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[starstreak]

This review will be on the 8088 ARC-170 Starfighter.



From Lego.com:

Quote

Blast the Separatists out of space with the powerful ARC-170!
Droid forces beware,the ARC-170 starfighter has arrived! Built with the latest in Republic technology, this Clone Wars fighter-bomber carries a crew of clone pilots and Jedi Master Kit Fisto into battle anywhere the enemy strikes. Turn the gear on the back to open and close the S-foil attack wings, then push it to launch auto-firing flick missiles!

Set Name: 8088 ARC-170 Starfighter

Theme: Star Wars

Released: 2010

Pieces: 396

Price: $59.99/$42.59EURO/37.19GBP

Here are some quicklinks Lego.com, Brickset, Bricklink

Wanna see some pictures? Let's start with the normal box arts and manuals!


Box art front

Interesting, the picture is in a similar orientation as the old box art for the 7259. In this box, you get all new figures when compared to the old 7259. I like the planet background. Being the old version was bomber, this would make sense. This new one is a Starfighter so a fighting background would be better but would clutter it up a bit too much.


Box art back

Back of the box. Shows what the ARC-170 can do. Like the cockpit opening up. How to open the wings by turning the gear in the back of the ship. And how to fire the two missiles located under the ship. You would "hit" the gear on the back of the ship, which would hit the back of the missiles to launch them. The older 7259 dropped bombs when you pulled the gear on the back of the ship.


Parts bags

Nothing unusual. Lego numbered the bags for easy build. Sometimes I wonder why they don't just make one larger bag instead of two small bags, like they did for bag #1.


Sticker sheet

Each window has a sticker. And so does the center cockpit side panels. That's the stickers on the upper right of this photo. Look carefully, it's a picture of a mini-fig hands over a control panel. The older 7259 didn't use a sticker on a solid color part, they used a clear Lego piece with a clear sticker with lines. So you could see inside the middle cockpit. Note: Be careful with clear stickers! Once you put them on, the glue comes off and stays on the Lego piece. And it'll get real UGLY fast!


Minifigs

Front shot. Kit-Fisto, Captain Jag and a clone pilot. The R4-P44 droid absent from picture due to maintenance. Kit's face is bad. It's all rubber so it's molded well but ugly. I like Captain Jag's helmet. Very nice detail.


Rear shot. Kit-Fisto, Captain Jag (helmet removed) and a clone pilot. As you can see, while with the helmet on, the orange stripe on the minifigs head looks great for a visor, without the helmet, his head looks like a cruel joke where someone put suntan lotion on his head.


Manual cover

Nothing much here. Same picture as the front of the box, except missing some explosions. Looks cleaner, but not as exciting.


Parts List

Above and beyond that the 7259 is a bomber, Lego did make some changes to the parts which is good! The canopy #4581452. They added a lip to the front so it'll stay on a 2x2 stud now. About time they did that. The engine thrusters area BIGGER on the 8088. Like one size larger white "wheels" #4999690.


Random page

Same thing as the back of the box. And yes, the missiles are fixed straight. But unless you hit the "gear" on the back hard, it'll come out at a sloping angle and miss the nose of the ship. I guess they wanted to keep in line with the SW:Clone Wars where these are not bombers, but Starfighters.


Random page 2

Full color sheet. Nice action shot. Of course, all the ships are new 2010 sets for you to buy.



Build process

Quick note, here is the missiles All hidden and stuff.

Interesting clear piece. I could be wrong as I didn't take out my ARC-170 instructions, but that's the same thing they used to drop bombs. You fill it at the top and it funnels to the bottom.

Here it is loaded. You can see how the gear rod would strike the back of where the missiles would be loaded.



The computer dark grey sloped brick is a sticker. I miss when those used to be printed bricks.

Underside shot. I have no idea why they use the light brown parts.



And here is the finished body. And yes, I put the center-side stickers on back wards! Since its a clear sticker, if I pull it off, it'll be ruined. Maybe nobody will notice the hands are upside down? :)




Here is a view of the engine mounted on one side and opposite view of the unmounted engine. If you click on the picture, you can see the blue rubber band that allows the folding wings to open and close.

Here is the middle wing. Top and underside. You can see all the different ways Lego tried to make the wing stronger. Too bad it doesn't add to the overall look of the wing like greebles would.

