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The Middleman

10144 Sandcrawler Review

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It's here!!!!!!!!!!

Alright, things are going to go a little differently this time. I saved a bit of time by not resizing the photos, so they're a bit large. I'm not going to post every single one right here, but rather use deeplinks to Brickshelf most of the way, highlighting the big ones.

Let's get started!

Let me preface the photos by saying that the set is NOT modular, so you have to dump alllllllllllllllll the pieces (except the treads - DO NOT dump the tread bags, whatever you do) out onto your surface. It's a REALLY FREAKIN' IMPRESSIVE sight. The pieces are absolutely amazing. If you EVER feel like building a brown building of any kind, this is your set. Also, it has an abundance of burnt orange bricks, which I find cool. First real brick parts-monkey set for a long time.

The Sandcrawler in full regalia. Not a great angle, and the light's not great, but it's the only shot where you see all the amenities as well.

100_0041.jpg

Minifigs:

Jawa- http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0043.jpg

You'll notice that the Jawa has what appears to be a BROWN cape. Not red-brown! (at least as far as I can tell) The head is fantastic.

Uncle Owen- http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0044.jpg

Great torso. Anyone notice a sudden switch to 'simplistic' robe torsos with thick, curving lines as opposed to the thin, detailed lines in past robe torsos?

The droids, with the exception of the R2 units and C-3PO, and the gray/tan droid that sucked.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0045.jpg

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0046.jpg

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0047.jpg

The Set:

A top/angle shot of it. Note the front top area, with the cockpit. That's a REALLY cool build up there.

100_0048.jpg

Front shot. I'm not TOO fond of the ramp, as it doesn't line up that well with the angled side pieces...

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...100_0049_r1.jpg

Side shot. The mottled colors look a lot better in person, trust me!

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0050.jpg

Back view. I like it a lot. The half-cylinders are very nice. The gear in the back, of course, does control the back treads.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0051.jpg

The treads angled. This is a good time to talk about the treads. THEY ARE HELL. Period. You get three little baggies packed full of the suckers. I must've spent a good 15-20 minutes making them. KEEP THE TREADS SEPARATE FROM THE REST OF THE BRICKS. You'll die trying to find them otherwise. I also recommend making 16 sets of 17 each rather than 8 of 34 all at once.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0052.jpg

The ramp lowered. You'll notice that the crane slides nicely into there. Probably also a good time to talk about stickers - there are five (3 for windows, two for inside the control room). Very easy to apply, not a hassle at all. Still wish there were real windows, though.

100_0053_r1.jpg

The crane. This little guy fits both at the top of the crawler and into the front of the crawler. It can hook onto two things: a removable panel on the top next to where it locks in (to lift droids out?) and what I'll call the Droid Hat, which is a 2x2 round plate with a 2x2 round crane hook on top. Hooks onto R2 units.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0054.jpg

Top view. The two removable panels are the one with the lances on it (can be replaced with the crane) and the panel to the left of it on the photo with the crane hook on it.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0055.jpg

The midsection removed. Takes a chunk out of the thing, doesn't it? It's very sturdy while in there, by the way - no wobbling - and easy to remove as well. I actually enjoy this feature.

100_0056.jpg

This is an opportunity to examine the back of the interior. It houses the turning mechanism, which is so clever it deserves TWO photos!

STRAIGHT: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0057.jpg

TURNED: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0058.jpg

The top panel removed from the midsection. That's where the crane goes.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0059.jpg

The interior of the midsection. You can see the two stickers I mentioned earlier. I love those little wheels! The black one is nice. It's hard to see, but there's a full black tool set stuck in all the little niches around the place.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0060.jpg

The two panels removed from the top.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0061.jpg

The crane placed on the top.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0062.jpg

Looks like R2's absolutely 'hooked' on the droid hat! :P Hey, I'm allowed one bad joke! ;)

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0063.jpg

The cockpit - ironically, while the Sandcrawler doesn't have windows, it does have two trans-yellow pieces to make the poor Jawa THINK it has windows.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0064.jpg

The top with the cockpit open. I like the little tile design.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BloodyJa...ew/100_0065.jpg

FINAL VERDICT: 8.4/10.

