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[WhiteFang]

Hello to all Eurobricks members and Star Wars lovers,

This is my very first Star Wars review in Eurobricks! Although, this is not my first Star Wars set but this set is defintely one of my favourite which prompted me to do up this review after I have bought this set today. Without further ado, let me go through the long awaited battle pack for all Clone Wars collectors. Before I touched on, I will like to highlight that I am not a guru in Star Wars and if I have used any of the terms wrongly. Please pardon me. Thanks.

Name: Clone Walker Battle Pack
Theme: LEGO System / Star Wars / Clone Wars
Year: 2009
Pieces: 72
Minifigs: 4
Price: USD$9.99, SGD$29.90
Resources: Brickset, Peeron


An image of a 8014, Clone Walker Battle Pack



Take a look at the back of the box


The Clone Walker Battle pack is a dream come true for all Clone Wars army builders. This is the battle pack which provides collectors, the ability to purchase multiple sets at an affordable cost to load these soldiers into Republic signature vehicles and aircrafts such as RGS and AT-TE. Clone Troopers are rarely seen in most CW (Clone Wars) sets and are distributed in a limited quantity across the board such as the Republic Fighter Tank selling at a much higher price that only provides two Clone Troopers and the RGS offering one Clone Trooper and Captain Rex. With this remarkable belief for collectors, we shall discover much more interesting stuff in this set.


A peek into the manuals, packets and spare parts



Within the box, there are total 3 small sealed packets to construct this lovely little set. This is a peek of the instruction manual of building the Clone Walker. After building, these are the remaining parts which will be kept for storage.


An overview of its minifigs parts and accessories


These are the detailed breakdown of the minifigs' parts which consist of helmets, torsos, legs, blasters, and headpiece. Unlike, traditional Star Wars Clone Troopers or Storm Troopers, this is the very first time a facial expression is printed on its headpiece to reflect individual personality of the Clone Troopers such as Commander Cody, Commander Fox and Captain Rex in the recent Clone Wars movies (Animated).


Tactical Gear



The Clone Troopers, themselves


This awesome battlepack comes with 4 clone troopers, representing a patrol force, consisting of a Clone Commander. a Clone Gunner and two Clone Troopers. This standard patrol force represents the mighty brave Clone Troopers. They do look awesome in their outfit.


Clone Troopers Evolution cycle


Clone Troopers have undergone 2 major transformations which is part of the movies sequence from Episode II to Episode IV, where the Clone Troopers have also change their allegiance to the Emperor in Episode III and Storm Troopers begin to appear and taking over the past Clone Troopers and alter their personality, eventually become a puppet for the Empire.

The Episode III Clone Troopers, appear in the 7655 Clone Troopers Battlepack in 2007 and Storm Troopers from Episode IV to VI appear in the 7667 Imperial Dropship in 2008.


Triple Change?


These are the different possible variations appeared in this set which could be utilised by the Clone Commander. There are the visor, flash light and antenna communication. Each of this served different purposes for different Clone Commander designated to lead its patrol.


Clone Walker: Building up the base



Covering up the sides of the cockpit



The fast moving legs


These legs especially the claws, remind me of those small fast looking carnivorous dinosaur such as Velociraptor and Deinonychus. At the same time, these legs are the smaller version of the AT ST, Chicken Walker. The legs look quite sturdy but the hinges on its knees do have some bending restrictions.


Major sections of the Clone Walker


The building process of the Clone Walker took me less than 5 minutes to complete as it's a relatively simple design. This Clone Walker may look simple and ugly at the first glance, but it can be quite fun transporting these soldiers into battle. I don't think this walker could stand up with those droids machines. These are the major sections of the Clone Walker. Did I mention that it come with 2 flick-fire missiles? These missiles are placed by the side of the cockpit. As always, these flicking missiles never attract me. I do think kids love to flick their fingers to shoot at the droids.


Stickers again...



Ready for battle! For victory and glory!


