement for them to try harder.

[Nightshroud99]

Yay! New Star Wars set reviews

Pretty good set, could have a bit more to it though. Maybe another speeder bike and trooper.

[prateek]

Nice review. I really want this set along with the Battle of Endor, but I don't think the price is justifiable, so I won't get it.

[TheDarkness]

Nice review. I really want this set along with the Battle of Endor, but I don't think the price is justifiable, so I won't get it.

I will be buying it solely for the minifigs. The ewoks look awesome but the rest is average. Thanks for the review and great pics

[TeufelHund]

It's a pretty awful set IMO - the tree looks terrible and given that the speeder bike is different to the ones in The Battle of Endor, it won't even integrate well with that set. Also the price here in Australia is AUD$50 which is more than double the US price on current exchange rates.

The only selling point for the set is the two unique ewoks included which should at least mix OK with the ones in BoE.

Let's hope we get an Endor battlepack in 2013 for the 30th Anniversary of RotJ which adds a bit more variety to the imperial troops that were stationed there (hint for Lego: they weren't all biker scouts).

[Fives]

Has anyone else noticed how on the box art all of the catapult rocks are being fired one right after the other? Thats one friggin fast ewok!

[Artifex]

Thanks for the review!

Up to now, I hadn't noticed the neon green. I'm not a fan of neon, but it seems to work.

[pedro]

Nice, concise review 'fader. The new ewoks are great and the scout trooper remains a great minifigure. But to me this set is poorly conceived in that what you're essentially paying for is an expensive tree! It's a missed opportunity as this next Endor set could have been so much better.

For example: want to do create a structure for the Ewoks? Make it an Ewok hut, make it modular so consumers can buy multiples and create their own Ewok village and build the play features around that. Surely that's the way to go?

I think this will be a great boost for Ewok collections... but will end up mostly spare parts otherwise.

Thanks for sharing!

[XimenaPaulina]

Thanks for kick-starting the summer set reviews with this one DarkFader! I would have to agree with the majority of the sentiments here that this is more of a "buy-these-two-new-ewoks set" rather than giving us something really new. Probably TLG intended to re-release this concept to introduce the younger generation to the OT side of the SW saga, but at the expense of AFOLs who don't really see any additional value in this set except for the two new ewoks.

[Ceroknight]

Thank you for the review! I can't wait to pick this up!

[Gabe]

Thanks for the great review DarkFader! I'm not that into SW sets, but this one caught my eye for the ewoks (they look to be versatile minifigs, will prob look right at home in a castle landscape) and the tree parts. I'll be definitely waiting for a sale though.

Edited May 31, 2011 by KielDaMan
Merged double posts

[Aeturnus]

Nice review. I do like the newer painted Ewoks .Lego Starwars has really come along way since the earliest sets.

[Parrothead Rasmus]

Has anyone else noticed how on the box art all of the catapult rocks are being fired one right after the other? Thats one friggin fast ewok!

I thought the exact same thing!!

Abyway, Great review. Thanks!!

[Brickdoctor]

Thanks for this review. As a whole, and in fact in everything other than the minifigs, the set is 'meh' or below. Seriously, the tree looks plain awful. And it's not like TLG hasn't done brick-built trees before. The play feature is basically useless against the Imperial unit included. If not for the Ewoks, this would be an easy pass for me. As it is, I'll be buying one, but I guarantee it won't stay together very long.

[Knightsword]

Great review. As for the changes to the speeder bike, it seems to me that it is for reenacting the scene when Luke and Leia ride same bike.

[wokajablocka]

I think this set is faily plain. I would have liked to see some back printting or leg printing on the scout trooper. He hasent changed in 10 years apart from the all black head these days. and when together you cant tell the diffrence between new and old figs. I personaly think the scout trooper is one of the best looking troopers in the Star Wars saga and wish Lego would redesign him.