Let's face it; the model isn't fantastic. It's not revolutionary. But I'll be damned if it's not sturdy, functional, and chock full of hundreds upon hundreds of delicious bricks, not to mention three Jawas and Uncle Owen! The model is a very fun (if long) build, and it matches the Sandcrawler pretty well. All in all, I think it is a great set - not to mention the second-largest SYSTEM set of all time...

Another one bites the dust!

~ Bloody Jay

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Dang, that's a lot of work. Thanks for the info and the great photos. How long did it take to build?

Gyl (I'm still searching for an avator)man

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very good review Bloody Jay. I enjoyed it really much.

Could you please take a few pic of the cockpit?

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thanks for the pics of the cockpit, although the cockpit does'nt look very exciting. But it can be modified ;)

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:) Thanks Jay those are some great pics that you took, i have to say that i love the look of this set but i am disapointed that it dosent have that little vacum tube that sucked r2 d2 up into the crawler in the film, still that can easily be added i bet.

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thanks for all your work, J

you're right, that back side looks so good you'd almost think this can't be the work of TLC :P

but look... it is :oo

the roof has great potential for greeblies

the wheel mechanism looks a lot like the system we had in the good old days... so we do have a back to basics model with this crawler.

does the crawler ride very well, or is it most of all a static model?

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I'm still not a fan of the wide range of different colored bricks, but the set overall look nice. I probably won't get it, but it is nice to see the appearance that TLC is listening to collectors (as I have heard people gripe about LEGO making this set for years ;) ). I do like the Jawas :-D

Life is Good.

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@snefroe: it rides fairly well. Plastic treads are really meant for motorized models, though. Hmmm... that gives me an idea.

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this looks awsome i love it...bloodyjay after you saying hmm maby i could motorize it that made me think you could motorize the rear or front or both then attach a motor to the steering in the rear and if you have mindstorms make a remote with the 2 touch sensors....that would be so cool a remote control sand crawler

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how long did it take you to build it BJ

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ok i really like that sand crawler. i can not beleve they finally made lego jawas

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I'm still not a fan of the wide range of different colored bricks, but the set overall look nice. I probably won't get it, but it is nice to see the appearance that TLC is listening to collectors (as I have heard people gripe about LEGO making this set for years ;) ). I do like the Jawas :-D

Life is Good.

Yeah the inconsistency in the colours doesn't do it for me either... But the design at least looks decent...

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Great review Jay, so it's kinda back to basics type of build. Although I don't dig the construction methods on this one that much, but it will be an awesome set to customize for sure!

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[...] and the gray/tan droid that sucked.

I like 'em. A lot, actually. Isn't that what everybody else wanted - back to using generic bricks?

I like them droids. As well as the Crawler - that thing looks huge! :oo

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Great review and pics, Bloody Jay. I was pretty curious about the interior, though it seems quite plain aside from the center removable module. Overall, I think it's a good effort on LC's part, though I echo the sentiments of a few others when I say the mottled color scheme seems a bit much. However, i'm glad they made it large enough to accommodate the double treaded quad-truck design of the original. (created from pics of the space shuttle transport and matte paintings, and models) Should be receiving mine next week...can't wait!

Also, kinda surprised the designers went with stickers rather than just putting trans-yellow or trans-black pieces in for windows...would've looked better IMHO, and been more functional. Additionally, i'm also surprised they didn't use ratcheting hinge plates for the ramp. Not complaining..simply wondering aloud. ;)

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I'm toying with the thought to buy this but 170 is a lot to pay. The interior is a tad disappointing. nonetheless, It'll be a fun build. Are there any alternate ideas (photos) in the instruction booklet?

What would you say, is this the best minifig scale SW model or should I get the Falcon instead?

I just don't want to be bored with it after a few weeks.-P

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There aren't any alternate model images on the box or in the instructions, unfortunately. As for the comparison between the two sets, that's kind of hard. The Falcon uses amazing building techniques and has a great interior. However, I think that the Sandcrawler is better for pieces (at least for buildings). So that's a tough call.

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