Here is a shot of the finished wing and the top and underside of the folding smaller wings. At least those are cleaner in design, but since they aren't long, you don't need reinforcement parts.


Finished photos.

Front view. Photos are small because they are wider than they are tall. Click on the photo for a better view.


Rear photo. More I look at it, even though the front part of the engine is huge, from the rear, it really looks very sleek looking. I like it.


Side view. Here is where you can see the rear guns better. On the older set #7259, it only had one rear gun.


Here is a photo of the wings open. This was a hard shot as I couldn't keep the set on the ground and still open the wings. I had to make it "hover".


Comparing the 8088(new) vs 7259(old) Arc-170 sets.


I hope you like this shot. It came out better than I thought. The left side is the 8088 and the right is the older 7259. While looking so much a like, many things are changed. The nose of the old looks more Lego-ish. But looks like what you saw in the movie. The 8088 nose is closer to the clone wars series on TV. The engine is bigger on the new 8088, but while it looks like a engine, you can tell it's a wheel rim. The 7259 looks like a jet engine intake. What it intakes in space is beyond me. The green color on the nose is longer on the 7259 and continues under the cockpit. The wings are made differently and as you'll find out shortly, the gear to fold the wings is done different as well.


Top view of the cockpit. 8088 on top and 7259 on the bottom. The computers on the 7259 is painted. 8088 is stickers. The rear nacelles next to the rear gun is painted on the 7259 and it's done very well. The 8088 is just a small single sticker. The 7259 center area is actually hinged to open as you can see in the picture. I like that. Also the 7259 set used smoked clear plastic for the center sides, unlike the 8088 which used a sticker to "simulate" a porthole. I guess the plus on that one, is the "white" that the 7259 sticker used for that smoked plastic, you can really tell that was a sticker. You'll also notice the 7259 doesn't use stickers on the cockpit canopy. From the top view like this, the engines looks more thought out on the 8088. The 7259 looks like they were just trying to figure out how to add an engine and a way to fold the wings on it. If I remember right, you load the bombs under the R5-D4 droid in the 7259. Notice the front canopy on the 7259 doesn't have a hinge on it. You just pull it off.


And finally here is a closeup view of the gearing for the folding wings. The 8088 on the left and 7259 on the right. Lego used a rotating ball for the first. Nice idea. The use of the white rubber band blended well. On the 8088, they went technic on use. I with the yellow stud they used was grey. Would've matched better. They also used a blue rubber band. Not sure why they made it loop around a wider area, except to maybe have less flexing of the wing.



Comments: I'll start off as I normally do and rant about the price. This unit has 396pcs and going from the old standard of .10 cents a piece, this set should cost around $39.60. At the new standard rate of .17 cents a piece, it comes out to $67.32. I paid $67. Wow, I hit it right on the nose. But it's so hard to feel like a good deal to pay so much for so little pieces. BTW, TRU had it for $86.99. Click on it. My rant is done.
Overall I LOVE this set. I like most Star Wars Lego sets. It looks like what it's supposed to be, but what I don't like is when they previously released a set and they didn't improve on it by much. It is cleaner and more up to date, but as you read in the comparison of the old set, many things was done right the first time. Maybe if I can force myself to dismantle both sets, I'll make one set with the good of both sets.

My rating
Playability: 4/5 This is playable. Made for kids. Minifigs are nice, and where else can you get a green R2 head?
Design: 3/5 Right in the middle. Design is close. But many things that was good on the old set, they didn't use on this set. Like when they used printed pieces on the 7259 or a clear window instead of a fake sticker to look like a window.
Build experience: 3/5 It's made for ages 8+. My son can build this. But the stickers are a royal pain because this set uses a lot of clear stickers, and clear stickers are harder to remove without damaging the clear area of the sticker.
Overall: 4/5 I think this would make a great set. Get it for MSRP if you can. I know a lot of places are sold out, but more will come in.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!
All photos are click able for larger, bigger-than-life picture sizes! You can see all photos used here, including the larger build pictures: 8088 ARC-170 Starfighter.

[Legostein]

Hello!

Indeed I enjoyed reading it. Especially nice is the consequent comparison with the older set. The merged images with one half being the old, and the other half being the new model are great and quickly provide an overview over the two sets for everyone.