To conclude, I am very pleased that TLG has decided to release this ultimate long awaited battlepack set that satisfied all collectors in the Clone War era. These battlepacks ultimately are bought to place its troopers inside the RGS where they are loaded into the skies and battle from region to region. Eventually, this set will enforce the army power of the Republic. The main downside for this set will be its expensive price tag attached to it, partly due to its license from George Lucas. I am very sure most of us whom are interested in this set, are basically paying for the minifigs.


Summary review
Playability: 8/10 (Could use walker to integrate into mini battles and soldiers are able to add onto other ships/vehicles)
Design: 8/10 (Minifigs' design are excellent but Clone Walker looks a little small and simple.)
Price: 7/10 (An expensive army building set, but this is the only way to obtain multiple Clone Troopers.)
Overall: 7.7/10 (Long awaited army building set for the Clone War collectors, despite of the hefty price tag.)

I gave it a "4" based on my Review Score Card. What about yours?

Disclaimer: In this review, the ranting of the pricing is entirely based on Singapore context and is not applicable for other regions such as US and UK. Thanks.

Hope everyone of you enjoyed reading this simple review of mine. Comments and Critics are strongly welcomed.
Pictures can be found in My Brickshelf (When moderated)

[Darth Legolas]

Great review! I like the Stormy, and Phase II comparison. Thanks!

[Motti]

Thanks for the review. I shall pass, though I want the gunner. I also like the black commando gear. Are all of the eyes on the clones facing different directions, or is it an illusion?

[Shadows]

Great review of a great set! Very nicely done!

That said, I need one clarification. For most of the world, at least those who can get it from S@H or a standard store, this is a very cheap set and a real bargain. You give it lowered scores and make a couple of comments about the price. Is that simply because the price is high in Singapore, or do you think the price is high everywhere?

I've never been sure how to use that particular statistic properly, especially if someone has to pay secondary or elevated prices because of location or buying a set long after it's off the market. I've read a review or two where the person bought a 5 year old set for double retail and complained about the price, for example, but is that a fair standard when, to me, we're really reviewing the set as issued by TLG at the price they intended it to be sold for. It's almost like we're really reviewing the seller and their pricing practices.

All of that aside, I especially loved the evolution shot and the accessory use examples, as well as the stages of building. Adds a lot of depth to an already impressive review.

[WhiteFang]

Motti, on Jan 14 2009, 09:28 AM, said:

Thanks for the review. I shall pass, though I want the gunner. I also like the black commando gear. Are all of the eyes on the clones facing different directions, or is it an illusion?

I am not very sure too. I think there is one particular headpiece seemed to be facing left instead of right. I believe I have seen a similar topic like this before somewhere.

ImperialShadows, on Jan 14 2009, 09:39 AM, said:

That said, I need one clarification. For most of the world, at least those who can get it from S@H or a standard store, this is a very cheap set and a real bargain. You give it lowered scores and make a couple of comments about the price. Is that simply because the price is high in Singapore, or do you think the price is high everywhere?

I've never been sure how to use that particular statistic properly, especially if someone has to pay secondary or elevated prices because of location or buying a set long after it's off the market. I've read a review or two where the person bought a 5 year old set for double retail and complained about the price, for example, but is that a fair standard when, to me, we're really reviewing the set as issued by TLG at the price they intended it to be sold for. It's almost like we're really reviewing the seller and their pricing practices.

You are absolutely correct on the pricing aspect. Actually, this review was entirely written on Singapore aspect due to its pricing label. I realised that it was so much affordable when I checked the US and UK price.

Putting that aside, I used price to gauge and factor into my scoring by taking prices of the country's context at that point of release instead of taking inflation and apperication value over time. Normally, I won't be ranting so much on the price if it is similar across the major markets. In most cases, I am likely to use Singapore's pricing as my price indicator unless the price is not available, and naturally USD will be taken into consideration.

Ranting about sets and placing in the review, because it appericate overtime is not acceptable, because it's not able to justify strongly on the actual appraisal process of the intended true value. Most of the time, the pricing is determined by market forces in the market place such as Bricklink and eBay. I feel that such points could be included but defintely not allowed to be emphasis or included as a factor in the score. Therefore, the very last point which is mentioned by you, I agreed with your reasoning.