Cheers,

~ Christopher

[Big Cam]

Wxcellent, excellent review, this set is one I want but I'm just not willing to spend the money on it. This review is perfect because it lets us see the differances in the old and new.

Great job!

[ILikePi]

Thanks for yet another great review starstreak!

I had almost no interest in this set before reading this, but now, I really want it! However, I can't justify buying 400 pieces for $60 USD, even if the built set is large.
If it goes on sale I'll consider buying it, thanks to your review!

By the way, could you change the size of the text to normal? I had to use the control + minus command to make the text smaller.

This post has been edited by ILikePi: 24 January 2010 - 05:23 PM

[Lord Starkiller]

Awesome, now i know what to get with mah £60 18th b Day monehhh......... or should i save up for the Jugger- whatsitcalled.... the one with cad bane, but, hang on, £37 its £49.99 in englaaand!
http://shop.lego.com...?...n=520&d=322

This post has been edited by Lord Starkiller: 24 January 2010 - 05:35 PM

[commdr_neyo]

It's a great review, with good quality pics and a very nice comparision!

[starstreak]

I'm happy you guys like it. I HATE taking pictures of something white on a white background. lol!

IlikePi- Not sure about the text.
UPDATE: Hmm for some reason its 1pt size different. Is everybody having a hard time reading this? ATM I can't edit.

I know my son wants Cad Bane. I have a feeling the set is gonna be average but cost more. I think LEGO is catching on that people buy and sell the minifigs so they raise the price of sets with unique minis. I remember how much the set with Yoda cost or the one with Mace Windu (working lightsaber) cost. Ok, well that set was large.

Lord Starkiller, on Jan 24 2010, 07:27 AM, said:

Awesome, now i know what to get with mah £60 18th b Day monehhh......... or should i save up for the Jugger- whatsitcalled.... the one with cad bane, but, hang on, �37 its �49.99 in englaaand!
http://shop.lego.com...?...n=520&d=322

[Burman]

Brilliant review.
The pictures are very well taken.
The comparison between the two sets is really well done.
I purchased the original and was not going to get the new one but now I think I might get it.
The minifigures are brilliant.

[prateek]

Nice review. I like this set, but as you said, this is way overpriced. The figs are cool, but I would've prefered another Pilot instead of Kit Fisto.

[gotoAndLego]

starstreak, on Jan 24 2010, 11:44 AM, said:

...They also used a blue rubber band. Not sure why they made it loop around a wider area, except to maybe have less flexing of the wing.

On my previous model, because the rubber band is on one side the wings lean towards the rubber band side. Maybe having the rubberband on bot sides of the wing solves this issue. That or they didn't feel like including those black ball-pins anymore.

[starstreak]

Yup that's what I meant by flexing. where the wing wouldn't stay level. Or they wanted to make sure enough was different to get guys like me to spend money on te same set again.

gotoAndLego, on Jan 24 2010, 09:55 AM, said:

On my previous model, because the rubber band is on one side the wings lean towards the rubber band side. Maybe having the rubberband on bot sides of the wing solves this issue. That or they didn't feel like including those black ball-pins anymore.

[Roncanator]

An awesome review!
I loved the comparison pictures they really showed us what was improved because a lot of people had a hard time seeing that (Legoman ). I really love this set I think it is the second best set just under Luke's Landspeeder.

[The Legonater]

Nice job. I just got this set yesterday. For some reason, my top S-foils won't open very much. Any suggestions?

[starstreak]

Got any pics? Only thing that would stop it from opening correctly is the rotating pins .

The Legonater, on Jan 24 2010, 04:57 PM, said:

Nice job. I just got this set yesterday. For some reason, my top S-foils won't open very much. Any suggestions?

[CELESTRIAL]

This is a FANTASTIC review. I enjoyed reading it very very much. I have put of this set for awhile, mostly cause of the price. And even after such a great review I'm still not sure about it The comparison with the old ARC was perfect, i really needed to see something like that, i appreciate the time and effort gone into this review.
It does seem like a lovely set, but ill have to think about it more, since i just spend all my money on the TANTIVE IV, and that im not much of a CC collector

thanks again for an excellent review !