Edit: Shadows, I have added a disclaimer at the end of the review to clarify the above.

This post has been edited by WhiteFang: 14 January 2009 - 02:12 AM

[Shadows]

WhiteFang, on Jan 13 2009, 08:03 PM, said:

Actually, this review was entirely written on Singapore aspect due to its pricing label.

Is that actually the Singapore retail price, or do you get stuck paying more to secondary people? I think that's all I was really asking.

WhiteFang, on Jan 13 2009, 08:03 PM, said:

Edit: Shadows, I have added a disclaimer at the end of the review to clarify the above.

[darkrebellion]

Thanks for the very detailed review WhiteFang . I think this set is very cool, especially cause of that amazing new Clone Gunner. I just this new clone. I think the vehicle is pretty nice but totally not compared to the awesomeness of the speeder bike that comes with the AD BP. I think the AD BP is very underrated and in fact I think is a better overall battlepack cause it includes a fair number of minifigs and it has definitely the best vehicle that ever comes with a battlepack.

[KinGanon]

Can't wait to get my hand on some of these.My empty shell AT-TE desperately needs to be filled with troops. And that clone gunner will look pretty spiffy atop the gun on the empty shell AT-TE.

[WhiteFang]

ImperialShadows, on Jan 14 2009, 10:15 AM, said:

Is that actually the Singapore retail price, or do you get stuck paying more to secondary people? I think that's all I was really asking.

You typed so much in circles, just to ask that simple question.

Sad to said, the answer is "Yes".... If you are a member in most offical retail stores or shopping centres, you will get at most 10% discount, unless there is a sales, this set is likely to go at most 20% discount off the retail price. SGD$29.90 is the offical retail price over here. We don't have shop@home access, and are not able to enjoy the benefits offered there.

darkrebellion, on Jan 14 2009, 10:32 AM, said:

Thanks for the very detailed review WhiteFang . I think this set is very cool, especially cause of that amazing new Clone Gunner. I just this new clone. I think the vehicle is pretty nice but totally not compared to the awesomeness of the speeder bike that comes with the AD BP. I think the AD BP is very underrated and in fact I think is a better overall battlepack cause it includes a fair number of minifigs and it has definitely the best vehicle that ever comes with a battlepack.

Thanks darkrebellion. I have not built the other battlepack yet, but from its first look, I think the speeder bike looks kind of cool and offer additional one more minifigs compared to this set. Oh well, I still love this battlepack.

[xenologer]

I may have to get this one.
I don't actually like Star Wars, but those handguns look great for Space, and I haven't been willing to shell out 30+$ to get them from the larger sets.

Sad sign of the times to see the sticker sheet. I can understand stickers for an experimental theme like MarsMission, but for an expensive licensed theme like SW its bad; especially considering in the past those logos existed as printed tiles.

[Svelte]

Thanks for your review, WhiteFang. This is a great little set

I actually really like the little walker vehicle - it seems better designed than any of the vehicles from the 2007 or 2008 Battle Packs. (A lot of people don't like the Assassins Droid speeder either, but I think it is well-built and contains great pieces for such a small set). At least the legs move and the seating is adequate for two!

The only thing I was disappointed by was the prining of the Clone Gunner helmet - it looks metallic gold in pictures and on the packaging but is actually muddy pseudo-gold brown. The dark green also seems oddly blended with this colour.

The accessories are amazing and so much better in black than they were in last year's cheap looking dark bley!

[Oky Wan Kenobi]

Aw man! I was just thinking about making a review for this set, but now I am totally discouraged since it would be really hard to top this one!

Curse you and your superior reviewing skills, WhiteFang!


Oh well. Nice review. The clone evolution cycle and the walker building steps are a nice bonus.

Keep up the good work!

[mania3]

Great review! Thanks for giving me a look at this set. I don't buy many Star Wars sets, but I definitely pick up 2-3 of each of the battle packs, just to stock up on minifigures.

[hollisbrick]

Subpurb review (as always )
As soon as I see this I'll definately get it!!! It's perfect

[KimT]

Thanks for reviewing this for us.
I've added it to the index.
Now we have two great reviews of this fine set.